Workouts ---
Sunday: rest day
Monday: Spinning with Jen, 1 hr class, nice and hard. It was a steady state workout, but I pushed it because I was in the mood for a good hard workout.
Tuesday: Spinning with Miguel, 1 hr class, amusing! Miguel has the largest collection of very very bad 60s and 70s covers that I have ever heard. They were so bad that they made me laugh. His class was also rather, um, interesting. He liked to spin very, very, very fast (i.e. he was going at probably 110rpm much of the class) in very low gears. Either that, or max the gear out climbing. I aimed for somewhere in between and actually got a great workout. He was a pretty funny guy, and I think he's the regular sub for spinning at the gym. People seemed to know him, at least.
Today: Spinning with Jen, 90 min class, but I got there 5 min late and the class was more like 85 min, so it wasn't quite that long. She had us do a good steady-state workout; the main set was 7 minute chunks divided into hard climb at 60-70 rpm and flat road at 100 rpm with 10-sec accelerations every minute on the flat road. The first one was 1 min climb, 6 min flat road; then 2 min climb, 5 min flat road - etc. until 7 min climb, then 7 min flat road. I tried to keep my heart rate low to mid 140s for the workout, like I would racewalking on an easy day. That worked out well.
***
Mood and other things: I'm definitely moderately depressed again. Sigh. It's not too awful, but it's certainly not the best. As a result, I'm continuing to struggle with my food intake, and am just feeling really tired all the time. The exercise is probably the only thing keeping me from feeling worse. I know I have a bit of seasonal affective disorder, so I got out my light again and am giving that a go. It's probably only natural to feel a bit down, as 1) it's winter (and has been bitterly cold the past couple days, setting off my Raynaud's phenomenon), 2) my toe still hurts and I still can't racewalk (though actually the toe is gradually improving - still hurts to put on socks, but not as much; still hurts to walk, but not as much), 3) work has been busy and family has been busy, making me more tired than usual.
Thankfully, I will have a 4-day weekend and will not have to come in to work at all, which I sorely need right now. In addition, the family obligations have tapered off. I'm glad, because I feel I just need to be at home reading and sleeping and just trying to recuperate.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Tailspin? (OR) Not. Giving. Up.
I'm not sure what to call this post.
Option A:
Tailspin?
I've had a bad couple of days in the food department, despite my resolution earlier in the week. The scale is ugly right now. Really ugly. I feel like I'm going to spinning class in vain. I can't out-exercise my fork...and I know this to be true...and I feel like giving up.
So hard. Have been working several hours a day even though it's "vacation" because a grad student who went out of town unintentionally dumped a LOT of work on me. Said grad student honestly didn't realize how much work it was going to be to continue the project. But I am stuck with it, and for the first time in memory, I had to work on Christmas Day for a rather lengthy period of time. I know it could be worse; doctors, nurses, police, etc. work lots more on holidays. But I usually don't.
Lots of family in town, which is fun but also more work. I have been doing lots and lots of cooking, cleaning, etc. I'm pretty tired, which lowers my food resistance. Add in the fact that there is a LOT LOT LOT of junk food around the house and it's just a nightmare. This too shall pass, but I need to get out alive. Feel like I'm in a tailspin.
Option B:
Not. Giving. Up.
What is my alternative? If I'd given up earlier in the month, this would be even worse and the scale would have an even higher number. Seems impossible, but must be true. Seriously, if I hadn't been trying to keep the weight and the appetite at bay (which I have...believe it or not!), I bet I could have gained 20 pounds in one month. It's ridiculous.
If I give up now, I know I will just be completely miserable. I don't ever want to go back to the way I used to live before I lost the weight. I'm not that person any more, but I also still have plenty of issues. It's confusing.
So....
I went spinning this morning. It was a great class, with Jen. I'm motivated to reset the food intake, and today is more relaxing, as everyone but me and Calvin is out skiing. I can't ski (broken toe) and don't want to unless it's cross-country, but of course they are downhill skiing. However, I have to go to work (again........whee.........), and we are all going out to dinner tonight, which presents its own fun set of challenges. I'm mentally prepared now, but by evening my willpower is usually depleted a bit. A nap might help. Relaxing WILL help. Calvin and I plan to chill and shop for books, and hang out and play games a bit. I am looking forward to a day with my boy :). (Wow, this paragraph is really disjointed stream-of-consciousness!). The point is that I really am NOT. GIVING. UP.
Today is a new day. Get ready. Reset. Go.
Option A:
Tailspin?
I've had a bad couple of days in the food department, despite my resolution earlier in the week. The scale is ugly right now. Really ugly. I feel like I'm going to spinning class in vain. I can't out-exercise my fork...and I know this to be true...and I feel like giving up.
So hard. Have been working several hours a day even though it's "vacation" because a grad student who went out of town unintentionally dumped a LOT of work on me. Said grad student honestly didn't realize how much work it was going to be to continue the project. But I am stuck with it, and for the first time in memory, I had to work on Christmas Day for a rather lengthy period of time. I know it could be worse; doctors, nurses, police, etc. work lots more on holidays. But I usually don't.
Lots of family in town, which is fun but also more work. I have been doing lots and lots of cooking, cleaning, etc. I'm pretty tired, which lowers my food resistance. Add in the fact that there is a LOT LOT LOT of junk food around the house and it's just a nightmare. This too shall pass, but I need to get out alive. Feel like I'm in a tailspin.
Option B:
Not. Giving. Up.
What is my alternative? If I'd given up earlier in the month, this would be even worse and the scale would have an even higher number. Seems impossible, but must be true. Seriously, if I hadn't been trying to keep the weight and the appetite at bay (which I have...believe it or not!), I bet I could have gained 20 pounds in one month. It's ridiculous.
If I give up now, I know I will just be completely miserable. I don't ever want to go back to the way I used to live before I lost the weight. I'm not that person any more, but I also still have plenty of issues. It's confusing.
So....
I went spinning this morning. It was a great class, with Jen. I'm motivated to reset the food intake, and today is more relaxing, as everyone but me and Calvin is out skiing. I can't ski (broken toe) and don't want to unless it's cross-country, but of course they are downhill skiing. However, I have to go to work (again........whee.........), and we are all going out to dinner tonight, which presents its own fun set of challenges. I'm mentally prepared now, but by evening my willpower is usually depleted a bit. A nap might help. Relaxing WILL help. Calvin and I plan to chill and shop for books, and hang out and play games a bit. I am looking forward to a day with my boy :). (Wow, this paragraph is really disjointed stream-of-consciousness!). The point is that I really am NOT. GIVING. UP.
Today is a new day. Get ready. Reset. Go.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Spinning with Jen; rest day; Merry Christmas!
Wednesday: Spinning with Jen; the usual tough 90-min class.
For those new to spinning, I'll tell you a bit more about it. Basically, you ride a special stationary bike in the dark/dim light with music (preferably somewhat loud :)!) and an instructor. The room we use at our gym has space enough for probably 30 bikes, though the biggest class tends to be maybe 20-25 people. The spinning bikes are not your ordinary stationary bike. They have special pedals that you can clip in your cycling shoes, or on the flip side straps to snug your regular sneakers. The handlebars allow for multiple positions of your arms, to resemble a tri-bike or road bike. They also come with gears - you can move a lever to increase the resistance level on your bike to simulate hill climbs. In addition, our bikes have a small computer that tells you RPM, power output in watts/kcal burned (alternating on display), heart rate (if you have a compatible monitor; mine isn't so I just put my watch on the bike handlebars), and distance traveled. The key number really is watts (how hard you are working). The instructor has a microphone so she can be heard over the music, which she usually controls through an iPod or iPhone or other mp3 player. One more thing about a spin bike - you have to keep pedaling continuously - you can't coast like on a road bike, and they do not stop immediately like a regular stationary bike.
The thing I like about spinning is that it really pushes you to work much harder than you'd work on the elliptical or stationary bike. It's a great interval workout, and I am trying to stay in good shape while I'm out of racewalking, so it's perfect for that. Burns lots of calories, too :).
Yesterday's workout was typical. We warmed up for about 5 min just riding "flat road" which means lower resistance, and higher rpm - usually 90 to 100, depending on the instructor. Then we did some drills for left leg and right leg - basically using just the one leg to pedal. You can push down on a spin bike but you can also pull up, so you use glutes and hamstrings equally if you are paying attention. The instructors often do drills for that as well, though we didn't yesterday. However, they DO remind you to "push and pull" frequently.
After we warmed up, we did a little more flat road, and then started a 20 minute hill climb, gradually adding more and more resistance until we were struggling mightily to keep our RPM above 60. Some of the climb was in the saddle, and some out of the saddle (i.e. standing). That's another thing you can do on a spin bike that you don't do on an ordinary stationary bike - standing rather than sitting for climbing or just at lower resistance for "running" or "jogging". It simulates standing on a road bike for an extra push, and it's a bit tougher and usually ups your heart rate quite a bit more. After our climb, we recovered briefly and then did five 40sec/20sec intervals of flat road/very fast RPM (110 or more). That will also get your heart rate up in a hurry! After a brief recovery, we repeated the climb, this time with a bit more work out of the saddle for extra challenge (by this point our legs are toast!!!) and then did the 40/20s again. Did I mention that Jen's class is really tough? It was good though. After the last set of 40/20s, we cooled down on a flat road for a while, and then stretched on the bike (arms, upper body) and off the bike (legs).
Garmin data here.
Today: Merry Christmas! The gym is closed, and so no workout for me today. I might take the dog for a walk in the neighborhood, slowly, and not very far. My toe is still quite painful if I walk too much or stand a long time. Also, we got fresh snow last night! It's beautiful outside, but maybe not conducive to lots of walking.
For those new to spinning, I'll tell you a bit more about it. Basically, you ride a special stationary bike in the dark/dim light with music (preferably somewhat loud :)!) and an instructor. The room we use at our gym has space enough for probably 30 bikes, though the biggest class tends to be maybe 20-25 people. The spinning bikes are not your ordinary stationary bike. They have special pedals that you can clip in your cycling shoes, or on the flip side straps to snug your regular sneakers. The handlebars allow for multiple positions of your arms, to resemble a tri-bike or road bike. They also come with gears - you can move a lever to increase the resistance level on your bike to simulate hill climbs. In addition, our bikes have a small computer that tells you RPM, power output in watts/kcal burned (alternating on display), heart rate (if you have a compatible monitor; mine isn't so I just put my watch on the bike handlebars), and distance traveled. The key number really is watts (how hard you are working). The instructor has a microphone so she can be heard over the music, which she usually controls through an iPod or iPhone or other mp3 player. One more thing about a spin bike - you have to keep pedaling continuously - you can't coast like on a road bike, and they do not stop immediately like a regular stationary bike.
The thing I like about spinning is that it really pushes you to work much harder than you'd work on the elliptical or stationary bike. It's a great interval workout, and I am trying to stay in good shape while I'm out of racewalking, so it's perfect for that. Burns lots of calories, too :).
Yesterday's workout was typical. We warmed up for about 5 min just riding "flat road" which means lower resistance, and higher rpm - usually 90 to 100, depending on the instructor. Then we did some drills for left leg and right leg - basically using just the one leg to pedal. You can push down on a spin bike but you can also pull up, so you use glutes and hamstrings equally if you are paying attention. The instructors often do drills for that as well, though we didn't yesterday. However, they DO remind you to "push and pull" frequently.
After we warmed up, we did a little more flat road, and then started a 20 minute hill climb, gradually adding more and more resistance until we were struggling mightily to keep our RPM above 60. Some of the climb was in the saddle, and some out of the saddle (i.e. standing). That's another thing you can do on a spin bike that you don't do on an ordinary stationary bike - standing rather than sitting for climbing or just at lower resistance for "running" or "jogging". It simulates standing on a road bike for an extra push, and it's a bit tougher and usually ups your heart rate quite a bit more. After our climb, we recovered briefly and then did five 40sec/20sec intervals of flat road/very fast RPM (110 or more). That will also get your heart rate up in a hurry! After a brief recovery, we repeated the climb, this time with a bit more work out of the saddle for extra challenge (by this point our legs are toast!!!) and then did the 40/20s again. Did I mention that Jen's class is really tough? It was good though. After the last set of 40/20s, we cooled down on a flat road for a while, and then stretched on the bike (arms, upper body) and off the bike (legs).
Garmin data here.
Today: Merry Christmas! The gym is closed, and so no workout for me today. I might take the dog for a walk in the neighborhood, slowly, and not very far. My toe is still quite painful if I walk too much or stand a long time. Also, we got fresh snow last night! It's beautiful outside, but maybe not conducive to lots of walking.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Spinning; new x-ray
Today: Spinning with Jeannie. We did a modified 12 days of Christmas workout with 30 sec for each thing, and with each of the 11 people in the class picking one exercise. It was actually a quite challenging workout, surprisingly. At least it was only an hour...tomorrow is the 90-min spinning class with Jen, always sure to turn my legs to Jell-O.
Worked all day and then had a 4:15 pm appointment for an x-ray of my toe. The new x-ray shows that it is healing nicely on the medial side, with not much healing visible yet on the lateral side. But the P.A. thought it looked fine and that it should be feeling much better in 4 weeks or so. I told her it was still quite painful and she said that toes are like that - very painful. They can take a long time (several months or more) to stop hurting. That's a bit discouraging since it's been just one month today; however, she did think that it's entirely possible that mine could be feeling better in another month and that I might be up for racewalking then. I hope so.
Meanwhile, spinning...and more spinning.
Worked all day and then had a 4:15 pm appointment for an x-ray of my toe. The new x-ray shows that it is healing nicely on the medial side, with not much healing visible yet on the lateral side. But the P.A. thought it looked fine and that it should be feeling much better in 4 weeks or so. I told her it was still quite painful and she said that toes are like that - very painful. They can take a long time (several months or more) to stop hurting. That's a bit discouraging since it's been just one month today; however, she did think that it's entirely possible that mine could be feeling better in another month and that I might be up for racewalking then. I hope so.
Meanwhile, spinning...and more spinning.
Monday, December 22, 2014
refocusing
Friday: 12 Days of Christmas class. Great workout. Pretty tough, as it's a 90-min class, but I tried to keep it not as intense and focus a bit more on endurance. Ave HR 141, so good for an endurance ride. Garmin data here. Calvin was the "elf" for our class and passed out door prizes - really fun. He a had a good time trying out the spin bike too. Set on the lowest seat height, he could reach the pedals and he discovered he could even read a Garfield comic book while spinning :). He wore a Santa hat, and it was pretty cute. I forgot to take his picture, though, sorry.
