ferritin

I had my doctor check my ferritin levels at my routine physical last week. I tried to give platelets twice, and was turned away for low hematocrit of 35 (normal 36-44, so not that low, but low), so I decided to have some checking done on my iron levels. Turns out my ferritin is low at 20. My doctor says that less than 35 is low, even though the reference value starts at 10. He recommended iron supplements, which I have been taking for a couple weeks already. He said continuing to take those for a few weeks more should do the trick.

Another lab value, the TIBC, or Total Iron Binding Capacity, was high at 454 (normal 250-450). This value indicates that my body is desperately trying to scrounge for every available bit of iron, and confirms that low iron is a problem for me.

My serum iron should be low, but it was actually on the high end of the scale at 164 (normal 40-175). The doctor thinks this can be explained by the iron supplements I've been taking raising my serum iron, but it hasn't been long enough for the ferritin to increase yet.

Why is all this important? Well, low iron = lower amount of hemoglobin = less oxygen getting carried to muscles. Obviously that's not good for someone who fancies herself an endurance athlete. So, I'll continue taking the iron supplements, as well as vitamin C (aids in absorption). The low ferritin levels might explain in part my poor recovery from my layoff last winter, and why I've felt pretty sluggish in most of my races this year. The level was drawn a few weeks after I'd started taking the iron supplements, so I wonder how low it was before that? Scary! At least I know that I can improve this, and in a way, this is good news as it's an explanation for why I've been feeling a bit off.

In other health news, my thyroid (TSH) was normal, and my vitamin D was low. The doctor recommended taking some vitamin D supplements, too. Vitamin D is important in osteoporosis prevention, and since there is quite a bit of family history of osteoporosis, I definitely want to avoid that.

Finally, my pap smear was normal too :). That means 3 more years before I have to have another one. Yay! However, seeing as how I am now 40, the doc said I have to get a mammogram. Oh well...beats the alternative I guess.

Naked workout

THAT got your attention, didn't it ;)?

I wasn't actually naked. I just felt naked. My Garmin batteries were not charged, and I did the workout without a watch of any kind. Hmmm, not easy for a track workout, but I made do. I kept looking at my wrist, to no avail.

The weather was superb, 65F and sunny, though the sun didn't hit the track until my 4th repeat.

I was to do 4x800/200 with 30 sec rest between 800 & 200, and 3 min rest between sets, at 90-95% effort. I did them nice and hard, though I have no idea of my times. For the 30 sec rest, I counted "one-one thousand, two-one thousand..." and for the 3 min I walked about as far as usual on the track and waited until my breathing was normal again; it seemed reasonably close to 3 minutes!

It was fun to do this workout w/o a stopwatch. I liked the "no pressure" aspect of it very much. I have the feeling I was slow today; my quads got tired in the 3rd repeat, and quads and calves were tired in the 4th repeat. However, I really don't know how fast I was, and I don't care!!! I did the workout, gave it a good hard effort, and imagined passing the competition on the last 200m. It was good to do a hard workout and not care if I met anyone's time standard. I highly recommend it.

Stylish?

Apparently I'm stylish this summer ;).

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2010/07/12/2010-07-12_rearing_to_go_big_butts_are_summer_2010s_hottest_trend.html

Thanks to Ollie for the story.

cross-training

Today I was to cross-train. I was initially thinking I'd go swimming, but for some reason I just wasn't in the mood. Instead, I did the elliptical for 40 min and biked to work (23 min very hard uphill - took me 27 min the first day...hmmm, getting better? Or did I just try harder today?). It all felt very good. My L knee (IT band) bothered me slightly on the elliptical until I consciously shifted the knee laterally a bit, and then it was fine. I obviously need to keep tabs on my form while I train to avoid trouble, and need to keep the hips strong.

I'm feeling so much more confident going into my races next Friday & Sunday (23rd & 25th) than I did prior to Saturday's race. Now I know that I have it in me to do a good race this year, and that gives me such a much-needed boost. Granted, the competition is stiff (track 5K in 28:08 last weekend) but I'm optimistic that I will have a good race, regardless of what anyone else does or doesn't do.

***

In other news, we have decided to refinance our house to a 15-yr loan. With interest rates at 3.75%, it was almost a no-brainer. Yeah, our monthly payment will be a little higher, but we will pay off the loan 10 years sooner and save about $80,000 in interest. It's just a giant hassle to do it, and life is already busy, but it's definitely worth the effort to save that much money.

12K

Let the taper begin! I like the taper, and hate it. I like not working as hard on the hard days, but I do get restless if there are too many rest days and too many short workouts. This time, though, I'm glad for it, because I have worked very hard and need the rest, I think.

I was to do 12K today. I forgot to ask Jim if I should go for 6:30/km, or just go easy. I woke feeling decent and decided to try for 6:30/km and see what happened. That plan worked out pretty well. I felt reasonably good during the walk; my muscles weren't too sore from Saturday (minor soreness in right hip and that's it), and though I do have to push a little and concentrate to stay on 6:30/km, it wasn't too hard to do this morning.

It was pretty comfortable outside, temperature-wise. I forgot to look at the thermometer, but if I had to guess I'd say it was around 65F (18C). There was no wind, and it was sunny and beautiful. I'm thoroughly enjoying the summer weather while it lasts.

I did the first 2k (downhill) in 12:34, which was pretty fast. Then I settled in, and did 13:02 for 2K, 26:09 for 4K, 12:55 for 2K, and managed 13:03 for the last 2K uphill! Yay! Ave HR was 145. Total time 1:17:46 for 6:28/km. Here's the rest of the data.

After I got home, I drove to the gym and did a short set of weights and some abs. Here's what I did: abductor machine/chest press machine; one-legged squats w/20lb in one hand/row; military press/lateral walks w/band; abs (crunches & oblique crunches on ball, back extensions on ball, rowing (for lower abs) and hip-ups (also lower abs), stretching.

Biking in City Creek

I like bicycling a lot, at least biking outside. If I couldn't RW any more, I think I could get by on biking, if I lived somewhere where it was warm enough to bike outside all year. The stationary bike is far too stultifying for me to survive on all winter! (Hmmm, somewhat like the treadmill).

Today was an optional day, but since I took a rest day Friday I thought I'd do something today. First I took inventory of my muscles. I feel a little sore in my obliques and lower back muscles and some soreness in abductors. But it's very minor, and I actually feel great muscle-wise. I'm still overtired, since instead of going to bed on time I chatted with my coach about all things racewalking. Fun, but probably not the smartest thing I could do. I'm such a morning person that if I'm up late I just cannot sleep in. I wake up at 5:30-6 no matter what. This morning, of course, I woke up at 5:30. I did try a little to sleep but gave up quickly and decided to ride my bike. If I can't sleep, the best way to feel more awake is to exercise :). I don't drink coffee in the morning (get too jittery!), so I knew I needed to do something.

It was showering a bit when I left so I brought a jacket. The sky had clear blue patches, though, so I figured it wouldn't be bad, and it wasn't. I got a few raindrops here and there, but the jacket stayed tied around my waist.

I biked over to City Creek Canyon from my house. The hills in the Avenues are killers, but if you take them slowly it's not a big deal, and the view is a great payoff. Also seen along the way: a very cute hummingbird, lots of songbirds, the beautiful creek (with its accompanying cool air - chilly on the ride down), and runners doing a 5K for the YMCA. I cheered them on from my bike, feeling the camaraderie with people who got up early to work out.

1:11:29 for 22.42 km; 379m elevation change up then back; ave HR only 123, max 148. That's the one down side to biking...I had my HR plenty high for a good part of the ride (at least 130 for probably 45 min) but just can't keep it high on the downhills, so if you want to keep your HR high for a certain period of time, you have to be out there longer, or bike on the flat.

Wasatch Walkers 4th handicapped 5K - 2010

This race made up for all the bad races I've had this season, I think. It was amazing. Yes, it hurt a lot, because I pushed very, very hard. But I didn't run out of steam, and had my best 5K ever.

The race was in Provo, about an hour south of Salt Lake City, on the Provo River trail. The trail goes right behind the house of one of our club members, Boyd, who is an amazing 81-yr-old racewalker. It's a gentle downhill trail along the river, and Boyd's wife and son drove us up to the start so we could race downhill to his house at the finish. The trail meanders a bit, and it does have some uphills as well; my Garmin said 10m uphill and 70m downhill for the 5K, for a net 60m downhill. That's 196 feet, so it's a pretty decent amount, though not so steep that it's bothersome. Just FAST!

Before we went to the start, I warmed up for about 10 min for 1.6k and did a bunch flexibility drills, just like I do for track workouts. I wanted to let my body know that I was about to really work it.

Then we drove up to the start, and it was chilly up there. I don't know the temperature, but it was 64F (17.8C) at Boyd's house, and probably about 62ish at the start, because it's a bit higher and next to the river. 64F is not that cold but it was quite windy, and so all of us were racewalking a bit to stay warm while we waited for our start in the handicapped race (slower walkers started first).

