I felt better this morning. Better enough to do 10K anyway.
I did the first 5K alone, and a bit too fast... 29:29! I felt good and it didn't feel hard, so I went with it. I'd say about 4K in that my legs started to feel a bit sore, but otherwise no problems.
Adriana met me at the 5K point and we did 5K together. I think I mentioned her yesterday - she is an aspiring young walker in need of a bit of mentoring. I agreed to go her speed for the last 5K, which actually felt really good. She did a bit over 34 minutes, so my total was 1:03:35 for the 10K with average HR 145.
I really enjoyed the company and it's been good getting to know Adriana. Hopefully her speed and endurance will increase and I'll have a great training partner again. No one will replace Kelly, but I'm hoping Kelly will be back to racewalking this fall. She's going to be in Africa a while on a humanitarian PT trip, and then on an away rotation, so I won't see much of her until October.
Sadly, my legs are sore and whiny now, and I'm sleepy. I'd love a nap but work and children will prevent that.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
resting up
Apparently I'm still quite under the weather. I've been continuing to feel unusually tired and have sore muscles that don't recover well. After my 10km on Saturday, I took Sunday as a rest day and planned to x-train on Monday. However, I overslept my alarm (a bit unusual for me) and my legs were sore and I felt lousy, so I decided not to push it and rested that day too.
This morning I met Adriana (a recent high school graduate who is a promising racewalker, doing 29:25 for 5K on July 4th) at the track. I intended to warm up with her, giver her some technique pointers, and do a 3K fartlek while she did whatever she wanted to do. I felt OK after our warm-up (4 laps or 1600m in about 9:30) but not great, and she really needed some technique help. I decided one more day off might be good, and spent time with her working on a few things. I think it helped her a lot, and I'm glad I did it. I did end up walking a total of about 2.5km with her (not much, but something).
So for a bit more exercise, I talked the kids into biking to their summer camp at the U this morning, and I biked with them. Then I biked up the hill to my work on upper campus. Not as much exercise as usual, but I am feeling a bit better today - so far.
My plan for tomorrow is to meet Adriana again; I'm going to do 5K and meet her for 5K more for a total of 10K for me and only 5K for her. She's out of conditioning and her knee is bothering her a bit so I don't want her to walk too far. She thought 5K would be all right.
Jim wants me to do a 3K fartlek this week so I'll try for that on Thursday, take a long hike Friday, and try for 10K on Saturday, legs permitting. That may be more than I can do, so if I don't feel good I'll perhaps x-train Saturday (maybe swim or do something that is easier on my legs?) and do 10K on Sunday instead.
This is getting old. I'm more than ready to feel better. Plus it's been a real challenge managing my weight with so little exercise. I gained about 3-4lbs on the cruise but I've taken that back off now, thankfully. I'm still 5-6 lb over where I'd like to be for competition, but since I can't compete right now, my motivation is lower than it should be. I'll settle for maintenance now, which is challenging enough.
This morning I met Adriana (a recent high school graduate who is a promising racewalker, doing 29:25 for 5K on July 4th) at the track. I intended to warm up with her, giver her some technique pointers, and do a 3K fartlek while she did whatever she wanted to do. I felt OK after our warm-up (4 laps or 1600m in about 9:30) but not great, and she really needed some technique help. I decided one more day off might be good, and spent time with her working on a few things. I think it helped her a lot, and I'm glad I did it. I did end up walking a total of about 2.5km with her (not much, but something).
So for a bit more exercise, I talked the kids into biking to their summer camp at the U this morning, and I biked with them. Then I biked up the hill to my work on upper campus. Not as much exercise as usual, but I am feeling a bit better today - so far.
My plan for tomorrow is to meet Adriana again; I'm going to do 5K and meet her for 5K more for a total of 10K for me and only 5K for her. She's out of conditioning and her knee is bothering her a bit so I don't want her to walk too far. She thought 5K would be all right.