Saturday & Sunday: 30 min elliptical each day. On Saturday I took the dog for a brisk walk, trying a bit to racewalk. Yeah, right. Still too painful, and I'm still limping. My toe does feel better, but I'm not ready for that yet. Putting on socks isn't as hard as it was, and it's a bit less painful to walk, though I'm not going to convince anyone that I'm not limping, if they are looking closely. Saturday was a bit of a food disaster, followed by remorse on Sunday, and very good eating behavior. I am renewed in my determination to fight this and not to sit by and passively allow more weight gain. I know this is a hard time to watch my weight, but I've done it before, and I can do it again.
Monday: Spinning with Jen; interval workout. It was a good hard one. Seriously - HR up in the upper 150s-low 160s for a good bit. Kept telling myself I'm training to keep my cardiovascular system strong, so that when I can racewalk again it won't be so dismal getting fit again. I know it'll still be hard as I'll lose most of my racewalking-specific fitness, but I'm trying not to think about that. Just staying as fit as possible while I wait to heal. Garmin data here.
Saturday & Sunday: 30 min elliptical each day. On Saturday I took the dog for a brisk walk, trying a bit to racewalk. Yeah, right. Still too painful, and I'm still limping. My toe does feel better, but I'm not ready for that yet. Putting on socks isn't as hard as it was, and it's a bit less painful to walk, though I'm not going to convince anyone that I'm not limping, if they are looking closely. Saturday was a bit of a food disaster, followed by remorse on Sunday, and very good eating behavior. I am renewed in my determination to fight this and not to sit by and passively allow more weight gain. I know this is a hard time to watch my weight, but I've done it before, and I can do it again.
Monday: Spinning with Jen; interval workout. It was a good hard one. Seriously - HR up in the upper 150s-low 160s for a good bit. Kept telling myself I'm training to keep my cardiovascular system strong, so that when I can racewalk again it won't be so dismal getting fit again. I know it'll still be hard as I'll lose most of my racewalking-specific fitness, but I'm trying not to think about that. Just staying as fit as possible while I wait to heal. Garmin data here.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Spinning
Today: Spinning - Jeannie's class. It was decent. I took it a bit easy after yesterday's tough class with Jen, and before tomorrow's 12 Days of Christmas class with Kit.
Mood: not been good. Stupid seasonal affective thing bothering me? Or just the seasonal busyness? Been a bit anxious/depressed. Some situational stuff may be contributing; i.e. not being able to RW, some other personal stuff. I've been worse, but I've been better too. Maybe time to drag out the blue light again. Also need to eat better. Keep saying that but hard to do right now for some reason. I know I need to, though, for my mood. A bit of a conundrum.
Toe: still sore.
Garmin data here.
Mood: not been good. Stupid seasonal affective thing bothering me? Or just the seasonal busyness? Been a bit anxious/depressed. Some situational stuff may be contributing; i.e. not being able to RW, some other personal stuff. I've been worse, but I've been better too. Maybe time to drag out the blue light again. Also need to eat better. Keep saying that but hard to do right now for some reason. I know I need to, though, for my mood. A bit of a conundrum.
Toe: still sore.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
catching up again
Sorry...'tis the season. I'm trying NOT to be too busy, but it's catching up to me anyway.
Sunday: rest day.
Monday: woke up late but still managed 30 min elliptical.
Tuesday: 1 hr spin class with Kit; good endurance ride.
Wednesday: 90 min spin class with Jen; pushed *really* hard. Tough climb with at least 10 min of HR>160. Garmin data here. Though I pushed very hard, and my legs were tired later, there was no weird soreness. As for fatigue, yeah, I have that, but I suspect most of it is seasonal doing-too-much rather than the mystery illness.
Tomorrow: I plan to go spinning again but not push too hard.
Friday: Spinning is the 12 days of Christmas class, which I'm looking forward to a lot. Calvin has volunteered to be an "elf" for the class, handing out door prizes, etc. He will have to get up early to go with me (class starts at 5:30 am, since it's a 90 min class) but he's excited to do it.
***
Toe update: still hurts to put on socks and to walk. Hurts a lot if I'm on my feet too much, and then I have to ice it and take ibuprofen or naproxen. Wheeee. I'm getting another x-ray on Tuesday. I can't tell that it's improved at all.
Sunday: rest day.
Monday: woke up late but still managed 30 min elliptical.
Tuesday: 1 hr spin class with Kit; good endurance ride.
Wednesday: 90 min spin class with Jen; pushed *really* hard. Tough climb with at least 10 min of HR>160. Garmin data here. Though I pushed very hard, and my legs were tired later, there was no weird soreness. As for fatigue, yeah, I have that, but I suspect most of it is seasonal doing-too-much rather than the mystery illness.
Tomorrow: I plan to go spinning again but not push too hard.
Friday: Spinning is the 12 days of Christmas class, which I'm looking forward to a lot. Calvin has volunteered to be an "elf" for the class, handing out door prizes, etc. He will have to get up early to go with me (class starts at 5:30 am, since it's a 90 min class) but he's excited to do it.
***
Toe update: still hurts to put on socks and to walk. Hurts a lot if I'm on my feet too much, and then I have to ice it and take ibuprofen or naproxen. Wheeee. I'm getting another x-ray on Tuesday. I can't tell that it's improved at all.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Enjoyable day
Started out the day with a 7-8am spinning class, and got my HR about as high as I've ever seen it spinning. We did about a 30-min warm-up (haha...more like a 5 min warmup and 25 min workout!) and then a 20-min time trial. Ouch! The time trial is pretty tough. 5 min "flat road", 80-90rpm but with your power output reasonably high. I started with my HR about 150, because I figured that was a good place to start for a hard 20 min. Then, we had a 2 min "run" (standing, fast pedaling), which always gets my HR up, followed by a 2 min climb (increase resistance, sitting), and then a 1 min standing climb. Then, repeat the whole thing. On the last 1 min climb, my HR pegged at 168. Granted, it gets higher racewalking (I've seen it as high as 180 in a 5K, at the end of the race), but still...yeah...hard effort for cycling. Notes to self about the time trial: bike #26, ave rpm 79, ave power 211 watts, distance 7.8. Not sure I'll be able to get that same bike again, and they are quite different, but at least that is something. The instructor plans to do the time trial again in a month to see if we've improved. Oh yay!
After the spin class I went home for a quick shower and change, and then took Calvin with me to breakfast with my friend Kelly. She's leaving for California for a couple months before moving to Idaho for a job. I'll miss her a lot, so we had to do breakfast one last time. Of course, she got Eggs Benedict, her favorite :).
Then Calvin and I did a bit of shopping for ingredients for our holiday baking frenzy today. It was pretty fun --- and then we did our baking! We made a couple batches of caramels, which need to be chocolate dipped sometime soon (tomorrow???), and also some caramel nut popcorn. We are still going to make some peanut butter balls coated in chocolate ("buckhorns"), and some white chocolate espresso macadamia nut bark. We also played Monopoly for a little while, and Calvin totally killed me! He did really well; for a while it was neck-and-neck but then he pulled ahead. Good game. Finally, we had a couple from church over for dinner; she plays the cello, so after dinner she and I played some music together. After they left, I played my clarinet and the piano for a little to scratch the music itch a bit more.
It was a good day :).
My toe is quite sore after the baking frenzy, and I did ice it, but...well...yeah, probably shouldn't be on it so much. Oh well. It is still very tender to the touch, and putting on socks, pants, standing too long, and walking hurt. Mostly just annoying, but am trying not to think about how much longer it's going to be that I can't racewalk. On the flip side, I get more rest to hopefully make the mystery illness go away for good. Yesterday at Kelly's graduation I was sitting a lot (driving, the ceremony, more driving, then dinner) and it barely bothered me at all :).
After the spin class I went home for a quick shower and change, and then took Calvin with me to breakfast with my friend Kelly. She's leaving for California for a couple months before moving to Idaho for a job. I'll miss her a lot, so we had to do breakfast one last time. Of course, she got Eggs Benedict, her favorite :).
Then Calvin and I did a bit of shopping for ingredients for our holiday baking frenzy today. It was pretty fun --- and then we did our baking! We made a couple batches of caramels, which need to be chocolate dipped sometime soon (tomorrow???), and also some caramel nut popcorn. We are still going to make some peanut butter balls coated in chocolate ("buckhorns"), and some white chocolate espresso macadamia nut bark. We also played Monopoly for a little while, and Calvin totally killed me! He did really well; for a while it was neck-and-neck but then he pulled ahead. Good game. Finally, we had a couple from church over for dinner; she plays the cello, so after dinner she and I played some music together. After they left, I played my clarinet and the piano for a little to scratch the music itch a bit more.
It was a good day :).
My toe is quite sore after the baking frenzy, and I did ice it, but...well...yeah, probably shouldn't be on it so much. Oh well. It is still very tender to the touch, and putting on socks, pants, standing too long, and walking hurt. Mostly just annoying, but am trying not to think about how much longer it's going to be that I can't racewalk. On the flip side, I get more rest to hopefully make the mystery illness go away for good. Yesterday at Kelly's graduation I was sitting a lot (driving, the ceremony, more driving, then dinner) and it barely bothered me at all :).
Friday, December 12, 2014
Friday spinning
Today was spinning with Kit. We got a little preview of her "12 Days of Christmas" spinning class. Yes, you read that correctly. She does a class where each day is represented by a different spinning exercise: 30 sec fast cadence, 1 min job, 1 min of 5 sec jumps, etc. You repeat them just as in the song: 1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1 etc. She's going to have door prizes and everything, coming next Friday. Should be fun!Today was a good workout, and then I went to work briefly; got to leave early to attend my friend Kelly's graduation from physical therapy school.
Garmin data here.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Wednesday spinning. Thursday spinning.
Wednesday: Spinning with Jen - 90 min class. It was hard, but I felt much better after the workout than I did last week. No weird soreness and other than being fatigued for part of the day, I was fine. I felt pretty recovered today and went spinning again.
Garmin data here.
Today: Spinning with Jeannie - regular 60 min class. Only 2 people came, me and a guy named John, in his late 50s or early 60s? I didn't mind, as we chatted it up while we sweated (I did get a good workout, really!) and for my part I got to share a bit about neuroscience research and racewalking.
Garmin data here.
***
Toe update: Still sore. Still bruised a bit. Hurts to put on socks, walk (sometimes if I forget to limp and/or hit it wrong), and gets swollen after a day on my feet. Definitely not ready for racewalking yet, not that I expected it to be.
Garmin data here.
Today: Spinning with Jeannie - regular 60 min class. Only 2 people came, me and a guy named John, in his late 50s or early 60s? I didn't mind, as we chatted it up while we sweated (I did get a good workout, really!) and for my part I got to share a bit about neuroscience research and racewalking.
Garmin data here.
***
Toe update: Still sore. Still bruised a bit. Hurts to put on socks, walk (sometimes if I forget to limp and/or hit it wrong), and gets swollen after a day on my feet. Definitely not ready for racewalking yet, not that I expected it to be.
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
more spinning
I felt a bit better today. I had less fatigue and not much muscle pain, and though spinning was a bit easier, it was still a great workout and could have made me tired, but didn't :). Seriously, spinning is good because it pushes me a bit more than just elliptical or riding stationary bike on my own, and yet feels easier because I'm just following the instructor's directions and there's peer pressure to do it and not quit if I feel tired. It's mentally easier, and physically harder, which is great. I was pleased to be able to do it today.
Tomorrow is Jen's killer 90-min spin class. It starts at 5:30am (gulp!). I'd better get to bed soon if I'm going to be on time. I was actually on time to Kit's class today - wow! That was nice. Jen's class is super crowded, so if I want a decent bike I do need to try to be on time... that's incentive anyway. We'll see if I make it.
In other news, yeah, my toe still hurts. No, I can't walk yet.
Garmin data here from today's class.
Tomorrow is Jen's killer 90-min spin class. It starts at 5:30am (gulp!). I'd better get to bed soon if I'm going to be on time. I was actually on time to Kit's class today - wow! That was nice. Jen's class is super crowded, so if I want a decent bike I do need to try to be on time... that's incentive anyway. We'll see if I make it.
In other news, yeah, my toe still hurts. No, I can't walk yet.
Garmin data here from today's class.
Monday, December 08, 2014
spinning
Went for a spin this morning. I thought I was doing well to get there at 6:03am, but I was the last person to show up (for the 6am class), and I grabbed a bike without straps for the left foot :(. I didn't want to go get another one, so I just dealt with it. The workout went fine anyway; it was Jen (the MW instructor), who gives a seriously kick-butt class. Average HR, including the cool-down and stretch and a few minutes after (forgot to turn off watch) was 141. Got my HR up to 160 on several intervals, and it was in upper 150s on a lot of the climbs.
The bad news is that I felt unusually fatigued after; some brain fog and lots of just plain tiredness. I'm not sure what's up with all that. I did nap a long time yesterday but felt like I slept OK last night anyway. I am worried it's a bit of the mystery illness. I don't have very sore muscles, but I haven't been sitting much this morning at work. I will sit a lot this afternoon, so we'll see how that is.
The thing that I really like about spinning is how I can just turn off my mind and just let my body work hard, and let the instructor push me rather than pushing myself. I don't know how to explain it, but it's therapeutic. Oddly, I don't get bored, between the music and the intervals. Plus, when you sweat that much you know you got a good workout. I needed it this morning.
My toe is still very tender. It still hurts to walk, and it hurts a lot if I touch or move it the wrong way. I was realizing today that it's only been two weeks since I broke it. Ugh. 6 more weeks, probably. Well, one day at a time.
Garmin data here.
The bad news is that I felt unusually fatigued after; some brain fog and lots of just plain tiredness. I'm not sure what's up with all that. I did nap a long time yesterday but felt like I slept OK last night anyway. I am worried it's a bit of the mystery illness. I don't have very sore muscles, but I haven't been sitting much this morning at work. I will sit a lot this afternoon, so we'll see how that is.
The thing that I really like about spinning is how I can just turn off my mind and just let my body work hard, and let the instructor push me rather than pushing myself. I don't know how to explain it, but it's therapeutic. Oddly, I don't get bored, between the music and the intervals. Plus, when you sweat that much you know you got a good workout. I needed it this morning.
My toe is still very tender. It still hurts to walk, and it hurts a lot if I touch or move it the wrong way. I was realizing today that it's only been two weeks since I broke it. Ugh. 6 more weeks, probably. Well, one day at a time.
