Yesterday was a rest day, and I really needed it. I was extremely sore after Saturday's 5x1k.
***
Today, the morning started off inauspiciously. I woke up with a start and it was 6:59 am. Uh-oh!!!!! My alarm hadn't gone off (or I turned it off?). I had told Kelly to meet me at our car repair shop at 7:05 am because I needed to take my car in and we were going to walk right after that. In a hurry, I forgot my Garmin, and when I got outside it was SNOWING. Mind you, it was NOT supposed to snow this morning. And because it was 18F (-8C), it was sticking readily everywhere.
When we started walking it was a bit slippery but not too bad; my legs, however, hurt a lot. My right hip is especially sore. So we started off slowly on purpose and then sped up a little bit as I started to loosen up. By the end of my walk, my muscles did feel a bit better, believe it or not. I had Kelly look at my gait and sure enough, I am hitching my right hip again, but my knee was OK and I was able to correct it with a little help from her. It's nice to walk with someone who is an observant physical therapy student!!!
Within about 1.5-2km it started to get a LOT more slippery and soon we had about zero toe push. Oh well. So, we were very slow - her Garmin showed 53:14 for 6:39/km. I have a feeling my heart rate was pretty low, because it felt very easy. That was good, because theoretically I'm racing a half marathon in the morning. We'll see about that. I'm playing it by ear. I think there's a good shot I'll feel up to it, but I may not. It depends on how I continue to recover. I did feel better today than yesterday, and if that trend continues then I might be up to it. We'll see.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
5x1km
My legs felt pretty recovered today. That is, until I started this workout! I thought I was ready to have a good workout, but honestly this one just hurt a lot and wasn't very fast.
Part of that might be that I did the workout in the afternoon, which I don't normally do. I waited for Kelly to get back so that we could do it together. I picked her and Kael up at the airport and we started our workout as soon as we could. It was still light when we started, but pretty soon it began to get dark. It was cold (27F, -3C), but I warmed up quickly and only noticed the chill on my face and a bit on my legs. Mostly, I was in too much pain to notice the cold!
After a thorough 2K warm-up, we got started. Kelly has been fighting a terrible cold, but despite that, she was a few steps ahead of me on all the intervals. She jogged on the 2nd interval because she was a bit nervous about doing all of them with her illness, but even with that she was stronger than I was today. I just didn't feel good - my legs were weak and I was breathing very hard. I just didn't have it.
Here are my interval times; note that we did this on the road (the track is under lots of snow) and that the first one was slightly downhill and the fourth one was slightly uphill. The first and the fifth intervals were on the same bit of road, so the fifth one was slightly downhill too. 5:22, 5:25, 5:31, 5:40, 5:33. You can tell from the times that I felt OK on the first two, but then I really started to hurt. Kelly encouraged me a lot, which helped quite a bit since I was fairly discouraged by how much it hurt and that I wasn't very fast for how hard I was working. My heart rate was in the low 170s at the end on the last 3 intervals.
This has been pretty hard for an easy week - not sure what is up with that, but hopefully I'll feel better in a couple days since I'm doing a half marathon on January 1st.
Garmin data here.
Part of that might be that I did the workout in the afternoon, which I don't normally do. I waited for Kelly to get back so that we could do it together. I picked her and Kael up at the airport and we started our workout as soon as we could. It was still light when we started, but pretty soon it began to get dark. It was cold (27F, -3C), but I warmed up quickly and only noticed the chill on my face and a bit on my legs. Mostly, I was in too much pain to notice the cold!
After a thorough 2K warm-up, we got started. Kelly has been fighting a terrible cold, but despite that, she was a few steps ahead of me on all the intervals. She jogged on the 2nd interval because she was a bit nervous about doing all of them with her illness, but even with that she was stronger than I was today. I just didn't feel good - my legs were weak and I was breathing very hard. I just didn't have it.
Here are my interval times; note that we did this on the road (the track is under lots of snow) and that the first one was slightly downhill and the fourth one was slightly uphill. The first and the fifth intervals were on the same bit of road, so the fifth one was slightly downhill too. 5:22, 5:25, 5:31, 5:40, 5:33. You can tell from the times that I felt OK on the first two, but then I really started to hurt. Kelly encouraged me a lot, which helped quite a bit since I was fairly discouraged by how much it hurt and that I wasn't very fast for how hard I was working. My heart rate was in the low 170s at the end on the last 3 intervals.
This has been pretty hard for an easy week - not sure what is up with that, but hopefully I'll feel better in a couple days since I'm doing a half marathon on January 1st.
Garmin data here.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
10K on indoor track
Ouch.
I'm very sore. I was sore before I started from yesterday's 3k fartlek, probably because it was slippery and I used slightly different muscles to keep control.
Now I'm even more sore, because I haven't worked out on the indoor track in a while (but had to today because we got 6" (15cm) of new snow) and that also uses muscles slightly differently - it's a small track (211m) so there are lots of corners. My right leg is particularly whiny about things. Add in the fact that it was hot in there and then later today I took Calvin to see "The Hobbit" and sat in the theater immobile for 3 hours, and now I am feeling really stiff.
Looking at my heart rate, it did get pretty high and stay up there, considering the pace wasn't that fast.
I did the 10K in 61:07 with ave HR 151.
Garmin data here.
I'm very sore. I was sore before I started from yesterday's 3k fartlek, probably because it was slippery and I used slightly different muscles to keep control.
Now I'm even more sore, because I haven't worked out on the indoor track in a while (but had to today because we got 6" (15cm) of new snow) and that also uses muscles slightly differently - it's a small track (211m) so there are lots of corners. My right leg is particularly whiny about things. Add in the fact that it was hot in there and then later today I took Calvin to see "The Hobbit" and sat in the theater immobile for 3 hours, and now I am feeling really stiff.
Looking at my heart rate, it did get pretty high and stay up there, considering the pace wasn't that fast.