It seemed like my turn to start came pretty quickly, even though I was the last to go and had to wait 13:59 before I started. I was off like a shot. The trail has marks every 100m, so it's really easy to know your splits and monitor your time. I was so focused on my efforts that I didn't do a good job of that though! I missed my split at 3 km and hit my lap timer at 3.1 instead...oops. My last split was correspondingly shorter. Anyway, back to the race. I reached 1K at 5:25 and thought, "Uh-oh, I've gone out way too fast", but quickly squelched that thought and replaced it with "It's a downhill, and I'll be OK". The first km didn't feel that hard, and my average HR was 159, which wasn't that high. The second km went by pretty quickly as well, and I had settled into a nice pace, reaching it in 5:39. There were quite a few runners on the trail, most of whom were pretty friendly; one guy going the opposite way called out "are you guys racewalkers?". Wow, he actually got the word right! Most of the time people call me a "speed walker".

The third km is where things usually start to get painful. I start to look at my watch more, and the km begin to creep by more slowly as the pain level increases. This is also where I have to be more vigilant about the pace. I was relieved to get to 3.1 km in 6:14, for an average pace of 5:36/km (I'm not THAT good at doing math in my head, but I do know that 36 sec is 0.1 km at 6 min/km, so I subtracted 36 sec in my head and knew I was on pace).

After that I knew I was on pace for a seriously nice PR if I could just hold the pace for 2 more km. I was determined to do so. I dug in and focused and endured the pain. Pretty soon I had the distraction of passing some of my fellow Wasatch Walkers, starting at about 3.5 km. I continued to pass them one by one, and passed the last person not long before the finish line. I passed Leah sometime in the 4th km, and remarked to her, "I'm dying! I think I went out too fast!". But I was also thinking I only had to hold it for a little over 1 km more.

My next split was at 4.1 km (so 1km from the last one), and it was 5:39, just like the 2nd km. "Awesome," I thought, "if I can just hold this for 0.9k I will have an amazing PR". I gritted my teeth, was breathing incredibly hard, and dug down deep for that little bit more. I had a few more people to pass at that point, and that was a good enough distraction to keep me racing very hard. I gave it my all, and the finish line was in sight. I knew I would make it! I held the pace and even sped up a little for a final split of 4:58 for the 0.9km (about a 5:31/km!).

I had no idea that I was going to go sub-28:00. It's just too hard to do the math when your brain is otherwise occupied with racing hard. When I got to the finish and pushed the button on my watch, I could hardly believe my eyes: 27:57!!!!! A new PR by 39 seconds! OK, granted, the course is downhill, but still, I was extremely pleased. I feel my confidence starting to return, just in time for the big races to come in just two weeks in Sacramento.

Right after I crossed the finish line, I was dying and gasping for breath, but I whipped out my camera anyway to get some shots of the other walkers finishing. Boyd finished just 19 seconds behind me, with a 34:33, which is a very good time for him (age graded it's a 21:30!!!). Since I didn't get any pictures of me finishing, I had one of the walkers shoot a few of me afterward; I was giving him a few pointers on toe push-off and hip flexibility and wanted him to have some visual aids.

Here are all the photos. Here's my Garmin data (again).

27:57!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (downhill, but still!)

Can't post much right now; more details later, but I did a 27:57 in our club 5K this morning.

Here's the data.

Resting

I'm tired. I needed a day off. I was supposed to x-train, but I'm not. I'm just going to rest!

Tomorrow I'll do our club 5K race and we'll see how things are going.

12K easy

I was to do 12K very easy today. Good thing, because after all the hard workouts (4 quality workouts in the past 7 days), my legs were tired today. I enjoyed being out, and I was glad to take it easy; however, I was still tired at the end and happy to stop. I did my favorite 12K route, hilly for the first 6K and flatter for the second 6K.

My knee had a few twinges but nothing more. I'm more and more convinced that it is my IT band again, so I'm really focusing on form to keep things in line.

12K in 1:21:47, 6:48/km, ave HR 137.

Here's the data.

6x400m, weights

Today I had a short workout: 6x400m at 85% with 2 min recovery. The weather was nice, except for the wind. It was 60F (15C) but the wind was blowing very hard with extremely strong gusts. From 50-100m on the track it was a horrible headwind, and down the backstretch it was windy too. Then I got a tailwind coming in for the last 100m. Still, it was most unpleasant.

Despite that, my times were OK. I warmed up for 1600m in 10:06, accelerating throughout as much as I could with the wind. I was worried about my left knee, but it was fine on the warm-up. I concentrated on bringing my leg straight through as my coach suggested, and thought about using my glutes and inner quads. That must have helped.

After doing my dynamic flexibility drills, I started in on the workout. I felt fine the whole time; my legs were perhaps a little tired, but with the wind it's hard to tell. Here are my times: 2:10, 2:13, 2:13, 2:10, 2:15 (huge wind gusts on this one almost knocked me over), 2:11. Ave HR 149-153; max 160-166. Seems about right for 400s. My left knee never bothered me except for a twinge during one of the recoveries, and I just did an IT band stretch which seemed to help.

I cooled down with 1600m easy, and stretched thoroughly. Edited to add: Here's the workout on Garmin connect.

Then I went to the gym and did one-legged 1/2 squats (coach recommended) looking in the mirror to monitor knee drift (it looked fine)/chest press w/30lb dumbbells. Next abductors on hip machine/calf raises. Then lat pull-downs/balance on dyna disc (for L foot)/abductors with band. Didn't have time for abs because my husband had an early meeting. Will do my best to do something later today.

I'm just grateful that my knee is probably OK. I do think now that it's my old nemesis, the IT band. I wasn't so sure yesterday because it hurts in a little different spot. However, the foam roller plus IT band stretches seemed to help today. Plus I've been neglecting my abductors a bit the past few weeks, so it makes sense.

knee update

At lunch. Knee hurting when I'm walking around work. Iced it thoroughly and found some ibuprofen to take, since I forgot my Rx anti-inflammatory this morning. Hopefully that will help.

Gym - The New Catholic Church?

A Single Soprano's Random Thoughts: Gym - The New Catholic Church?

I'm sharing this because I enjoyed reading it...funny, well-written, and I just liked it :). Enjoy!

Karis

My new niece has arrived! 8 lb 5 oz, 20 3/4", born July 5th at 8:49 pm. Her name is Karis, which means "grace" (Greek).

She's so beautiful! I'm a proud aunt, I guess!!!

10K

I was feeling great today, except for my left knee, which I'll get into later. But it didn't seem to hold me up too much.

Coach wanted me to take it easy, so I did...sort of. After a few km, I realized I was feeling great, so I decided to keep the 6:30/km pace. It was such an amazingly beautiful morning. 57F (14C), sunny, calm, birds chirping, and the Liberty Park sidewalk is open again on the south side. Near the end of my 10K route it's uphill, so I did push a little to get to the finish, because I wanted to. I did have to stop for a long stoplight at about 35 min into my walk; you can see the HR dip on the graph at Garmin connect. I just felt GOOD today. Fast, fluid, efficient. I hope I feel like this for my races in a few weeks.

10.01k in 1:04:56 for 6:29/km; ave HR 139, max 158 (on that uphill at the end).

About my left knee - it was a bit sore during my warm-up yesterday at the track and also last night but not even enough that I thought about it at all. I didn't even mention it to my coach. This morning it felt a little sore too. It hurts on the lateral side just below the kneecap near where the bone sticks out. OK, that's a vague and non-medical description if there ever was one. It could possibly be IT band pain but it feels a little different than that. I've had ITBS before, if you recall. The pain was mostly dull and achy but a couple times during my walk it felt more sharp and stabby. At one point, maybe 20 min into my walk, I briefly considered packing it in after it hurt for maybe 30 sec, but then the pain eased and I really felt fine. Weird. Now it still hurts a little, especially if I press on the area with my fingers. I'm not sure what is going on, but I don't really like it, and I'm hoping that it will just go away. To make matters worse, I forgot to take my anti-inflammatory this morning.

Michelle's Party!

We had a party for Michelle today :). OK, so it was 2 weeks after the fact...but at least we finally had a real party with her friends. We were outside in the back yard a lot playing in the water, as the weather was really nice. We bbq'd hot dogs and sausages, and had corn on the cob, salad, watermelon, chips, pretzels, and of course CAKE! I had so much fun making her cake, and watching her have fun at the party was marvelous too.

Sun & Mon workouts

Sunday: REST day. I did absolutely nothing other than baking for my daughter's birthday party which will be today (Monday).

***

Monday: Track workout. 6x800/200 (30 sec rest after 800m, 3 min rest after 200m). I had a bad day today. It started off OK, but by the third set I knew I was in trouble. My legs were a little tired on the first two, but on the third one they got really tired. My muscles felt like Jell-O, especially my quads, and my legs just didn't respond. My heart rate was not as high as usual and I just had no leg speed. My coach pointed out that these things sometimes happen, and everyone has bad days. Yeah, that's true, and I have had some good workouts these past couple of weeks, so I am going to try and move on and not think about this too much. I seriously contemplated quitting after the 3rd one, but I didn't, and I finished the whole workout, so that was good. I just wish I could have some more fast workouts to build my confidence before my races.

Possibly related: Tried again yesterday to donate platelets. My hematocrit was only 35 this time and so they turned me away again; your hematocrit has to be 38 to donate. Hematocrit is packed cell volume, and the fact that mine is low means I have fewer red cells than I ought to. Normal for women is 36-44. 35 is not so good, especially for someone who fancies herself to be an endurance athlete. I have been taking iron supplements (prenatal vitamins, since I have a bunch left from when I was pregnant) for a couple weeks but it's not helping yet. I think I'll make an appointment just to get things checked out.

