Don't I get a down day???

Well training is going great.. Week 4 is down and so is my tough month with training, racing and events.  I haven't had a day off from training since May 3rd. This past weekend was the toughest to say the least.  Since I didn't complete my long ride last weekend due to Leaning Tower Tri, I had to make it up on Friday.

3 hour long ride

So after riding on Thursday in the cold and wind, I went off on a 3hr ride on Friday.  I rode down to Willow Springs to meet up with Stephanie I and then we rode the trails. The ride in the streets was definitely a challenge, the cars didn't care for a rider and some of them showed it by zooming past me barely missing me.  It's not like there wasn't any on coming traffic, but it was more they were annoyed or something and just didn't care.  Unfortunately, I couldn't make it any more over onto the side because of the pot holes and sewer grates.  Regardless, I just slowed down and let those assholes pass. Once I got to the trail, I met up with Stephanie and we headed west, we decided to go to Lemont to her cousin's house so we could refuel and hit the potty if we needed to. We had some hill challenge and I was pretty good at it. There was a few tough ones, but I managed and survived.  Once we got back to the start of the path, I still had an hour more to ride, so I did the smaller loop and then headed back home.  I finished under 2:57 which I was happy with that.  I didn't want to push it, since Saturday was Soldier Field 10 Miler.

Soldier Field 10 Miler

Saturday morning was another early morning for me, I so can't wait until I can get to sleep in.  But its race day and what more do I have to do but get up early and head off to the start line, even on my Birthday.  So today I turn 43 years old, really I don't feel it at all. I know that in the last couple of years, I gained a lot of strength and improved my health tremendously, so this race today, I'm running to show that I can do it and do it better than last year.  And that is exactly what I did.  I got to start the race with great friends who wanted to start celebrating my day with me.  Amir, Precious and May were great to hang out with at the start, even though we lost each other after that, it was great to have them by my side.

As Stephanie I told me at Leaning Tower, I was racing my own race.  I didn't care where they were but just knowing that I had my plan and I was going to stick to my plan.  I didn't want to injure myself or push myself to the point that I was no longer having fun, but I was going to be safe and finish under my goal of 2:00.  The race seemed to be the same as any other race, but then something happened. Just after the 1 mile mark, just past 31st street, there was a crowd forming screaming and yelling. I stopped to see how to help, and it turns out that a runner was down. They didn't fall, they were just laying there, and as I stopped I saw her seizing.  Everyone that stopped either helped to form a wall around her to protect her or call 911 to get medical.  Two separate runners stopped, a nurse and doctor, once a coarse marshal showed up I took off.  I couldn't stop thinking of her and just hoped she was better. I got back into my groove and kept moving. Around mile 6 I had to make a pitstop at the port-o-potties and that added time to my run as well.  I really didn't care, I just wanted to finish. I knew I would be under a 2:00, just not sure how much under a 2:00.  I could see the finish, well at least the gates to the stadium, so I knew soon I'll be on the 50.  And there I was, I finished with a 1:53:57, that was 10 minutes off my time from last year... OMG It was awesome, I was still thinking of the girl on the course, but I was happy with my finish and I didn't care it was slower than I thought but I had good reasonings.

Bike the Drive

And yet I am up early again, and this time Rich is joining me.  We have our annual Bike the Drive with Kathy today, Joe sleeps in so we'll see him after.  This year we decided to hit the ride and then head off to Kuma's Corner for some grub after wards.  Poor Kathy was still dealing with jet-lag that she could only complete the south loop, but Rich and I went on to hit the north loop. It turned out to be a really nice day for the ride. The winds weren't too bad, but at least it was sunny. There was definitely a lot more riders out there this year than last but it was still fun. There were still the regular idiots riding, and I was amazed at some of them. There were those "riders" who were all geared up and you can tell they know to ride, but they just didn't follow the rules of the road. One dude got so close to me and never announced himself, Rich yelled back at him and he was just like whatever.  I swear it totally amazes me.  But in the end it was a great ride and couldn't wait to meet up with Joe & Kathy at Kuma's Corner for some YUMMY food :)

Week 4 is done...

This was definitely the longest week with most hours/miles logged:

127.37 miles
11:31:30 hours
5,280 calories

8 more weeks to go!!!

2 more weeks down...

