I did 45 min on the elliptical with 8x2 min of hard intervals again. It felt lousy - for some reason I felt I was working harder than my HR showed; 155 felt like 165 today. Some days are just like that.
I started off on an elliptical that was a different model than I usually use. The angle was different for the foot pedals and it made my shin ache; only a little bit, but it was aching after a few intervals, so I eventually switched back to my regular model and it felt better. That was good, but I wish it hadn't bothered me at all :(. I'm hoping to be able to racewalk again midweek next week when Jim arrives.
We finally had some nice weather today, too, which made me really want to racewalk. That plus not enough sleep or rest last weekend combined to make me a bit moody today. I'm nervous that there's not enough time to get back in shape before Sacramento. Really, there's not, but I'm going to have to make do. My coach thinks it will be OK, maybe, but I won't be able to taper before the 5K and I'm cutting it a bit close. I'm definitely not going to be in optimal shape. Well, nothing I can do about that except do the best I can and try to just have a good time w/friends regardless! I'm trying to talk myself into a better mood but it's not working. Better just get some sleep.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
weather rant, and yeah, some more elliptical
Nice weather we're having...NOT! We've had ONE nice week this spring so far, and a few nice days here and there. But the rest of the spring it's been either snowing or raining, and unseasonably cold. The bad part of all that isn't merely the inconvenience, but the flood potential. The snowpack is double what it normally is, and it's going to get warm soon. When it does, it's going to flood. My house is not at risk as far as I know, but there are lots of people who will be affected by flooding.
Edited to add: when I got to the gym this morning, I groused about the weather to the guy at the desk, and he told me he was driving in 3 inches of snow on I-215 on the east bench of the city. Ugh! He said it was really slippery and dangerous, because they have put away the snowplows for the summer.
Anyway, here are some of the sights from this morning. Snow on the grass at the gym next to the pool (there were people swimming laps in there, but the pool itself is a nice toasty 82F), and snow on car windshields.
More photos here.
***
The good thing about being injured now is that I don't have to deal w/the rotten weather. I just go to the gym and do the elliptical. Today I thought about spinning, but the front of my ankle was ever-so-slightly sore with certain movements, and I decided to play it safe and just do the elliptical, no intervals, just a regular workout. Tomorrow I will plan to do some more intervals I think. I did 8 miles in an hour, and called it good.
***
Now we're at my parents' house enjoying the Memorial Day holiday. We've been cooking up a storm: my dad is grilling turkey, and I've made 2 pies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans w/slivered almonds, and my mom made jello. It's been good to hang out with my brother and his wife and baby daughter, who are visiting with us this weekend.
Edited to add: when I got to the gym this morning, I groused about the weather to the guy at the desk, and he told me he was driving in 3 inches of snow on I-215 on the east bench of the city. Ugh! He said it was really slippery and dangerous, because they have put away the snowplows for the summer.
Anyway, here are some of the sights from this morning. Snow on the grass at the gym next to the pool (there were people swimming laps in there, but the pool itself is a nice toasty 82F), and snow on car windshields.
More photos here.
***
The good thing about being injured now is that I don't have to deal w/the rotten weather. I just go to the gym and do the elliptical. Today I thought about spinning, but the front of my ankle was ever-so-slightly sore with certain movements, and I decided to play it safe and just do the elliptical, no intervals, just a regular workout. Tomorrow I will plan to do some more intervals I think. I did 8 miles in an hour, and called it good.
***
Now we're at my parents' house enjoying the Memorial Day holiday. We've been cooking up a storm: my dad is grilling turkey, and I've made 2 pies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans w/slivered almonds, and my mom made jello. It's been good to hang out with my brother and his wife and baby daughter, who are visiting with us this weekend.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
elliptical again
Well, at least I've been getting some good reading in. I like the elliptical for that reason - I can read while I do it, unless I'm doing hard intervals, and then forget it. No reading possible when my HR is above 155, for sure.
So far I've read "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand (author of "Seabiscuit", which I also read and enjoyed), which is about Louis Zamperini, an Olympic miler (1936 Olympics) who gets captured by the Japanese in WWII. Fascinating read, though very difficult to hear about the indescribably awful conditions in the Japanese POW camps. I'm almost done reading it, but because I can't just read one book at once, I'm also reading (as of today) "Pathfinder" by Orson Scott Card. Card is probably my favorite author; he's got an amazing knack for storytelling, and a talent for getting inside of people's heads and understanding the way they think and what makes them tick.
Today I did 10 miles (16km) on the elliptical in 71:40, for a 7:10/mile pace. I doubt I could actually run that fast for that long, but it's fun to imagine that I could. In any case, I'm training to keep up my fitness for racewalking and for some hiking in Bryce and Zion National Parks when my coach Jim comes here in June.
I cooled down for a few minutes, so total time was 1:15, which is a longer workout these days...sigh...I miss racewalking. But i do enjoy the reading, and I'm grateful for equipment to cross-train.
So far I've read "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand (author of "Seabiscuit", which I also read and enjoyed), which is about Louis Zamperini, an Olympic miler (1936 Olympics) who gets captured by the Japanese in WWII. Fascinating read, though very difficult to hear about the indescribably awful conditions in the Japanese POW camps. I'm almost done reading it, but because I can't just read one book at once, I'm also reading (as of today) "Pathfinder" by Orson Scott Card. Card is probably my favorite author; he's got an amazing knack for storytelling, and a talent for getting inside of people's heads and understanding the way they think and what makes them tick.
Today I did 10 miles (16km) on the elliptical in 71:40, for a 7:10/mile pace. I doubt I could actually run that fast for that long, but it's fun to imagine that I could. In any case, I'm training to keep up my fitness for racewalking and for some hiking in Bryce and Zion National Parks when my coach Jim comes here in June.
I cooled down for a few minutes, so total time was 1:15, which is a longer workout these days...sigh...I miss racewalking. But i do enjoy the reading, and I'm grateful for equipment to cross-train.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
awesome video
This has been making the rounds on Facebook, but I thought I'd share it here. Here are some REAL racewalkers!
a few more
I can't resist a couple more of my favorites:
Working really hard at the end
Having a good laugh with Norm Frable after the race
Working really hard at the end
Having a good laugh with Norm Frable after the race
15K photos
My friend Paula Graham just sent me a CD chock full of awesome race photos of me and lots of my friends, and of the elite athletes too. Cool! For now, I've made an album of the photos of me, for my coach and whoever else is interested. I'll be posting the photos of some of the other walkers later.
Here's one of me - definitely NOT lifting but looking pretty good.
I could still stand to lose some weight, looking at these photos...sigh...but some of it is just loose skin on my legs from having lost so much weight already. That I can live with :). Harder to lose weight right now though, since my racewalking activity is limited, and I do get bored with the elliptical and the bike after a while.
LOTS more photos here.
Here's one of me - definitely NOT lifting but looking pretty good.
I could still stand to lose some weight, looking at these photos...sigh...but some of it is just loose skin on my legs from having lost so much weight already. That I can live with :). Harder to lose weight right now though, since my racewalking activity is limited, and I do get bored with the elliptical and the bike after a while.
LOTS more photos here.
elliptical intervals
OK, I can't racewalk yet. But what's to stop me from a hard interval workout? Nothing! I have the elliptical at my disposal, and I can do it! I decided just to do 8x2' hard with 2' recovery in between each. I would have done more intervals, but I wanted to be cautious as I didn't know how it would make my shin feel. It didn't hurt at all while doing it (or I would have stopped), but I'm waiting until later in the day to see how it feels before I decide if I can do again. I think it's gonna be OK though! Anyway, it felt GREAT to do an interval workout. I uploaded it to the Garmin website so you can see my heart rate - nice peaks, and you can see I was working fairly hard; at the end my HR got up to 167, about like during a regular track workout. Jim said there isn't much I can do to keep my racewalking fitness. But I figured that my cardiovascular fitness could be improved with this type of workout vs. just keeping a slow steady pace on the machine. It can't hurt, and it will probably help, so I'm going to do some more of these for sure.