Times: 4:29, 1:00; 4:30, 1:01; 4:34, 1:03; 4:43, 1:02; 4:43, 1:06 (!); extra rest here 4:42, 1:01. I took the extra rest because I started talking to a guy at the track; he coaches some youth and I mentioned that I might be interested in helping to coach some youth racewalking sometime. Maybe I'm too busy for that...but we'll see. I probably had 6 min rest; not that it helped, because my legs were wasted.

Workout data here.

Murray Fun Days 5K 2010

Train hard, race hard, but not much in the way of results. That's kind of the way it's been, but I am doing the best I can, and I'm trying to stay positive.

I had a great first 3K (17:14), and then I ran out of gas. Not sure why. I gave it my best effort, so I am pleased with that. And I did get a season's best time of 29:23 (my watch) or 29:19 (official). Still, it's slower than I hoped for, but I guess I still have a few more weeks before the big races. Anything can happen. I'm working VERY hard to be positive here; being negative won't help anyway.

The first 1K was uphill (14m), and I did it in 5:51, ave HR 161. That seemed like a good pace to start the race, given the hill. Then I kept it up and did 5:40 on the second km (uphill 4m), ave HR 172. On the third km, I really kept in mind that I wanted to hold the pace. I tend to slow a bit on it when I'm not focused, and my coach didn't want me to lose time there. I held the pace very well on this nice downhill (10m) in 5:43, ave HR 177. I was working hard, though, and was concerned about hanging on. My friend Sarah, who got a new PR today in the 5K run, passed me right about here. I was happy for her and surprised to see her pass me. That was a bit disheartening but then again, she was running, and I really was happy that she was having a good race (she finished with a 28:55! Yay Sarah!). My thought here was that I was on PR pace if I could just keep the pace to the finish. But the slight uphill on the 4th km going up State St to Vine St really took the wind out of my sails. I only managed a 5:56 with ave HR of 176. I didn't have any gas left in the tank, yet again. I must confess that I am really sick of running out of steam in races this year. This has never happened to me before and it's frustrating. The last km was hot. The weather was really good for July (65F, 18C) with a nice breeze and low humidity, but there wasn't much breeze on Vine Street and the sun was beating down on me. I don't think the heat did me in though; I was already cooked for whatever reason. The last km was 1.07 km on my Garmin, so perhaps the course was slightly long? No, couldn't be...my Garmin is just off. This is a USATF road racing circuit race, and I am sure the course was properly measured. Anyway, the last 1.07 km on my Garmin was a whopping 6:12. That works out to 5:48/km so I guess it wasn't too bad, but somewhere something is off, so we'll never know for sure.

Anyway, I have mixed feelings about this. I am happy for a season's best time, but disappointed that I didn't break 29 minutes. I thought for sure I'd do that today. On the good side, I really enjoyed seeing my friends there, and they all did well. Sarah got her PR, Diane (age 70, my hero!) got a 39:09 (walking!) for first in her age group vs runners, and Kathy (walking!) got a 38:09 and 3rd in her age group vs runners. I finished 13th in my age group; they didn't list how many 40-44 there were so I'm not sure of my placement. I did note that the 3rd place runner in my age group finished in just under 26 minutes, and I feel sure I could do that time running. If I was in this for the glory part I guess I'd have to start running; as a racewalker I won't win any prizes in a running race at my age.

The kids did the kids' 1/2 mile race right after the adults' 5K race. It was SO cute, and Calvin and Michelle both ran the whole thing. Poor Michelle tripped at the finish line and scraped her hands, but they both finished and got their T-shirts, Murray Fun Days 5K dog tags, and goody bag. Then we watched the parade and the kids collected a whole bunch of candy that was being tossed out from the floats. The best part of today was not the race but all the fun I had with family and friends. That's what it's about anyway.

Race details (splits etc. on Garmin Connect - note that I pushed my watch button after the race was long over for about 1-2 sec, so the last km isn't right - it was 6:12 not 6:13, and race time was 29:23 on the watch).

More pictures on Picasa.

hot intervals

It was hot this morning. 75F (24C) and 36% humidity, which is a lot for here. I was to do 3K/2K/4x500 with 4', 3', and 2' rest. I was not at all in the mood for a hard workout, but I seldom am. They always feel so much better when you are done. This was a track type of workout but I didn't do it on the track; I did it on the street because the long intervals are a drag on the track.

I was slowish today; probably the heat. I don't care though, as I did my best and got a hard workout under my belt. I felt pretty wasted on the 2K, and it showed in the time. I almost gave up and went home, but decided I had to finish. I'm glad I did because a couple of my 500m were pretty darn fast.

Here are my times: 3K 17:37, 2K 12:07, 500m 2:57, 2:44, 2:46, 2:52.

Workout data here, including HR, elevation, etc.

My foot ached a bit but nothing too serious. I think it's going to be OK.

***

My boss started a contest for riding your bike to work in July & August. I'm only part-time, so it probably is impossible for me to win (we will have to discuss the rules for me), but I still want to do it. I'll have to bike home after work to get the car and then pick up the kids, so it will take a lot longer, but what the heck. It should be fun.

This morning I biked up and got my shirt wet from sweat because my computer backpack was on my back. I think I'll put it on my bike rack next time! It's quite the hill to work; 191m in just 5.57km (about 650 feet in 3.5 miles - roughly). My legs feel quite tired now.

12K

my workout this morning (12K in 1:19:06 for 6:35/km)

foot was OK; feels a bit better than yesterday

change of plans

This photo is from April, but it looked a lot like this today.

I was originally supposed to do 3k/2k/4x500m today, but because my foot is still aching, my coach switched today's and Thursday's workouts. So today I did 6x400m at 85% effort, and Thursday I'll do the longer one, assuming that my foot is feeling OK. It's not actually hurting so much as it just feels achy/odd. Jim thinks it might just be a little scar tissue getting irritated or something. I think he's probably right, but it's good to baby it anyway just in case it's something more.

I warmed up at the track with 1600m, as usual. Today I really tried to kick it up on the last lap because I knew I was doing 400s, and wanted to be adequately warmed-up. It took me 10:06 w/ave HR 140. Not bad. Then I did my dynamic flexibility drills.

It was warm this morning - about 70F (21C), and I was glad I was doing the 400s and not the 3k/2k/4x500m. At least with the 400s they are over with quickly and temperature is not as much of a factor. After my second 400, the sun came up over the mountains and it felt much warmer.

This workout felt pretty easy after the hard ones I've had. 400s can be hard if you do a lot, but six is not that many, and so it just felt good. Yeah, my legs were a little tired on the last one, but basically I felt fine. Here are my times: 2:12, 2:11, 2:10, 2:11, 2:10, 2:10. Ave HR ranged from 147-157; max 159-170. I felt like I gave more like 90% on some of those than 85%. Hard to say...I'm not good at measuring 85% vs 90% or 95% effort. I know that the last 100-200m of some of them felt pretty hard, in a good way.

My foot was a bit achy during the workout, in the usual spot for the peroneus longus tendonitis (left foot) that I was dealing with last fall & winter. Often it will bother me more later in the day after a hard session; today so far it just feels about the same. I'm taking that as a good sign. Of course, it's only lunch time, so we'll see how it is later in the day. I'm optimistic that it will be all right.

Oh, almost forgot...splits, etc. on Garmin connect are here.

15K on 4 hr sleep

I don't recommend this. 15K on 4 hr sleep is not fun. I didn't get to sleep until after 1 am, because of the piano competition. They announced the results about 11 pm (sadly, Greg did not make the finals), and then Greg and I went to the store on the way home, and I was buzzing from the adrenaline of the whole thing and from the coffee I had before we went over there. Greg makes some SERIOUSLY strong coffee; good, but strong. I digress. It was at least 11:30 when we got home, and then I ended up chatting on FB with my coach and with another racewalker from Australia, David. I was also waiting up for Greg to find out about changing his plane reservations to go back tonight instead of Friday, so by the time I got to bed it was about 1 am. It took at least 15-20 min to fall asleep, and my alarm was set for 5:15 am. UGH! I had to make sure that I got back from my walk by about 7:30; the Bachauer competitors & hosts were invited to special seating at the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast this morning, with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square, and we were to arrive there by 8:45 am. Whew.

So, I set off on my walk about 5:45 am. I ate a banana before leaving, because I still felt a bit shaky from the previous nights' coffee. I felt GREAT for the first 6K. I was thinking a lot about the upcoming 5K & 10K in Sacramento, and how exciting it's going to be. I just found out from the website that Katie Grimes, who I raced in the Portland Marathon as well as in Spokane in 2008, is going to be there. That means we're going to have a great race! We always push each other so well, and I'm totally looking forward to it. We are very evenly matched, though I think she has the edge in the shorter races, with a faster PR than me. So on the hilly first 6K, I thought about that and also thought about how Greg didn't make the finals last night. I still feel really disappointed about that; I thought he had a reasonable shot at it, and I'm actually quite sad that he didn't make it. This morning my sadness had a bit of an angry edge, and so I walked fast on the hills. The combination of the fast first 6K on the hills (I did about 6:30 on them) and the lack of sleep caught up with me later, however. I had a lot of trouble keeping my pace at the end, and I did slow. My legs felt heavy again today; not horribly so, but enough to feel tired and slowed down and out of sorts. Oh well. I'm not worried about this, as I think a day off (tomorrow) will cure it. But it made me slow.