I did the 10K in 61:07 with ave HR 151.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
8K; rest day; 3K fartlek
I did 8K on Christmas Eve (after resting on the 23rd). Unfortunately, my Garmin totally ate the workout. It's been doing that...I deleted the activities manually from the folder on the watch and now it won't keep things like it used to. Grrrrrr. I really ought to troubleshoot that sometime. Anyway, my legs were a bit tired, even after a day off. I did 48:50 for 6:08/km. Not sure of my average HR but I think it was close to 150. I didn't feel that great and I was working kind of hard. It was raining moderately and about 37F (3C) so it was pretty cold too. I met my friends on the trail, which was fun but I only saw them for a bit because I had to go my speed, and they went theirs. I saw them again on the way back and we got a group photo.
And here's what it did later in the day...so we had a white Christmas! :)
***
Christmas Day was a rest day :). I enjoyed hanging out with my family (mom, dad, husband, kids, cousin, and a friend) and cooking and resting a bit. We introduced the kids to Monopoly, which Calvin loved. He's quite into games now but VERY competitive (hmmm wonder where he gets that from?) and gets pretty upset when he loses. He will learn eventually I think.
***
Today I was to do a 3K fartlek. I reveled in sleeping in until 7 am and then hanging out doing not much for a couple hours before doing my workout. It's nice to have the week off.
It was snowing lightly and the streets were slushy, but they looked passable for a 3K fartlek. The track was out of the question (under 6 inches (15cm) of snow), so it was either the indoor track (ho-hum) or the streets (more fun). I opted for the streets, and unfortunately they were a bit slicker than they looked from my house. We live on a bit of a hill, and so they are better at plowing our street than some of the flatter streets that I prefer for the fartlek workouts if the track is impassable. Anyway, the outcome was that the street was probably 90% clear for a single car width, with 10% of the route having spots that were slippery. I estimate that probably took 5-15 seconds (conservatively) off of my 3km time. Given that, I was pretty fast.
I warmed up for 1 mile (1.6km) mostly on a slight downhill, in a very fast 9:05. I felt pretty darn good! I was excited to get going. I took the first 500m (slight downhill) a bit fast, in 2:33, and then the second 500m was flatter/slightly uphill? and slower at 2:48. Then I pushed a bit on the medium effort 500m, maybe because I was annoyed with the 2:48? I did a 2:53 and thought "wow, that was fast" before turning around (I did 1.5km out and 1.5km back) and doing another really nice fast 500m in 2:42, a fast medium effort in 2:51 (OK, it was pretty hard, but I did ease up!) and finally a very hard 500m on a slight uphill in 2:39! Total time was 16:28, which is 10 seconds slower than my PR for this workout. Still...with the slushy/slippery conditions I'm pleased.
As for my right knee, I am pretty sure it was good on the non-slippery parts. All bets are off on the slippery spots! Impossible to think about that many things while trying not to fall over :).
I pushed hard, as my average heart rate was 161 for the very short workout, and my max was 175! I feel pretty good now, a few hours later, though I am a bit stiff. I ameliorated that a bit by going figure skating for an hour with my kids and my friend Sarah and her kids.
Garmin data here.
And here's what it did later in the day...so we had a white Christmas! :)
***
Christmas Day was a rest day :). I enjoyed hanging out with my family (mom, dad, husband, kids, cousin, and a friend) and cooking and resting a bit. We introduced the kids to Monopoly, which Calvin loved. He's quite into games now but VERY competitive (hmmm wonder where he gets that from?) and gets pretty upset when he loses. He will learn eventually I think.
***
Today I was to do a 3K fartlek. I reveled in sleeping in until 7 am and then hanging out doing not much for a couple hours before doing my workout. It's nice to have the week off.
It was snowing lightly and the streets were slushy, but they looked passable for a 3K fartlek. The track was out of the question (under 6 inches (15cm) of snow), so it was either the indoor track (ho-hum) or the streets (more fun). I opted for the streets, and unfortunately they were a bit slicker than they looked from my house. We live on a bit of a hill, and so they are better at plowing our street than some of the flatter streets that I prefer for the fartlek workouts if the track is impassable. Anyway, the outcome was that the street was probably 90% clear for a single car width, with 10% of the route having spots that were slippery. I estimate that probably took 5-15 seconds (conservatively) off of my 3km time. Given that, I was pretty fast.
I warmed up for 1 mile (1.6km) mostly on a slight downhill, in a very fast 9:05. I felt pretty darn good! I was excited to get going. I took the first 500m (slight downhill) a bit fast, in 2:33, and then the second 500m was flatter/slightly uphill? and slower at 2:48. Then I pushed a bit on the medium effort 500m, maybe because I was annoyed with the 2:48? I did a 2:53 and thought "wow, that was fast" before turning around (I did 1.5km out and 1.5km back) and doing another really nice fast 500m in 2:42, a fast medium effort in 2:51 (OK, it was pretty hard, but I did ease up!) and finally a very hard 500m on a slight uphill in 2:39! Total time was 16:28, which is 10 seconds slower than my PR for this workout. Still...with the slushy/slippery conditions I'm pleased.
As for my right knee, I am pretty sure it was good on the non-slippery parts. All bets are off on the slippery spots! Impossible to think about that many things while trying not to fall over :).
I pushed hard, as my average heart rate was 161 for the very short workout, and my max was 175! I feel pretty good now, a few hours later, though I am a bit stiff. I ameliorated that a bit by going figure skating for an hour with my kids and my friend Sarah and her kids.
Garmin data here.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
20K
Briefly - have a lot to do today.
Weather: 27F to start (about -3C?) and 41F at finish (4C). Breezy to start, and then downright windy (enough to slow me a bit) in my face from 10K-14.5K. Then at my back until 19.5K.
Legs: Started off feeling decent, but not great. Made it to 10K all right, and then my legs got really tired and continued in a downward spiral until the finish. They are thrashed now, but hey, I finished.
Splits: 2:03:06 for 20K, with ave HR 151. 5K: 29:52, 30:03, 31:28, 31:43. Yup, VERY tired at the end. But for being THAT tired it's a pretty decent time.
Of note: Ran into Nancy and Diane on the trail at 6.67km :). Was so happy to see them! We chatted a few minutes and were back on our way again.
Garmin data here.