I'm hoping to do spinning on Monday morning (hmmm...wonder if they'll have the class since it's Memorial Day?) but if it hurts too much or there is no class, I'll do a longer elliptical interval workout, assuming this one doesn't make my leg hurt later in the day.
Garmin connect data here.
Oh, and I did 8.25 miles in 1 hour. Jim was saying that he was going to beat me up to the top of Observation Point in Zion National Park when he comes here in June. I don't think so! I'm staying fit, thank you very much, and I am going to hike that darn thing and hike it well :)!
***
Injury update: I think the boot is helping. My leg is not sore at ALL now when dorsiflexing (pulling toes up). That's a HUGE improvement. In addition, my leg isn't really sore any more when I press on the shin. Previously it was excruciatingly tender, like I had a bad bruise, and it was quite swollen. It doesn't seem so swollen or tender any more. Yay! Another week and it might be time to try some easy racewalking...maybe...I will be very cautious, though. Any recurrence will only set me back at this point. I'll discuss it with Jim and see what he recommends.
I'm hoping to do spinning on Monday morning (hmmm...wonder if they'll have the class since it's Memorial Day?) but if it hurts too much or there is no class, I'll do a longer elliptical interval workout, assuming this one doesn't make my leg hurt later in the day.
Garmin connect data here.
Oh, and I did 8.25 miles in 1 hour. Jim was saying that he was going to beat me up to the top of Observation Point in Zion National Park when he comes here in June. I don't think so! I'm staying fit, thank you very much, and I am going to hike that darn thing and hike it well :)!
***
Injury update: I think the boot is helping. My leg is not sore at ALL now when dorsiflexing (pulling toes up). That's a HUGE improvement. In addition, my leg isn't really sore any more when I press on the shin. Previously it was excruciatingly tender, like I had a bad bruise, and it was quite swollen. It doesn't seem so swollen or tender any more. Yay! Another week and it might be time to try some easy racewalking...maybe...I will be very cautious, though. Any recurrence will only set me back at this point. I'll discuss it with Jim and see what he recommends.
Friday, May 27, 2011
cross-training
Today I mixed it up a little. I did the elliptical for just 30 min, and then I did weight training with Lisa. I did bench press, abductor machine, calf raises, military press, adductor machine, and lat pull-downs. Then we did a bunch of core stuff - lots of Pilates-type exercises. It's been a while since I did weight training and it felt good. Time to get back into my routine! Finally, I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes, and it seemed fine on my leg. I didn't tighten the straps down, though, so it was all push and no pull, which is better on my shin.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
MRI photos
Sagittal section - inflammation appears white, in the front of lower shin
Axial section - the right leg is actually at the LEFT of this picture, and you can see the white inflammation on the top of the shin; much brighter than corresponding area of L shin. Pretty cool...but yeah, not so cool.
Axial section - the right leg is actually at the LEFT of this picture, and you can see the white inflammation on the top of the shin; much brighter than corresponding area of L shin. Pretty cool...but yeah, not so cool.
cross-training; MRI results at last
This morning I did the elliptical for 45 minutes. It felt fine.
***
MRI results are here! Good news - no stress fracture. It's a tibialis anterior muscle strain, along with a little tendonitis along the junction of the tibialis anterior and its tendon. Here's the radiology report:
Treatment? My doctor says physical therapy, walking boot for 3-4 weeks when not training, and hold off training for a bit longer, though I can get back into it hopefully in the next couple of weeks. She says cross-training is perfectly fine (oh yay!). I'm glad that I will be able to do the World Masters, though I won't be as fast as I could have been. Oh well, them's the berries.
Here's my new fashion accessory:
***
MRI results are here! Good news - no stress fracture. It's a tibialis anterior muscle strain, along with a little tendonitis along the junction of the tibialis anterior and its tendon. Here's the radiology report:
Treatment? My doctor says physical therapy, walking boot for 3-4 weeks when not training, and hold off training for a bit longer, though I can get back into it hopefully in the next couple of weeks. She says cross-training is perfectly fine (oh yay!). I'm glad that I will be able to do the World Masters, though I won't be as fast as I could have been. Oh well, them's the berries.
Here's my new fashion accessory:
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
still waiting and cross training
I called my doctor's office at 4:45 pm hoping they'd have the results of the MRI, but the doc and staff had left for the day. Grrrr! They took a msg for me and said they'd call tomorrow. So, I'm still waiting.
***
I did go to the gym tonight and get on the elliptical. I felt like such a slug for not working out this morning and finally knew I had to do SOMETHING. I did 45 min on the elliptical while watching high school boys' ice hockey and reading a book ("Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell - highly recommend).
Photo of the ice rink at the gym that I watched the hockey on:
Some of the cardio equipment at the gym (just to the left of it is the ice rink, with a glass wall so you can see the action).
***
I did go to the gym tonight and get on the elliptical. I felt like such a slug for not working out this morning and finally knew I had to do SOMETHING. I did 45 min on the elliptical while watching high school boys' ice hockey and reading a book ("Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell - highly recommend).
Photo of the ice rink at the gym that I watched the hockey on:
Some of the cardio equipment at the gym (just to the left of it is the ice rink, with a glass wall so you can see the action).
no news yet...concert pics instead!
No news on the leg yet. Had the MRI at 7 am; thinking I might call the doc and find out if they know anything yet.
***
Meanwhile, a blog post on the U2 concert. It was an amazing experience - the lights, the sound, the set - incredible! I like U2 a lot, though I'm not a die-hard fan like my husband. I still had a great time at this terrific performance. It would have been better if I wasn't so tired and cold (it was in the low 50s but slightly windy and I didn't dress warmly enough for sitting/standing a lot). It was quite a show, though, and I don't regret going at all, even though we didn't get home until almost midnight. With my MRI at 7 am, I didn't get in a workout (yet). I'm thinking to go to the gym tonight for a little elliptical.
More pictures here.
***
Meanwhile, a blog post on the U2 concert. It was an amazing experience - the lights, the sound, the set - incredible! I like U2 a lot, though I'm not a die-hard fan like my husband. I still had a great time at this terrific performance. It would have been better if I wasn't so tired and cold (it was in the low 50s but slightly windy and I didn't dress warmly enough for sitting/standing a lot). It was quite a show, though, and I don't regret going at all, even though we didn't get home until almost midnight. With my MRI at 7 am, I didn't get in a workout (yet). I'm thinking to go to the gym tonight for a little elliptical.
More pictures here.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
rest day; doctor visit
Today ended up being a rest day. I just could not get out of bed at 4:30 am...sigh...
I went to the doc and she says she thinks it's either a tear in my anterior tibialis or a stress fracture in my tibia. The treatment for each is quite different - PT or rest/immobilization, respectively. So, I really need to have an MRI to see which it is. Oh yay. It's scheduled for 7 am tomorrow.
My shin still hurts. It bugged me walking out to the car on the way to my appointment. Of course I was walking fast because I was on the edge of being late, and Loren was counting on me for a ride to the doc too, as he had an appt at the same time in the same building for an injection in his back for his disc problem. He is feeling much better now :). Me? Not so much. Hoping to squeeze in a quick nap before the U2 concert tonight.
I went to the doc and she says she thinks it's either a tear in my anterior tibialis or a stress fracture in my tibia. The treatment for each is quite different - PT or rest/immobilization, respectively. So, I really need to have an MRI to see which it is. Oh yay. It's scheduled for 7 am tomorrow.