Garmin data here.
Sunday, December 07, 2014
one foot in front of the other
These days, it's just one foot in front of the other. Try to get some good exercise. Go to work. Limp around, because my toe is still painful for ordinary walking. Try not to dwell on that misfortune. Focus on eating as well as I can given the circumstances, reminding myself that self-care is a good gift that will pay dividends. Then, forgetting. Overindulging, and re-remembering.
Along the way, some good insights happen. This was a really musical week; I spent a lot of time arranging a piece for SATB quartet with a friend from church, and then rehearsing and performing it. In addition, there was working on other choir pieces, giving piano lessons to the kids, practicing my clarinet for next week's choir piece, and today after church, kids' and adult choir rehearsal (with me and my broken toe squeezed into small organ shoes, sight-reading a nifty seasonal arrangement), and finally women's ensemble. Oh, and Friday night Loren and my mom and I went to the symphony to hear Beethoven's Ninth, which was very well done. I'm loving the music, which is my insight of the week, along with the need for some silent time, encouraged by our pastor in today's sermon.
I'm also trying to do a little reading while I cross-train. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I only managed about 30 min elliptical each day, as my body was fatigued. I'm not sure if it's the mystery illness, as I've had some leg soreness that seems akin to the weird soreness (especially after Wednesday's killer 90-min spin session), or maybe the seasonal busyness, but I crashed and needed a nap and some alone time today. That brings me back to the reading. I'm reading a book of short stories (fiction), a book about introversion (non-fiction), and a couple other things. I'm one to read as many books as possible at the same time.
And, I am thinking to take a break from most social media for a bit; the holiday season is really busy, and I want to pare down so that I can enjoy the things that matter most. I'll keep blogging, as it's more for me than for anyone else. Who knew that I would ever think writing is therapeutic (I generally dislike writing and avoid it whenever possible; part of the reason I'm in molecular biology is that I wanted a career in which writing wasn't necessary)? But a little blogging seems good for the soul, or something like that.
This week: spin class tomorrow, I think. Then, whatever my body allows. It's a balancing act, learning all over to care for myself, my family, and do my work. As seasons in life change, I must adapt, and figure out how to cope with the curve balls I've been thrown, whether it's a mystery illness, a broken toe, or something much more difficult.
My apologies for the rambling. It's good to get things out and explore them in writing.
Along the way, some good insights happen. This was a really musical week; I spent a lot of time arranging a piece for SATB quartet with a friend from church, and then rehearsing and performing it. In addition, there was working on other choir pieces, giving piano lessons to the kids, practicing my clarinet for next week's choir piece, and today after church, kids' and adult choir rehearsal (with me and my broken toe squeezed into small organ shoes, sight-reading a nifty seasonal arrangement), and finally women's ensemble. Oh, and Friday night Loren and my mom and I went to the symphony to hear Beethoven's Ninth, which was very well done. I'm loving the music, which is my insight of the week, along with the need for some silent time, encouraged by our pastor in today's sermon.
I'm also trying to do a little reading while I cross-train. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I only managed about 30 min elliptical each day, as my body was fatigued. I'm not sure if it's the mystery illness, as I've had some leg soreness that seems akin to the weird soreness (especially after Wednesday's killer 90-min spin session), or maybe the seasonal busyness, but I crashed and needed a nap and some alone time today. That brings me back to the reading. I'm reading a book of short stories (fiction), a book about introversion (non-fiction), and a couple other things. I'm one to read as many books as possible at the same time.
And, I am thinking to take a break from most social media for a bit; the holiday season is really busy, and I want to pare down so that I can enjoy the things that matter most. I'll keep blogging, as it's more for me than for anyone else. Who knew that I would ever think writing is therapeutic (I generally dislike writing and avoid it whenever possible; part of the reason I'm in molecular biology is that I wanted a career in which writing wasn't necessary)? But a little blogging seems good for the soul, or something like that.
This week: spin class tomorrow, I think. Then, whatever my body allows. It's a balancing act, learning all over to care for myself, my family, and do my work. As seasons in life change, I must adapt, and figure out how to cope with the curve balls I've been thrown, whether it's a mystery illness, a broken toe, or something much more difficult.
My apologies for the rambling. It's good to get things out and explore them in writing.
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
spinning spinning spinning
The hardest spinning class at the gym is Wednesday mornings, 5:30-7. Yup, 90 minutes of intense spinning with the most challenging instructor. I did get out of bed early and made it to the gym by about 5:35 (oops...a bit late) for this morning's insanity. And I made it through the whole class, without toe pain. Whew. Spinning seems to agree with the toe. By the time I was done, my shirt was soaking wet with sweat, so at least I know I was working hard; that, and my HR monitor showed 160 for a good portion of the "hill" climbing that we did.
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
lots of cross-training ahead
So, I finally got my toe x-rayed. I just wanted to be sure that there wasn't anything else going on in the joint, and also wanted to know that there wasn't any displacement or other problems. And while it IS broken, and quite thoroughly, it's going to heal just fine in 6-10 weeks, or so they say.Meanwhile, I'm cross-training a lot. I did elliptical yesterday and today I got daring and tried a spinning class for the first time since I broke it. That actually went fine, and I was able to do pretty much everything pain-free. So I'll be making good friends with the spin bike and the elliptical for the next few weeks.
I plan to use some of the extra time I'll have to do a bit more music stuff. I've been arranging a carol for small ensemble for church for Advent, and also am thinking to get my clarinet out and dust it off for a couple things for church and maybe for playing with a string quartet.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
cross-training mode
I'm in full-on cross-training mode. Discovered yesterday that the elliptical doesn't hurt :). That's HUGE :). So now I can spin or do the elliptical; I could possibly swim but I know it'd hurt to push off the wall with both feet, and I'd probably have to use the pull buoy - not sure I could kick. Besides, I don't really enjoy swimming that much, and would rather do the elliptical or bike. I enjoy reading novels and/or the newspaper on the elliptical (on my Kindle), so that works well. Exercise AND reading at the same time! Hard combination to beat, if you've got to cross-train.
I'm trying to avoid asking "Why me?" questions, and instead just focus on "What will I do with these circumstances?". It's a better and more useful question anyway. I'm thoroughly enjoying the extra sleep that I'm getting on this long weekend, and the chance to do a bit of housework (toe permitting...periodically I have to stop and ice it, as it gets really sore). Yesterday I did the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving turkey soup and tree decorating with my family, and though my toe did require that I stop after a while, I still very much enjoyed the day.
Training -
Friday: 30 min elliptical; 15 min stationary bike.
Today: 45 min elliptical; 15 min stationary bike.
Foot photos, and a few others:
I'm trying to avoid asking "Why me?" questions, and instead just focus on "What will I do with these circumstances?". It's a better and more useful question anyway. I'm thoroughly enjoying the extra sleep that I'm getting on this long weekend, and the chance to do a bit of housework (toe permitting...periodically I have to stop and ice it, as it gets really sore). Yesterday I did the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving turkey soup and tree decorating with my family, and though my toe did require that I stop after a while, I still very much enjoyed the day.
Training -
Friday: 30 min elliptical; 15 min stationary bike.
Today: 45 min elliptical; 15 min stationary bike.
Foot photos, and a few others:
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Limping my way through the Cold Turkey 6K
I thought I'd done this race every year since 2006, and I have, except for 2009 (off 2 months with sesamoiditis). I was SO determined to do it today in order to not break my streak...that wasn't a streak! Oh well. Determination counts for something?
I decided I'd walk the race briskly, or as briskly as I could given my infirmity. Calvin was running it, and wanted to win his age group, so he jaunted off ahead and I limped along. Pretty soon I heard someone say, "Tammy?". It was a new Wasatch Walkers club member, Jeri, and I walked with her for the whole race after that :). So nice to have company! I would have enjoyed walking slowly alone, too, but it was better to be chit-chatting and encouraging her. At left is a photo of us at the finish.
It was super nice out today - upper 40s and partly cloudy, and no wind. Lovely. I was glad to be able to limp through the race, because it would have been so depressing to just stand there and watch, especially with the weather just right.
I finished in 1:03-ish, much slower than my previous slow time of 39-ish minutes. But I didn't care at all, which was kind of nice :).
Calvin finished in 32:09, a new PR for him, and he was first in his age group. I'm a very proud mama!
My toe was only a bit painful, and after cooking all day it's more swollen and uncomfortable, but it's not much worse for the wear. I'm not at all sorry that I got some exercise, even if it was super slow.
In case you were wondering, it's even prettier these days...
I'm debating going to the doc to 1) make sure there is no joint involvement, and 2) to get a walking boot, because that would make my life a bit easier. Just not sure I want the hassle...going back and forth as to whether it's worth it or not.
OK, time to make the gravy for Thanksgiving dinner! Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone :).
I decided I'd walk the race briskly, or as briskly as I could given my infirmity. Calvin was running it, and wanted to win his age group, so he jaunted off ahead and I limped along. Pretty soon I heard someone say, "Tammy?". It was a new Wasatch Walkers club member, Jeri, and I walked with her for the whole race after that :). So nice to have company! I would have enjoyed walking slowly alone, too, but it was better to be chit-chatting and encouraging her. At left is a photo of us at the finish.It was super nice out today - upper 40s and partly cloudy, and no wind. Lovely. I was glad to be able to limp through the race, because it would have been so depressing to just stand there and watch, especially with the weather just right.
I finished in 1:03-ish, much slower than my previous slow time of 39-ish minutes. But I didn't care at all, which was kind of nice :).
Calvin finished in 32:09, a new PR for him, and he was first in his age group. I'm a very proud mama!
My toe was only a bit painful, and after cooking all day it's more swollen and uncomfortable, but it's not much worse for the wear. I'm not at all sorry that I got some exercise, even if it was super slow.In case you were wondering, it's even prettier these days...
I'm debating going to the doc to 1) make sure there is no joint involvement, and 2) to get a walking boot, because that would make my life a bit easier. Just not sure I want the hassle...going back and forth as to whether it's worth it or not.
OK, time to make the gravy for Thanksgiving dinner! Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone :).
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
feeling a bit better
My toe is still really, really ugly. Last night is the top photo; this morning is the bottom photo. But I am feeling a bit better, and can limp carefully now. Hopefully won't need the crutches today at work. I went to the gym and did 15 min on the stationary bike, and it was do-able. My legs tired quickly, and I didn't want to push it, so I stopped. I tried the spinning bike too, and that seemed fine. So hopefully I can try spinning tomorrow?
Monday, November 24, 2014
ugly!
My toe is really ugly right now. It was extremely painful today - had to use crutches most of the day and/or wheeled chair at work and/or lean hard on shopping cart in the store to gimp around.
Prognosis for Thursday's turkey trot? Very bleak. Oh well!
I am hoping to feel better in 4 weeks, but realistically it might be 8 weeks. Geez. Trying to wrap my mind around that and deal with it in a functional healthy adult manner rather than curling up in a ball, crying, and giving up. So far I'm dealing with it OK, but I suppose that will wax and wane.
For now: ice, naproxen, rest (HAHAHA! like I can rest at home or work!!!) as much as possible. Needless to say, I was unable to spin today. I might try tomorrow but only if it feels better than it did this morning.
Dangit. Blogger is malfunctioning and won't let me upload the photo. You'll just have to trust me that it is even worse than my FB photo from earlier today. It's very purple and swollen, with bruising over an inch from the toe :(.
Prognosis for Thursday's turkey trot? Very bleak. Oh well!
I am hoping to feel better in 4 weeks, but realistically it might be 8 weeks. Geez. Trying to wrap my mind around that and deal with it in a functional healthy adult manner rather than curling up in a ball, crying, and giving up. So far I'm dealing with it OK, but I suppose that will wax and wane.
For now: ice, naproxen, rest (HAHAHA! like I can rest at home or work!!!) as much as possible. Needless to say, I was unable to spin today. I might try tomorrow but only if it feels better than it did this morning.
Dangit. Blogger is malfunctioning and won't let me upload the photo. You'll just have to trust me that it is even worse than my FB photo from earlier today. It's very purple and swollen, with bruising over an inch from the toe :(.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
ouch :(
I hurt my toe this morning; stubbed it really hard on the leg of a bookcase in our room. I am quite clumsy (which is why I don't ski!).
I think I'm off RW for a little bit. If I'm lucky it'll just hurt for a few days and I can train again. If not, and it's broken (which I think it might be, judging by amount of pain and bruising), then it might be 4 weeks or more.
No sense worrying. Can't change it.
I think I'll try spinning tomorrow and see if I can do that. Walking (even casual walking) is impossible right now.
Edited to add: darn it. My legs are good today - I am recovering very well from the 1hr postal, which means if this hadn't happened I might be able to train hard again. Bummer.
I think I'm off RW for a little bit. If I'm lucky it'll just hurt for a few days and I can train again. If not, and it's broken (which I think it might be, judging by amount of pain and bruising), then it might be 4 weeks or more.
No sense worrying. Can't change it.
I think I'll try spinning tomorrow and see if I can do that. Walking (even casual walking) is impossible right now.
Edited to add: darn it. My legs are good today - I am recovering very well from the 1hr postal, which means if this hadn't happened I might be able to train hard again. Bummer.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
1hr postal
Today was the Utah Association USATF 1 hr postal racewalk. Basically, walk as far as you can in 1 hr (judged) and compete against racewalkers all over the country in the event via mail (hence, "postal").
Coming off a relapse of the mystery illness and a bad head cold, I knew this was going to not be ideal. However, I had hopes of maybe getting 10K? If I'd felt good the last few weeks this might have been attainable, given that I did a 28:50 5K at the end of October. But, I didn't feel good, and it wasn't attainable. That's the bad news. The other bad news is that I was hoping for 22 laps of the Olympic Oval (442m/lap) as a secondary goal, and I didn't reach that either. Almost... I was at 409.8m of the 442m, so I missed my secondary goal by only 32m. Oh well.
The good news is that I had no weird soreness in my legs at all until about 45 min into the race, and even then it was quite mild. Afterward at breakfast, sitting didn't hurt much at all! I'd say very slight discomfort (1 of 10?), and it's hardly hurt at all the rest of the day, though I have been doing housework, cooking, etc. Saturday chores!
So while I am disappointed at not reaching my goals, I am very happy that I'm feeling better, because that means that maybe I will be able to reach my goals next year. And maybe I can train again. Besides all that, I enjoyed time with my friends and I was able to do a very hard 1 hr workout for the first time in a long time. That's all good.