Weather: 27F to start (about -3C?) and 41F at finish (4C). Breezy to start, and then downright windy (enough to slow me a bit) in my face from 10K-14.5K. Then at my back until 19.5K.
Legs: Started off feeling decent, but not great. Made it to 10K all right, and then my legs got really tired and continued in a downward spiral until the finish. They are thrashed now, but hey, I finished.
Splits: 2:03:06 for 20K, with ave HR 151. 5K: 29:52, 30:03, 31:28, 31:43. Yup, VERY tired at the end. But for being THAT tired it's a pretty decent time.
Of note: Ran into Nancy and Diane on the trail at 6.67km :). Was so happy to see them! We chatted a few minutes and were back on our way again.
Garmin data here.
Friday, December 21, 2012
6.3K; snowshoeing
This morning I was supposed to do 10K with 2x5' bursts. Well...I got to about 3K and my legs were really quite tired. I decided that it was smarter to cut my losses and not do the full workout today in the interest of probably completing 20K tomorrow. So I just went around Liberty Park once and didn't go down 600E at all. I called it quits at 6.3K; legs were tired but not dead.
My average pace was 6:07/km with ave HR just 140. Garmin data here.
***
This afternoon the lab went snowshoeing for our holiday party :). I love having a boss who is active! We brought the kids (his and mine; the others don't have kids) and they had a blast - they "ambushed" us with snowballs and it was a hoot. We snowshoed uphill about 1 mile and the back down 1 mile or so (about 3.2km total). It was pretty easy pace-wise, and my legs are feeling good tonight. I hope the 20km goes all right tomorrow.
My average pace was 6:07/km with ave HR just 140. Garmin data here.
***
This afternoon the lab went snowshoeing for our holiday party :). I love having a boss who is active! We brought the kids (his and mine; the others don't have kids) and they had a blast - they "ambushed" us with snowballs and it was a hoot. We snowshoed uphill about 1 mile and the back down 1 mile or so (about 3.2km total). It was pretty easy pace-wise, and my legs are feeling good tonight. I hope the 20km goes all right tomorrow.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
meltdown
I guess it was coming. I pushed a bit too hard...
I went to the track this morning. It was dark and 18F (-8C). My legs hurt before I even started. I did one lap in 2:50 (ughhhh! slow!) and it felt awful. I just couldn't see doing 10K even easy, never mind doing a 10K fartlek. I left.
I went home, changed into shorts under my outerwear, and went to the gym and did 40 min on the elliptical instead. That felt OK, but not great.
Then I took the kids to school, made a big salad for a holiday party at work, and drove to work. My stomach started feeling off even before I left the house. By the time I got to work I was so nauseated all I could do was lie on the ground...so there I was, on the tile floor in the lab. Finally I summoned strength to move to the couch in the break room, where I stayed for quite some time. I started to feel a bit better, and so I went back to the lab, told a co-worker about a couple things she could do for me, ordered a few essentials, and then left.
I got home about 11:30 am and went straight to bed. I didn't wake up until 2:45! I guess I needed the rest. I'm feeling better now - the nausea is gone and I ate dinner, and it went down OK. I guess I just melted down from overdoing it? I'm not 20 any more and sometimes I forget that, but I'm learning.
Hoping to do my scheduled 10K in the morning.
I went to the track this morning. It was dark and 18F (-8C). My legs hurt before I even started. I did one lap in 2:50 (ughhhh! slow!) and it felt awful. I just couldn't see doing 10K even easy, never mind doing a 10K fartlek. I left.
I went home, changed into shorts under my outerwear, and went to the gym and did 40 min on the elliptical instead. That felt OK, but not great.
Then I took the kids to school, made a big salad for a holiday party at work, and drove to work. My stomach started feeling off even before I left the house. By the time I got to work I was so nauseated all I could do was lie on the ground...so there I was, on the tile floor in the lab. Finally I summoned strength to move to the couch in the break room, where I stayed for quite some time. I started to feel a bit better, and so I went back to the lab, told a co-worker about a couple things she could do for me, ordered a few essentials, and then left.
I got home about 11:30 am and went straight to bed. I didn't wake up until 2:45! I guess I needed the rest. I'm feeling better now - the nausea is gone and I ate dinner, and it went down OK. I guess I just melted down from overdoing it? I'm not 20 any more and sometimes I forget that, but I'm learning.
Hoping to do my scheduled 10K in the morning.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
12K
Nothing remarkable today, just 12K. Kelly and I were going to meet to do it together, but she wanted the extra time to study for her final today, so she decided to do it this afternoon after she flies to California. Good choice. It was very cold here this morning at 18F (-8C) with a slight breeze. My legs were very cold when I was done, and when I got in the shower they got tingly and red and then itchy! I've had that happen before on very cold days. I guess I should have worn my fleece pants over my tights.
Anyway, the workout went well. I did the first 10K pretty fast, in 59:45ish, and then my legs kind of died on the last 2km of slight uphill, finishing in 1:13:04 for 6:05/km with ave HR 148. I hope my legs recover well enough for tomorrow's 10K fartlek. It's supposed to be cold again, and I have to do it by myself, as Kelly will be gone until the 29th :(.
Garmin data here.
Anyway, the workout went well. I did the first 10K pretty fast, in 59:45ish, and then my legs kind of died on the last 2km of slight uphill, finishing in 1:13:04 for 6:05/km with ave HR 148. I hope my legs recover well enough for tomorrow's 10K fartlek. It's supposed to be cold again, and I have to do it by myself, as Kelly will be gone until the 29th :(.
Garmin data here.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
10K kickdown - PR!
Well, the extra rest day didn't hurt :). I know it wasn't ideal as I'm supposed to be training hard right now, but it really was unavoidable. And you know what? I got to walk with Kelly today, which was way better than doing it alone yesterday anyway.
It was 33F (1C) and threatening snow, and pitch dark for the whole workout (we finished about 7 am and it doesn't get light until well after that now). It got colder and started to snow later this morning after we finished, but happily it waited for us to be done.
We went by feel this morning instead of trying to hit certain times. That seemed to work out well. We started off nice and easy, and then each 2.5km went a bit harder, and the last 2.5km was pretty much as hard as we could. I know on the last 500m I was breathing pretty out-of-control. But I stayed with Kelly! We were together the whole time - she never got more than a step or 2 ahead of me and vice-versa.