My shin still hurts. It bugged me walking out to the car on the way to my appointment. Of course I was walking fast because I was on the edge of being late, and Loren was counting on me for a ride to the doc too, as he had an appt at the same time in the same building for an injection in his back for his disc problem. He is feeling much better now :). Me? Not so much. Hoping to squeeze in a quick nap before the U2 concert tonight.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Broken record
This blog is beginning to sound like a broken record.
Shin still hurts. Still can't racewalk. Did the elliptical 1 hr yesterday (8.25 miles) and 30 min today (got up late, and had to be at work early).
Tomorrow may be a rest day due to schedule weirdness - if I can get up early enough I will do the elliptical before I have to be at work at 6:30 am (yup, 6:30...wheee). Then I have to leave work at 9:30 am to take myself and Loren to dr appts - me for my shin, Loren for a steroid injection in his back for a bulging disc. Hopefully I'll get back to work late morning and can finish everything up and get a bit of a nap, because we are going to see U2 tomorrow night :).
Shin still hurts. Still can't racewalk. Did the elliptical 1 hr yesterday (8.25 miles) and 30 min today (got up late, and had to be at work early).
Tomorrow may be a rest day due to schedule weirdness - if I can get up early enough I will do the elliptical before I have to be at work at 6:30 am (yup, 6:30...wheee). Then I have to leave work at 9:30 am to take myself and Loren to dr appts - me for my shin, Loren for a steroid injection in his back for a bulging disc. Hopefully I'll get back to work late morning and can finish everything up and get a bit of a nap, because we are going to see U2 tomorrow night :).
Saturday, May 21, 2011
yup, you guessed it...more cross-training
Last night and this morning I was in Ogden with my friend Sarah for the Ogden half marathon, which I was registered for but did not do. Sadly, my shin is just too sore to think about a half marathon right now. Yeah, it's only 21.1km, but right now, I can barely walk 1-2km just regular walking, never mind racewalking.
I planned to work out in the fitness room at the hotel while Sarah raced. I dropped her off at 5:30 for the bus to the start line, then drove back to the hotel. Unfortunately, they would not open the fitness room until 8 am because it's right next to a room, and they said it would bother the occupants. Grrrr. Poor design! But I actually was able to fall back asleep once I got back to our room, and I got up just before 8 to go to work out. They had a recumbent bike, a treadmill (sign "Out of Order" and written underneath "Go run a marathon!" which I thought was hilarious!), a manual stair stepper, and a very small set of weights. I got on the recumbent bike, and it had serious issues. The #6-9 didn't work on the touch pad, and so getting a reasonable level to work out at was not easy - I really wanted to use level 7-8, but was stuck with 5 or 10. I chose 10, but it was tough going, and the fastest I could bike was about 55-60 rpm. Not great, but a workout nonetheless. Of course by the time I figured all of that out I only had 35 min left to work out before I had to leave to shower quickly and go see Sarah finish the race. Annoying!
I drove to the race finish, had a hard time finding parking, and walked about 4-5 blocks to the finish area to cheer her on. She came by within 5-10 min, and she finished with a fabulous new PR of approximately 2:07 (she is a runner)!!!! WOW! Her previous PR was about 2:23 (?) so this was huge! I was really happy for her!
After checking out of the hotel, we enjoyed breakfast at CJ's, a diner-type place in Ogden off the 12th street exit, before returning home to Salt Lake and the busyness of the rest of the day, which for me meant teaching 3 piano lessons, making fruit salad & green salad for a picnic potluck, and attending said picnic with kids, husband, and parents. It was Calvin's school picnic, and a great time was had by all: food, soccer, lawn games including the limbo (! fun!), and pinatas for the kids. Awesome. But tiring.
Then I still had to mow the lawn. Luckily it was still light out, since the sun is setting nice & late these days. The lawn was ridiculously out-of-control long, because Loren threw his back out and couldn't mow last weekend when it was nice, and I was out of town racing. Then this week it literally rained daily from Mon-Fri and there was no mowing. So it HAD to be done, especially because the rain is supposed to start up again tomorrow and continue for several days. Oh joy. Anyway, by the time I mowed and edged the lawn it was almost 9 pm. Whew. My shin was hurting so I iced it while reading to Calvin.
I'm tired. Good night!
I planned to work out in the fitness room at the hotel while Sarah raced. I dropped her off at 5:30 for the bus to the start line, then drove back to the hotel. Unfortunately, they would not open the fitness room until 8 am because it's right next to a room, and they said it would bother the occupants. Grrrr. Poor design! But I actually was able to fall back asleep once I got back to our room, and I got up just before 8 to go to work out. They had a recumbent bike, a treadmill (sign "Out of Order" and written underneath "Go run a marathon!" which I thought was hilarious!), a manual stair stepper, and a very small set of weights. I got on the recumbent bike, and it had serious issues. The #6-9 didn't work on the touch pad, and so getting a reasonable level to work out at was not easy - I really wanted to use level 7-8, but was stuck with 5 or 10. I chose 10, but it was tough going, and the fastest I could bike was about 55-60 rpm. Not great, but a workout nonetheless. Of course by the time I figured all of that out I only had 35 min left to work out before I had to leave to shower quickly and go see Sarah finish the race. Annoying!
I drove to the race finish, had a hard time finding parking, and walked about 4-5 blocks to the finish area to cheer her on. She came by within 5-10 min, and she finished with a fabulous new PR of approximately 2:07 (she is a runner)!!!! WOW! Her previous PR was about 2:23 (?) so this was huge! I was really happy for her!
After checking out of the hotel, we enjoyed breakfast at CJ's, a diner-type place in Ogden off the 12th street exit, before returning home to Salt Lake and the busyness of the rest of the day, which for me meant teaching 3 piano lessons, making fruit salad & green salad for a picnic potluck, and attending said picnic with kids, husband, and parents. It was Calvin's school picnic, and a great time was had by all: food, soccer, lawn games including the limbo (! fun!), and pinatas for the kids. Awesome. But tiring.
Then I still had to mow the lawn. Luckily it was still light out, since the sun is setting nice & late these days. The lawn was ridiculously out-of-control long, because Loren threw his back out and couldn't mow last weekend when it was nice, and I was out of town racing. Then this week it literally rained daily from Mon-Fri and there was no mowing. So it HAD to be done, especially because the rain is supposed to start up again tomorrow and continue for several days. Oh joy. Anyway, by the time I mowed and edged the lawn it was almost 9 pm. Whew. My shin was hurting so I iced it while reading to Calvin.
I'm tired. Good night!
Friday, May 20, 2011
more cross-training
I did the elliptical for 45 min yesterday. I woke a bit late and that's all I could squeeze in. I've been quite tired this week and forgetful as well. I have overscheduled myself a couple times and also forgotten some important stuff that I was supposed to do for work. Fortunately, people have been pretty understanding.
***
Injury update: I'm still sore when just walking, but I'm not limping and I can make it to my car from work without much pain now, just a bit of soreness. I'm better enough that I keep forgetting to ice it. However, I know I'm not ready to racewalk again yet.
***
Today: I woke up late and didn't make it to the gym. We had a loud thunderstorm at 4 am and my dog woke me up (the thunder didn't!). She was scared and whining. I was able to fall back asleep and then overslept my alarm. Grrrrrrr. I'm thinking of leaving work a bit early this afternoon (I work until 5-5:30 pm on the Fridays I work) to go to the gym and do some elliptical. Sounds nice right now.
***
Tonight I'm going to Ogden with my friend Sarah. We are both registered for the Ogden Half Marathon, but obviously I'm not doing it. We'll just have a girls' night out and I'll cheer her to the finish line.