Well I haven't posted in 2 weeks so here is a run-down of what's been going on.

Well after coming off of the Wisconsin Half, I finally got to feeling better and just kept on schedule with my training. My recovery ride was along Salt Creek and that was a good change of pace. Some hills (although Coach Dave doesn't call these hills) and twists and turns. I went easy but had some fun trying out the aerobars and working on my leaning.  I'm definitely feeling better in my rides as I spend more time in my saddle. The Tuesday night ride I again hit the trail but then Coach told me of a loop with a little more hills so I tried it.  Damn that hurt, the last hill was a bit of a challenge but I made it.  This is definitely a loop I want to repeat until I can find no trouble on that last hill.  Now on to the runs... Coach made us walk on Monday night so that was kind of our recovery run.  On Wednesday I did my easy run alone.  I felt GREAT!! I didn't know what got into me but damn my pass was pretty quick.  A year ago, where I fought to get a 12:45 pace this year I'm keeping an 11-11:30 pace pretty easily, and sometimes I'm even faster.  I don't know why but I definitely can keep my pace up and I'm loving it.  When I went out on the run, I thought I had to do a negative split, so I tried for that and I did great, I took a lot of time off my run.

The weekend had our schedule to be normal long runs/bikes practicing nutrition and negative splits. But I had to mix it up a bit, since Rich and I had a fun ride on Saturday.  We did the Ride The Rock family ride, which was an adventure I might say.  A 16 mile loop on paths, thru neighborhoods and the I&M Canal.  Since I needed time in the saddle, we went for 2 loops. Whenever I had the chance to practice my aerobars, I took it and settled in to the bars and damn did I fly. The only part that kind of scared me was riding on the I&M Canal as it was crushed gravel, but on the second loop I felt better and was able to get my speed up.  I'm realizing everyday I ride that I'm getting more and more comfortable... now if only I could stand up on the bike... that still freaks me out.




Week 3 of training was much of the same, but adding in some Brick workouts since we had Leaning Tower Tri that weekend. I'm realizing as i train and race that my run and swim are definitely my strong points, but my bike, well that REALLY needs work.  It scares me that I'm not as strong as I wish I could be or as anyone else in my team.  I know I'm being hard on myself and I have improved since last year, but still, why can't I get my cadence up and why can't I ride while off my saddle.

Leaning Tower Tri was a total success for me, but I know I still need to work on it.  From last year, I had improved A LOT!!!

Last year my times were:
Swim 9:19.30
T1 1:55.75
Bike 48:04.15 14.0 mph
T2 1:33.75
Run 41:56.95 13:32/M
Total - 1:42:49.90

This year I dropped almost 19 minutes from my time :)
Swim 8:35
T1 2:15
Bike 37:39
T2 1:11
Run 33:44
Total 1:23:22

I don't know what happened with my T1 that it was almost 20 seconds slower than last year, but I do know they moved the mats to before the mulch area so who knows what that really means. But overall I was REALLY REALLY happy. It was great to have everyone to train and race with and having Coach, Wendy, Stephanie I and David there to cheer us on was great.


That night we all met up at Dairy Queen to celebrate and talk with Coach. He's kind of scaring me because I'm not getting enough time in the saddle... I don't know what to do, this month is a tough month cuz of races and all but now I need to figure out what I can do to get more time on the bike and get some miles in while working on nutrition and hydration... UGH, I'm getting nervous.

9 more weeks to go!!!

Week 1 down, it was a piece of cake...

This first week wasn't so bad, but it was a little bit of a challenge. Mainly because I should've been tapering in prep for my Spring Half, but with this training there really wasn't much tapering in store.

New schedule started on an early Monday morning.  Swimming at L.A. Fitness with Wendy is something we haven't done in a really really long time. It's going to be a new thing but we have to do it.  I'm still running on Monday's with the team and now let's add some biking.  I'm also having to get in an extra run during the week, just easy out/back from the hood.  We're back to York Woods for Thursday rides with Elmhurst Bike Club., soon we'll start getting into Bricks which will just make things that more fun.