The worrisome thing is my left foot. That's the one I injured last summer. I noticed a little ache in the place where I had the tendonitis (peroneus longus tendonitis, where the tendon inserts in the first metatarsal). It started about maybe 6-8K into the walk and never really hurt, but it did ache. Now, at noon, it is still aching. I did take some diclofenac, my prescription anti-inflammatory, but it's still bothering me a little. I hope this is not going to be a problem. I will rest tomorrow, do some gentle PT exercises, ice it, and take some more diclofenac, and hope for the best. I think it will be OK, but it's annoying that it's bothering me again. I also will retire the shoes I was wearing, as they have about 370 miles on them now and it's time. Hopefully all of this will make it OK.

I forgot to switch my Garmin from "biking" to "running" so the workout is in 2 segments on Garmin connect. The first was a steep uphill of 0.45km in 3:42. Then I remembered, and had to reset it and start over. GRRRR! The rest of the workout (linked here)was in 1:35:42 for a total of 1:39:24 for the 15K, or 6:37/km. Ave HR for the last 14.55 km was 148, so I was working reasonably hard. I was just slow today, and my legs were tired, and now my foot aches. Oh well. I did OK, though, and feel all right about it as long as my foot holds up. I have two exciting races coming up July 23 and 25!

Biking on Wasatch Boulevard

Today was a cross-training day. Views like this were the norm this morning on my ride. It was totally gorgeous out there. From Wasatch Boulevard, high up on the bench, you can see the whole valley stretched out beneath you. Yes, first I had to bike UP there, but it was worth it. After about 4km of relatively hard uphill, I enjoyed the rolling hills of Wasatch Blvd for another 11km or so before turning around. I took it pretty easy, though - ave 21.2 km/h; 30.61 km; 1:26:35 total time. It was SO enjoyable. I would have stayed out longer except that I didn't want to trash my legs for tomorrow's 15km.

I made it all the way to the golf course by 6200 South before turning around. Sometime I'm going to bike all the way to my parents' house in Sandy (they're at about 10000 South), I think...that might be fun!

Workout details here.

Now I'm going to spend some time listening to the last day of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, assuming Loren will watch the kids for me. I think he might :). Tonight I will take Greg over there to hear the last few pianists and the jury announcement of the finalists. I truly hope he is one of them.

5K fartlek

Weather: 65F (18.3C) and sunny - gorgeous!

Workout: 5K fartlek - 1K hard, then alternating 500m medium/500m hard until the end.

How I felt: Was kind of sleepy and wondered if I'd wake up enough for a good workout. But by the end of my 1.83km warmup (just over a mile), I felt reasonably good. I threw in a few strides to get the fast twitch muscles going, did some dynamic flexibility drills, and off I went. I felt pretty good through 3K, and then was tired but still able to push hard. I really gave it my all for this workout, and I was thoroughly exhausted at the end.

More details: I did the first 1K in a very quick 5:31 (though it was slightly downhill; about 3m). The 500m times were 2:51, 2:42 (fast! flat, too), 2:50, and 2:48 (and this on a very slight uphill, 3m, and at the end of the workout). My 500m medium were 3:08, 3:12, 3:17, and 3:21 (yes, I was tired on that last one, but it was also 4m of uphill, slight, but enough to really notice). Total time: 29:45!!!!! That is almost as fast as my 5K race a few weeks ago. I'm definitely getting in better shape. My coach says that 5K fartlek time minus 1:20-2:00 is 5K race time. I cannot imagine that I'd be able to do more than 1:20 faster, but even that would be a 28:25, a PR by 11 seconds. I'd take that! We'll see. I have a 5K race next Saturday, July 3rd, the Murray Fun Days 5K.

My coach said it was a good walk today :). I'm happy :).

masters swimming today

This morning I was to cross-train, so I decided to go to the masters swimming workout, to give my legs a breather. I have a hard (but short) workout tomorrow, so why not rest a little?

I got there a bit late and just did 100m warm-up. We are still in the 50m outdoor pool - I love being outside! Besides, it was 65F (18.3C) this morning (supposed to get up to 94F, 34.4C) and sunny and just gorgeous. I'm loving the summer weather.

We did two sets of 300m, 200m, 100m freestyle on the 2:20/100m. I got about 15-20 sec rest after the 300s, and about 5-10 sec after the 200s. Then we did some technique drills; 10x50 total. We did the catch-up drill and fist drill, and some regular swimming to work on lengthening our reach in the front and also pulling strong with the forearm.

Total distance: only 1800m, but it was a good workout and I enjoyed it. As an added bonus, my legs will be nice & fresh for tomorrow's 5K fartlek.

12K with Sue on the Porter Rockwell Trail

This morning I was to do 12K. I e-mailed Sue to find out if she'd like to go with me on the Porter Rockwell Trail in Draper. I haven't racewalked there in a while and it sounded fun. I haven't seen Sue in a while, and so I was happy to get to RW and catch up with her at the same time. Sue and I did a lot of long days together on the Jordan River Trail last summer when I was training for the Portland Marathon, and she helped me coach the Team in Training people as well. She's a good runner, but willing to slow her pace a little to go with me :).

The weather was perfect shorts and T-shirt weather at 55F (12.8C) and sunny (though the sun hadn't peeked over the mountains when we started at 6 am). The Porter Rockwell Trail has a 7-mile loop that we decided to do, and then to get the 7.4 miles (12K) we did just a little in the park at the end. The loop is gently rolling hills; my Garmin said that it was 40m up and 40m down along the way. While there is only one steep hill on the loop, you really do notice the hills quite a bit.

When we started I felt a bit tired and kept looking at my watch to see my heart rate --- only in the low 130s to start, and I had a little trouble pushing to get going a little faster, probably because I was chatting with Sue. Once I got going, though, I felt pretty good until 8-9K, when I got a bit tired and was glad for a couple water stops we made on the way back (there are some water fountains along the trail). Still, nothing was sore at all, and I didn't have to push too much to keep a 6:30/k pace despite the hills. The time passed quickly as we chatted about everything from art (Sue is a graphic designer and artist who is looking for work, if anyone knows of something) to music to running/marathons to camping in the Grand Canyon.

Total time: 1:18:11; ave pace 6:31/km; ave HR only 140! I'm getting fitter :). My legs still feel pretty fresh!

Fast track workout

I hope that Greg plays the piano today in the competition just as well as my track workout went. Despite sore muscles from Sunday's power hike/trail run (quads, abductors) and yesterday's weight training (obliques, chest), I was fast. The fastest yet this year in a track workout. Actually, come to think of it, this may be the fastest set of 800s I've ever done. I'd have to look to be sure.

I warmed up with 1600m in 10:14 with some accelerations thrown in. Then I did my usual dynamic flexibility drills. Then I got started.

Workout: 5x800/200 with 30s rest between 800 & 200 and 3' rest before the next set.

Weather: GORGEOUS! Sunny, 58F, slight breeze. Absolutely lovely.

The first three 800s felt pretty good; I was working hard but not dying. The fourth one was very hard, and the last, well...I was tired, and I slowed down. I really tried not to, but I didn't have anything left. Still, I'm very happy with the workout.

My times?
4:28, 1:00
4:28, 1:00
4:28, 1:01
4:28, 1:02
4:32, 1:02

Workout details here on Garmin connect.

light-weight ;)

I was a light-weight today. I just did some weight training on my arms, chest, and back, and also some core exercises. Chest press/row; lateral raises/tricep extensions, back extensions/ab machine (upper abs), shoulder press/bicep curls, oblique exercise w/weights, plank, crunches on ball, ball passes from feet to hands (supine), bicycles, and a few other things I think.

I wanted to rest my legs for tomorrow's track workout, because they're somewhat sore after yesterday's hiking/trail running. Believe it or not, the thing that is the most sore is my abductors, probably from the stabilization effort required for running on uneven surfaces. That's great cross-training and I will probably do it more often.

Grandeur Peak hike/trail run

I was to do cross-training today; I'm starting my easy week (3 hard, then 1 easy is the pattern). I thought about biking today, but wasn't in the mood. My appetite for hiking was whetted by the jaunt with the kids yesterday. Plus, it's been about 9 years since I hiked Grandeur Peak, and I was in the mood to tackle it again.

Yeah, last time I hiked it I was quite overweight and not in good shape at all. I remember that it took about 4 hours round-trip, and on the way down, about 0.1 mile from the car, I slipped on some gravel, fell, and broke a chip off the top of my left talus. (Incidentally, that was the third time I had broken my left ankle!). The hike itself had gone well, though; I remember how great it felt to get to the top and see the incredible view. Other memories from the last time I hiked it: from the saddle to the top is pretty steep and I remember stopping a lot. Heck, I remember stopping a lot on the other parts, too. It's a fairly challenging hike, with a continual grade from the get-go to the top. I remember feeling really bad that Loren had to stop and wait for me so frequently, and I was stressed out that I was holding him back. Wow...almost can't believe that those things really happened to me. It's like it was another life. I guess in a way it was.