Here are our splits: 15:13.8, 15:02.4, 14:45.4, 13:49.0 (!under 14 for the first time!), for a total of 58:50.6. My HR got up to 169 and I don't know about Kelly's but her breathing was really hard and we were working it hard. Her left knee looked a lot better today than it has looked; I only saw it bent once or twice. I am pretty sure my knees were good too. In the middle of the workout I wasn't sure I'd be able to do well, but then I started to feel a little better and managed to stay strong to the finish with none of the jello-legs thing I felt last week on this workout, and it showed in my times. My last five 500s (and Kelly's) were 2:46.2, 2:42.4, 2:45.3, 2:49.7, 2:45.4.
Now I'm really tired/sleepy, and my legs feel pretty trashed. Hopefully I'll be up for another hard one on Thursday.
Garmin data here.
It was 33F (1C) and threatening snow, and pitch dark for the whole workout (we finished about 7 am and it doesn't get light until well after that now). It got colder and started to snow later this morning after we finished, but happily it waited for us to be done.
We went by feel this morning instead of trying to hit certain times. That seemed to work out well. We started off nice and easy, and then each 2.5km went a bit harder, and the last 2.5km was pretty much as hard as we could. I know on the last 500m I was breathing pretty out-of-control. But I stayed with Kelly! We were together the whole time - she never got more than a step or 2 ahead of me and vice-versa.
Here are our splits: 15:13.8, 15:02.4, 14:45.4, 13:49.0 (!under 14 for the first time!), for a total of 58:50.6. My HR got up to 169 and I don't know about Kelly's but her breathing was really hard and we were working it hard. Her left knee looked a lot better today than it has looked; I only saw it bent once or twice. I am pretty sure my knees were good too. In the middle of the workout I wasn't sure I'd be able to do well, but then I started to feel a little better and managed to stay strong to the finish with none of the jello-legs thing I felt last week on this workout, and it showed in my times. My last five 500s (and Kelly's) were 2:46.2, 2:42.4, 2:45.3, 2:49.7, 2:45.4.
Now I'm really tired/sleepy, and my legs feel pretty trashed. Hopefully I'll be up for another hard one on Thursday.
Garmin data here.
Monday, December 17, 2012
rest days...
Yesterday was a rest day. I thought about doing my 10K kickdown yesterday, but I was sore, and I remembered that today I had a sitter from 3-5pm so I could go in the afternoon. (I couldn't go this morning because I was flying home from 6-8:45 am.) I was pretty busy yesterday helping out my brother and his wife, anyway.
Well...guess what? My sitter canceled and so now I can't do a workout at all. Bummer. These things happen, I guess. Once in a while you miss one unintentionally. The best planning sometimes doesn't help when nature intervenes and your sitter gets a bug.
Will have to consult with the coach about tomorrow's workout. I am thinking I should do the hard one tomorrow so I don't miss it. It wouldn't be that hard to do that and still do another hard one on Thursday. But it's up to the coach.
Well...guess what? My sitter canceled and so now I can't do a workout at all. Bummer. These things happen, I guess. Once in a while you miss one unintentionally. The best planning sometimes doesn't help when nature intervenes and your sitter gets a bug.
Will have to consult with the coach about tomorrow's workout. I am thinking I should do the hard one tomorrow so I don't miss it. It wouldn't be that hard to do that and still do another hard one on Thursday. But it's up to the coach.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
20K in Davis
I did the Davis Bike Loop for my 20K today. My brother told me it was 12 miles, and 20K is 12.4, so that is just about perfect when you add in the slight distance from his house to the loop.
The weather here was better than at home! The temperature was the same - 34F (1C) - but at home it was snowing and looked like it was sticking, at least from people's Facebook photos. Here, it was merely foggy. I was glad to be here :). It was actually a nice day for a walk.
I was fast today. I have no idea why, other than maybe the altitude decrease from home??? I was worried that my knee was bent because I was so fast, but I was very careful about it, pretending that Kelly or some judges were looking at it. I wonder if maybe the new environment and the enjoyment of a walk in my old stomping grounds played a role in my speed as well? Who knows.
I felt great for the first 16km - truly great - and then was a bit tired for the last 4km or so. Not horribly tired or anything, but I was sore in the glutes and glad that I'd get to stop soon.
I really enjoyed traveling a new route and seeing this city again. I lived here from '93-'96 and it's nostalgic walking around and seeing what is the same (lots) and what is new (lots again!). Some of the farmland near the university is being converted to dorms, and there are lots of new houses near campus. Away from the campus, a lot is the same and looks just like it did 20 yr ago. I have pictures of the route below. It's FLAT except for a freeway overpass at 17km; the elevation here ranges from 12-18m above sea level. Hahahaha! At home it's like 1300!
Here are my 5K splits - get ready - they are fast! 29:46, 29:57, 29:31, 30:22.
Total time: 1:59:35 for 5:59/km with ave HR 142.
Garmin data here.
***
Pictures:
frost on baseball field
Davis High
orange trees!
park scene
walkway
gardens in west Davis
pumpkins in west Davis
new dorms going up for UC Davis
Our apartment when we were first married 420 Russell Park #5
bikes on campus
Shields Library
bike path on campus
neurosciences center in Research Park in south Davis
palm tree & fog - south Davis
The weather here was better than at home! The temperature was the same - 34F (1C) - but at home it was snowing and looked like it was sticking, at least from people's Facebook photos. Here, it was merely foggy. I was glad to be here :). It was actually a nice day for a walk.
I was fast today. I have no idea why, other than maybe the altitude decrease from home??? I was worried that my knee was bent because I was so fast, but I was very careful about it, pretending that Kelly or some judges were looking at it. I wonder if maybe the new environment and the enjoyment of a walk in my old stomping grounds played a role in my speed as well? Who knows.
I felt great for the first 16km - truly great - and then was a bit tired for the last 4km or so. Not horribly tired or anything, but I was sore in the glutes and glad that I'd get to stop soon.