***
Injury update: I'm still sore when just walking, but I'm not limping and I can make it to my car from work without much pain now, just a bit of soreness. I'm better enough that I keep forgetting to ice it. However, I know I'm not ready to racewalk again yet.
***
Today: I woke up late and didn't make it to the gym. We had a loud thunderstorm at 4 am and my dog woke me up (the thunder didn't!). She was scared and whining. I was able to fall back asleep and then overslept my alarm. Grrrrrrr. I'm thinking of leaving work a bit early this afternoon (I work until 5-5:30 pm on the Fridays I work) to go to the gym and do some elliptical. Sounds nice right now.
***
Tonight I'm going to Ogden with my friend Sarah. We are both registered for the Ogden Half Marathon, but obviously I'm not doing it. We'll just have a girls' night out and I'll cheer her to the finish line.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
cross-training
I cross-trained again today; elliptical, for 1 hour. Then I did some core work with Lisa, but no weights. I'll try to get up early enough on Friday to do both.
My shin/ankle/whatever feels better today. If it was, say 25% of normal yesterday, it's probably at about 50-60% of normal today. That's a big improvement. Still, it hurts, and walking to and from my car 0.5 mile each way hurts by the end.
My shin/ankle/whatever feels better today. If it was, say 25% of normal yesterday, it's probably at about 50-60% of normal today. That's a big improvement. Still, it hurts, and walking to and from my car 0.5 mile each way hurts by the end.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
snow, and other random thoughts
It snowed today. It didn't stick, and I'm not sure it snowed lower in the valley, but it did snow up at the U, where I work. Here are some pictures (sorry, taken w/my cell phone so not the best quality!):
Here's the view from the courtyard I can see out the window by my bench in the lab:
Laboratory humor - the temperature control in the various buildings is, well, primitive at best. They are old (40-50 yr?) and university budgets are not what they used to be. Anyway, someone in the microscopy core had a little fun mocking the extremes in the hallway and various microscope rooms. Actually, it's not much of an exaggeration, come to think of it. Enjoy!
And finally, while the weather leaves a bit to be desired here, it IS very beautiful. This photo was taken on Saturday when I was timing our club race at Daybreak, in South Jordan.
Here's the view from the courtyard I can see out the window by my bench in the lab:
Laboratory humor - the temperature control in the various buildings is, well, primitive at best. They are old (40-50 yr?) and university budgets are not what they used to be. Anyway, someone in the microscopy core had a little fun mocking the extremes in the hallway and various microscope rooms. Actually, it's not much of an exaggeration, come to think of it. Enjoy!
And finally, while the weather leaves a bit to be desired here, it IS very beautiful. This photo was taken on Saturday when I was timing our club race at Daybreak, in South Jordan.
rest day
I slept poorly last night (so now I'm having a coffee and a small lavender chocolate cupcake at Diva's, trying to stay awake!), because my leg was hurting and woke me up several times. It was pretty bad this morning, but after I iced it at lunch, it felt a lot better. I hope it is mending again, and I just have to baby it until it's all the way better. I did make a doctor appointment for next Tuesday, which I will cancel if it is feeling good by then.
I'm taking a rest day today, though, and feeling sluggish in a good kind of way. Maybe I'll even go to bed early tonight :).
Come join me for a coffee and cupcake. Here's today's selection:
I'm taking a rest day today, though, and feeling sluggish in a good kind of way. Maybe I'll even go to bed early tonight :).
Come join me for a coffee and cupcake. Here's today's selection:
Monday, May 16, 2011
cross-training
Today I thought about resting, but I woke up at 5:30 - BOING! and figured I might as well hit the gym since I was awake. I did the elliptical, since it is the only pain-free thing I can do right now. Swimming would hurt, and biking hurts (the pulling up motion in spinning or stationary biking is painful). The elliptical does not hurt at all, happily, so I did it for 45 min this morning.
Unfortunately, the pain is about the same as last night - not good. I limp when I walk, and I'm quite slow. The pain is in the front of my ankle and in my lower shin; it is sensitive to touch and feels a tiny bit swollen in front of the ankle. I'm icing it, taking anti-inflammatories, etc., but I'm at work so probably not resting it enough. And I parked in the far away parking today, figuring I'd make it. I did, but it hurt, and I was very very slow getting in today.
Still, it was worth it...continuing to savor the fun from yesterday :).
***
Oh, one more detail from the race. I forgot to bring my HR monitor chest strap, so I had NO HR data at all for the race, and I had to go by feel. I wonder if I would have pushed harder in the middle 5K if I'd had HR data? Or not? It was pretty annoying not knowing my HR, but I did fine anyway. I generally have a pretty good idea of where it's at, but I like having it - it helps!
Unfortunately, the pain is about the same as last night - not good. I limp when I walk, and I'm quite slow. The pain is in the front of my ankle and in my lower shin; it is sensitive to touch and feels a tiny bit swollen in front of the ankle. I'm icing it, taking anti-inflammatories, etc., but I'm at work so probably not resting it enough. And I parked in the far away parking today, figuring I'd make it. I did, but it hurt, and I was very very slow getting in today.
Still, it was worth it...continuing to savor the fun from yesterday :).
***
Oh, one more detail from the race. I forgot to bring my HR monitor chest strap, so I had NO HR data at all for the race, and I had to go by feel. I wonder if I would have pushed harder in the middle 5K if I'd had HR data? Or not? It was pretty annoying not knowing my HR, but I did fine anyway. I generally have a pretty good idea of where it's at, but I like having it - it helps!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Bling & loot :)
Here's the bling and the loot from the race. Bling: 4 medals - 2 in open division (all ages), silver medals for 2nd place in Nationals and Regionals behind Lauren Forgues who is an elite RWer, and then gold medals in Nationals and Regionals for female 40-44 age group and national champion patch for my age group. Loot: certificate showing I won $50 for 3rd place from Inland Empire Walkers - behind Rachel (Canadian, so did not displace me in the USATF medals, but she did win the race and the top prize $ from the club hosting the race) and Lauren.
more on the 15K national championships
Photos - race photos, early lap, 2nd to last lap, and finish; then with Norm at the finish
My shin was sore on Saturday and I contemplated not going to the race, but there was a $150 change fee for my flight, so I decided I'd better go. I'm glad I did!
On Saturday night I decided I might as well start the race, because I could always pull out if the pain got too bad. My coach said that if I felt the pain was holding me back (speed-wise) then I should quit. That never happened, thankfully, and so I was able to finish :).
The weather was perfect. It was 54F (12C) and overcast. It was raining lightly before the start, but it stopped. During the race it drizzled on and off, but it didn't actually make me wet - just cooled me off a bit, and felt good. As I do when it's above 50F, I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.
I started near the front since it was not chip timed. I did the first mile in 9:28, which was a little fast, but close to where I wanted to be (I was thinking more like 9:40), and my shin felt fine. In fact, the shin felt fine through 3K and then it did start to hurt a little bit. It hurt more as the race progressed, but never slowed me that I could tell. My splits are a bit crazy because instead of using the auto lap for each 1K, I did it manually - duh! I COULD have just pushed lap each time we rounded the finish line (the race was 1.703km loops around a lake; beautiful! and a nice flat course) but I wasn't thinking clearly. Anyway, I missed some of the splits...however, I know my 5K split was 29:40 because they were calling that one out for us.
The 10K is probably about 20 seconds off, given that my Garmin was right on at 5K and at 15K it read 14.91k. So, I probably reached 10K in about another 29:55 for 59:35 or so. I knew I'd slowed in the second 5K - I was cautious because my shin was hurting more (though not too awful) and I felt a bit tired and wanted to make sure I could keep the pace. In retrospect, I could have gone faster here, but it was my first 15K and hindsight is 20/20. I was feeling pretty tired from 6-9k, but I only slowed a little bit. Still, it hurt my final time I'm sure.