So I was very curious to see how today would compare to the last time I did this. I thought I'd be able to run up parts of it, but it was only flat enough to run in a few spots. Mostly I powerwalked up the steep grade to the top. There are a lot of switchbacks, places with rocks, etc. The trailhead starts at 5960ft/1816m and goes up to 8299ft/2530m in just 2.75 miles/4.4 km (according to a website...my Garmin was pretty close at 1805-2528m) Click this link for more info on the trail. What was great about this time around was that I only stopped twice, both times because I wanted to take pictures, not because I had to stop. I could easily have gone all the way up without stopping at all! The whole time up I was smiling inside because I felt so different than the previous time I did this - so strong, and so good. I would not give up the way I feel now for anything.

I reached the summit in 58:46. Yes, that's right - it took me less than an hour to get to the top, incredibly. I am sure that last time it took at least 2.5 hours. Going up my glutes and calves got a good workout, but coming down it was my quads that complained the most. I'm pretty sure I'll be a little sore tomorrow. At the top it was way too steep to run down, but after I passed the saddle I was able to run about half the time or more. Granted, I didn't run fast, as I was paranoid about tripping, falling, or breaking my ankle again. But I did run - and it was FUN! I can see why people love trail running so much. It was amazing to run through the dappled sunlight of the forest near the bottom. I might have to try a little trail running with a friend of mine who enjoys it.

The rest of my pictures are here, including 360 degree views from the summit. You can see the whole Salt Lake Valley, including the city & the lake, from up there. These were taken with the camera on my phone, so please excuse the quality. They're not bad for a little camera, though.

Total time: 1:47:38, about 750m up and 750m down, average pace 11:52/km, and average HR 135 (note that ave HR on the way up was 148).

A little hiking :)

It was SO beautiful today that I just had to take the kids for a hike. Yeah, I know, I did 15K (9.3 miles) this morning, fast...but I still wanted to hike. The kids are slow, so I figured it would be OK. Besides, I wanted to break in my new hiking boots. I got them for only $67 at the Columbia outlet in Kimball Junction, and they are pretty nice boots!

So we hiked from Silver Lake at Brighton up to Lake Solitude. There were lots of small snowfields on the trail, and the kids needed quite a bit of help negotiating them. When we got closer to the lake, we lost the trail in the snow, and both kids were crying because it was a hard slog. We turned around and found another way up that didn't have so much snow. We finally made it up to the lake and enjoyed a picnic lunch up there. Then we hiked back; both kids did really well and made it all the way back, though they were tired. We hiked for 2 hr and went only 5.5 km (3.4 mi). But we did have a lot of elevation change, and we didn't hurry. Like you can hurry with two kids ages 3.99 (she'll be 4 on 6/23!) and 5 1/2!

Pictures here - some of them came out great. The aspen are just starting to leaf out, and they are that bright iridescent green that I just love.

Fast 15K

Workout: easy 15K (yeah, I was supposed to take it easy)

Weather: Sunny, breezy, 61F (16.1C) to start and 71F (21.7C) at the end.

Where? Jordan River trail, one of my favorite places to go. I have to drive 15 min or so to get there, but it's worth it when I have the time to do it.

I did start off fairly easy, but then I was feeling really good, so I decided to aim for 6:30/k. Then I got on a roll, and was feeling nice & strong, so I just pushed a little. My heart rate was kind of high for most of the workout, but it didn't FEEL hard. It felt easy-moderate at the start, moderate in the middle, and from about 12K on it was moderately hard, but I felt great the whole time. My legs were not the slightest bit heavy, and I felt I was using my glutes more. It just felt great.

It was awesome to be outside this morning. SO many birds along the route; I even saw three white pelicans! I also saw lots of runners, as the SLC Fit people were out there for a 10-miler. I know this because I pilfered their water (thanks!) and chatted with a couple of them during the few times I stopped for a drink. One lady I talked to was 62 years old, started running @ age 55 and has done 4 marathons. She was really interesting! Too bad I didn't have longer to chat.

I was a bit tired from 12-15K but not heavy legs tired, just slightly tired from pushing a little :). It was a good kind of tired, and I finished strong.

Total time 1:35:55, 6:23/km. Ave HR 151.

light cross-training

I'm really tired. Not from my workouts, but from life. This week has been over the top. It's my week to work 3 days (I alternate working Tu Th and Tu Th F), plus the kids are in vacation Bible school each morning (lots of extra driving), plus we have our guest pianist here, and several more minor things. I'm not sleeping very well because of all the activity & associated anxiety.

This morning I did the elliptical but only for 40 min because things are just too crazy, and my body is tired from everything that is going on around our house. Anyway, the workout was unremarkable.

Tomorrow: 15K easy.

decent enough day at the track

Workout: 2x2k (4' rest), 3x800/200 (3' rest after each; 30" between 800 & 200). This is a toughie - hard to generate leg speed after the 2k intervals.

Weather: Very chilly at 40F (4C) and a biting wind. It did warm up to about 49F by the time I was done, and the sun peeked over the mountains by the time I finished the 2k intervals, which made it more tolerable. Had to wear gloves, long-sleeve shirt, and long tights. Brrrr! At least it didn't rain. The track was wet from the thunderstorm last night, though. The weather looks to be clear and warming up a bit for the next few days, which is nice.

Quick recap (only have a few min to write): The 2Ks went very well at 11:41 and 11:42. I was pleased. I felt really good during them and felt like I could have done more. The 800/200s...well, after the pre-fatiguing of the 2Ks, they were slow. My legs felt like I was racewalking in sand or mud. I did them in 4:38/1:02, 4:40/1:02, and 4:38/1:02. Not fast, not pretty, but I was out there and did the workout. Payoff will come later.

Of note: Very sore upper back from sleeping on it funny, kind of like when you get the kink in your neck, but in my upper back. Hurts when I turn too far L or R. I thought it might bug me while RW but it didn't really. Hopefully it will go away by tomorrow. Also, my right calf is spasming a little bit & twitching. It was doing this yesterday, too. Annoying, but not painful at all and didn't seem to affect my workout.

Garmin connect link here.

easy 12K

Yes, you read that right. My coach is letting me do my recovery days at an easier pace, since I wasn't recovering so well. I felt really good on this one for the first 6K, but my legs started to get a bit heavy & tired on the last 6K. Nothing like Sunday, but it just reminded me that it was good to take it easy. I finished the 12K in 1:22:00 for 6:50/k with an ave HR of 138.

Liberty Park is still a mess from the oil spill, but now they have the park open except for a small stretch on the south end, so I was able to go around the park. I also went around Sugar House Park, and saw the most beautiful sunrise, with the rays of the sun peeking behind orange and pink clouds just over the mountains. It was a lovely morning; a bit warm at 66F (19C) and partly sunny. Now it's sunny and windy - a storm is coming through. Ugh...will probably rain on my track workout tomorrow :(.

After my 12K, I drove to the gym and lifted weights. Chest press (machine)/hip cybex machine for abductors, back extensions/leg press (machine), lateral raises/calf raises, all of those 3 supersets of 10-12 reps. Then a bunch of miscellany --- 3 sets tricep pull-downs, 1 set leg extensions (quads), 1 set on abs machine, and a couple other things I don't remember now :). Finally, a good hard set of core exercises with Lisa, including planks, then stretching.

Workout details here.

New arrival

My brother and his wife just painted the room for their new baby, expected to arrive in just a few weeks. I'm so excited for them, and they sent me the cutest photos! I just had to share.

I get to see the new baby at the end of July when I travel to Sacramento for the USATF National Masters' Championships; I plan to stay a while and help them out :). Loren gets to stay home with our kids...I think he'll manage (I hope!).

a glimpse of the "old" Tammy?

Today's workout was fantastic. It's weird how you can really suck on Sunday and then go on to have such a great workout on Tuesday. I'm not complaining, though!

Weather: 57F (14C), calm, and sunny. Gorgeous morning - absolutely PERFECT weather. If I could choose race weather, this would be it. Seriously! I wore shorts and a T-shirt and was neither too hot nor too cold.

Workout: 8K fartlek, alternating hard/medium: 500m/500m, 1K/1K, 2K/1K, 1K/500m, 500m.

I warmed up for 1.67K downhill in 10:36. I didn't push much but did a few strides at the end. Then I did some dynamic flexibility drills. I felt decent; muscles weren't sore at all though my back was still a little tweaked from the bad lifting yesterday (mostly better though). I decided to do the same exact course as on last Thursday since it was the same workout.

I felt smooth and good today. I felt like I was getting a little more length out of each stride, and using my glutes a bit more. My form felt like I imagined it felt last summer & fall before my layoff. It felt good! I felt a bit like the "old" pre-injury Tammy.

My fast segments were a little faster than Thursday, though not spectacularly so. But my recoveries were MUCH better than last Thursday, so my time was almost a MINUTE faster!!! Total time: 48:49 (fastest ever by 51 sec!), ave HR 160.

OH, and I hit the 5K mark at 29:53 or so...wow!!!

Splits: 2:47 500m, 3:05 (fast recovery!) 500m, 5:50 1K, 6:23 1K, 5:55 + 5:52 = 11:47 2K, 6:41 1K, 5:50 1K*, 3:23 500m, 2:59 500m. *I pushed the lap button 0.04km late by accident, so this interval is a few seconds longer and the previous recovery a few seconds shorter.