My lap times gradually got slower as I went, despite my best efforts to the contrary. I tried to keep a 2:39 per lap pace (6 min km) but after only about 7 laps it was clear that wasn't going to happen. Then I focused on my secondary goal, and at about the 6K mark I knew that was going to be close as well. However, I worked VERY VERY hard the whole race - my average HR was a whopping 168! That's very high for me for a (basically) 10K race. So I know I gave it my all. My all just wasn't very fast today. But like I said, I'm OK with this, because my mystery illness relapses seem to be farther in-between and less severe and shorter. I'm thankful for that.
Oh, I almost forgot to post my total distance: 9691.8m. It hurts to type that, but I am hoping for better in the long term.
Garmin data here.
Coming off a relapse of the mystery illness and a bad head cold, I knew this was going to not be ideal. However, I had hopes of maybe getting 10K? If I'd felt good the last few weeks this might have been attainable, given that I did a 28:50 5K at the end of October. But, I didn't feel good, and it wasn't attainable. That's the bad news. The other bad news is that I was hoping for 22 laps of the Olympic Oval (442m/lap) as a secondary goal, and I didn't reach that either. Almost... I was at 409.8m of the 442m, so I missed my secondary goal by only 32m. Oh well.
The good news is that I had no weird soreness in my legs at all until about 45 min into the race, and even then it was quite mild. Afterward at breakfast, sitting didn't hurt much at all! I'd say very slight discomfort (1 of 10?), and it's hardly hurt at all the rest of the day, though I have been doing housework, cooking, etc. Saturday chores!
So while I am disappointed at not reaching my goals, I am very happy that I'm feeling better, because that means that maybe I will be able to reach my goals next year. And maybe I can train again. Besides all that, I enjoyed time with my friends and I was able to do a very hard 1 hr workout for the first time in a long time. That's all good.
My lap times gradually got slower as I went, despite my best efforts to the contrary. I tried to keep a 2:39 per lap pace (6 min km) but after only about 7 laps it was clear that wasn't going to happen. Then I focused on my secondary goal, and at about the 6K mark I knew that was going to be close as well. However, I worked VERY VERY hard the whole race - my average HR was a whopping 168! That's very high for me for a (basically) 10K race. So I know I gave it my all. My all just wasn't very fast today. But like I said, I'm OK with this, because my mystery illness relapses seem to be farther in-between and less severe and shorter. I'm thankful for that.
Oh, I almost forgot to post my total distance: 9691.8m. It hurts to type that, but I am hoping for better in the long term.
Garmin data here.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
3K fartlek!
I actually did a whole workout. Haha, so it was only a 3K fartlek...I did it.
The bad: it was quite slow, and I felt like I was breathing through a straw. Thank you very much, upper respiratory infection.
The good: I finished it, and my legs have hardly hurt at all today. Only a tiny bit of weird soreness (1 of 10 maybe?) even with sitting in lab meeting. I am a little sore, but it's the good kind of soreness.
I was snuggled up in my warm bed this morning, and I really did NOT want to go do the workout, because I was sure I'd be physically punished for doing it. In addition, it was dark and cold, though as it turns out, it wasn't too dark by the time I got to the track around 7 am, and it wasn't that cold either, at 31F (-0.6C), with no wind at all. It was lots warmer than it has been in the mornings lately. (Though it's supposed to get cold and snow Sunday & Monday, and then get really cold on Thanksgiving next Thursday).
As usual, I'm glad I did the workout, though it didn't feel that good. At least I wasn't punished for it with leg pain all day. I'm grateful for that.
Total time was a slow 17:50, with a high average HR of 164. I was pushing and breathing but it just felt so hard to catch my breath :(. The medium effort 500s were 3:11 (slow!!!), and the fast 500s were slow too at 2:49, 2:53, 2:55, and 2:52 (managed to work the last one - not sure how - felt I was falling apart totally). But hey, it's done.
Now on to the 1 hr postal walk on Saturday. Hahahahaha that'll be interesting.
Garmin data here.
The bad: it was quite slow, and I felt like I was breathing through a straw. Thank you very much, upper respiratory infection.
The good: I finished it, and my legs have hardly hurt at all today. Only a tiny bit of weird soreness (1 of 10 maybe?) even with sitting in lab meeting. I am a little sore, but it's the good kind of soreness.
I was snuggled up in my warm bed this morning, and I really did NOT want to go do the workout, because I was sure I'd be physically punished for doing it. In addition, it was dark and cold, though as it turns out, it wasn't too dark by the time I got to the track around 7 am, and it wasn't that cold either, at 31F (-0.6C), with no wind at all. It was lots warmer than it has been in the mornings lately. (Though it's supposed to get cold and snow Sunday & Monday, and then get really cold on Thanksgiving next Thursday).
As usual, I'm glad I did the workout, though it didn't feel that good. At least I wasn't punished for it with leg pain all day. I'm grateful for that.
Total time was a slow 17:50, with a high average HR of 164. I was pushing and breathing but it just felt so hard to catch my breath :(. The medium effort 500s were 3:11 (slow!!!), and the fast 500s were slow too at 2:49, 2:53, 2:55, and 2:52 (managed to work the last one - not sure how - felt I was falling apart totally). But hey, it's done.
Now on to the 1 hr postal walk on Saturday. Hahahahaha that'll be interesting.
Garmin data here.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
rest days (sick); 5K plus 3x200m
Sunday & Monday: rest days. I planned to rest on Sunday, so that was fine, but noticed I had a cold. The cold got worse (despite lots of rest this weekend), and Monday I woke feeling awful. My legs had some of the weird soreness on Sunday & Monday, but not too much. Anyway, I decided that it would be stupid to try and push things and walk on Monday, given that I felt just terrible and wasn't even sure I could get through my work day. I did manage, but went to bed early.
***
Tuesday: felt better this morning when I woke up, so decided to go do 5K with 5x200m as Jim had suggested. I was slow but got it done no problem. Only a bit of weird soreness in my legs, which got worse as I was doing the 200m intervals, which is why I stopped at 3 of them. It wasn't bad, though - I was just being cautious. My breathing was a bit of a problem too, especially on the 200m, probably because of the cold. Hopefully I will feel better soon.
It was very cold this morning at 19F (-7.2C), and though my dog Sugar didn't seem to mind, I did. My legs were too cold in my warm pair of tights, so I have to remember to wear some long underwear underneath them when it's this cold. This is more like January weather...sigh...we are paying now for the nice fall we had? The rest of me wasn't cold with gloves, hat, long-sleeved shirt, and warm running jacket.
Total time for 5K 33:14 for 6:37/km (slow! but I am sick...so being nice to myself about this) with ave HR 146. Garmin data here.
The three 200s that I did do were slowish at about 1:05-1:06 for 3:17 total. I felt like I was going really fast, too...this cold is a killer. Garmin data here.
Leg soreness report as of 1:25pm: mild soreness on prolonged (>15min) sitting and none after standing. Feels decent.
***
Tuesday: felt better this morning when I woke up, so decided to go do 5K with 5x200m as Jim had suggested. I was slow but got it done no problem. Only a bit of weird soreness in my legs, which got worse as I was doing the 200m intervals, which is why I stopped at 3 of them. It wasn't bad, though - I was just being cautious. My breathing was a bit of a problem too, especially on the 200m, probably because of the cold. Hopefully I will feel better soon.
It was very cold this morning at 19F (-7.2C), and though my dog Sugar didn't seem to mind, I did. My legs were too cold in my warm pair of tights, so I have to remember to wear some long underwear underneath them when it's this cold. This is more like January weather...sigh...we are paying now for the nice fall we had? The rest of me wasn't cold with gloves, hat, long-sleeved shirt, and warm running jacket.
Total time for 5K 33:14 for 6:37/km (slow! but I am sick...so being nice to myself about this) with ave HR 146. Garmin data here.
The three 200s that I did do were slowish at about 1:05-1:06 for 3:17 total. I felt like I was going really fast, too...this cold is a killer. Garmin data here.
Leg soreness report as of 1:25pm: mild soreness on prolonged (>15min) sitting and none after standing. Feels decent.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
cross-training; 6K
I've been taking it really easy, to try and rest up and start feeling better.
Thursday: 35 min elliptical, and felt OK. My legs were still sore, but the elliptical didn't seem to make it worse (or better, for that matter).
Friday: 30 min elliptical, and my legs felt a bit tired after, but OK. I had to sit and inject fly embryos at work for quite a while, and sitting still was quite painful. It starts as a slight ache and builds in intensity until it's painful achy - hard to explain - and I get relief only by standing up or shifting position, which is hard to do when you're looking under the microscope.
My coach called me on Thursday, and that was really super of him. I know he's concerned, and I really appreciate that. He basically said that I need to relax, as the stress can only make it worse. He's right of course, and I am taking his advice to try to relax and not worry about it as much as is possible.
All that being said, a number of people in various spheres of my life are all saying the same thing - they are telling me that the stress is to blame, which is a bit difficult to deal with for several reasons. 1) There is some organic cause for this, and perhaps the stress does make it worse, but the stress is not the root culprit, I don't think. 2) Saying that the stress is the cause places the blame on me for my illness, and while I'm sure that's not what people mean to do, it's how it feels. I know it's a contributing factor, and I acknowledge that, but it's hard enough to navigate this without the additional guilt.
Still, I do need to deal with this appropriately, and I am trying. I really have been more relaxed the past few days, because there isn't anything I can do to fix it.
Today: I wanted to racewalk, and so I did. I went out for an easy 6K, and though my legs (naturally) didn't feel good, I did it in 39:31 for 6:35/km with ave HR 147. My legs don't feel any worse now (mid afternoon) than they did yesterday, so I am hopeful that means an easy walk didn't make things worse.
Garmin data here.
Thursday: 35 min elliptical, and felt OK. My legs were still sore, but the elliptical didn't seem to make it worse (or better, for that matter).
Friday: 30 min elliptical, and my legs felt a bit tired after, but OK. I had to sit and inject fly embryos at work for quite a while, and sitting still was quite painful. It starts as a slight ache and builds in intensity until it's painful achy - hard to explain - and I get relief only by standing up or shifting position, which is hard to do when you're looking under the microscope.
My coach called me on Thursday, and that was really super of him. I know he's concerned, and I really appreciate that. He basically said that I need to relax, as the stress can only make it worse. He's right of course, and I am taking his advice to try to relax and not worry about it as much as is possible.
All that being said, a number of people in various spheres of my life are all saying the same thing - they are telling me that the stress is to blame, which is a bit difficult to deal with for several reasons. 1) There is some organic cause for this, and perhaps the stress does make it worse, but the stress is not the root culprit, I don't think. 2) Saying that the stress is the cause places the blame on me for my illness, and while I'm sure that's not what people mean to do, it's how it feels. I know it's a contributing factor, and I acknowledge that, but it's hard enough to navigate this without the additional guilt.
Still, I do need to deal with this appropriately, and I am trying. I really have been more relaxed the past few days, because there isn't anything I can do to fix it.
Today: I wanted to racewalk, and so I did. I went out for an easy 6K, and though my legs (naturally) didn't feel good, I did it in 39:31 for 6:35/km with ave HR 147. My legs don't feel any worse now (mid afternoon) than they did yesterday, so I am hopeful that means an easy walk didn't make things worse.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
coffee with Kelly
I went to the track to do a 3K fartlek. It seemed windy when I left home, and my legs were sore going up the stairs from our basement. I should have paid attention to both.
I arrived at the track and it was SO windy that my car door blew open forcefully when I opened it a few inches. Not a good sign. Plus, it was only 23F (-5C). It was really, really cold. And windy. And you guessed it... I knew the 3K fartlek was impossible, so I went to have coffee with Kelly.
Despite the rest day, my legs still hurt this morning when I was sitting at work for even 15 minutes straight in one position (looking in the microscope). I am demoralized, fatigued, and tired of this whole thing.
I had a pity party eating fest last night that only succeeded in making me feel worse (DUH!). Not sure how to proceed other than that I have to get back up and keep going somehow.
I arrived at the track and it was SO windy that my car door blew open forcefully when I opened it a few inches. Not a good sign. Plus, it was only 23F (-5C). It was really, really cold. And windy. And you guessed it... I knew the 3K fartlek was impossible, so I went to have coffee with Kelly.
Despite the rest day, my legs still hurt this morning when I was sitting at work for even 15 minutes straight in one position (looking in the microscope). I am demoralized, fatigued, and tired of this whole thing.
I had a pity party eating fest last night that only succeeded in making me feel worse (DUH!). Not sure how to proceed other than that I have to get back up and keep going somehow.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Sunday-Tuesday
Sunday: rest day. Legs very achy and painful upon sitting.
***
Monday: coach said to do 5K plus 5x200m. I went out and got going and my legs were hurting within the first km. I did 5K and I was DONE. No 200s for me. The 5K was all right; slowish at 32:02 but OK otherwise. Legs were really annoying the rest of the day - just dull aches and sore. Garmin data here.
***
Tuesday: spinning class with Kelly. I took it really easy, but I think it might have been too much. Legs bothering me a bit all day; achy and sore. Tonight after dinner I am super fatigued and just want to go to sleep early. I think I will.
***
Monday: coach said to do 5K plus 5x200m. I went out and got going and my legs were hurting within the first km. I did 5K and I was DONE. No 200s for me. The 5K was all right; slowish at 32:02 but OK otherwise. Legs were really annoying the rest of the day - just dull aches and sore. Garmin data here.
***
Tuesday: spinning class with Kelly. I took it really easy, but I think it might have been too much. Legs bothering me a bit all day; achy and sore. Tonight after dinner I am super fatigued and just want to go to sleep early. I think I will.
Saturday, November 08, 2014
cross-training; 8K; relapsing?
I am trying to recover and feel better, and unsure of how to proceed.
Thursday: took it easy with 30 min on the elliptical. Oddly, I felt good and did about 4.35 miles in 30 minutes; on this elliptical that is a bit above average for me. Ave HR was 139, so I wasn't pushing too hard. Garmin data here.
Friday: 1 hr spinning class, but again took it pretty easy and watched my heart rate so I wouldn't push too hard. Kept it mostly between 130 and 145, with a little between 145 and 150. Average was 139. Garmin data here.
Today: Coach said I could try to RW today and see how it went, and he said to go as I felt I could. I had in my head to do 10K, my legs thought 6K would be good, and so we compromised with 8K. My legs had some of the weird soreness in the last km, and after I RW I took my son to his futsal (indoor soccer) game and then to breakfast. I really noticed the soreness while sitting at the game and at breakfast. It's not the worst it's been, but definitely there.