I really enjoyed traveling a new route and seeing this city again. I lived here from '93-'96 and it's nostalgic walking around and seeing what is the same (lots) and what is new (lots again!). Some of the farmland near the university is being converted to dorms, and there are lots of new houses near campus. Away from the campus, a lot is the same and looks just like it did 20 yr ago. I have pictures of the route below. It's FLAT except for a freeway overpass at 17km; the elevation here ranges from 12-18m above sea level. Hahahaha! At home it's like 1300!
Here are my 5K splits - get ready - they are fast! 29:46, 29:57, 29:31, 30:22.
Total time: 1:59:35 for 5:59/km with ave HR 142.
Garmin data here.
***
Pictures:
10K w/2x5' bursts (Friday)
I'm behind...visiting my brother in California and so I'm behind on the blog. Yeah, I get to get away, and hubby is stuck home w/the kids. Don't feel TOO sorry for him, though, as my parents are helping out :). Yay for grandparents!
Yesterday I did 10K w/2x5' bursts. It was 34F (1C) with just a touch of a breeze. I felt a bit sore in the glutes but otherwise pretty good. Unfortunately, I have no Garmin data because my watch has been acting a bit weird since I manually deleted a bunch of workouts. I do remember that I did 6:06/km (1:01 for the 10K) and that my fast bursts were about 2:50ish for the first 500m of each. Not sure of my average HR, sorry. But I have done a master reset of the watch, so hopefully it will behave better next time.
Yesterday I did 10K w/2x5' bursts. It was 34F (1C) with just a touch of a breeze. I felt a bit sore in the glutes but otherwise pretty good. Unfortunately, I have no Garmin data because my watch has been acting a bit weird since I manually deleted a bunch of workouts. I do remember that I did 6:06/km (1:01 for the 10K) and that my fast bursts were about 2:50ish for the first 500m of each. Not sure of my average HR, sorry. But I have done a master reset of the watch, so hopefully it will behave better next time.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
8K fartlek
I'm loving our warm weather! It was 44F (6.7C) this morning with a bit of a breeze. So warm for December. But it IS dark. Kelly and I met at the track at 5:45 am, and it was still pitch-black dark when we left at about 6:55 am. I wonder how people who live in far northern climates deal with the winter darkness, because it would drive me crazy. I do have a touch of seasonal affective disorder, but that seems to be well-managed with a low dose anti-depressant. All the same, I'm grateful for any sunlight I can get!
We were a little late getting started, so we did a 1200m warm-up instead of 1600m, and I did throw in a couple 100m fast on the last lap. After some dynamic drills we got started, and I tried to be sure and pace myself well. I felt like I did a pretty good job of that, doing 5:29 for the first km. My medium effort 500s were all 2:55-2:59 except for one 3:00 and one 3:01 (the last two), while my hard effort 500s were all 2:45 or 2:46 except the last two, which were 2:48 and 2:47. I did feel tired on the last two, but not terribly so. It was a good hard effort.
Kelly had to stop after 5K (which we reached in 28:23) because her hip was bothering her; she thinks it's because her ankle/foot is still a bit sore from when she rolled it last Monday and her gait is a bit off because she is compensating. I told her to stop if it didn't get better, because there's no point in killing yourself to finish a workout if it's going to create injury problems later. 5K of speed work is better than none, and better than 8K plus missing a week or two due to injury.
I'm pretty sore now and sleepy, too. Definitely feel those hard workouts!
Total time: 45:41 with average HR 160. It's not as fast as some workouts I did last fall but it's still a fast time. Kelly was watching my right knee from 5K-8K and said it looked good, so that's a relief.
Garmin data here.
We were a little late getting started, so we did a 1200m warm-up instead of 1600m, and I did throw in a couple 100m fast on the last lap. After some dynamic drills we got started, and I tried to be sure and pace myself well. I felt like I did a pretty good job of that, doing 5:29 for the first km. My medium effort 500s were all 2:55-2:59 except for one 3:00 and one 3:01 (the last two), while my hard effort 500s were all 2:45 or 2:46 except the last two, which were 2:48 and 2:47. I did feel tired on the last two, but not terribly so. It was a good hard effort.
Kelly had to stop after 5K (which we reached in 28:23) because her hip was bothering her; she thinks it's because her ankle/foot is still a bit sore from when she rolled it last Monday and her gait is a bit off because she is compensating. I told her to stop if it didn't get better, because there's no point in killing yourself to finish a workout if it's going to create injury problems later. 5K of speed work is better than none, and better than 8K plus missing a week or two due to injury.
I'm pretty sore now and sleepy, too. Definitely feel those hard workouts!
Total time: 45:41 with average HR 160. It's not as fast as some workouts I did last fall but it's still a fast time. Kelly was watching my right knee from 5K-8K and said it looked good, so that's a relief.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
cross-training
Today I did the elliptical for 45 min at the gym, and read "The Scientist" magazine while working out. I can get a free subscription since I work in a biology lab, and it's a great magazine. I have subscribed to Scientific American for a long time, but tend to read mostly the biology articles, and so this is a welcome change.
It was nice to have a bit of a break from racewalking today; my legs were pretty sore from the glute exercises I did on Monday, so it was good to have a rest. Plus it was super windy this morning, and I appreciated being inside!
It was nice to have a bit of a break from racewalking today; my legs were pretty sore from the glute exercises I did on Monday, so it was good to have a rest. Plus it was super windy this morning, and I appreciated being inside!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
12K
12K was on the agenda today, early. Kelly has a carpool that meets at 7, so we met at 5:25 am to get our workout in. It was pretty nice this morning for December, at 32F (0C) with just a little breeze.
My glutes were definitely a bit sore from yesterday, but they held up pretty well. I wasn't really fast, but wasn't terribly slow either. I felt happy with my walk. Kelly struggled at the end but when I pushed her she was able to stay with me; yesterday SHE was faster, but today I had more staying power. She is young and quick but I have more base at the moment. Soon she will be faster than me every day, but for now it's great to have a training partner. I gave her a bunch of red cards again today for her knee. She is learning and her technique is getting better, but when she is tired it naturally is harder for her.