Awesome. That's all I'm going to say :).

Rest day

I am not going to exercise today. I need the rest.

I tried to sleep in, but was too anxious about all the cleaning, etc. I have to do before our houseguest arrives. We are hosting a pianist, Greg DeTurck, who is competing in the Gina Bachauer competition. I just painted the kitchen and so it was a total disaster this morning with stuff strewn everywhere and nothing in its place. The kitchen is mostly better now. However, the kids' rooms are junk heaps, the whole house needs a good vacuum, and everything is dusty & dirty. Ugh!

I spent all morning at the grocery store and Costco, and tweaked my back a little lifting the dog food that I got at Costco. I know, I know, lift from your legs. I was trying...but sometimes...well, it didn't work. I think it's OK though, just a tweak.

I'm exhausted from waking up early so I think to maximize my efficiency I'll take a 30-45 min nap so I have the energy to get everything done. Not much of a rest day, is it?

epic bonk

weather: 52F (11C) and windy, threatening rain (but dry the whole time).

of note: Liberty Park is closed because of an oil spill. Yes, you read that right. There was a pipeline leak into Red Butte Creek, spilling 50 gallons of crude/min. Thanks a lot, Chevron. I still walked around the north & west sides of the park (away from the spill and cleanup area), but if I'd been spotted I know the police would have asked me to leave.

I felt pretty tired when I woke up (sleepy; went to bed too late because of painting our kitchen) but my muscles felt good. I was excited to do 20K when I was relatively fresh. I ate a banana before I left, and filled my water bottles.

I felt great for the first 2K, so-so for the next 2K, and then it was all downhill from there. I did make it to 10K in just over 1:05 (which was a little over 6:30/k pace) but I knew I couldn't hold it. My lungs and HR were fine, but my legs were SO tired. By 13K I almost quit. Really - I was so close to bagging it, because I just hurt. But I decided to slow down and just finish. I'm not sure that was the right thing to do, but what the heck.

I cannot remember when I have felt so awful during a workout. It was worse than last week. A lot worse. Despite eating 1 pkg Sport Beans at 8km and 15km, I got no pick-me-up from them. I just felt worse and worse. My legs were so heavy, and every step was just painful. I'm trashed now. It seems like this was a giant carb crash, but I'm not sure why it happened. I ate enough while I was out.

I'm a little concerned. I just don't feel right at all somehow. My coach has made my schedule easier and I'm still not doing well. I think I'm going to call my doctor and just get in for an appointment to get checked over. I'm past due for a thorough physical anyway, so it's probably a good idea.

It's 9:15 am now but I am going back to bed. Seriously.

Total workout time: 2:15:41 for 6:47/km. The last km (admittedly, a good uphill) was a mind-numbingly slow 7:30. Yeah, that's how bad I felt.

Workout details here.

rainy 10K

This picture was taken from the north end of Sugar House Park this morning. It was beautiful, with the clouds enshrouding the mountains. But yes, it's still raining. It wasn't when I headed out the door, but I was prepared. I wore capris and a long-sleeve shirt, with a baseball cap to keep the rain out of my face if I needed it (I forgot this on Thursday and was sorely missing it!). It was 48F (8.9C) with ominously threatening skies. I decided that since I was only doing 10K today, and because it was a recovery walk not a hard session, that I would do a very hilly route. I like this route a lot despite the hills; it goes through the Yalecrest neighborhood, one of Salt Lake's older and prettier neighborhoods, as well as Sugar House Park.

I made it to 5K or so before it started to rain. It didn't rain as hard as it did on Tuesday, and it tapered off slightly at about 8.5K, but I got good and wet. I hope that one of my two pairs of shoes (I rotate them) will be dry tomorrow for my 20K. I might have to toss them in the dryer on low. Tell you what - I'm MORE than ready for some summer weather any time it decides to show up. This endless spring is getting old.

The first couple miles (3.2K) of the route are a serious uphill. I was slow, but figured I'd make time on the way down 1900E to Sugar House Park, and I did, despite the rain, and despite Copper (my dog) getting a bit tired. Maybe I shouldn't take her, as she is definitely slowing down, but she has cancer and we don't know how long she has, and I want her remaining life to be enjoyable. She LOVES going for walks! If I don't take her she looks so disappointed. My heart rate was not that high, but I did feel like I was working moderately hard this morning. Not sure what's up with that. I got to 8K in 52:17, just over 6:30/k, and felt good about that. The next 2K had some pretty good uphill and a little downhill; still, I got to 10K in 1:05:42. I cruised downhill for the last 0.28K, and my average pace for the workout was 6:33/km, average HR 143 (low! - seemed like every time I looked at my watch that it was in the upper 140s, but I guess I only looked when I was tired!).

A good workout. 20K planned for tomorrow, and I'll be doing it on a flatter course, that's for sure!

Details on Garmin connect here.

***

More notes from yesterday - my coach thought my workout yesterday was pretty good. At least, the speed parts were good. He thought the interval speeds were showing improvement in my leg speed, but my recoveries were, ummm, in his words, "like death". Yeah, not so good. He says that means I'm just not aerobically fit yet. I guess that's good, because it means I can go lots faster. But the bad part is that my races are looming in just 6 wk, and I'm not ready, and there's nothing I can do except keep training hard and keep my fingers crossed for a breakthrough. Oh well, at the very least I'll enjoy some good times with other racewalkers and a nice visit with my brother, his wife, and their new baby. AND a week away from the duties at home & work.

8K fartlek

Today I was to do an 8K fartlek, but of a different kind than in the past. Previously I've done 1K hard, then alternating 500m medium/500m hard until the end. But today my coach had me do a ladder of sorts: 500m hard, 500m medium, 1K hard, 1K medium, 2K hard, 1K medium, 1K hard, 500m medium, 500m hard.

My legs were slightly sore when I got up (hamstrings, the usual...) but otherwise I felt pretty good. The weather was cooperating better today. It was a bit chilly, but really perfect weather for a hard workout. At 49.3F (9.6C), overcast, and very still, I decided to wear shorts and a T-shirt. 50F is usually my cutoff for wearing long sleeves and tights, but with no wind and with the hard effort I was going to put forth, I opted for the shorter outfit. I did wear gloves for the warm-up, but then stashed them when I started the hard part.

I was bored with fartleks in Liberty Park, so I did this on 800 East instead. It does have some slight inclines, but is basically flat, and the traffic is low. I did have to pause a couple times to cross 1300S/1700S, but not for long (a few seconds). This is a pretty good place to train. I picked a 2K length of the road and went out and back twice for the workout.

I warmed up for 1 mile (downhill) in 10:20, pretty easy. I did flexibility drills and then I was off. The first 500m was on a very slight downhill and I missed the split on my watch by 20m (oops), but it was a fast 2:50 for that 520m. Good, I thought, maybe I'll be fast today. Nope. But I wasn't terribly slow either, for most of the intervals. The first 1K was in 5:52; I guess that's a bit slow but it was slightly uphill. I felt pretty good for all the intervals except the 2K, which just seemed long today. It had a slight uphill for the first 1/2 and then a slight downhill. I can see by looking at my HR on the player of the Garmin connect website that I eased up a bit in the middle; I will admit to being a bit conservative for part of it because I think I was a bit afraid of the length of the interval for some reason. Anyway, the 2K was slow because of that; 11:58. Grrrr. Then I resolved to really focus hard and push hard for the rest. My recoveries were very slow after the 2K; I guess I got tired, because I kept my HR in the 150 range for them. The last 1K was flat, and I did it in 5:53, and then pushed on the uphill last 500m for 2:55.

Not bad. Not great either. But I worked hard and did what I could. Now I get to have a few easy days. 10K tomorrow, 20K Sunday, optional on Monday. Good thing, because I am definitely a bit stiff after this workout. Probably didn't help that I do weight training with my friend Lisa on MWF, and so when I have a week like this where my hard workouts are W & F, it does throw things off. I did weight training after my workout on Wednesday and also today. I tried to avoid too much hard leg stuff, but I did do some one-legged ball squats today, along with some sideways walking w/resistance to work my gluteus medius and avoid recurrence of that evil IT band problem I had last year. I did a bunch of other stuff which I'm too lazy to list (mostly arms/chest/back) and also did a whole lot of core work with Lisa.

Workout link on Garmin Connect for interested parties here.

12K in the rain

It was raining when I got up to go for my walk. It was warm, though (56.7F; 13.7C) and I wore a rain jacket for the first part but then took it off for the second part of the workout. I brought my dog, Copper, but I guess her age is starting to catch up with her. She's 9 now, and she could only keep up for 5.75k and then I had to leave her at home, along with my jacket.

I did my favorite 12K route, encompassing SugarHouse and Liberty Parks. The first half (the SugarHouse Park part) is pretty hilly, so you can't really make good time on this route, and I didn't. But I just tried to keep my heart rate at a moderate level (around 150); pushing a little, but not too hard, and that felt good. I felt great today, and my only complaint was a little soreness (quite minor) in my hamstrings. I focused on standing up straight and using my glutes more, for what that's worth.