On the positive side, I was very glad to be able to racewalk, and did 8K in 51:18 for 6:25/km with ave HR 150. OK, all things considered. I guess.
Garmin data here.
***
Random thoughts.
What to do? Apparently I need to manage my problem as a chronic illness. This is the message I'm getting from my husband and also from my coach. I really wish I could figure out what was wrong, but I just do not know. Sometimes "why?" questions are just not helpful. At this point I feel I need to focus on what I can do, be grateful for the little things and thankful that the fatigue is not as severe as it was. It's hard to maintain a good attitude, but the alternative is not helpful.
I need to narrow my focus as well. My eating has been out of control lately, and since I can't exercise as much as I want, it's been more of a problem. I also haven't been attending my Weight Watchers meetings. Hmmmm, not smart. I've had good excuses (out of town, watching a friends' kids, etc.), but obviously I'm not focused on the right things right now. I can't train like I want, and so there's not a lot of point investing a huge amount of energy, both mental and physical, in training. It makes more sense at this point to train as much as my body allows, which isn't much at the moment, and spend more energy on my eating habits and the psychological habits that will help me feel better and treat my body better. I've been reading a book on parenting that suggests that choosing two things at a time to work on with your kids is a good idea (i.e. getting them to do just two behaviors that are desirable), and I think that is a reasonable principle for adults as well. So for right now, one behavior for me to work on is weight management via eating habits/psych habits. Along with that, another useful behavior is good sleep hygiene vis a vis less Facebook and more reading. This feels right as I consider it.
Any input from my few remaining readers is welcome :). I know now that my coach, my mom (who's out of the country and therefore not reading it right now), Nyle, and Ollie still read this.
As for the future, I'd still like to do a half marathon in March. I don't know if that will be possible. I hope so, but I'm not sure, so I am not signing up for it yet. I did already sign up for a half marathon in April, so we'll see how that goes. In two weeks I have a 1-hour postal, which seems ludicrous right now, but if I feel better I think it could go OK. I was in reasonable shape before all this happened (again).
Our family is trying to budget to go to World Masters in Perth in 2016, but it's going to be very expensive, and if I'm not feeling better then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Sad, but true. However, I don't have to make any decisions about that at this point except for budgeting and saving like it's going to happen, which isn't a bad thing to do in any case.
Thanks for listening.
Thursday: took it easy with 30 min on the elliptical. Oddly, I felt good and did about 4.35 miles in 30 minutes; on this elliptical that is a bit above average for me. Ave HR was 139, so I wasn't pushing too hard. Garmin data here.
Friday: 1 hr spinning class, but again took it pretty easy and watched my heart rate so I wouldn't push too hard. Kept it mostly between 130 and 145, with a little between 145 and 150. Average was 139. Garmin data here.
Today: Coach said I could try to RW today and see how it went, and he said to go as I felt I could. I had in my head to do 10K, my legs thought 6K would be good, and so we compromised with 8K. My legs had some of the weird soreness in the last km, and after I RW I took my son to his futsal (indoor soccer) game and then to breakfast. I really noticed the soreness while sitting at the game and at breakfast. It's not the worst it's been, but definitely there.
On the positive side, I was very glad to be able to racewalk, and did 8K in 51:18 for 6:25/km with ave HR 150. OK, all things considered. I guess.
Garmin data here.
***
Random thoughts.
What to do? Apparently I need to manage my problem as a chronic illness. This is the message I'm getting from my husband and also from my coach. I really wish I could figure out what was wrong, but I just do not know. Sometimes "why?" questions are just not helpful. At this point I feel I need to focus on what I can do, be grateful for the little things and thankful that the fatigue is not as severe as it was. It's hard to maintain a good attitude, but the alternative is not helpful.
I need to narrow my focus as well. My eating has been out of control lately, and since I can't exercise as much as I want, it's been more of a problem. I also haven't been attending my Weight Watchers meetings. Hmmmm, not smart. I've had good excuses (out of town, watching a friends' kids, etc.), but obviously I'm not focused on the right things right now. I can't train like I want, and so there's not a lot of point investing a huge amount of energy, both mental and physical, in training. It makes more sense at this point to train as much as my body allows, which isn't much at the moment, and spend more energy on my eating habits and the psychological habits that will help me feel better and treat my body better. I've been reading a book on parenting that suggests that choosing two things at a time to work on with your kids is a good idea (i.e. getting them to do just two behaviors that are desirable), and I think that is a reasonable principle for adults as well. So for right now, one behavior for me to work on is weight management via eating habits/psych habits. Along with that, another useful behavior is good sleep hygiene vis a vis less Facebook and more reading. This feels right as I consider it.
Any input from my few remaining readers is welcome :). I know now that my coach, my mom (who's out of the country and therefore not reading it right now), Nyle, and Ollie still read this.
As for the future, I'd still like to do a half marathon in March. I don't know if that will be possible. I hope so, but I'm not sure, so I am not signing up for it yet. I did already sign up for a half marathon in April, so we'll see how that goes. In two weeks I have a 1-hour postal, which seems ludicrous right now, but if I feel better I think it could go OK. I was in reasonable shape before all this happened (again).
Our family is trying to budget to go to World Masters in Perth in 2016, but it's going to be very expensive, and if I'm not feeling better then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Sad, but true. However, I don't have to make any decisions about that at this point except for budgeting and saving like it's going to happen, which isn't a bad thing to do in any case.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Spinning; partial fartlek
I was going to entitle this "fartlek fail", but I am trying to be more positive and talk to myself the same way I'd talk to a friend. Cognitive therapy has its benefits :).
First, yesterday I went spinning. I was VERY careful this time and had an ave HR of 137 for the workout. I didn't go over 150 except for once for about 15 seconds. I was super cautious. Garmin data here.
Last night I turned off my lights at 8:35 pm and I slept until 5:35 am, 9 hours. I felt good when I woke up. I say all this to show that I did everything possible to take it easy on myself and feel good for today's 8K fartlek, which I was very apprehensive about doing given what's been going on this week. But I figured I was feeling better and could do it.
I warmed up and felt so-so, doing my 1600m plus strides in 10:10 but not feeling terribly energetic. I didn't feel bad, though. I was wearing a brand-new pair of NB1400 shoes (my current fave model) and felt ready to go.
I started the fartlek conservatively, knowing I had 8K to go. I did 2:52 and 2:54 for the first 1km and felt OK. Then for the 500m medium effort I did 3:07, and that felt all right too. The next 500m hard was a 2:55, and I think the wheels were starting to fall off. By the medium effort 500m (3:11), I knew it wasn't good. My legs had some weird soreness and I just didn't feel right. I wasn't sure if or when I should stop, but I told myself I'd know and to not worry about it. The next hard 500m was in 2:58, taking me to 3km in 17:58. My legs really hurt. I stopped. I reconsidered. I rested a minute and did 200m medium effort in 1:16, and called it quits when my legs hurt more. Garmin data here. HR was in the low 160s, which seems normal, and all that felt fine. It was just my legs, not my breathing or cardio.
My legs really bothered me today at work, sitting at my desk working on a power point for lab meeting tomorrow (I'm presenting data). So now, after work, I'm at home at my kitchen table trying to figure things out. I am SO frustrated. I am ready to throw in the towel for a while. I know overall I'm still getting better, but maybe I should just wait and let my body recover 100% before I try to train more? But on the other hand, there is a club 1hr postal in 2 weeks that I *really* want to do, plus a half marathon in March I want to do, and besides that, I miss racewalking the long ones and would love to do a marathon or 50K again. ARRRRRGHHHHHHH.
But my legs hurt. I am mentally not 100% due to some factors that I can't make public on the blog. Plus it's going into winter and I'm definitely feeling that. Dark and cold are approaching. I just don't feel good, and feel I don't have any energy to put into training right now.
So, I do want to do it, and I don't. I'm divided. It's creating more stress not knowing what I should do. I've worked so hard to come back as far as I have, I had a good race 10 days ago, and I'm not sure I'm ready to give up. But I can't seem to put a good workout together. Oh, and add in that I'm struggling big-time with my weight and eating right, and I am worried about putting more energy in there. And Christmas is coming. And I'm a mom. And I have to run choir practice at church. And make sure the laundry gets done and that we have healthy food on the table. And work is demanding, even if I like it.
RANT! RANT! RANT!
Rant over. Not sure I feel better, but I got it out there. So much for being positive, and cognitive therapy, etc. :)
First, yesterday I went spinning. I was VERY careful this time and had an ave HR of 137 for the workout. I didn't go over 150 except for once for about 15 seconds. I was super cautious. Garmin data here.
Last night I turned off my lights at 8:35 pm and I slept until 5:35 am, 9 hours. I felt good when I woke up. I say all this to show that I did everything possible to take it easy on myself and feel good for today's 8K fartlek, which I was very apprehensive about doing given what's been going on this week. But I figured I was feeling better and could do it.
I warmed up and felt so-so, doing my 1600m plus strides in 10:10 but not feeling terribly energetic. I didn't feel bad, though. I was wearing a brand-new pair of NB1400 shoes (my current fave model) and felt ready to go.
I started the fartlek conservatively, knowing I had 8K to go. I did 2:52 and 2:54 for the first 1km and felt OK. Then for the 500m medium effort I did 3:07, and that felt all right too. The next 500m hard was a 2:55, and I think the wheels were starting to fall off. By the medium effort 500m (3:11), I knew it wasn't good. My legs had some weird soreness and I just didn't feel right. I wasn't sure if or when I should stop, but I told myself I'd know and to not worry about it. The next hard 500m was in 2:58, taking me to 3km in 17:58. My legs really hurt. I stopped. I reconsidered. I rested a minute and did 200m medium effort in 1:16, and called it quits when my legs hurt more. Garmin data here. HR was in the low 160s, which seems normal, and all that felt fine. It was just my legs, not my breathing or cardio.
My legs really bothered me today at work, sitting at my desk working on a power point for lab meeting tomorrow (I'm presenting data). So now, after work, I'm at home at my kitchen table trying to figure things out. I am SO frustrated. I am ready to throw in the towel for a while. I know overall I'm still getting better, but maybe I should just wait and let my body recover 100% before I try to train more? But on the other hand, there is a club 1hr postal in 2 weeks that I *really* want to do, plus a half marathon in March I want to do, and besides that, I miss racewalking the long ones and would love to do a marathon or 50K again. ARRRRRGHHHHHHH.
But my legs hurt. I am mentally not 100% due to some factors that I can't make public on the blog. Plus it's going into winter and I'm definitely feeling that. Dark and cold are approaching. I just don't feel good, and feel I don't have any energy to put into training right now.
So, I do want to do it, and I don't. I'm divided. It's creating more stress not knowing what I should do. I've worked so hard to come back as far as I have, I had a good race 10 days ago, and I'm not sure I'm ready to give up. But I can't seem to put a good workout together. Oh, and add in that I'm struggling big-time with my weight and eating right, and I am worried about putting more energy in there. And Christmas is coming. And I'm a mom. And I have to run choir practice at church. And make sure the laundry gets done and that we have healthy food on the table. And work is demanding, even if I like it.
RANT! RANT! RANT!
Rant over. Not sure I feel better, but I got it out there. So much for being positive, and cognitive therapy, etc. :)
Monday, November 03, 2014
8K
Today I managed 8K and my legs did all right; the last km they were definitely not great, so I opted to skip the 5x200m. I felt a bit guilty about this, but my coach specifically has told me to really listen to my body right now and to not do things if they don't feel right, so I stopped.
Up until then I felt pretty good, and did 50:45ish for the 8km (watch says 8.17, but the first 500m was NOT 500m - the watch screwed up badly; I know where 500m is on that route and I also know my first 500m was NOT in 2:17!!! Now that would have been fast!) for ~6:20/km with ave HR 149.
Garmin data here.
We finally switched back to standard time, which is a huge relief as it wasn't quite so pitch black this morning (though in a few weeks it will be again...sigh.....). I know I blog a lot about the light and the weather, but it affects my mood a lot and is very relevant to my racewalking because of that. It was 37F (2.8C) for my walk this morning, which is seasonally chilly, but comfortable. It wasn't windy, and with a long-sleeved shirt and tights and gloves I was perfectly happy. One added side benefit of long hair is that I can leave it down in the winter and it helps a LOT to keep my head warm. Feels great!
Tomorrow ... either spinning (I will take it easy! I promise!) or possibly 8K fartlek. Not sure... leaning towards spinning, though my legs might be good enough for speed work? We'll see. Stay tuned. Not that anyone still reads this besides my coach and my mom...
Up until then I felt pretty good, and did 50:45ish for the 8km (watch says 8.17, but the first 500m was NOT 500m - the watch screwed up badly; I know where 500m is on that route and I also know my first 500m was NOT in 2:17!!! Now that would have been fast!) for ~6:20/km with ave HR 149.
Garmin data here.
We finally switched back to standard time, which is a huge relief as it wasn't quite so pitch black this morning (though in a few weeks it will be again...sigh.....). I know I blog a lot about the light and the weather, but it affects my mood a lot and is very relevant to my racewalking because of that. It was 37F (2.8C) for my walk this morning, which is seasonally chilly, but comfortable. It wasn't windy, and with a long-sleeved shirt and tights and gloves I was perfectly happy. One added side benefit of long hair is that I can leave it down in the winter and it helps a LOT to keep my head warm. Feels great!
Tomorrow ... either spinning (I will take it easy! I promise!) or possibly 8K fartlek. Not sure... leaning towards spinning, though my legs might be good enough for speed work? We'll see. Stay tuned. Not that anyone still reads this besides my coach and my mom...
Saturday, November 01, 2014
10K and OK?
I did 10K this morning, and I *think* I'm OK. Probably?
My legs definitely had some weird soreness yesterday (rest day) and a bit today during my 10K, but afterward they seem OK. I think. I cancelled my afternoon piano student so that I can get in an extra nap - I definitely need some sleep to try and nip this in the bud in case it worsens.
The 10K was all right other than the leg soreness. At 4km I did take about a 15 min break to chat with a friend and introduce her to my dog, but when I started up again my legs actually felt *better* than they did before I stopped. Whatever! Weird, but good. I finished up OK and my time was decent; 1:02:55 for 6:18/km with ave HR 150. It was oddly warm and windy, as a storm is blowing in. It was 66F (18.9C) just before 10am when I finally walked out the door (I had to take Calvin to an indoor soccer game this morning at 8am so didn't walk until after it was over). That didn't seem to bother me, though, and other than extra dog slobber (Sugar has a warm fur coat and gets hot) it was no big deal.