Jim wants me to do a 3K fartlek this week so I'll try for that on Thursday, take a long hike Friday, and try for 10K on Saturday, legs permitting. That may be more than I can do, so if I don't feel good I'll perhaps x-train Saturday (maybe swim or do something that is easier on my legs?) and do 10K on Sunday instead.
This is getting old. I'm more than ready to feel better. Plus it's been a real challenge managing my weight with so little exercise. I gained about 3-4lbs on the cruise but I've taken that back off now, thankfully. I'm still 5-6 lb over where I'd like to be for competition, but since I can't compete right now, my motivation is lower than it should be. I'll settle for maintenance now, which is challenging enough.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
8K Friday; 10K Saturday
I was still really sore from the race on Friday. But I had 8K to do, and it went OK considering. It was warm at 23C (mid 70s...too lazy to convert) but not terrible.
I did the 8K in 48:26 with ave HR 150. However, I was pretty slow the last few km, and my legs were quite tired/dead feeling. I was very fatigued Thursday and Friday. I'm ready to start feeling better. OK, it's better than it was, but I'm definitely not 100%.
Garmin data here.
***
This morning I felt less sore, but when I got going I could tell that I was still tired from the week's racewalking and other activities (work, schlepping kids around, etc.). To make matters worse, it was very warm (28C - 80F) and very humid. So humid that for a while it was actually raining, which felt good. I was bummed out when it stopped, as it was keeping me cool. I stopped a lot today to drink/pour water over myself at the fountain. At least I still got the 10K done, and in a respectable time, though again my legs felt like toast when I was done. I was totally finished. Sad...10K is enough to wipe me. I took a short nap midday to recover. My legs still are feeling it, almost like I did 20-25K not 10K. Frustrating.
Total was 1:01:30 for the 10K with ave HR 149.
Garmin data here.
I did the 8K in 48:26 with ave HR 150. However, I was pretty slow the last few km, and my legs were quite tired/dead feeling. I was very fatigued Thursday and Friday. I'm ready to start feeling better. OK, it's better than it was, but I'm definitely not 100%.
Garmin data here.
***
This morning I felt less sore, but when I got going I could tell that I was still tired from the week's racewalking and other activities (work, schlepping kids around, etc.). To make matters worse, it was very warm (28C - 80F) and very humid. So humid that for a while it was actually raining, which felt good. I was bummed out when it stopped, as it was keeping me cool. I stopped a lot today to drink/pour water over myself at the fountain. At least I still got the 10K done, and in a respectable time, though again my legs felt like toast when I was done. I was totally finished. Sad...10K is enough to wipe me. I took a short nap midday to recover. My legs still are feeling it, almost like I did 20-25K not 10K. Frustrating.
Total was 1:01:30 for the 10K with ave HR 149.
Garmin data here.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
aftermath
I'm SO tired after the 10K race yesterday. Exhausted after working all day today (as well as yesterday; though it was a holiday, I opted to work and I'm going to take off next Friday to hike with my brother and his wife). My legs are really sore - shins (haha...obviously out of shape!), glutes, adductors are especially sore.
I did manage 30 min on the elliptical anyway, but wonder if that was a good idea. Well, it's done now. 8K tomorrow will be interesting. Guess I still have a ways to go in my recovery.
Race pictures are in - they are pretty good! I look quite legal, which is always a nice confirmation. The pictures were all in the last mile or so, when I was burning it pretty hard.
I did manage 30 min on the elliptical anyway, but wonder if that was a good idea. Well, it's done now. 8K tomorrow will be interesting. Guess I still have a ways to go in my recovery.
Race pictures are in - they are pretty good! I look quite legal, which is always a nice confirmation. The pictures were all in the last mile or so, when I was burning it pretty hard.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Deseret News 10K - 2013 edition
This is one of those races that I do pretty much every year. It's just a great race - awesome course on the parade route (for Pioneer Day - aka Pie 'n' Beer day to the less-reverent among us) with lots of downhill and lots of spectators. At left, with my friend Leah from the Wasatch Walkers before the race.The race was smaller this year - they offered a 1/2 marathon, which attracted people away from the 10K I think. I was NOT ready to do a 1/2 marathon, so the 10K was just right for me. I enjoyed the usual runner comments and spectators cheering "Go powerwalker" "Speedwalker!" etc. There were 2 people who yelled "Racewalker!" - and I knew one of them, of course. Glen Wells, age 50-54 American record holder at 50K for a while (not sure if his record still stands; it was 5:13). One woman said "Great job! I see you every year and you're awesome!" That was nice :).