It rained on me a lot, but it was only unpleasant at the end. It rained hard for the first 4-5k, then tapered off to a light rain. After I dropped my jacket off the rain stayed light for a few km, but by 8 km it was raining hard again, and it was raining quite hard by 10.5km. Mostly the rain was pleasant and cooling, and as a friend says "you won't melt". But by the end I was tired of it, and my feet were really wet; I wasn't cold at all though, despite the fact that I just wore shorts and a T-shirt. I was soaked to the skin and the hot shower afterward did feel good.

Total time 1:20:39 for 12k, average 6:43/k, average HR 148.

Workout data here, for my coach.

Paradigm shift required

I need a reality check. I've been getting down about the fact that I am not as fast as I was last year, or the year before. I know, I'm coming back from injury and shouldn't expect too much, but it's hard not to.

This is my new reality: 1) I am healthy - my feet don't hurt and I can racewalk. 2) I'm in better shape than 99% of people my age. 3) I am going to be fit ad healthy as long as I can. 4) Though I still struggle with those last 5 lbs, I have lost 100 lbs and kept it off for almost 4 years now.

I am going to enjoy all of those things rather than focusing on the negative; at least I'm going to try to do that.

This morning I didn't want to go to the track. I was too worried about the verdict of the stopwatch. After my warm-up (10:19 for 1600, acceleration, plus dynamic flexibility drills), I decided that it the times didn't matter. Only the workout mattered. So I got to work.

I was to do 1x2.5k, 4 min rest, then 4x800/200 with 30s rest between them and 3 min rest before the next 800/200. I only managed the 2.5k in 14:49, so I knew it wasn't a fast day. But my heart rate was reasonably high (ave 160, max 168), so at least I figured I'd make it through the workout well. My legs felt pretty fresh, and though tired at the end of the workout, they don't feel excessively so. I focused on trying to use my glutes more and keeping my posture upright; I'm tired of sore hamstrings! I don't think I succeeded at that very well, but hopefully every little bit helps.

I knew that the pre-fatiguing of the 2.5k would make my 800/200s slower than last week, and they were. The 800s were from 4:36-4:39 and the 200s were 1:00-1:02. I didn't feel like I was dying on the last ones, either. I probably could have done a few more if I absolutely had to (but I was glad I didn't have to!).

Slow times, but new perspective. Stay healthy, enjoy racewalking, keep the weight off. Let the times do what they will. I'm trying very hard to make this my new paradigm.

Splits here, for the coach and other interested parties.

quiet couple of days

It's been a quiet couple of days. My coach decided to re-vamp my training schedule, because I wasn't recovering as well from the hard workouts as we had hoped. I think this is a good move, as it avoids overtraining on my part. Plus I have to admit that the schedule was quite hard, and while I am improving, I felt a bit tired all the time.

So, yesterday was an optional day; I opted to do weight training, core work, and 45 min on the elliptical. Everything felt pretty good by last night, but honestly, I was glad I didn't have a hard track workout this morning. I was to do cross-training instead, so to rest my legs even more I went to a masters' swim workout. It was great! We are meeting at the outdoor 50m pool now, and I loved working out there. It was fabulous to be outside. We warmed up with a lot of freestyle - kicks, drills, swim, etc. for about 700m, then did some stroke drills for butterfly, breaststroke, and backstroke alternating with freestyle swimming for 600m, and finished with some breaststroke & backstroke for 300m. Hmmm, that only adds up to 1600m. I could have sworn I did 1800m but maybe I have forgotten something? It wasn't very much for a 1 hour workout, but I was in the super slow lane, and we did a fair amount of technique work. It was good, though - no pressure, no hard speed work, but I was still breathing hard during the swimming part. Enjoyable...I wish my hard workouts allowed me to go to this workout more often, but since I am usually at the track or the park working hard on Tu & Th mornings, I can't be at the pool too.

Tomorrow I am back into hard workouts again. I think I'm mentally much more ready than a couple days ago, and physically as well. My legs are fresh, and ready for action.

You're invited

Come on over for a piece of cherry pie, before it's gone. Homemade from fresh cherries, and served with a side of vanilla frozen yogurt. Mmmmm! 

20K with sore hamstrings

I am tired from yesterday's race. My hamstrings are quite sore. And I'm not used to back-to-back training sessions (yet). So I approached today's 20K with some apprehension, remembering that 2 times ago I had GI issues, and last time I was painfully slow.

It was warm (59F) and sunny when I left, though the sun wasn't peeking up above the mountains yet. I brought 16 oz of water & ate a banana before I left; also packed 2 pkg of Jelly Belly Sports Beans.

I started off OK, but knowing it was going to be a challenge. My hamstrings (especially the left) were sore with every step, and I tried not to think about them too much. I am not worried about injury or anything; I can tell that it's just sore muscles, but that didn't make me feel better about 20K with them. By the time I got to 5K, I knew this one was not going to be fast. I eased off a little, hoping to avoid the crash at the end like last week.

To make a long story short, by 8.5k my legs were really heavy. I ate 1 pkg of jelly beans, hoping the carbs would help. I hoped so or I knew I wouldn't make 20k. Soon I was feeling better, thankfully. At 11.3k I took a brief pit stop and refilled one of my water bottles. It was humid this morning (even right now it's 61%, which is humid for here) and I was sweating a lot, so I knew I needed to drink more.

I stayed feeling OK until 15k when the legs got heavy again, so I took some more jelly beans. I know this sounds crazy, but the points-counting part of me hates that I have to spend 5 points (1 for banana, 4 for jelly beans) to get through a workout. I do it because I know I have to, but I hate eating when I don't really get to enjoy the food. Oh well...part of the deal I guess. It really did perk me up again to have the jelly beans, and the last 5K was easier than I thought. Don't get me wrong, it was not EASY, just tolerable. I was working pretty hard and my legs were feeling it for sure, plus the last 2K is uphill a fair amount.

When I got back home, the song playing on my iPod was "Feeling Stronger Every Day" by Chicago. I had to laugh, because I felt it was mocking me. I'm definitely not feeling stronger every day; I'm still getting used to the new training schedule. I admit when I first looked over the schedule I thought that it was hard, but I also was so excited to do it and so happy to RW again that I was probably overly confident in my ability to do it. Now I'm finding it somewhat daunting, so I just try to take it one workout at a time, and remember that what doesn't kill me will make me stronger. Hopefully I will FEEL stronger soon. I will also admit that I spent a good portion of today's workout ruminating about why I am doing this. All those hard workouts over the past month, and only 6 seconds off my 5K time. Is it worth it? Of course, if one takes the long-term perspective, it is. I have to be patient to see the improvement come. When I was teaching my piano student yesterday, I was talking to him about muscle memory when playing the piano, and about how suddenly everything will "click" and you'll get the tough passage mastered. I realized immediately that was a perfect analogy for my racewalking, too. I have to be patient and do the hard workouts, not seeing much progress for a while, and then, suddenly, it will "click". That's what my coach says, anyway, and it makes sense. I'm sure it's true. I just don't want to wait for it! And my body hurts. Good thing tomorrow is an "optional" day. I'll do some light weights and maybe take a bike ride. Nothing more.

Oh, one more thing. I hate humidity. I'm glad I was only doing 20K, because I started to have chafing on my thighs. UGH! It's not too bad, but could have been worse. I also drank about 24 oz and was still 2 lb lighter when I got home than when I left; my shirt was drenched in sweat.

Oh, my times and splits? (Yeah, my coach probably wants me to post them!). Total time 2:13:36; ave pace 6:40/km, ave HR 145, 1494 calories burned. Splits here.

Wasatch Walkers 3rd handicapped 5K - 2010

Pre-race: Got up around 6 am, ate 1/2 a bagel & a banana to be sure I had enough carbs, and then goofed around on the computer for a while - e-mail, Facebook, chatted w/coach and also with David, a RW from Perth. David told me I could get a PR :) and was most encouraging. I was feeling optimistic, and my body felt good. I have a little muscle soreness from weights yesterday (pectorals, hamstrings) but not bad, and the feet both felt fine. The toenail is pretty good now, too. I figured I would at least break 29 min if all went well.

The weather was gorgeous. Sunny, calm, and 62F (16.7C). I drove to Liberty Park and got the finish sign up on the pole to mark the end of the race, and then did 1600 easy to warm up, with a couple strides at the end, just like the coach ordered :). I saw a few club members gathering by about 7:45 am, and pretty soon we had a whole bunch of people there (14)! It was the best turnout we'd had for a club race, and we had 3 new members attend. Fantastic! For two of the new people, it was their first 5K. We got the race underway, and while I was waiting for my turn to start, I gave one of the new people, Joe, a few racewalking tips.

Race: The first 2K felt awesome. I was cruising, and my HR was a little high (probably adrenaline; this often happens to me in races) but all seemed well. I got to 1K in 5:43 (ok, it was more like 1.02k) w/ave HR 162 and then to 2K in 5:40 (this was spot-on) with ave HR 171. Then I cannot figure out what happened. I didn't FEEL any different, but going up the slight incline on the south end of the park I slowed down. My HR was high (ave for 3rd km was 174), effort was high, and it's not even really a hill - just a little incline - but I got to 3K in 6:16. I could not believe how slow that was and at this point wrote off a new PR and getting under 29 min, though I kept pushing just as hard, because I didn't want to be any slower than I had to be. My breathing was hard but still under control, and I surprisingly picked up a little time on the slight downhill on the north end of the park, hitting 4K in 5:48. Around this point I started passing club members; I couldn't catch them all, but I tried. I did the last K in 6:03 for a total of 29:32. I finished 5th in the race, earning another 5 points for our season-long competition.