I admit I'm a bit anxious that I'm having another relapse, but if I am it seems to be minor in comparison with previous relapses. I'm hoping this is not a big deal and that I'll feel good next week. All the same, I'm wondering if I should take some more time off? I have had a bunch of personal stress lately and training on top of all of this is not easy. Perhaps all the stress has contributed to how I'm feeling. Regardless, I have a 1-hr race on November 22 that I want to do, so I should at least walk at some minimal level until then? I feel a bit unsure of what direction to take. I also have a half marathon I want to do in March, and if I'm feeling good, there's a marathon I want to do in June, and of course the 50K next year... but I can only do these things if my body permits. It's confusing and frustrating.
Garmin data here.
My legs definitely had some weird soreness yesterday (rest day) and a bit today during my 10K, but afterward they seem OK. I think. I cancelled my afternoon piano student so that I can get in an extra nap - I definitely need some sleep to try and nip this in the bud in case it worsens.
The 10K was all right other than the leg soreness. At 4km I did take about a 15 min break to chat with a friend and introduce her to my dog, but when I started up again my legs actually felt *better* than they did before I stopped. Whatever! Weird, but good. I finished up OK and my time was decent; 1:02:55 for 6:18/km with ave HR 150. It was oddly warm and windy, as a storm is blowing in. It was 66F (18.9C) just before 10am when I finally walked out the door (I had to take Calvin to an indoor soccer game this morning at 8am so didn't walk until after it was over). That didn't seem to bother me, though, and other than extra dog slobber (Sugar has a warm fur coat and gets hot) it was no big deal.
I admit I'm a bit anxious that I'm having another relapse, but if I am it seems to be minor in comparison with previous relapses. I'm hoping this is not a big deal and that I'll feel good next week. All the same, I'm wondering if I should take some more time off? I have had a bunch of personal stress lately and training on top of all of this is not easy. Perhaps all the stress has contributed to how I'm feeling. Regardless, I have a 1-hr race on November 22 that I want to do, so I should at least walk at some minimal level until then? I feel a bit unsure of what direction to take. I also have a half marathon I want to do in March, and if I'm feeling good, there's a marathon I want to do in June, and of course the 50K next year... but I can only do these things if my body permits. It's confusing and frustrating.
Garmin data here.
Friday, October 31, 2014
small (I hope) setback
I overdid that spinning class. A lot.
Thursday I went to the track, hoping I could do my workout. Ummmm, no. Just no. I tried to warm up, but my legs were really heavy and my right anterior tibialis was giving me fits (very sore). I did 2km, the first in a very slow 7:13, and the second in about 6:45. Everything felt lousy, so I stopped (wisely), and I took Kelly out for coffee since she had met me at the track at 6:05 am, and it was dark and chilly (low 40s F; maybe 5-6C?).
Today I *should* have cross-trained, but I was so very, very tired, and just couldn't get up early enough to make it work. It's Halloween and I had to get the kids' costumes all fixed up for school, and then I was meeting my dad for breakfast at 7:30am. That left very little time to work out unless I could manage to go from 5:30-6:30am, and though I set my alarm for 5:20am, I wasn't successful in getting out of bed :(. I think it is OK, but I am a bit frustrated/irritated/annoyed with myself. I think it's probably for the best as I am tired and my legs definitely have had some of the weird soreness going on with prolonged sitting today (for example, while eating breakfast with my dad). I generally don't have to sit much at work, so that was fine, but all the same, I'm a bit concerned.
Tomorrow I think I will try to walk and see how I feel. I will play it by ear, and go as far as I am comfortable up to 12K, which is my assigned distance.
Thursday I went to the track, hoping I could do my workout. Ummmm, no. Just no. I tried to warm up, but my legs were really heavy and my right anterior tibialis was giving me fits (very sore). I did 2km, the first in a very slow 7:13, and the second in about 6:45. Everything felt lousy, so I stopped (wisely), and I took Kelly out for coffee since she had met me at the track at 6:05 am, and it was dark and chilly (low 40s F; maybe 5-6C?).
Today I *should* have cross-trained, but I was so very, very tired, and just couldn't get up early enough to make it work. It's Halloween and I had to get the kids' costumes all fixed up for school, and then I was meeting my dad for breakfast at 7:30am. That left very little time to work out unless I could manage to go from 5:30-6:30am, and though I set my alarm for 5:20am, I wasn't successful in getting out of bed :(. I think it is OK, but I am a bit frustrated/irritated/annoyed with myself. I think it's probably for the best as I am tired and my legs definitely have had some of the weird soreness going on with prolonged sitting today (for example, while eating breakfast with my dad). I generally don't have to sit much at work, so that was fine, but all the same, I'm a bit concerned.
Tomorrow I think I will try to walk and see how I feel. I will play it by ear, and go as far as I am comfortable up to 12K, which is my assigned distance.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Spinning
Whew. Today's spin workout was tough. Jen is a good instructor who knows how to get the most out of a class. Seriously, I don't think I've had my HR this high spinning in a long time (on one of the intervals it was about 165 for a few minutes). Usually in spinning my perceived exertion is much higher for the same HR as it is for racewalking, oddly. But today it felt more similar, or even like I wasn't working THAT hard, but my HR was a lot higher than I thought. That hardly ever happens while spinning. I usually think my HR must be super high, and then I look and it's not. Whatever.... just odd...
On the down side, after the workout I felt pretty tired, and I'm also a bit lightheaded/dizzy. And my right anterior tibialis muscle is giving me grief. Maybe I pushed it too hard?
Garmin data here.
On the down side, after the workout I felt pretty tired, and I'm also a bit lightheaded/dizzy. And my right anterior tibialis muscle is giving me grief. Maybe I pushed it too hard?
Garmin data here.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
tired 8K
My legs felt decent this morning before my walk, but they were definitely tired, and I wore out pretty quickly during the walk. I was to do 8K plus 5x200m, and let's just say that 1) I woke up a bit late, and didn't have time for the 200s, AND 2) it's probably better that I didn't do them because my legs were feeling this workout later today. I had a slight bit of soreness upon sitting today, and driving just a little bit made it a bit worse. Nothing serious or anything to worry about, but I definitely am not recovering as well as I would have liked from the race.
So, this morning's walk was 8K in 51:39 for 6:27/km. Not very impressive. Glad that coach changed it as originally he was thinking to have me do 5x1km intervals! Eeek!
Garmin data here.
Edited to add: oh, and it was cold and dark :(. It almost froze this morning; my iPhone said 34F but Garmin says 36F (2.2C). Not unseasonably cold, but I'm just really NOT ready for winter. Ugh.
So, this morning's walk was 8K in 51:39 for 6:27/km. Not very impressive. Glad that coach changed it as originally he was thinking to have me do 5x1km intervals! Eeek!
Garmin data here.
Edited to add: oh, and it was cold and dark :(. It almost froze this morning; my iPhone said 34F but Garmin says 36F (2.2C). Not unseasonably cold, but I'm just really NOT ready for winter. Ugh.
Monday, October 27, 2014
race weekend
I went to Sacramento to race this weekend... in brief:
Saturday: 20 min with strides. Felt a bit sluggish and awkward to start but warmed up well and did 5:59/km for the 20 min with four strides; I did 3.35km. Legs felt good afterwards. Walked around the Davis farmer's market with my brother and his family and Grace (who came with me, but didn't end up doing the race).
Sunday: Race day! I was about 40 min from the park where the race was, so Grace and I left Davis about 6:25am, and arrived just after 7am at William Pond park. This was a USATF Pacific Association 20K race with a concurrent 5K, so the 20K was the main event. I will do the 20K next time, I hope :).
I warmed up for just 1km; I was a bit nervous about my legs holding up. Turns out I needn't have worried, but better safe than sorry as long as I was warmed up. I did strides after that in the parking lot near the finish line. I felt good but wasn't sure of myself at all. I talked with my friend Alex Price, and he said that he, Mark Green, and Adrian Zamudio all planned on going out at 29 min 5K pace for their 20K, with a goal of a 1:56 finish. Perfect! I could just go with them and have help with pacing. Turns out I didn't need it too much; I stuck with Adrian for about 4K then he pulled ahead. Mark and Alex were just behind me but because I felt good and was a little under 29 min pace, I didn't worry about that. There was a cone marking the 500m mark on this 1km out-and-back course, so it was super easy to get my splits.
Turns out I paced things pretty well with the guys - here are my splits: 5:43, 5:44, 5:46, 5:50, 5:47. That's pretty darn good. Seriously, I felt really good for the whole race (maybe it was the sea level altitude?); on the 4th km I eased back just a touch to make sure I had enough, but probably didn't need to - it was nerves? I dunno, but I am super happy with the outcome. Yeah, not nearly as fast as I used to be, but that will come back with time and training and losing a bit of weight, IF I continue to feel good. That's a big IF, but I'm hoping and hoping it will be true.
Photos: me with Grace, me with Robyn Stevens (winner of 20K in 1:46:xx), me with my award.
Edited to add: race temps were chilly at 48F (8.9C) but it was just perfect, actually! I warmed up with gloves on but ditched them and was perfectly comfortable in short sleeved shirt and shorts, with the sun warming us gently.
Garmin data here for race.
Today: recovery day - 20 min elliptical, bike to work (it was cold! my toes got chilly! I think it was about 41 this morning (5C)).
Saturday: 20 min with strides. Felt a bit sluggish and awkward to start but warmed up well and did 5:59/km for the 20 min with four strides; I did 3.35km. Legs felt good afterwards. Walked around the Davis farmer's market with my brother and his family and Grace (who came with me, but didn't end up doing the race).
Sunday: Race day! I was about 40 min from the park where the race was, so Grace and I left Davis about 6:25am, and arrived just after 7am at William Pond park. This was a USATF Pacific Association 20K race with a concurrent 5K, so the 20K was the main event. I will do the 20K next time, I hope :).I warmed up for just 1km; I was a bit nervous about my legs holding up. Turns out I needn't have worried, but better safe than sorry as long as I was warmed up. I did strides after that in the parking lot near the finish line. I felt good but wasn't sure of myself at all. I talked with my friend Alex Price, and he said that he, Mark Green, and Adrian Zamudio all planned on going out at 29 min 5K pace for their 20K, with a goal of a 1:56 finish. Perfect! I could just go with them and have help with pacing. Turns out I didn't need it too much; I stuck with Adrian for about 4K then he pulled ahead. Mark and Alex were just behind me but because I felt good and was a little under 29 min pace, I didn't worry about that. There was a cone marking the 500m mark on this 1km out-and-back course, so it was super easy to get my splits.
Turns out I paced things pretty well with the guys - here are my splits: 5:43, 5:44, 5:46, 5:50, 5:47. That's pretty darn good. Seriously, I felt really good for the whole race (maybe it was the sea level altitude?); on the 4th km I eased back just a touch to make sure I had enough, but probably didn't need to - it was nerves? I dunno, but I am super happy with the outcome. Yeah, not nearly as fast as I used to be, but that will come back with time and training and losing a bit of weight, IF I continue to feel good. That's a big IF, but I'm hoping and hoping it will be true.Photos: me with Grace, me with Robyn Stevens (winner of 20K in 1:46:xx), me with my award.
Edited to add: race temps were chilly at 48F (8.9C) but it was just perfect, actually! I warmed up with gloves on but ditched them and was perfectly comfortable in short sleeved shirt and shorts, with the sun warming us gently.
Garmin data here for race. Today: recovery day - 20 min elliptical, bike to work (it was cold! my toes got chilly! I think it was about 41 this morning (5C)).
Friday, October 24, 2014
x-train; easy 5K
Yesterday: spinning class. I worked it hard, as we did some good hill climbing. I was feeling that a bit in my glutes this morning!
Today: 5K easy. Nice! I took the dog out and just went and got it done. It was about 45F, clear, and calm, but still dark when I went out. Still a nice morning, and aside from a little soreness from the spinning I felt fine, and have continued to feel good this morning at work. Total time was 31:06 for 6:12/km with ave HR 149 (though it was probably a bit less as my HR monitor spiked for the first km or so).
Garmin data here.
5K race Saturday morning in Sacramento :)! I'm bringing Grace with me and visiting my brother's family in Davis, CA, but Calvin and Loren are staying home and holding down the fort, and doing lots of guy stuff (i.e. watching the World Series, and rooting for the Giants all the way!).
Today: 5K easy. Nice! I took the dog out and just went and got it done. It was about 45F, clear, and calm, but still dark when I went out. Still a nice morning, and aside from a little soreness from the spinning I felt fine, and have continued to feel good this morning at work. Total time was 31:06 for 6:12/km with ave HR 149 (though it was probably a bit less as my HR monitor spiked for the first km or so).
Garmin data here.
5K race Saturday morning in Sacramento :)! I'm bringing Grace with me and visiting my brother's family in Davis, CA, but Calvin and Loren are staying home and holding down the fort, and doing lots of guy stuff (i.e. watching the World Series, and rooting for the Giants all the way!).
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
elliptical; 4x1km
Tuesday: elliptical 40 min. Planned to bike to work after that but 1) weather looked iffy (and I'm a fair-weather cyclist!), and 2) legs felt a little tired, so I decided to take the bus.
Wednesday: 4x1km with #2 and #4 @ 85%. Met Kelly at the track at 6:15am; it was pitch dark and 41F (5C), with a little breeze that felt pretty cold every time we came around the first 100m. Sigh...summer is definitely gone and winter is on the way. I asked Kelly, "Why are we here???" because I really wanted to be in bed reading a book all curled up. She said she'd rather be taking a hot shower. We laughed, and started warming up (she was just running while I RW, and not doing intervals, just trying to build her strength). I did a rather sluggish warm-up, but my legs felt OK; just the usual 1600m with 2x100m strides.
The workout: the first km felt not-so-great; I was tired and sluggish. I only managed a 5:45. I felt much smoother on the second one @85%, which was slower at 5:52. The third one felt better than the first one, and I did 5:43. The last one I managed another 5:52. OK, but certainly nothing to write home about.