The last 5K started with a pretty good second wind, but on that last 1.7k around the lake I needed some prodding to keep going hard. I mentioned in my last post that Norm Frable was looking out for me and really pushed me to give it my all. I'm very grateful for his help, because once I got in that groove I finished fast and smooth. Assuming my 10K was 59:35, that makes my last 5K split a very nice negative split of 29:27 and a final time of 1:29:02. It would have been nicer to do even splits and finish in 1:28:30ish, but I have no regrets, as with the shin it was hard not to be cautious in the middle. I feel I have potential to go faster next time, and am much more hopeful I'll be able to get under 2 hr for the 20K in July at World Masters, IF I'm healthy enough to train.
My shin felt pretty good for 3-4 hrs after the race but by the time I'd schlepped my stuff through the airport security and sat there waiting for my plane for a couple hours, it was very sore. Actually, it's really not my shin at this point, but rather the front of my ankle. Jim thinks it might be some tendonitis. I might call my sports med doc tomorrow if it's still really sore. I hope I will be able to resume training after a week or so, and then I won't be set back too much in my quest for a medal at World Masters.
Garmin connect data here.
more pictures of 15K
pictures of 5K
15k nationals in Riverside, CA
In brief because I'm typing this on my iPod.
Iced/heated shin and ankle last night and before the race and it felt good for 3-4 k then started to hurt a bit. Did first 5k in 29:40 and felt fine, but tired in middle 5k and only did about 30:15 for 59:55 for 10k - but this was by my Garmin which showed only 14.91k at the finish, so not sure about the splits. Took se jellybeans at 9-10k and tried to pick ip the pace. Norm Frable, a very kind 65yo RWer from S Utah encouraged me the whole way but especially during the last loop. I finished strong with 5:48 pace on my last km. Total time 1:29:02 so last 5k was 29:07 but that seems too fast...so who knows. Shin was quite painful the last few k but didn't slow me down, and now it's sore but not as bad as on Mon or Tues, so seems OK.
It's a new PR since I've never raced 15k before :) but all the same I'm happy with my time, as I thought I'd do 1:29xx or maybe 1:28xx. I do wonder if I could have pushed harde on the middle 5k...but no regrets! It was great!
I finished 1st in my age group (out of 4) and 1st female masters walker, and believe it or not I was 2nd in the open division! Rachel Seaman finished 1st in 1:13xx but is Canadian so she and Lauren Forues (2nd in 1:14:14) were both awarded 1st place and gold medals. I was the next woman so I got a silver medal for 2nd place in the USA at 15k!!! I even won prize money of $50!!!!!!!
More to follow later with photos and Garmin data.
Iced/heated shin and ankle last night and before the race and it felt good for 3-4 k then started to hurt a bit. Did first 5k in 29:40 and felt fine, but tired in middle 5k and only did about 30:15 for 59:55 for 10k - but this was by my Garmin which showed only 14.91k at the finish, so not sure about the splits. Took se jellybeans at 9-10k and tried to pick ip the pace. Norm Frable, a very kind 65yo RWer from S Utah encouraged me the whole way but especially during the last loop. I finished strong with 5:48 pace on my last km. Total time 1:29:02 so last 5k was 29:07 but that seems too fast...so who knows. Shin was quite painful the last few k but didn't slow me down, and now it's sore but not as bad as on Mon or Tues, so seems OK.
It's a new PR since I've never raced 15k before :) but all the same I'm happy with my time, as I thought I'd do 1:29xx or maybe 1:28xx. I do wonder if I could have pushed harde on the middle 5k...but no regrets! It was great!
I finished 1st in my age group (out of 4) and 1st female masters walker, and believe it or not I was 2nd in the open division! Rachel Seaman finished 1st in 1:13xx but is Canadian so she and Lauren Forues (2nd in 1:14:14) were both awarded 1st place and gold medals. I was the next woman so I got a silver medal for 2nd place in the USA at 15k!!! I even won prize money of $50!!!!!!!
More to follow later with photos and Garmin data.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
In Riverside ... But hurting
I'm in Riverside, CA now for the 15k. But I'm hurting. I went to the track this morning to do 20 min plus strides, and got all of 100m into it and knew it was not good. I did one km with not too much pain, but then it was starting to but in my shin, about mid-calf level. I tried strides for about 5 sec and knew I was done. My plane ticket had a $150 change fee, so here I am. My plan? To start the race and see what happens, and DNF if the pain is too much.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Thursday workout
I forgot to post this...because of Blogger being down and all...
Thursday I did the elliptical at the gym. It felt pretty good. The rest of the day my leg was pretty much fine, even walking to and from the parking lot at work. I did my Pilates class at night, and that was a little taxing on my leg - lots of balance moves and my stabilizing muscles complained a bit. However, it felt OK afterward, just a little sore.
Thursday I did the elliptical at the gym. It felt pretty good. The rest of the day my leg was pretty much fine, even walking to and from the parking lot at work. I did my Pilates class at night, and that was a little taxing on my leg - lots of balance moves and my stabilizing muscles complained a bit. However, it felt OK afterward, just a little sore.
sore again :(
I went to spinning class this morning. The front of my ankle, or a few inches above it, was a little sore, but not too bad, so I kept spinning. It felt better as class went on. After class, I couldn't resist trying a few min on the treadmill. I got on and set it for 4mph, a brisk walk. Then I gradually increased it over several minutes up to race pace, 6.2mph. I made it to 4 min w/o much discomfort, but felt a few twinges and got off before it could do more than that. I felt good at this point - it seemed like things were improving.
However, later on today it was quite painful to drive - this time, not when dorsiflexing, but with plantar flexion. Grrrr. I drove quite a bit, as the weather was nice and I took the kids down to a jog-a-thon at a friend's daughter's school (Calvin was IMPRESSIVE - he ran for 20 min straight, and made it about 1.9 miles in that time, way outclassing the other kindergarteners! Glad I enrolled him in the track club this summer!) and then took them to Red Butte Garden to enjoy the sunshine. I was driving for at least an hour, and then later tonight went to the grocery store and briefly to work, and it hurt quite a bit again. So I iced it when I got home. Tomorrow morning I'm going to try 20 min racewalking, at the coach's suggestion, with some strides. I'm hoping it will be OK. If not, well, my plane ticket has a ridiculous change fee, so I'm still going to the race and starting. If I DNF, I DNF. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish though, and finish well.
However, later on today it was quite painful to drive - this time, not when dorsiflexing, but with plantar flexion. Grrrr. I drove quite a bit, as the weather was nice and I took the kids down to a jog-a-thon at a friend's daughter's school (Calvin was IMPRESSIVE - he ran for 20 min straight, and made it about 1.9 miles in that time, way outclassing the other kindergarteners! Glad I enrolled him in the track club this summer!) and then took them to Red Butte Garden to enjoy the sunshine. I was driving for at least an hour, and then later tonight went to the grocery store and briefly to work, and it hurt quite a bit again. So I iced it when I got home. Tomorrow morning I'm going to try 20 min racewalking, at the coach's suggestion, with some strides. I'm hoping it will be OK. If not, well, my plane ticket has a ridiculous change fee, so I'm still going to the race and starting. If I DNF, I DNF. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish though, and finish well.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
slightly better
My shin is slightly better this morning.
I went to spinning class, and had to get off within 2 minutes. The pulling up part of the stroke hurt too much, sadly. However, I was able to do the elliptical. I did 45 min, and then my right calf got a bit sore (compensatory?) so I stretched it and got back on. Then my toes started falling asleep after 5 more min, so I decided that would be it. I tried the stationary bike with a higher resistance and focusing on the push part of the stroke, but that lasted 2 min before I started to have a little pain and gave up. So, 52 minutes total (was hoping for 60, but I'll take it). It felt good to exercise.