The weather was decent - 70F (21C) and overcast, and slightly humid for Utah (instead of 5% humidity it was maybe 30%?). Heat wasn't really a factor for me this year, but being out of shape certainly was. The race went well until 5 miles, and then I had no legs and no oomph to keep me going up the slight incline at the end of the race, so my pace slowed a bit and I felt very tired.
Still, it wasn't my slowest Deseret News 10K ever. I finished in a respectable 58:26. Splits (mile, or 1.609km) - 8:50, 8:54, 9:33, 9:28, 9:33, 12:09 (last 1.2 miles, with the only uphill on the course). Average HR was indeed a moderate 153, though I did get up to 169 at the very end.
Garmin data here.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
rest day, cross-training, 6K
Sunday: rest day
***
Monday: cross-training - 25 min elliptical, bike to work (21 min) and back home (10 min).
***
Tuesday: 6K
Legs were a bit tired this morning probably from biking yesterday, since it's been a week since I biked to work. However, that didn't seem to hurt my racewalking any, as I was able to do the 6K pretty easily. My legs felt tired for the last 1.5km or so, but I didn't lose much speed on the small uphill returning home.
Total time 36:08 for 6:01/km with ave HR 142.
Garmin data here.
Of note: I brought my parents' puppy with me - Sherrie, age 8 months, Aus Shepherd/German Shepherd mix. She did great! Here are pics:
***
Monday: cross-training - 25 min elliptical, bike to work (21 min) and back home (10 min).
***
Tuesday: 6K
Legs were a bit tired this morning probably from biking yesterday, since it's been a week since I biked to work. However, that didn't seem to hurt my racewalking any, as I was able to do the 6K pretty easily. My legs felt tired for the last 1.5km or so, but I didn't lose much speed on the small uphill returning home.
Total time 36:08 for 6:01/km with ave HR 142.
Garmin data here.
Of note: I brought my parents' puppy with me - Sherrie, age 8 months, Aus Shepherd/German Shepherd mix. She did great! Here are pics:
Saturday, July 20, 2013
cross-training; 10K
Yesterday I did 30 min on the elliptical and then rode my bike to work (22 min uphill).
***
Today I was to walk 10K.
I felt tired this morning before I started; I confess to staying up a bit too late. I also worked for a bit before I racewalked, and so then the temperature was a bit high when I got going at just before 8 am. By the time I finished it was 81F (27C).
I went to the Jordan River Parkway, where I love to walk even though I don't drive there often to do it. Kelly lives nearby and I was going to have breakfast with her after my walk, so it worked out well. (Incidentally, Kelly is still laid up with her knee injury; she recently had surgery to clean up some tissue in the knee they suspected might be a problem, and she expects to return to racewalking soon).
I started off well, doing the first 5K in 30:20 or so. My legs started to feel tired around 4km, so I knew it was going to be a long walk. However, even though my muscles were tired and it was hot, I managed OK for the last 5K, doing 31:40 for 1:02:00 total with ave HR 149. I stopped at 2.5K, 5K, and 7.5K to drink from water fountains along the course.
I've been a bit sore today after the effort; mostly glutes and hamstrings. I spent the afternoon at the pool with the kids and their friends, and it was pretty relaxing for the most part, for which I was glad. I'll sleep well tonight.
Garmin data here.
***
Today I was to walk 10K.
I felt tired this morning before I started; I confess to staying up a bit too late. I also worked for a bit before I racewalked, and so then the temperature was a bit high when I got going at just before 8 am. By the time I finished it was 81F (27C).