The good news is that I felt better after working out and getting a cup of coffee :), and had a much better attitude. That counts for something. Also, my legs felt pretty decent the rest of the day and I feel like I could RW tomorrow. I'm not going to, as I have a 5K race on Sunday that I do care about, so I'm going to spin tomorrow and then do 5-6km easy on Friday and a little short workout on Saturday. That's the plan, anyway.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday: 4x1km with #2 and #4 @ 85%. Met Kelly at the track at 6:15am; it was pitch dark and 41F (5C), with a little breeze that felt pretty cold every time we came around the first 100m. Sigh...summer is definitely gone and winter is on the way. I asked Kelly, "Why are we here???" because I really wanted to be in bed reading a book all curled up. She said she'd rather be taking a hot shower. We laughed, and started warming up (she was just running while I RW, and not doing intervals, just trying to build her strength). I did a rather sluggish warm-up, but my legs felt OK; just the usual 1600m with 2x100m strides.
The workout: the first km felt not-so-great; I was tired and sluggish. I only managed a 5:45. I felt much smoother on the second one @85%, which was slower at 5:52. The third one felt better than the first one, and I did 5:43. The last one I managed another 5:52. OK, but certainly nothing to write home about.
The good news is that I felt better after working out and getting a cup of coffee :), and had a much better attitude. That counts for something. Also, my legs felt pretty decent the rest of the day and I feel like I could RW tomorrow. I'm not going to, as I have a 5K race on Sunday that I do care about, so I'm going to spin tomorrow and then do 5-6km easy on Friday and a little short workout on Saturday. That's the plan, anyway.
Garmin data here.
Monday, October 20, 2014
rest day; 8K + 5x200
Sunday: rest day; took my mom to the opera for her birthday!***
Today: woke up a little late, and was feeling tired and sluggish and a bit gloomy. I knew that I really needed to racewalk to shake off the blues. My legs felt good and I was sure that they would do well, so there wasn't too much anxiety, and besides, the weather was lovely. It was 50F (10C) and clear and calm; we've had perfect fall weather for a lot of October and I'm just soaking it in.
My workout was 8K plus 5x200m, and I took the dog and got out there. Even though I left pretty late (7:05? 7:10?) it was still dark and I had to wear my headlamp and reflective vest. Grrrr. So annoying that Daylight Savings is still going as it makes it darker in the morning for racewalking. I had a good walk anyway; 50:38 for the 8K for 6:20/km with ave HR 146, and best of all, my legs felt good and strong. Garmin data here.
I actually succeeded in getting the dog to do the 200s with me today :). I did them in 1:02-3ish each for a total of 5:14 for the five 200s. Garmin data here.
Tomorrow: plan to spin with Kelly.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
10K
Yup, I did 10K today after my track workout yesterday. And I feel OK! Yes, my legs were a bit sore, but they didn't crap out on me, and I made it feeling fine. I wasn't fast but wasn't exactly slow, either.
Glorious morning here with clear skies, no wind, and temps in upper 40s (46F, 7.8C). Very nice out. I did two 5K out and back segments from Kelly's apartment complex, so that I could do 10K and she could do 5K with me for the second part. That worked out really well, and we found a good way to get to the Jordan River Parkway from her new place. Awesome.
I brought the dog for a little exercise, and I'm sure she enjoyed it as much as I did. Though my legs were a bit tired and I wouldn't have wanted to do a lot more, 10K was just perfect for a morning tune-up. I'm glad the past couple weeks are behind me. Hopefully I can get some rest this weekend and be ready to train harder next week.
Total time: 1:04:23 for 6:26/km with ave HR 145. Happy with that for a nice easy day.
Garmin data here.
Glorious morning here with clear skies, no wind, and temps in upper 40s (46F, 7.8C). Very nice out. I did two 5K out and back segments from Kelly's apartment complex, so that I could do 10K and she could do 5K with me for the second part. That worked out really well, and we found a good way to get to the Jordan River Parkway from her new place. Awesome.
I brought the dog for a little exercise, and I'm sure she enjoyed it as much as I did. Though my legs were a bit tired and I wouldn't have wanted to do a lot more, 10K was just perfect for a morning tune-up. I'm glad the past couple weeks are behind me. Hopefully I can get some rest this weekend and be ready to train harder next week.
Total time: 1:04:23 for 6:26/km with ave HR 145. Happy with that for a nice easy day.
Garmin data here.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Hanging in there. Miscellaneous + 5x800/200.
Tuesday: elliptical for 25 min. I was feeling better but not great yet.
Wednesday: family morning meltdown - was supposed to do a track workout, but Loren had a 7am meeting and I had forgotten, so I didn't get up early enough to do it before he left for work. Arrrrgh. Could NOT find time to do later in the day, and besides, it was 40kph (25mph) winds. I could have done it at the indoor track, but there really was no other time that day. Sad. But I think mentally I wasn't up for it either. :(
Thursday: should have gone to the track to make up the Wed workout, but decided I couldn't mentally handle it. Kelly was going spinning at 6am for an hour, so I met her there and did the spinning class, which actually was 1) quite fun, and 2) helpful from the mental standpoint. Exercise but no pressure. I think right now I feel like racewalking is pressure, and I'm not sure why. At least the track workout part. I am trying to reframe this because I need to look at it differently. This might take time and some thought? Or I'm just overthinking it? Anyone else feel this way about their hard workouts? Thoughts? Input?
Friday: Finally made it to the track. I did the workout that was assigned for today, which was a warm-up plus 5x800/200, with 2' rest between sets and 30 sec between the 800m and 200m. I like this workout. I usually can get excited about it. Today I was just not interested at all. I woke up not caring at all whether I racewalked or not. I didn't care about racewalking. I had no interest. I made myself not overthink things and went to the track anyway. After my warm-up, I felt better and decided I did want to racewalk; well, mostly. It was a beautiful morning at the track, and I got there late because the kids are off school so there was no hurry to get back home (my parents had them overnight! YES!). I saw the sun rise as I was warming up, and the temperature was lovely - 45F (7C) with no wind, and clear. I was thankful for the good conditions because I needed every encouragement to continue.
I did the workout well until the last one, and I got tired. I confess I pushed hard on all of them except the last one, which was perhaps 90-95% of a usual hard effort on the 800m, but 100% effort on the 200m. I was just tired.
Times: 4:31, 1:00, 4:34, 1:00, 4:36, 1:01, 4:38, 1:01, 4:42, 1:01. HR was maxing at low 170s, which seemed normal.
Garmin data here for 5x800/200.
Afterward - some soreness, but seems commensurate with the activity and not too "off" or weird. I think.
Edited to add: It has occurred to me that perhaps I'm a little depressed, which would explain my lack of desire to racewalk right now, and lack of interest. I am going to try some depression self-care: good sleep hygiene, better diet, and plenty of regular exercise. That should help.
Wednesday: family morning meltdown - was supposed to do a track workout, but Loren had a 7am meeting and I had forgotten, so I didn't get up early enough to do it before he left for work. Arrrrgh. Could NOT find time to do later in the day, and besides, it was 40kph (25mph) winds. I could have done it at the indoor track, but there really was no other time that day. Sad. But I think mentally I wasn't up for it either. :(
Thursday: should have gone to the track to make up the Wed workout, but decided I couldn't mentally handle it. Kelly was going spinning at 6am for an hour, so I met her there and did the spinning class, which actually was 1) quite fun, and 2) helpful from the mental standpoint. Exercise but no pressure. I think right now I feel like racewalking is pressure, and I'm not sure why. At least the track workout part. I am trying to reframe this because I need to look at it differently. This might take time and some thought? Or I'm just overthinking it? Anyone else feel this way about their hard workouts? Thoughts? Input?
Friday: Finally made it to the track. I did the workout that was assigned for today, which was a warm-up plus 5x800/200, with 2' rest between sets and 30 sec between the 800m and 200m. I like this workout. I usually can get excited about it. Today I was just not interested at all. I woke up not caring at all whether I racewalked or not. I didn't care about racewalking. I had no interest. I made myself not overthink things and went to the track anyway. After my warm-up, I felt better and decided I did want to racewalk; well, mostly. It was a beautiful morning at the track, and I got there late because the kids are off school so there was no hurry to get back home (my parents had them overnight! YES!). I saw the sun rise as I was warming up, and the temperature was lovely - 45F (7C) with no wind, and clear. I was thankful for the good conditions because I needed every encouragement to continue.
I did the workout well until the last one, and I got tired. I confess I pushed hard on all of them except the last one, which was perhaps 90-95% of a usual hard effort on the 800m, but 100% effort on the 200m. I was just tired.
Times: 4:31, 1:00, 4:34, 1:00, 4:36, 1:01, 4:38, 1:01, 4:42, 1:01. HR was maxing at low 170s, which seemed normal.
Garmin data here for 5x800/200.
Afterward - some soreness, but seems commensurate with the activity and not too "off" or weird. I think.
Edited to add: It has occurred to me that perhaps I'm a little depressed, which would explain my lack of desire to racewalk right now, and lack of interest. I am going to try some depression self-care: good sleep hygiene, better diet, and plenty of regular exercise. That should help.
Monday, October 13, 2014
6K
Yesterday: rest day. I didn't feel well at all. Very tired and had some of the weird soreness while sitting at the piano at church. I think it's stress-induced?
Today: Coach had 8K plus 5x200@85% on the menu. I went out and 6K is what my body would do, and it felt OK but not great. I was pretty slow but decided not to push it at all. 6:34/km for 39:29 with ave HR 149 is what happened. I wish I could have done more, but I know it wasn't smart to continue, so I didn't. I am feeling a bit dizzy/vertigo - sort of that light-headedness that I've had with the fatigue in the past. Since my cruise I've felt this on and off, so part of it may be from the ship motion, but I think it's mostly that I'm a bit "off" again. I wouldn't call this a relapse, but I'm not 100%. At least I can still racewalk, and for that I'm grateful. It was beautiful this morning - only 6.1C (43F) but crisp and clear and no wind. Gorgeous fall colors, once the sun came up a bit (it's coming up much later, so now a lot of my walks are in the dark again...sigh...).
Garmin data here.
Today: Coach had 8K plus 5x200@85% on the menu. I went out and 6K is what my body would do, and it felt OK but not great. I was pretty slow but decided not to push it at all. 6:34/km for 39:29 with ave HR 149 is what happened. I wish I could have done more, but I know it wasn't smart to continue, so I didn't. I am feeling a bit dizzy/vertigo - sort of that light-headedness that I've had with the fatigue in the past. Since my cruise I've felt this on and off, so part of it may be from the ship motion, but I think it's mostly that I'm a bit "off" again. I wouldn't call this a relapse, but I'm not 100%. At least I can still racewalk, and for that I'm grateful. It was beautiful this morning - only 6.1C (43F) but crisp and clear and no wind. Gorgeous fall colors, once the sun came up a bit (it's coming up much later, so now a lot of my walks are in the dark again...sigh...).
Garmin data here.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
recovering
I'm recovering from my illness, but also from a very challenging week; maybe one of the hardest I've had in a long time. Long story, and the details aren't relevant to the workout. Let's just say it's been very difficult, but that things are looking hopeful at the moment. Maybe.
After Monday's workout, I wasn't able to do anything until Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday I was very ill and just muddled through my day each day. Thursday morning I managed to do 20 min elliptical and ride my bike to work, and I felt physically decent, but mentally wiped due to all the stuff going on. Friday I had to go to the kids' classes to present my annual zebrafish lesson to them, and the schedule of the day totally overwhelmed me and I really could not find any time to work out - a rarity, since I prioritize my workouts above just about everything else, knowing that I need them for my sanity. But with recovering from being sick, and with everything going on, it was better to take another day off I think.
Today my coach really wanted me to get off my rear end and do something. He said it would make me feel better, and it did, sort of. It takes a lot of energy for a track workout, and I had a lot to do today, so it did leave me a bit depleted for the other things, but in retrospect, that worked out OK. A good friend from church helped me clean my house today and made dinner for us, and I really really appreciated that given the week we've had.
Anyway, back to the workout. I didn't go to the track until 10:30am, because I was too lazy this morning. I wasn't sure I was even going to do it. I drove over there but figured if anything didn't feel right that I could just go to the gym and do the elliptical. It was warm at 10:30 but not hot; low 60s (about 17C) with the sun shining pretty fiercely. I did get a bit toasty during the workout, but I don't think it affected me too much.
I had a 3K fartlek plus 4x500m intervals. I decided in advance I'd rest 2 min after the fartlek and then do 2 min rest between each 500 as well. Perhaps I should have rested 3 min after the fartlek, as my first 500 was particularly painful, but after that I settled in and the other 3 were OK. I did have to really talk myself into that 2nd 500, but then it went better and the 3rd and 4th were fine as well. I kept telling myself I could quit at any time if I needed to, and I would have if the second 500 wasn't better; since it was, I kept going.
The 3K fartlek went fine, though my heart rate was pretty high throughout. Not sure why, as I wasn't fast - 2:46.2, 2:50.8 (both fast), 3:05.4 (medium), 2:53.1 (fast), 3:10.0 (medium), 2:54.7 (fast). Total 17:40 for the fartlek. Then 2 min rest, then 2:54.7, 2:52.0, 2:50.8, 2:50.7 for my four 500s, with 2' rest between each. HR was a bit lower on each of those as you'd expect.
Afterwards I felt OK; still mentally and emotionally a bit drained, but my body was OK. My legs had a little post-workout soreness/stiffness for the rest of the day, but it wasn't severe. Just noticeable. I will probably still try and cross-train tomorrow if I can.
Garmin data here.
After Monday's workout, I wasn't able to do anything until Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday I was very ill and just muddled through my day each day. Thursday morning I managed to do 20 min elliptical and ride my bike to work, and I felt physically decent, but mentally wiped due to all the stuff going on. Friday I had to go to the kids' classes to present my annual zebrafish lesson to them, and the schedule of the day totally overwhelmed me and I really could not find any time to work out - a rarity, since I prioritize my workouts above just about everything else, knowing that I need them for my sanity. But with recovering from being sick, and with everything going on, it was better to take another day off I think.
Today my coach really wanted me to get off my rear end and do something. He said it would make me feel better, and it did, sort of. It takes a lot of energy for a track workout, and I had a lot to do today, so it did leave me a bit depleted for the other things, but in retrospect, that worked out OK. A good friend from church helped me clean my house today and made dinner for us, and I really really appreciated that given the week we've had.
Anyway, back to the workout. I didn't go to the track until 10:30am, because I was too lazy this morning. I wasn't sure I was even going to do it. I drove over there but figured if anything didn't feel right that I could just go to the gym and do the elliptical. It was warm at 10:30 but not hot; low 60s (about 17C) with the sun shining pretty fiercely. I did get a bit toasty during the workout, but I don't think it affected me too much.