Total time 1:15:00 for 6:15/km with ave HR 143.
My glutes were definitely a bit sore from yesterday, but they held up pretty well. I wasn't really fast, but wasn't terribly slow either. I felt happy with my walk. Kelly struggled at the end but when I pushed her she was able to stay with me; yesterday SHE was faster, but today I had more staying power. She is young and quick but I have more base at the moment. Soon she will be faster than me every day, but for now it's great to have a training partner. I gave her a bunch of red cards again today for her knee. She is learning and her technique is getting better, but when she is tired it naturally is harder for her.
Total time 1:15:00 for 6:15/km with ave HR 143.
Monday, December 10, 2012
10K kickdown
Met Kelly at 5:40am. It was cold (28F, -3ishC), dark, and snowing lightly. We are either tough or crazy or both. We met at Liberty Park to do the 10K kickdown starting on the south end of the park. We really must switch to the north end of the park - it's psychologically much easier because of the slight downhill you get on the last hard interval. Starting on the south end of the park, you have to do a slight uphill as part of your last hard interval. It hurts.
It hurt more today because I was tired for some reason. Nothing felt sore, but my walking just felt a bit stilted and uncomfortable. I knew I wouldn't be fast. I tried to psych myself up, to no avail. The first 5K was OK, and even up to 7.5K wasn't so bad, but the last 2.5K I had a lot of trouble going faster, and I was slow compared to what I can do when I'm feeling good. Still, it wasn't too awful, considering I felt lousy. Kelly did better than me, doing the last 2.5K about 10 seconds faster.
Here are my splits (2.5km):
15:34, 15:29, 14:48, 14:32. HR was up to 170, so I know I was working it.
Edited to add total time 60:23
Garmin data here.
***
Afterward I went home but I did do my glute exercises - 3 different ones. 3 sets each of one-legged getting up from chair (3x10 each leg) and also lunges front + back (3x10 each leg). 2 sets of step downs (2x10 each leg).
My glutes are quite sore/tired now! Tomorrow could be interesting...
It hurt more today because I was tired for some reason. Nothing felt sore, but my walking just felt a bit stilted and uncomfortable. I knew I wouldn't be fast. I tried to psych myself up, to no avail. The first 5K was OK, and even up to 7.5K wasn't so bad, but the last 2.5K I had a lot of trouble going faster, and I was slow compared to what I can do when I'm feeling good. Still, it wasn't too awful, considering I felt lousy. Kelly did better than me, doing the last 2.5K about 10 seconds faster.
Here are my splits (2.5km):
15:34, 15:29, 14:48, 14:32. HR was up to 170, so I know I was working it.
Edited to add total time 60:23
Garmin data here.
***
Afterward I went home but I did do my glute exercises - 3 different ones. 3 sets each of one-legged getting up from chair (3x10 each leg) and also lunges front + back (3x10 each leg). 2 sets of step downs (2x10 each leg).
My glutes are quite sore/tired now! Tomorrow could be interesting...
Saturday, December 08, 2012
20K
Today I felt a lot better and was ready to go for 20K. Turns out I wasn't wrong about my schedule - I was supposed to cross-train yesterday, and do 10K on Wednesday (where IS my brain this week?!???). So I got the schedule right, except that I couldn't really do the workouts Wednesday & Thursday because of how I felt.
Anyway, it was a pretty nice day today, at 40F (4C) and overcast, with a bit of a breeze. Later in the workout (about 15K) the wind picked up and it was quite windy, actually.
My legs finally felt recovered today, and when I started off I went pretty fast. Maybe too fast, but I did feel really good. I did the first 10K in just over 60 minutes flat (29:38, 30:27)! Then Kelly joined me for the second 10K. She is feeling better too - her foot is recovering quickly and it seems unlikely to be fractured. After the tape was loosened she felt much better, so she decided to try 10K today. However, after stopping for a couple minutes to get Kelly and throw some stuff in my car, I guess I stiffened up a little; either that or I got tired, because the next 5K was slower at 31:33. But I was able to pick up the pace on the last 5K, finishing in 30:53 for a total of 2:02:30, for 6:08/km with ave HR 150.
Yeah, I pushed it a little that last 5K and my HR got higher, but I was having a bit of fun with Kelly, who was getting tired. I would walk ahead of her a bit and tell her to catch me, and tease her that she shouldn't let the "old lady" (me) beat her, especially since I had gone 10K longer than she did! She did keep up with me and I think we had a good time. I enjoy her company a lot, even though I did give her 4 red cards today for her left knee :). She said my form looked good and that I was "a machine" today. Maybe, maybe not. My glutes were definitely tired at the end, but I was able to stay strong. I did slow down overall, but considering that I started a bit too fast, I think it was good. I'll enjoy my optional day tomorrow!
Garmin data here.
Anyway, it was a pretty nice day today, at 40F (4C) and overcast, with a bit of a breeze. Later in the workout (about 15K) the wind picked up and it was quite windy, actually.
My legs finally felt recovered today, and when I started off I went pretty fast. Maybe too fast, but I did feel really good. I did the first 10K in just over 60 minutes flat (29:38, 30:27)! Then Kelly joined me for the second 10K. She is feeling better too - her foot is recovering quickly and it seems unlikely to be fractured. After the tape was loosened she felt much better, so she decided to try 10K today. However, after stopping for a couple minutes to get Kelly and throw some stuff in my car, I guess I stiffened up a little; either that or I got tired, because the next 5K was slower at 31:33. But I was able to pick up the pace on the last 5K, finishing in 30:53 for a total of 2:02:30, for 6:08/km with ave HR 150.
Yeah, I pushed it a little that last 5K and my HR got higher, but I was having a bit of fun with Kelly, who was getting tired. I would walk ahead of her a bit and tell her to catch me, and tease her that she shouldn't let the "old lady" (me) beat her, especially since I had gone 10K longer than she did! She did keep up with me and I think we had a good time. I enjoy her company a lot, even though I did give her 4 red cards today for her left knee :). She said my form looked good and that I was "a machine" today. Maybe, maybe not. My glutes were definitely tired at the end, but I was able to stay strong. I did slow down overall, but considering that I started a bit too fast, I think it was good. I'll enjoy my optional day tomorrow!