Then it was off to work. I parked in the usual parking spot that requires 1/2 mile walk, and I made it in! My shin hurt a little but at least I was able to walk that far, which is better than yesterday.
I have to say I'm worried about Sunday's race. I can barely walk 1/2 mile today, and I'm supposed to do 9.3 on Sunday, fast? I know a lot can change in 4 days, but still...
***
Edited to add - forgot to post yesterday. I took a rest day yesterday, as my shin was quite painful. I parked in the pay lot, which is a much closer walk. Cost me $7 but it was worth it I think.
I went to spinning class, and had to get off within 2 minutes. The pulling up part of the stroke hurt too much, sadly. However, I was able to do the elliptical. I did 45 min, and then my right calf got a bit sore (compensatory?) so I stretched it and got back on. Then my toes started falling asleep after 5 more min, so I decided that would be it. I tried the stationary bike with a higher resistance and focusing on the push part of the stroke, but that lasted 2 min before I started to have a little pain and gave up. So, 52 minutes total (was hoping for 60, but I'll take it). It felt good to exercise.
Then it was off to work. I parked in the usual parking spot that requires 1/2 mile walk, and I made it in! My shin hurt a little but at least I was able to walk that far, which is better than yesterday.
I have to say I'm worried about Sunday's race. I can barely walk 1/2 mile today, and I'm supposed to do 9.3 on Sunday, fast? I know a lot can change in 4 days, but still...
***
Edited to add - forgot to post yesterday. I took a rest day yesterday, as my shin was quite painful. I parked in the pay lot, which is a much closer walk. Cost me $7 but it was worth it I think.
Monday, May 09, 2011
pain :(
The pain was pretty bad today in my shin. It wasn't so awful this morning and early pm as I was home watching Calvin and his friend Nate, who have the week off of school. But when I went to work at 2:45 pm things got bad. I was there for only 2 hr, but it was long enough and I walked enough for my shin to really, really hurt. I actually did not walk that far, either. Seriously.
I'm quite worried now. I iced it a lot, stretched a lot, and am elevating it now and compressing w/an ace wrap, but I just don't know how this can get better fast enough. There is nothing else I can do, though, so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed. It's still hurting quite a bit just walking around the house.
If it's still really painful tomorrow I might call in sick or just go in to work for a reduced amount of time if at all possible. That will be hard, as the boss is pushing to get the last data done for the paper we are submitting this month. I love my job, but this is a bit stressful...
I'm quite worried now. I iced it a lot, stretched a lot, and am elevating it now and compressing w/an ace wrap, but I just don't know how this can get better fast enough. There is nothing else I can do, though, so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed. It's still hurting quite a bit just walking around the house.
If it's still really painful tomorrow I might call in sick or just go in to work for a reduced amount of time if at all possible. That will be hard, as the boss is pushing to get the last data done for the paper we are submitting this month. I love my job, but this is a bit stressful...
where the pain is...
The pain seems to be from anterior shin splints, which is the larger circle in the figure. It's on the lateral side of my leg, not the medial side, about halfway between knee and ankle, radiating down to just above the ankle. Nasty.
10K turned into 8.5K - shin pain :(
The good news? I think this is just a very, very sore muscle. The bad news? It hurts a LOT! I had to stop and stretch several times during my walk today and even then I don't think it helped much. The last time after I stopped and started again, the pain was incredible. It got very crampy and tight and felt terrible, kind of like a charley horse but in the front of my shin.
I texted my coach and he called me right away. He thinks it's muscle pain from wearing some new shoes last week - not the RW shoes but rather some casual shoes I bought, the Skechers Shape-ups. Ironically, they are shoes he recommended I try, but I wore them a bit too much the first week and unknowingly fatigued my ankle stabilization muscles, especially in my right leg, for some odd reason. I stopped wearing the shoes on Thursday, and then didn't RW Saturday or Sunday, and so I figured I'd be good to go today. Ummm, not really.
So, on to today's workout. The weather was so-so. It started off 44F (6C) with a light drizzle. The rain got harder and harder throughout the workout, though, and by the time I was done it was actually raining fairly steadily. I did get wet, but I didn't melt :). However, the shin was not good. The pain started right away, and was pretty bad for the first 2K. Then it got better, so I decided maybe I could do the 10K. By 5K it was hurting again; I had a nice time for 5K (30:55) but stopped to stretch the shin right after the 5K mark. I still thought I could finish. By 6K I knew it wasn't going to be pretty and decided to head home, but from where I was it was 8.5K by the time I got home. I could have walked slowly instead of RW, but from experience I knew it would hurt anyway, so I might as well get home faster, especially because it was raining quite a bit by this time and I wasn't getting any drier.
Total 8.46K in 53:09 for 6:17/km with ave HR a nice easy 143. The rest of me is obviously just fine. Now I have to get my shin better. Jim says a few days of cross-training/rest and I should be good as new. I hope he's right. I have a 15K race on Sunday, and I paid $300 for the plane ticket!
Garmin connect data here.
***
I was supposed to meet Lisa at the gym, but I seriously did not even think I could drive. It actually REALLY hurts to drive - lifting my toes is very painful. I knew I'd need to rest the shin for a while before I even thought about getting in the car, so I bailed :(.
I texted my coach and he called me right away. He thinks it's muscle pain from wearing some new shoes last week - not the RW shoes but rather some casual shoes I bought, the Skechers Shape-ups. Ironically, they are shoes he recommended I try, but I wore them a bit too much the first week and unknowingly fatigued my ankle stabilization muscles, especially in my right leg, for some odd reason. I stopped wearing the shoes on Thursday, and then didn't RW Saturday or Sunday, and so I figured I'd be good to go today. Ummm, not really.
So, on to today's workout. The weather was so-so. It started off 44F (6C) with a light drizzle. The rain got harder and harder throughout the workout, though, and by the time I was done it was actually raining fairly steadily. I did get wet, but I didn't melt :). However, the shin was not good. The pain started right away, and was pretty bad for the first 2K. Then it got better, so I decided maybe I could do the 10K. By 5K it was hurting again; I had a nice time for 5K (30:55) but stopped to stretch the shin right after the 5K mark. I still thought I could finish. By 6K I knew it wasn't going to be pretty and decided to head home, but from where I was it was 8.5K by the time I got home. I could have walked slowly instead of RW, but from experience I knew it would hurt anyway, so I might as well get home faster, especially because it was raining quite a bit by this time and I wasn't getting any drier.
Total 8.46K in 53:09 for 6:17/km with ave HR a nice easy 143. The rest of me is obviously just fine. Now I have to get my shin better. Jim says a few days of cross-training/rest and I should be good as new. I hope he's right. I have a 15K race on Sunday, and I paid $300 for the plane ticket!
Garmin connect data here.
***
I was supposed to meet Lisa at the gym, but I seriously did not even think I could drive. It actually REALLY hurts to drive - lifting my toes is very painful. I knew I'd need to rest the shin for a while before I even thought about getting in the car, so I bailed :(.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Mother's Day; rest day
Photo: Me, Calvin, & my mom on Friday at Calvin's class Mother's Day party
Today is an optional day on my schedule. This week is an easier week since the big 15K race in California is next Sunday. I'm slated for 10K tomorrow; I debated switching it with today's rest day because it's supposed to rain a lot tomorrow, but I decided against it. My right shin could use another day of recovery.
Now for a nap...ahhhh....