I had a 3K fartlek plus 4x500m intervals. I decided in advance I'd rest 2 min after the fartlek and then do 2 min rest between each 500 as well. Perhaps I should have rested 3 min after the fartlek, as my first 500 was particularly painful, but after that I settled in and the other 3 were OK. I did have to really talk myself into that 2nd 500, but then it went better and the 3rd and 4th were fine as well. I kept telling myself I could quit at any time if I needed to, and I would have if the second 500 wasn't better; since it was, I kept going.
The 3K fartlek went fine, though my heart rate was pretty high throughout. Not sure why, as I wasn't fast - 2:46.2, 2:50.8 (both fast), 3:05.4 (medium), 2:53.1 (fast), 3:10.0 (medium), 2:54.7 (fast). Total 17:40 for the fartlek. Then 2 min rest, then 2:54.7, 2:52.0, 2:50.8, 2:50.7 for my four 500s, with 2' rest between each. HR was a bit lower on each of those as you'd expect.
Afterwards I felt OK; still mentally and emotionally a bit drained, but my body was OK. My legs had a little post-workout soreness/stiffness for the rest of the day, but it wasn't severe. Just noticeable. I will probably still try and cross-train tomorrow if I can.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
sick again
I have another virus. It's making me very tired. Not as tired as the last one...yet...but very tired. Pretty sure it's a virus, as I have a stuffy nose, and Calvin has had a fever, cough, congestion. Probably got it from him; the kids are little viral incubators, especially when they go back to school and pass things around.
I'm so tired.
Took rest days yesterday and today. So much for training :(. Frustrated that every time I get going again something happens, but y'know, that's life, right?
I'm so tired.
Took rest days yesterday and today. So much for training :(. Frustrated that every time I get going again something happens, but y'know, that's life, right?
Monday, October 06, 2014
8K plus 5x200m
Sunday: rest day. Busy, but no exercise. Calvin was ill with a fever Saturday night and Sunday; also had a sore throat. I am hoping I don't get sick AGAIN.
Monday: 8K plus 5x200m. I was really tired from my extremely busy weekend (Calvin's birthday party, work, etc. etc. etc.) and could NOT get up this morning; in addition, I had to be at work early (8 am - usually I don't go in until 9 am). I hate not working out in the morning, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do - so I went to work, and after work changed into workout clothes and brought Grace to the track with me. She is learning to racewalk, a bit under protest, but she does want to do it. It's like playing the piano - both kids want to do it, but neither wants to actually practice. She says she wants to RW, but then doesn't want to go to the track. Today I brought her. She did 3000m in bits and pieces (but at least she did it), slowly, and with questionable legality at points. However, I will say that when she was TRYING to be legal she looked reasonably good. She needs to improve some more but she is on the right track. It was fun to have her there, mostly (except when she whined excessively!).
It was very warm at the track. I'm always happy for a nice warm day in October, but 22.8C (73F) with the sun baking me was uncomfortably hot. My heart rate got pretty high and in the mix was some dizziness which I'd been experiencing all day. Maybe I should have stopped at 6K, but I was able to go pretty fast and keep pace, so I figured it was OK. In retrospect, maybe not? I finished the 8K in 49:56 for 6:14/km with ave HR 154 (but much of the last 4K it was over 160 ... not good). I debated whether I should do the 200s, but decided it wasn't THAT hard, so I should just do it. Again, maybe not the right choice? My legs felt a bit wooden and stumpy after the 8K, and it felt so awkward trying to make them move fast. I mean, it feels awkward to do intervals after an easy pace workout, but this felt *exceptionally* awkward, like maybe something wasn't quite right. I did them in about 1:02-1:04 for a total of 5:15 for the five 200s. That seemed fast given how lousy it felt.
Afterward I had to make dinner for the family, cookies for the neighbors (they complained about our dog barking, and they are new neighbors, so trying to make amends and keep relationships good), and do up all the dishes. I'm feeling super trashed now. Legs are really, really tired. My nose is running, I still feel kind of dizzy, and tired. Yeah, really tired. I am worried I'm getting sick again. Maybe I just need some sleep?
Garmin data here: 8K
Garmin data here: 200s
Monday: 8K plus 5x200m. I was really tired from my extremely busy weekend (Calvin's birthday party, work, etc. etc. etc.) and could NOT get up this morning; in addition, I had to be at work early (8 am - usually I don't go in until 9 am). I hate not working out in the morning, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do - so I went to work, and after work changed into workout clothes and brought Grace to the track with me. She is learning to racewalk, a bit under protest, but she does want to do it. It's like playing the piano - both kids want to do it, but neither wants to actually practice. She says she wants to RW, but then doesn't want to go to the track. Today I brought her. She did 3000m in bits and pieces (but at least she did it), slowly, and with questionable legality at points. However, I will say that when she was TRYING to be legal she looked reasonably good. She needs to improve some more but she is on the right track. It was fun to have her there, mostly (except when she whined excessively!).
It was very warm at the track. I'm always happy for a nice warm day in October, but 22.8C (73F) with the sun baking me was uncomfortably hot. My heart rate got pretty high and in the mix was some dizziness which I'd been experiencing all day. Maybe I should have stopped at 6K, but I was able to go pretty fast and keep pace, so I figured it was OK. In retrospect, maybe not? I finished the 8K in 49:56 for 6:14/km with ave HR 154 (but much of the last 4K it was over 160 ... not good). I debated whether I should do the 200s, but decided it wasn't THAT hard, so I should just do it. Again, maybe not the right choice? My legs felt a bit wooden and stumpy after the 8K, and it felt so awkward trying to make them move fast. I mean, it feels awkward to do intervals after an easy pace workout, but this felt *exceptionally* awkward, like maybe something wasn't quite right. I did them in about 1:02-1:04 for a total of 5:15 for the five 200s. That seemed fast given how lousy it felt.
Afterward I had to make dinner for the family, cookies for the neighbors (they complained about our dog barking, and they are new neighbors, so trying to make amends and keep relationships good), and do up all the dishes. I'm feeling super trashed now. Legs are really, really tired. My nose is running, I still feel kind of dizzy, and tired. Yeah, really tired. I am worried I'm getting sick again. Maybe I just need some sleep?
Garmin data here: 8K
Garmin data here: 200s
Saturday, October 04, 2014
12K
In brief: 45F (7.2C) and so beautiful. Clear and crisp fall morning, no wind. Just lovely out! I felt good through 8-9km, and then my legs got heavy and a bit tired for the last 3-4km. I screwed up my watch at 10km and had it on while I stopped for water, so the watch time is not right. But I was at 1:03:03 at 10km and did about 6:30/km on the last 2km slight uphill, so approximate time was 1:16 for the 12km, which is 6:20/km, and my ave HR was about 145, which is great! I'm happy with this!The dog enjoyed her walk, too :) - here's a photo with some fall color for you.
Garmin data here.
Friday, October 03, 2014
cross-training; 4x1km
Yesterday: 30 min elliptical; 15 min stationary bike; 10 min core strength (planks included); then bike to work! Felt good but was glad for a x-train day.
Today: At track at 6 am to meet Kelly, and it was only 46F (7.8C) but no wind and was actually pretty nice. Warmed up 1600m plus strides then did 4x1km. I was not feeling that great on the first one (legs a bit tired? tight? something?) but did pretty well, and was nervous to do 2nd one, but Kelly cheered me on! Then I started feeling a bit better on the other three and was able to keep my speed. I wasn't fast, but wasn't slow either. I'll take it. I was consistent, and Kelly said my form looked the best she's ever seen it. That made me feel good because I've been working hard on it.
Legs are feeling a bit sore now in the glutes, maybe some weird soreness??? But I feel pretty energetic and OK otherwise. I am a bit nervous about 12km tomorrow. I have a feeling that will be really hard, but hopefully my body is up for it.
Here are my times for the 1kms, with 3' rest in between.
Today: At track at 6 am to meet Kelly, and it was only 46F (7.8C) but no wind and was actually pretty nice. Warmed up 1600m plus strides then did 4x1km. I was not feeling that great on the first one (legs a bit tired? tight? something?) but did pretty well, and was nervous to do 2nd one, but Kelly cheered me on! Then I started feeling a bit better on the other three and was able to keep my speed. I wasn't fast, but wasn't slow either. I'll take it. I was consistent, and Kelly said my form looked the best she's ever seen it. That made me feel good because I've been working hard on it.
Legs are feeling a bit sore now in the glutes, maybe some weird soreness??? But I feel pretty energetic and OK otherwise. I am a bit nervous about 12km tomorrow. I have a feeling that will be really hard, but hopefully my body is up for it.
Here are my times for the 1kms, with 3' rest in between.
2:49.3 |
| 2:51.2 = 5:40.5 |
| 2:48.0 |
| 2:50.5 = 5:38.5 |
| 2:48.9 |
| 2:49.0 = 5:37.9 |
| 2:49.1 |
| 2:48.8 = 5:37.9 |
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
this week so far
Monday: Workout was 8K plus 5x200m intervals. What I actually did: 6K. I started off and my legs were just not feeling fresh and ready to go. In fact, they felt tired. I had a bit of soreness on Sunday after the 8K Saturday; not sure if that was from the 8K or from the carpet cleaning I did for a couple hours on Saturday helping a friend who was moving. It was quite vigorous cleaning involving stairs, hauling around a heavy cleaner, running up and down stairs with lots of water, etc. I don't know if it caused the soreness, or if I was just tired, but I was. My 6K was slow, and I actually listened to my body and tried not to push too hard, which is one thing I've learned from what I've been going through in the past year and a half. Time was 39:31 for 6:35/km with ave HR 142. Garmin data here. Oh, and fall weather is definitely here. The air was crisp but it felt good at 52F (11C). The days are clearly shorter and it's getting light a lot later.
Tuesday: Cross training. I did 35 min elliptical, 10 min of core work with Kelly, and then rode my bike to work. Felt good to do the core work. I am a bit weak but not as bad as I thought I might be.
Today: 5K fartlek. I was short on time as I had a bit of trouble getting up (stayed up too late reading last night...sigh...I could use a little more down time!), and so I did only 1200m warm-up with strides. I felt pretty good, though. Definitely better than on Monday! The weather was quite nice at 48F (9C), and I wore capris and a long-sleeved shirt with light gloves, which I took off during the last couple km of the fartlek. The fartlek went pretty much exactly how it's been going all summer - OK, but not great. My legs felt decent, my wind felt decent, but yeah, not great. I just don't have very speedy 500m medium effort recoveries, and while we're at it, my 500m fast aren't that fast either. Time and more training should cure this eventually. I focused on just trying to be positive and happy that I could be out there training, and not judge myself for the results. That worked pretty well, mostly :). My time was 29:46, with ave HR 159; fast intervals 2:50.6-2:53.8 and medium effort 500s 3:06.8-3:09.9. Garmin data here.
Tuesday: Cross training. I did 35 min elliptical, 10 min of core work with Kelly, and then rode my bike to work. Felt good to do the core work. I am a bit weak but not as bad as I thought I might be.
Today: 5K fartlek. I was short on time as I had a bit of trouble getting up (stayed up too late reading last night...sigh...I could use a little more down time!), and so I did only 1200m warm-up with strides. I felt pretty good, though. Definitely better than on Monday! The weather was quite nice at 48F (9C), and I wore capris and a long-sleeved shirt with light gloves, which I took off during the last couple km of the fartlek. The fartlek went pretty much exactly how it's been going all summer - OK, but not great. My legs felt decent, my wind felt decent, but yeah, not great. I just don't have very speedy 500m medium effort recoveries, and while we're at it, my 500m fast aren't that fast either. Time and more training should cure this eventually. I focused on just trying to be positive and happy that I could be out there training, and not judge myself for the results. That worked pretty well, mostly :). My time was 29:46, with ave HR 159; fast intervals 2:50.6-2:53.8 and medium effort 500s 3:06.8-3:09.9. Garmin data here.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
3K fartlek; 8K
Coach is keeping me busy now that I'm feeling better! 3 days of racewalking in a row. 8K Thursday, 3K fartlek Friday, 8K Saturday.
Friday's 3K fartlek went reasonably well; about how you'd expect on legs that were a little tired. I warmed up for only 1200m (running late for breakfast with my dad - very nice! photo at left), with legs that did feel slightly heavy but still responsive. The fartlek was satisfactory with 500s of 2:50, 2:51 (both fast), 3:10 (medium), and oh...I forgot...my intestines were most upset (long story but had a bit of an emotional eating episode on Thursday pm - something I don't usually do any more but...oops...) so that medium effort and the following 500s of 2:52 (fast), 3:11 (medium), and 2:53 (fast) were under extreme duress in terms of intestinal cramping. I probably would've been 10 sec faster if not for that. Oh well...live and learn. Total time 17:47 with ave HR 160, and the weather was warmish at 19C (66F).
Garmin data here.
I had a little getaway Friday night at a cabin near Sundance Resort (beautiful! Stewart Falls at left!) with our interfaith church choir (our church + a Mormon singles ward). The men waited on the ladies and spoiled us, which was wonderful. Not so wonderful: the hills there. There was simply nowhere to racewalk, and I really looked. I dislike racewalking in the evening but with my schedule once I got back at 12:30pm, I had no way to walk any other time. I finally went out at about 5:30pm. Oh, and it was raining pretty hard. It wasn't cold, though, at 56F (13C), just wet; the last 2K the wind picked up and then it wasn't so nice. I took the dog, and when we got back the kids were like, "What's with the wet dog smell? Oh, mommy took Sugar racewalking!". My legs felt pretty tired, probably because I spent most of the afternoon cleaning carpets over at Kelly's place (she's moving), plus some residual from the 3K fartlek? My intestines were better than yesterday but still iffy. Anyway, total time was a slowish 51:08 for 6:23/km with high ave HR of 156. I guess I need a rest day. But I finished the workouts, and am not sick any more :).
Garmin data here.
Friday's 3K fartlek went reasonably well; about how you'd expect on legs that were a little tired. I warmed up for only 1200m (running late for breakfast with my dad - very nice! photo at left), with legs that did feel slightly heavy but still responsive. The fartlek was satisfactory with 500s of 2:50, 2:51 (both fast), 3:10 (medium), and oh...I forgot...my intestines were most upset (long story but had a bit of an emotional eating episode on Thursday pm - something I don't usually do any more but...oops...) so that medium effort and the following 500s of 2:52 (fast), 3:11 (medium), and 2:53 (fast) were under extreme duress in terms of intestinal cramping. I probably would've been 10 sec faster if not for that. Oh well...live and learn. Total time 17:47 with ave HR 160, and the weather was warmish at 19C (66F).Garmin data here.
Garmin data here.
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