Garmin data here.
Friday, December 07, 2012
misread schedule
I swear I thought the schedule was for 10K on Wednesday and x-training today. But it wasn't. I just (seconds ago) discovered this. Oops.
I cross-trained today - did the elliptical for 45 min. My legs are still really sore, and from what I'm not sure, other than illness plus the 12K on Tuesday. I'm glad I cross-trained today and didn't racewalk.
Yeah, the schedule has been totally messed up this week. Fortunately, it's a while before my next race, and it probably won't matter. But I feel a bit stupid.
I cross-trained today - did the elliptical for 45 min. My legs are still really sore, and from what I'm not sure, other than illness plus the 12K on Tuesday. I'm glad I cross-trained today and didn't racewalk.
Yeah, the schedule has been totally messed up this week. Fortunately, it's a while before my next race, and it probably won't matter. But I feel a bit stupid.
Thursday, December 06, 2012
8K fartlek...not!
Kelly and I met at the track at 5:55 am to do our workout. She was going to try to do it despite her ankle, which is improving but still hurts. I was going to try to do it despite my roiling guts.
Well...we warmed up for 4 laps and Kelly's foot was throbbing. She thought it was from the tape being too tight, but until she is sure, I told her to quit because it wasn't worth it. And me? My GI system is still unhappy - though it was much better yesterday, I woke with problems today. By the 2nd lap my guts were complaining. In addition, my muscles are very sore today (and were sore yesterday, oddly). I can best attribute the soreness to the lingering virus, as the 8K kickdown + 12K should not have made me this sore. I don't know what else is going on. Between my guts and my legs I decided that I should save my energy for recovery from the virus so that I can possibly do 20K on Saturday.
So after our warm-up we bailed to nicer locations (it wasn't too bad out, at 40F (4C) with heavy fog) and had a peppermint mocha (Kelly) and a hot tea (me) and chatted instead.
A workout was just not in the cards today.
Well...we warmed up for 4 laps and Kelly's foot was throbbing. She thought it was from the tape being too tight, but until she is sure, I told her to quit because it wasn't worth it. And me? My GI system is still unhappy - though it was much better yesterday, I woke with problems today. By the 2nd lap my guts were complaining. In addition, my muscles are very sore today (and were sore yesterday, oddly). I can best attribute the soreness to the lingering virus, as the 8K kickdown + 12K should not have made me this sore. I don't know what else is going on. Between my guts and my legs I decided that I should save my energy for recovery from the virus so that I can possibly do 20K on Saturday.
So after our warm-up we bailed to nicer locations (it wasn't too bad out, at 40F (4C) with heavy fog) and had a peppermint mocha (Kelly) and a hot tea (me) and chatted instead.
A workout was just not in the cards today.
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
sick
I'm sick. Got what Michelle has - nausea, fever, and malaise. I had to go in to work last night for a hypoxia experiment, and felt horrible the whole time. I slept poorly as well - tossing and turning and feeling ill.
I deliberately did not set my alarm. I figured 10K this morning was stupid. So I slept (poorly) until 7:30 and when I woke up I actually felt a bit better. No more fever, and the nausea is greatly reduced. I took Calvin to school and managed to get to work and am generally feeling OK at the moment. If the trend continues I'll resume workouts tomorrow.
I deliberately did not set my alarm. I figured 10K this morning was stupid. So I slept (poorly) until 7:30 and when I woke up I actually felt a bit better. No more fever, and the nausea is greatly reduced. I took Calvin to school and managed to get to work and am generally feeling OK at the moment. If the trend continues I'll resume workouts tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
12K
Today I was lonely. Kelly's ankle is pretty bad; she actually had it x-rayed because it was so painful. They couldn't see a fracture but were not 100% sure she didn't have one, so she is taking it easy for a few days and will monitor how it feels. So, I walked alone, which is always what I used to do anyway!
The weather was good for December: 35F (about 2C) and calm and overcast. I felt decent today and was only a little sore/tired from yesterday's 8K kickdown. I started off fast, going through 5K in just over 30 min on a slight downhill, but then slowed down a little bit. I never felt terribly tired, just a little bit, and the walk went well.
Total time for 12K: 1:14:22 for 6:12/km with ave HR 143.
Garmin data here.
The weather was good for December: 35F (about 2C) and calm and overcast. I felt decent today and was only a little sore/tired from yesterday's 8K kickdown. I started off fast, going through 5K in just over 30 min on a slight downhill, but then slowed down a little bit. I never felt terribly tired, just a little bit, and the walk went well.
Total time for 12K: 1:14:22 for 6:12/km with ave HR 143.
Garmin data here.
Monday, December 03, 2012
8K kickdown
Yesterday was an optional day, so I rested :). I was a bit stiff on Saturday afternoon after the 20K but felt totally fine yesterday.
I was ready to go this morning for an 8K kickdown, at least physically. Mentally I was in a bad space because I ate too much chocolate last night :(. Sigh. Still analyzing that one to figure out what went wrong...but I digress. Back to the workout.
It was 35F (about 2C) and calm. Pretty warm for December; it's nice when it's above freezing. We met at Liberty Park, which is basically flat but has some slight ups and downs, all gradual. We got going and did the first 500m nice and slow, in 3:13 by Kelly's watch. I messed up my watch and somehow turned off the GPS so at 2km I powered it down and back on and got the last 6K on my Garmin. Good thing, as you'll see. Our first 2K was very easy, but we were still fast, in 12:17 (we'd planned on 12:40 or so), but we weren't worried because it felt super easy. We tried to just speed up only a little on the next one, and it was a slight uphill for part of it, so that worked out OK. The next 2K was 12:12, and we were still feeling really good.