I went to the Jordan River Parkway, where I love to walk even though I don't drive there often to do it. Kelly lives nearby and I was going to have breakfast with her after my walk, so it worked out well. (Incidentally, Kelly is still laid up with her knee injury; she recently had surgery to clean up some tissue in the knee they suspected might be a problem, and she expects to return to racewalking soon).
I started off well, doing the first 5K in 30:20 or so. My legs started to feel tired around 4km, so I knew it was going to be a long walk. However, even though my muscles were tired and it was hot, I managed OK for the last 5K, doing 31:40 for 1:02:00 total with ave HR 149. I stopped at 2.5K, 5K, and 7.5K to drink from water fountains along the course.
I've been a bit sore today after the effort; mostly glutes and hamstrings. I spent the afternoon at the pool with the kids and their friends, and it was pretty relaxing for the most part, for which I was glad. I'll sleep well tonight.
Garmin data here.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
6K
Today was a recovery test. How would my body react to three days in a row of racewalking, including a track workout (albeit short)? Turns out that I did OK! Not great, but OK, and that is much better than how poorly I'd been doing up to this point. I'll take it (like I have another option?).
Jim said I should do 5-6km and see how I felt. I did get quite tired around 4km but was able to keep a faster pace going up the slight hill than yesterday (3:10/500m instead of 3:25). I won't say I felt great today, but I felt decent, and that is good enough.
Total time was 36:50 for 6km for 6:08/km with ave HR 144.
Garmin connect data here.
Tomorrow I will do some cross-training and we'll see what Jim has up his sleeve for Saturday's walk.
Jim said I should do 5-6km and see how I felt. I did get quite tired around 4km but was able to keep a faster pace going up the slight hill than yesterday (3:10/500m instead of 3:25). I won't say I felt great today, but I felt decent, and that is good enough.
Total time was 36:50 for 6km for 6:08/km with ave HR 144.
Garmin connect data here.
Tomorrow I will do some cross-training and we'll see what Jim has up his sleeve for Saturday's walk.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
8K
Other than not getting enough sleep last night (I was up late working on getting together the church music for this Sunday), I felt all right this morning. Tired, but not horribly so, which is better than I've been feeling lately. My muscles weren't sore at all from yesterday's fartlek, which did surprise me a little. So perhaps I really am improving? We'll see.
Today went pretty well. Jim said to do 8-10K, and I felt 8K would be plenty to test my recovery. I did OK for the first 5K, getting there in 30:38, but then I tired quite a bit and the slight uphill home nailed me a bit harder than usual. I finished in 49:57 for 6:15/km with ave HR 142. Clearly I didn't push very hard aerobically, but my legs were definitely tired from 4-8km today, and that explains things. Also, it was quite warm this morning and very humid - about like yesterday at 75F (24C), but today I felt I started off feeling warmer, as our basement is starting to warm up (our swamp cooler is broken - ugh! - with 100+ degree days that's no fun).
Jim wants me to walk 5-6km tomorrow to test my recovery yet again. If I can make 3 days in a row, at least we can begin training at some nominal level. If not...well...more rest I suppose. On Friday it will be 6 weeks since I started taking B12 to remedy a probable deficiency. The doctor said it could be a couple months or even a bit more until I feel normal again if it is B12, so we might have to wait longer. Hopefully not, though. I'm getting antsy to train and race.
Garmin data here.
Today went pretty well. Jim said to do 8-10K, and I felt 8K would be plenty to test my recovery. I did OK for the first 5K, getting there in 30:38, but then I tired quite a bit and the slight uphill home nailed me a bit harder than usual. I finished in 49:57 for 6:15/km with ave HR 142. Clearly I didn't push very hard aerobically, but my legs were definitely tired from 4-8km today, and that explains things. Also, it was quite warm this morning and very humid - about like yesterday at 75F (24C), but today I felt I started off feeling warmer, as our basement is starting to warm up (our swamp cooler is broken - ugh! - with 100+ degree days that's no fun).