Post-race: Thoroughly enjoyed meeting our three new club members Joe, Dina, and Michelle. Michelle finished her first 5K ever, and finished under 1 hour. She's just beginning the journey I was on to lose weight and get fit, so I especially wanted to encourage her. She was SO excited to finish her first race, and that really moved me. I caught her enthusiasm, and so I didn't mope too much about my time. Besides, this is my fastest time all season (by 6 seconds), so even though I didn't get a sub-29 like I thought I could, at least there was a little improvement. I digress. Hanging out with everyone was great! Nancy and I gave some RW tips to the new club members, and nobody seemed to mind that I forgot to bring the medals for the first 3 finishers. Oops! I had to leave before I wanted to, because I had to pick up the kids.

More photos here (still uploading, but should be ready in a few minutes).

Next race: Murray Fun Days 5K on July 3rd.

Friday cross-training

Nothing too exciting here. Just 30 min on the elliptical (HR ave 138 or something like that) and then some weight training. Took it a bit easy on the weight amounts, because I haven't lifted in a week (!) and also because we have a club 5K tomorrow, and I'd like to not be too sore.

Weight sets (all supersets): one-legged squats with back on ball/chest press w/30 lb dumbbells (3x10-12 reps each exercise); glute exercise on ball (hard to explain here...it's from my coach, Jim)/rowing machine 70 lb (3x12 reps each); one-legged dead lifts (40 lb)/push-ups on ball (3x12 each); calf raises w/bicep curls (15 lb) - only had time for one set of these. Then abs with Lisa: plank, crunches, hip-ups for lower abs, V-leg extensions (lower abs), heel touchers for obliques. Finally, a good long stretch.

Edited to add: Muscles are all feeling pretty good today. Leg heaviness seems to have dissipated, thankfully. I'm a little sleep-deprived, as I awoke at 4:45 am and couldn't get back to sleep. Grrrrr! Will have to get to bed early tonight.

Thursday at the track; 5x800/200

I awoke with a feeling of apprehension. My legs were still feeling tired and heavy from the previous workouts, and I really wanted this one to be good despite all that. It's getting closer to my important races (7 weeks from tomorrow!), and I am feeling the pressure to get in shape quickly. But it's not something I can completely control - I can do the hard workouts, but if my body just needs more time, well, then there's nothing I can do about that. There are some things I can control: diet and sleep are among them, and I've been doing a bit better on each. I did actually sleep 8 hours last night (10 pm - 6 am), and I have been eating better for the past few days. That's pathetic that it's only been a few really good days, but the bad days also haven't been that dismal, so that's progress. I'll take what I can get. But I digress. Back to the track.

I arrived at the track and the weather was SO warm! It's doing the typical Utah thing - straight from winter to summer, with no spring. It was 62F (16.7C), and so I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, and worried if I'd get hot! It was overcast and humid, too. It felt weird for it to be so warm; I've really only worn shorts for my outdoor workouts about 5 times so far this year, because our spring was unusually cold.

I warmed up with 1600m, accelerating at the end (last 200m in 1:10ish) to make sure that all systems were "go", so to speak. Today was really the first workout that I did not worry about either foot hurting, and my toenail is getting much better as well. I felt pretty good on the warm-up, and my tired legs seemed to perk up a bit after the first 400 or so. I got hopeful that this might be all right.

I did a few extra dynamic flexibility drills today to give my hamstrings a little extra TLC, and off I went. I was to do 5x(800m - 30s rest - 200m - 3 min rest). I did the first 800 in 4:31, and then the 200 in 1:00, and was feeling pretty fast and fluid. The legs felt OK, and technique felt smooth. So far so good. I wondered if I'd crash though. I did the next 800 in 4:30, and the 200 in 1:00, and though I did feel my legs getting a little tired, they weren't bad and I allowed myself to hope a little more. My heart rates were appropriately high, and breathing was good. The 3rd 800 took 4:33, and the 200 was 1:00 again. This was a good sign - a week ago on this workout, I started to have problems on the 3rd 800, and today I was feeling fine. OK, I was glad I only had two more to go, and I was somewhat tired, but felt all right. On the 4th 800 things did slow down a little; I did it in 4:36 and the 200 in 1:02. Yeah, I was getting tired, but thought I might be able to pull off one more faster 800. The last 800 was 4:33; I pushed very hard at the end of that to pull it off, but I figured if the 200 was slow it would be OK. I sprinted as hard as I could for the 200 and finished in 1:03; I guess I was a little trashed at that point. Still, I felt really good for this workout. It was SO nice to feel really great about a workout, and I enjoyed going fast.

Total time for the 5K: 27:48. OK, yes, I got a lot of rest in between, but I just wanted to feel good about my sub-28:00 5K even if it wasn't done continuously. Might as well enjoy it!

I did get warm, but not too hot, so the weather didn't seem to be much of a factor, though it did get up to 67F (19.4C) by the time I finished.

I feel really good about this workout. It seems quite comparable to the times I was reaching last summer when I was in good shape. I don't think I'm in as good shape as I was then yet, but the times are getting close. I still have 7 weeks to make them even better.

After the workout, I did 600m easy, stretched a lot, and then rushed to get to work on time. Now, at lunch time, I'm feeling pretty good; calves, hamstrings, and obliques are feeling it, but I don't feel trashed. It will be interesting to see how I feel tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow will be some cross-training, and I am most interested to see how I do at the club 5K race on Saturday. I feel the possibility of a sub-29:00 and it's exciting!

Heart rates and other details are in the Garmin connect link below, if you really are interested. They were mostly averaging in the low-to-mid 160s and max in the low 170s. My recoveries to sub-120 were about 90s-2 min on the last few intervals. That seems pretty good.

and a few more photos - Smile Center 10K

Here are the professional photos. They are no better than the free ones I already have, but I thought I'd share anyway.

12K

Today I was to do 12K "easy" (hahaha), at 6:30/km (10:30ish/mile). That's not really THAT easy for me; more like easy-moderate. This was complicated by the fact that 1) my legs are tired, and 2) I chose my favorite route, which is pretty hilly for the first 6K.

For the first 6K (the hilly part), I did 39:18 (about 6:33/km). My legs were pretty tired, but I figured I could be reasonably close to 6:30 for the rest (the flatter part; not totally flat, as it's a gradual downhill and then gradual uphill, but much flatter). I finished the second 6K in 39:37 (6:36/km) for an average pace of 6:35/km. Given the route, I figure that's pretty good. Garmin connect informs me that I did 120m up and 120m down in this nice loop course. Average HR was 146, so yes, I was working a little bit for sure. It FELT harder than that, but again, my legs are tired.

I'm still getting used to this new, harder schedule. Three hard workouts plus a long day and one "easy" (hahaha) day is more intense than I've previously done. It's good, but my body is not used to the workload yet and I think it's just going to take a little time. My times might be slower for a little while, but hopefully it will pay big dividends in the long run.

More photos from the Smile Center 10K

Jess sent me her photos, and there are some great ones of me crossing the finish line! Her husband Nate took them, and I'm so grateful because I rarely have finish line photos that I didn't have to pay for :).

There are more here.

Tuesday at the track

For once, it was nice weather at the track on a Tuesday. 54F (12C) & overcast, with a gentle breeze. It's raining now, but then it was nice.

That was about the only nice thing about my workout. The running club was at the track, which is always kind of irritating. I had to move over frequently to let them have the inside lanes, or risk getting run over. My boss actually works out w/that club sometimes, and he was there today. I will have to get the club schedule from him so I can avoid this track on the Tuesdays they are using it.

I just didn't have it this morning. I was to do 4x2k with 3' recoveries. Warmed up fine, 1600m in 10:20 with ave HR of 142. Did some flexibility drills and then started the workout. I figure I'm in shape for 11:40 2Ks, so I planned to do 1:10/200m and just keep it there. That was OK for the first 2K, which I did in 11:46; ave HR 160/max 166. But then it just went all to he$$ from there. My HR was low, so my coach would say I was probably a bit metabolically slow this morning. I guess that will be my excuse. I worked my tail off, and got nowhere. The last one was excruciating effort, with no yield. I totally died, or wished I could anyway. Here are my times and ave/max HR for the last 3: 11:57 (161/167), 12:01 (160/165), 12:14 (157/164).

Well, at least it's done. I have a nice endorphin warmth, even if the workout was slow. I had a feeling this might happen, because my hamstrings, etc. are still sore from the weekend. My recovery has not been too good; I guess I pushed the 20K too hard despite backing off. Hopefully Thursday's track workout will be better.


I'm actually in an OK frame of mind for 2 reasons: 1) my coach told me it might take 6 months to get back in shape, so I figure my times are going to stink for a while, and 2) how fast I am is ultimately irrelevant. If I work hard, eat well (which I did yesterday! Day 1!), and rest well (last night, not so good, but working on more sleep) then that's all I can do, and I need to be satisfied with a good effort and with treating my body well. Ultimately, that's the goal - not necessarily to win, but to stay fit and enjoy racewalking.