We sped up a little, but the first 500m of the next 2K was a slight uphill, and we were a bit slow (3:02 by my watch, and I think 2:59 by Kelly's?). During that 500, though, Kelly suddenly screamed. She had rolled her ankle badly on a small pinecone, and was in a good deal of pain. She tried to walk some more but really couldn't and she had to stop and walk back to the car (which was close, since we were doing 2K loops). I continued on by myself (glad that my watch was now working), and picked up the pace a little bit, because I felt good. I was surprised to see the next 500m in 2:49! OK, so it was slightly downhill, but that was fast! I felt good and continued on, doing 2:48 and 2:49 before starting the last 2K. I knew I could go faster, but the first 1K of the last 2K is a slight uphill and I did it in 2:53 and then 2:50, but WOW I was faster on the way back with a 2:39 and 2:43. I know my right knee was straight, too, because I was really focusing on it and on my technique, especially at the end.
Total for the 2Ks: 12:17, 12:12, 11:30, 11:06 for 47:05! It was a good workout! Average HR just 151 for the last 6K, and my max was 168.
Garmin data here.
I was ready to go this morning for an 8K kickdown, at least physically. Mentally I was in a bad space because I ate too much chocolate last night :(. Sigh. Still analyzing that one to figure out what went wrong...but I digress. Back to the workout.
It was 35F (about 2C) and calm. Pretty warm for December; it's nice when it's above freezing. We met at Liberty Park, which is basically flat but has some slight ups and downs, all gradual. We got going and did the first 500m nice and slow, in 3:13 by Kelly's watch. I messed up my watch and somehow turned off the GPS so at 2km I powered it down and back on and got the last 6K on my Garmin. Good thing, as you'll see. Our first 2K was very easy, but we were still fast, in 12:17 (we'd planned on 12:40 or so), but we weren't worried because it felt super easy. We tried to just speed up only a little on the next one, and it was a slight uphill for part of it, so that worked out OK. The next 2K was 12:12, and we were still feeling really good.
We sped up a little, but the first 500m of the next 2K was a slight uphill, and we were a bit slow (3:02 by my watch, and I think 2:59 by Kelly's?). During that 500, though, Kelly suddenly screamed. She had rolled her ankle badly on a small pinecone, and was in a good deal of pain. She tried to walk some more but really couldn't and she had to stop and walk back to the car (which was close, since we were doing 2K loops). I continued on by myself (glad that my watch was now working), and picked up the pace a little bit, because I felt good. I was surprised to see the next 500m in 2:49! OK, so it was slightly downhill, but that was fast! I felt good and continued on, doing 2:48 and 2:49 before starting the last 2K. I knew I could go faster, but the first 1K of the last 2K is a slight uphill and I did it in 2:53 and then 2:50, but WOW I was faster on the way back with a 2:39 and 2:43. I know my right knee was straight, too, because I was really focusing on it and on my technique, especially at the end.
Total for the 2Ks: 12:17, 12:12, 11:30, 11:06 for 47:05! It was a good workout! Average HR just 151 for the last 6K, and my max was 168.
Garmin data here.
Saturday, December 01, 2012
20K
This was an interesting workout! First, the weather was bizarrely warm for December. It was quite warm (50F, 10C to start, and 56F at the finish!) but windy. Windy enough that it slowed us anytime we walked south, and made us lots faster walking north.
I met Kelly at 8:30 am and we started our walk; we were both feeling pretty recovered from the previous workouts. However, about 12K poor Kelly just really started hurting - her legs were really, really tired. She found it hard to hold her form, and at that point I started being a very obnoxious cheerleader :). Actually, even before that I started giving her red cards every time I saw her left knee bent. I got up to nine by 17k, and then I told her to see if she could keep from getting 3 by 20K - she did much better then, and only got one before the finish.
Let me back up. We both felt pretty good to start and did 5K heading north (remember, here the wind was at our backs) in 29:45. Then we headed south for 10K, doing 31:13 and 31:10 for the next two 5Ks. Finally, we headed back north and with the wind at our backs we got to 20K in 2:03:29, doing 31:21 even despite how tired Kelly was. I was tired, too, but not too awful. My glutes and hamstrings were noticing the training this week, that is for sure, but I didn't crash and burn. I could have gone faster at points, especially near the end, but not a lot faster. My average HR was 148 for the walk, which is pretty typical for that distance. Regardless, I really wanted to walk with Kelly, and speed doesn't matter right now - just doing the km. She was really anxious that she was slowing me down, and I told her to never mind that, because it was just fine! And it was!
Poor Kelly worked SO hard today - she was really very tired from 12K on, but she kept plugging away and was able to stay really fast until about 1km from the end, when she really started to lose it. I have to give her credit for her determination and grit today, and for the fact that even when she felt TERRIBLE she was able to still walk a 2:03:29...I'm going to be in trouble when she gets trained! She'll be kicking my behind!!!!!
Garmin data here.
I met Kelly at 8:30 am and we started our walk; we were both feeling pretty recovered from the previous workouts. However, about 12K poor Kelly just really started hurting - her legs were really, really tired. She found it hard to hold her form, and at that point I started being a very obnoxious cheerleader :). Actually, even before that I started giving her red cards every time I saw her left knee bent. I got up to nine by 17k, and then I told her to see if she could keep from getting 3 by 20K - she did much better then, and only got one before the finish.
Let me back up. We both felt pretty good to start and did 5K heading north (remember, here the wind was at our backs) in 29:45. Then we headed south for 10K, doing 31:13 and 31:10 for the next two 5Ks. Finally, we headed back north and with the wind at our backs we got to 20K in 2:03:29, doing 31:21 even despite how tired Kelly was. I was tired, too, but not too awful. My glutes and hamstrings were noticing the training this week, that is for sure, but I didn't crash and burn. I could have gone faster at points, especially near the end, but not a lot faster. My average HR was 148 for the walk, which is pretty typical for that distance. Regardless, I really wanted to walk with Kelly, and speed doesn't matter right now - just doing the km. She was really anxious that she was slowing me down, and I told her to never mind that, because it was just fine! And it was!
Poor Kelly worked SO hard today - she was really very tired from 12K on, but she kept plugging away and was able to stay really fast until about 1km from the end, when she really started to lose it. I have to give her credit for her determination and grit today, and for the fact that even when she felt TERRIBLE she was able to still walk a 2:03:29...I'm going to be in trouble when she gets trained! She'll be kicking my behind!!!!!
Garmin data here.
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