Jim wants me to walk 5-6km tomorrow to test my recovery yet again. If I can make 3 days in a row, at least we can begin training at some nominal level. If not...well...more rest I suppose. On Friday it will be 6 weeks since I started taking B12 to remedy a probable deficiency. The doctor said it could be a couple months or even a bit more until I feel normal again if it is B12, so we might have to wait longer. Hopefully not, though. I'm getting antsy to train and race.
Garmin data here.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
I'm back blogging!
Yup, I'm back.
I'm not back training, quite yet. However, I am feeling a little better I think. I know that's a very qualified statement, but these things are hard to measure. I have been able to racewalk 10K recently (in 1:01xx on Sunday - so even a decently fast time for an easy walk), which is an improvement, and this morning I did a 3K fartlek and feel surprisingly OK in that my muscles are not horribly sore this evening. Now that doesn't mean I'll feel OK tomorrow or that I'll be able to resume training, but I'm a bit more hopeful.
I'm back from vacation (2 weeks on a cruisetour to Alaska - WOW is all I have to say about that right here and now), and back writing my blog, which at least indicates I'm hopeful about getting back to training. I don't know if anyone is still reading it after my hiatus, but that's OK. I write it mostly for me and for my coach anyway :).
So this morning it was warm (75F or 24C) and humid, and I wasn't sure how I'd do. I knew it would hurt, and I wasn't looking forward to that. It did hurt, but it actually wasn't as bad as I thought. My warm-up went well; I did 1600m (just under a mile) in 9:45 and felt decent. Not great, but decent. More winded than I'd like, but my muscles felt OK which is an improvement over past track sessions recently. I did my dynamic stretching and got going. The first km was pretty good at 2:45.1 and 2:45.4 for the 500s for a total of 5:30.5. I thought maybe I'd gone out too fast and would die, but it wasn't too bad - I managed a 3:01.3 medium effort 500 followed by 2:48.5 hard 500, 3:00.3 medium, and last of all 2:48.4 hard for a total of 17:09. Average heart rate was 160.
I am pleased with this effort - it seems pretty good for how much time I've had off. Now the big question is how will I rebound from the effort? Will it be too much or will I be OK tomorrow? Stay tuned... tomorrow morning I'm to attempt 8-10km, coach says. I hope I can do it.
I'm not back training, quite yet. However, I am feeling a little better I think. I know that's a very qualified statement, but these things are hard to measure. I have been able to racewalk 10K recently (in 1:01xx on Sunday - so even a decently fast time for an easy walk), which is an improvement, and this morning I did a 3K fartlek and feel surprisingly OK in that my muscles are not horribly sore this evening. Now that doesn't mean I'll feel OK tomorrow or that I'll be able to resume training, but I'm a bit more hopeful.
I'm back from vacation (2 weeks on a cruisetour to Alaska - WOW is all I have to say about that right here and now), and back writing my blog, which at least indicates I'm hopeful about getting back to training. I don't know if anyone is still reading it after my hiatus, but that's OK. I write it mostly for me and for my coach anyway :).
So this morning it was warm (75F or 24C) and humid, and I wasn't sure how I'd do. I knew it would hurt, and I wasn't looking forward to that. It did hurt, but it actually wasn't as bad as I thought. My warm-up went well; I did 1600m (just under a mile) in 9:45 and felt decent. Not great, but decent. More winded than I'd like, but my muscles felt OK which is an improvement over past track sessions recently. I did my dynamic stretching and got going. The first km was pretty good at 2:45.1 and 2:45.4 for the 500s for a total of 5:30.5. I thought maybe I'd gone out too fast and would die, but it wasn't too bad - I managed a 3:01.3 medium effort 500 followed by 2:48.5 hard 500, 3:00.3 medium, and last of all 2:48.4 hard for a total of 17:09. Average heart rate was 160.
I am pleased with this effort - it seems pretty good for how much time I've had off. Now the big question is how will I rebound from the effort? Will it be too much or will I be OK tomorrow? Stay tuned... tomorrow morning I'm to attempt 8-10km, coach says. I hope I can do it.
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