Saturday, May 07, 2011
cross-training
I definitely needed a breather today from racewalking. My right shin is still quite sore, and my left foot is a bit grumpy too. The elliptical was the perfect antidote. I read Runner's World and did an hour on the elliptical at about a 7:25/mile pace. It was super easy on my foot and my shin, and though it was quite hot in the gym I enjoyed the hour of reading and exercising.
I'm very, very tired. It's been a long week and I haven't been getting enough rest. I plan to squeeze in a nap this afternoon if at all possible before my piano students, who will be here from 2:30-4:30. Before then I have to go to work for an hour or so (oh yay...love my job but it's been TOO MUCH this week), hit up Costco for some ingredients for the dinner I'm making for my mom tomorrow, and feed the family some lunch. Whew.
I'm glad tomorrow is an optional day. I will either rest or take an easy bike ride if the weather permits.
I'm very, very tired. It's been a long week and I haven't been getting enough rest. I plan to squeeze in a nap this afternoon if at all possible before my piano students, who will be here from 2:30-4:30. Before then I have to go to work for an hour or so (oh yay...love my job but it's been TOO MUCH this week), hit up Costco for some ingredients for the dinner I'm making for my mom tomorrow, and feed the family some lunch. Whew.
I'm glad tomorrow is an optional day. I will either rest or take an easy bike ride if the weather permits.
Friday, May 06, 2011
4x2K with an interruption, but still FAST (for me!)
Got to the track at 5:50 am ready to roll. I decided to try my new red Mizuno Musha Wave 3s that David mailed to me. Not a good idea! I know better than to try new equipment on a hard track workout, but I LOVE the look of these shoes and just had to try them. They were totally fine for my 1600m warm-up in 10:07, but once I started my first 2K it was not so good. About 200m in my L foot gave a twinge. Then another twinge. I made it 800m and had to STOP and was worried I'd not be able to finish. I drove back home, got my NB205s, and drove back to the track. I did the last 1200m of the first 2K and my foot was FINE, totally FINE, as it was for the rest of the workout. Hmmm...guess those Mushas will have to wait for an easy day AFTER my race on May 15th - I'll give them one more shot and hopefully they will be better on an easy day.
Anyway, I did the first 2K (interrupted by going home, haha!) in 11:25, for what it's worth. I was NOT going to start over from scratch! Then after 4 min rest (and HR getting down to the 90s!) I cranked out a really fast 2K in 11:20. I was perhaps working a bit too hard, as my HR got to 170. I wondered if I'd be able to do 2 more fast. The 2nd 4 min rest showed a higher HR; it only god down to 110ish (and the same for the 3rd 4 min rest). However, I still managed a speedy 11:24 for the 3rd 2K. Finally, the 4th 2K - my legs were Jell-O for the entire last 2K, seriously! But I still stayed strong, telling myself I had a x-training day and rest day this weekend and that I could really go for it. I finished in 11:26. That's my fastest set of 2Ks ever! I feel very confident going into next Sunday's 15K nationals :).
Total km for this week: 66 (41 miles). Getting up there, finally!
Edited to add: my right shin was totally fine! I chatted w/my coach this morning because it was quite sore, and we decided it's just muscle soreness from either my 10K fartlek or the other shoes I've been wearing to work. It is still sore, but the fast track workout didn't bother it at all.
Garmin connect data here.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
spring weather; random aches & pains
The weather here is so odd in the spring. Last Saturday it snowed and looked like this. Today it was in the upper 70s and sunny and totally gorgeous outside. I'm soaking it in, because it will probably snow again soon!
***
My foot is bugging me a bit today. Not bad, but it's letting me know I've done a lot of miles. Rest and ice tonight and then no racewalking Saturday or Sunday should help (that's already on my schedule after tomorrow's hard track workout). In addition, my right shin is really really sore. Just a muscle ache, but it's nasty. It started hurting Tuesday night after my 10K fartlek. That workout made me quite sore! At least my coach is equally sore from a 6K hilly walk he did to try and train for hiking here with me in a month :).
Mother's Day card from Michelle :)
Michelle got a little help with this in her pre-K class. Here's what she told the teacher to write in my card:
"My Mommy & Daddy like to eat spicy peppers, and maybe they like to kiss me and hug me."
"My favorite thing to do with my Mommy is to go to tea parties and eat candies and yummy desserts."
"My Mom likes to be a Mom because she loves me and she hugs me and she thinks I'm cute!"
"My Mom's name is Tammy Tamara Stevenson.""My Mom's favorite colors are pink & purple.""My Mom's favorite food is salad and salad dressing and carrots and lettuce and tomatoes." (That one is my favorite - I must be setting a good example, lol!)
"My Mom loves me because she says I'm cute.""I love my Mom because she gives me hugs & kisses.""After I go to bed my Mommy kiss me & hug me and my Dadd does it too - when they tuck me in."
and written in her handwriting "I Love You Mom"
15K
This week is crazy. Lots and lots going on at work. Heaviest training week before the 15K. Miscellaneous stuff for the kids; 2 Mother's Day things I need to attend, etc. Also a symphony concert tomorrow night and play on Sunday night. Eeek!
Late to work so this is brief.
Weather: 40F (4C). Calm and clear. Very, very nice. It was almost light enough at 5:50 am for me to see my watch w/o the backlight.
Today I was to do 15K. I felt great for the first 5K - amazingly great. I did it in 30:29 and it felt easy! The 2nd and 3rd 5Ks were harder, but not bad, and I felt pretty good. My legs were tired for the last uphill slog but my splits were consistent. 31:12 for the 2nd 5K, and 31:15 for the last 5K (with the uphill! Wow!). Total time under 1:33! Yay! It was 1:32:57 for 6:11/km with ave HR 149. Very good. I'm getting better!
Garmin connect data here.
Late to work so this is brief.
Weather: 40F (4C). Calm and clear. Very, very nice. It was almost light enough at 5:50 am for me to see my watch w/o the backlight.
Today I was to do 15K. I felt great for the first 5K - amazingly great. I did it in 30:29 and it felt easy! The 2nd and 3rd 5Ks were harder, but not bad, and I felt pretty good. My legs were tired for the last uphill slog but my splits were consistent. 31:12 for the 2nd 5K, and 31:15 for the last 5K (with the uphill! Wow!). Total time under 1:33! Yay! It was 1:32:57 for 6:11/km with ave HR 149. Very good. I'm getting better!
Garmin connect data here.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
10K w/2x7' @20K race pace
This morning's workout was 10K w/2x7' @20K race pace. The weather was awesome. It's finally nice here, though it could still snow, cold rain, etc. But at least this week is supposed to be nice! It was 40F (4C) and calm and clear.
I started off fast on the 2K downhill to Liberty Park. Once in the park, at 2K, I did my first 7-min race pace interval. It's more or less flat for that, w/slight downhill on the N end of the park. That kicked my HR up but not too high; about 150ish. My 500m splits were right on at 3:00 and 2:58 and then I continued fast for another minute. Then to keep my speed decent while recovering - this is a deceptively tricky workout as I learned last week! During my first recovery interval I passed a woman walking 4 small yippy dogs with a friend of hers. They were taking up the entire 2m width of the sidewalk - I yelled "On your left!" but she didn't hear...grrrrr!
I kept things reasonably fast, despite the fact that everything is a bit sore from yesterday's 10K fartlek. Hamstrings & glutes particularly, but my right shin is also sore - weird, since my shins are almost never sore. My muscles may have been tired, but that didn't seem to hurt me too much today.
At 6.5km I did my next 7' race pace burst. I did 500m splits of 2:57 and 2:57 (and got stopped by traffic for 30 sec or so during the 2nd one, about 47 min into the workout, hence the HR decel there; also got stopped at the light at 700E coming and going and those are the big decels on the HR trace, but they were not during my speed bursts) plus 1:06 more fast to make 7'. I still felt pretty good and was able to get up the slight hill to 10K pretty decently; slowest 500m up the hill was 3:13.
Total time 1:02:13 for the 10K, 6:13/km w/ave HR 145. Pretty good! Much better than last week, even after the hard 10K fartlek yesterday.
Garmin connect data here.
I started off fast on the 2K downhill to Liberty Park. Once in the park, at 2K, I did my first 7-min race pace interval. It's more or less flat for that, w/slight downhill on the N end of the park. That kicked my HR up but not too high; about 150ish. My 500m splits were right on at 3:00 and 2:58 and then I continued fast for another minute. Then to keep my speed decent while recovering - this is a deceptively tricky workout as I learned last week! During my first recovery interval I passed a woman walking 4 small yippy dogs with a friend of hers. They were taking up the entire 2m width of the sidewalk - I yelled "On your left!" but she didn't hear...grrrrr!
I kept things reasonably fast, despite the fact that everything is a bit sore from yesterday's 10K fartlek. Hamstrings & glutes particularly, but my right shin is also sore - weird, since my shins are almost never sore. My muscles may have been tired, but that didn't seem to hurt me too much today.
At 6.5km I did my next 7' race pace burst. I did 500m splits of 2:57 and 2:57 (and got stopped by traffic for 30 sec or so during the 2nd one, about 47 min into the workout, hence the HR decel there; also got stopped at the light at 700E coming and going and those are the big decels on the HR trace, but they were not during my speed bursts) plus 1:06 more fast to make 7'. I still felt pretty good and was able to get up the slight hill to 10K pretty decently; slowest 500m up the hill was 3:13.
Total time 1:02:13 for the 10K, 6:13/km w/ave HR 145. Pretty good! Much better than last week, even after the hard 10K fartlek yesterday.
Garmin connect data here.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
10K fartlek - new PR for this workout!
It was nice & warm this morning - 51F (10.6C). It was somewhat windy, however. It wasn't bad on the warm-up, but about the 2K mark it started to get worse. Fortunately since it was so warm, it didn't bother me too much. I don't think it was strong enough to affect my workout a lot, in any case. But I did enjoy wearing SHORTS for my workout instead of tights!
I was ready to be a bit less conservative than the last time I did this workout, since now I knew what it felt like. I started off strong, with a 5:38 first km, and never looked back. My first recovery was a 3:01 (!) but after the 2nd recovery of 3:05, they were all 3:07-3:09, even the last few! That's much better than last time, when they got to 3:12 or so. And I was faster and more consistent on the fast 500s this morning too - they were all 2:50-2:51, except the 9th km, which was 2:53 (hey, I was tired!), but I redeemed myself by saving the fastest one for last - a 2:49 on the 10th km!
Splits were: 3K in 17:27, 5K in 29:25, 6K in 35:24, 8K in 47:23, and 10K at 59:23!!!!! I was about the same as last time for the first 6K, but the last 4K were much faster today. Awesome. I feel like my endurance is improving. Ave HR for the workout was 160, 2 beats higher than last time, so I did work it a bit harder for that extra 20 seconds faster. And this workout was only 40 seconds slower than my 10K race PR!
Despite taking imodium last night and this morning, I did have a few GI cramps from 7-10K, just enough to be annoying. I shudder to think what it would have been like without that. At least I don't think it affected my workout, but I was happy to get home to the restroom.
It was a great, consistent workout, and I'm pleased. My competition is doing faster, but y'know what? I'm doing the best I can, and having great workouts and improving a lot, and that's all I can ask for.
Garmin connect data here.
I was ready to be a bit less conservative than the last time I did this workout, since now I knew what it felt like. I started off strong, with a 5:38 first km, and never looked back. My first recovery was a 3:01 (!) but after the 2nd recovery of 3:05, they were all 3:07-3:09, even the last few! That's much better than last time, when they got to 3:12 or so. And I was faster and more consistent on the fast 500s this morning too - they were all 2:50-2:51, except the 9th km, which was 2:53 (hey, I was tired!), but I redeemed myself by saving the fastest one for last - a 2:49 on the 10th km!
Splits were: 3K in 17:27, 5K in 29:25, 6K in 35:24, 8K in 47:23, and 10K at 59:23!!!!! I was about the same as last time for the first 6K, but the last 4K were much faster today. Awesome. I feel like my endurance is improving. Ave HR for the workout was 160, 2 beats higher than last time, so I did work it a bit harder for that extra 20 seconds faster. And this workout was only 40 seconds slower than my 10K race PR!
Despite taking imodium last night and this morning, I did have a few GI cramps from 7-10K, just enough to be annoying. I shudder to think what it would have been like without that. At least I don't think it affected my workout, but I was happy to get home to the restroom.
It was a great, consistent workout, and I'm pleased. My competition is doing faster, but y'know what? I'm doing the best I can, and having great workouts and improving a lot, and that's all I can ask for.
Garmin connect data here.
Monday, May 02, 2011
touristy things
This weekend my aunt & uncle were visiting, and I had the privilege of showing them around town and doing all the local touristy stuff. Well, much of it, anyway! I took lots of photos, but here are just a few to whet your appetite for more:
Bison on Antelope Island
Holding the Olympic Torch at the Utah Olympic Park
The rest of the Antelope Island photos, along with some from Temple Square
The rest of the Utah Olympic Park photos
Bison on Antelope Island
Holding the Olympic Torch at the Utah Olympic Park
The rest of the Antelope Island photos, along with some from Temple Square
The rest of the Utah Olympic Park photos
Rest day
I was going to lift weights but decided at the last minute to stay home and get some things done. I'm glad I did! I felt I needed the rest today, because this is my hardest week of training before the 15K nationals, and in addition it's the busiest week I've had at work in a while. These things always seem to go together, don't they?
Sunday, May 01, 2011
nice fast 20K
Today I was to do 20K. The weather was chilly but otherwise nice, at 33F (1C), calm, and sunny. The forecast this week actually includes very little rain! YAY! I hope they are right.
I felt really good today. I got a bit tired around 9-10K but after taking some Clif shot blocks I felt better, and then felt really great for the rest of the workout. Of course my legs were a bit fatigued at the end, but not bad. SO much better than 20Ks I did last year with low iron! I did push the last 5K (slight uphill last 2K) because I saw I was close to 2:05 and wanted to squeak in under that time. I did!
Total time 2:04:49, ave pace 6:14/km, ave HR 149. Nice! 5K splits were equally nice: 30:51 (slight downhill), 1:02:12 for 10K (31:21), 1:33:20 for 15K (31:08), and 2:04:49 (31:29, slight uphill - nice!). Wow, those are really good for me. I'm quite happy with this! And the 1:33:20 for 15K predicts good things in the 15K race I have on May 15th. I'm definitely looking for sub-1:30 but secretly hoping for sub-1:29 :).
Garmin connect data here.
I felt really good today. I got a bit tired around 9-10K but after taking some Clif shot blocks I felt better, and then felt really great for the rest of the workout. Of course my legs were a bit fatigued at the end, but not bad. SO much better than 20Ks I did last year with low iron! I did push the last 5K (slight uphill last 2K) because I saw I was close to 2:05 and wanted to squeak in under that time. I did!
Total time 2:04:49, ave pace 6:14/km, ave HR 149. Nice! 5K splits were equally nice: 30:51 (slight downhill), 1:02:12 for 10K (31:21), 1:33:20 for 15K (31:08), and 2:04:49 (31:29, slight uphill - nice!). Wow, those are really good for me. I'm quite happy with this! And the 1:33:20 for 15K predicts good things in the 15K race I have on May 15th. I'm definitely looking for sub-1:30 but secretly hoping for sub-1:29 :).
Garmin connect data here.
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