Now to the highlight of this weeks... Wisconsin Half Marathon.  Stephanie B and I were to head up on Friday night and spend a relaxing night in Racine before the race. It would've been great had the weather cooperated, and had I not been sick, but it was good. I had woken up Friday with the worst stomach cramps, ranging from a 5-12 on a scale of 1-10. I felt like someone was stomping on my gut and twisting my intestines.  I was in so much pain. I couldn't eat, let alone drink. How was this going to be for my race. I was no under-nourished, dehydrated and not rested.  By the time we left for up north I felt a little better and the pains now became just twinges.  We picked up our packets and headed to our hotel, got some dinner than relaxed in the hot-tub. Back at the room, I laid down to let my stomach settle, only to pass-out by 8:30pm and not waking up again until my alarm went of at 5am.

Race-time is upon us... 

I had no clue what to expect. Even though I slept great the night before I was wondering how being sick would impact my race.  I decided that all I wanted to do was finish and not be in in pain... that was easy :)  So I had my plan in place, it was a little chilly but nice weather for a race.  At the start of the race, I felt pretty good. I started out slow, or so I thought, I saw I was going a little too fast so I pulled back and then made sure I did my walk intervals.  Ok, I guess I was feeling better than I actually thought. I was running great, keeping a good pace and talking with people as I ran. It was awesome to be in a pack of runners, not alone like I usually am. I found a pace group that was trying to hit a sub-5 for the marathon so the leader kept the group going by calling out mile splits. I realized those splits would keep me to hit my 2:30 for my PR. I found that I had to force myself to stop and get water along with doing my walk breaks. After the first 4 miles, I realized I had over 2 minutes to spare on my splits. By mile 8 I slowed down a bit, but not because of being tired or anything, but it was more due to the turn around.  After the last water stop I just ran, no more walking, keeping a good pace and trying to get as close to a PR as I could (a PR would've been anything faster than a 2:45).  Once I hit mile 11 I knew I could do this, I just buckled down and pushed for it.  The finish was close and I was so excited.  Really how could I get such a great time with the fact that I was really really sick the night before.  In the end I did it... 2:28:52... HOLY COW!!!

Wisconsin Marathon/Half-Marathon by sandrade70 at Garmin Connect - Details

Now the rest of the weekend is a recovery weekend with an easy ride on Sunday.  Yeah... this isn't too bad :)  1 week down, 11 more to go!!!

And it all starts... TODAY!!!

Well today is day one of our 12 week training program for Racine Half-Ironman.  I'm nervous yet excited. I know my strengths and my weakness. I know what I need to work on and dedicate more time, effort to, and what I can do just to maintain.

My swim is all set, I've cut so much time off in the last couple of months, that I'm pretty happy, at least for Leaning Tower.  I'll just need to work on keeping a good pace as the distances get longer.  I'm sure that will come easier as I get out into the lake.  Now to think if I want to stick with my full wetsuit, or if I should try a farmer john.  The sleeves seem to constrict me and makes it harder for me to keep a good pace.

My run, well, my run is my run.  I'm still doing my intervals of 5min run/1 min walk.  That seems to be my key for anything longer than a 5k race.  When I've been running lately, if I feel good, then I'll just push thru a walk interval and run it but remind myself that I have to run thru the runs regardless... Well not really, depends on hills... hills always win out :)

My bike has been serviced/fitted and it's been on the road already 3 times.  First 2 rides were pretty easy on the I&M Canal and Centennial trails, but those damn hills there just kill me.  Yesterday was a "fun" ride with a large group of the triathletes. Dave lead the ride to Busse Woods, and yes, again we had HILLS... I just don't get why I can't figure them out??? Why can't I push thru it and get up it without almost dying. Also, I just don't get why I can't get use to just spinning, I feel like I'm still doing so much more work and not getting anywhere, unlike the rest of the team.

I know my strengths
I know my weaknesses
I must work to make my strengths stronger and lessen my weaknesses

With my team I will get it done
With Rich's help I shall be able to conquer those hills and gain some speed.

I hope and I pray that I just FINISH, but I want to have fun and with my team's I know we'll have a blast... I love them all :)

What is the world coming to...

Explosion at the Boston Marathon

I know that this is my blog on my trials and tribulations, but today is a day that I will never forget...

While at work, and emailing back and forth with Christin over the fact that the NFL can't get there asses in order and get out the 2013 schedule out. We're on pins and needles to see when she can visit me for the Bears game and when I will be going out there. After I send her my potential marathon race options, I then  get an email from here that there was a bombing at the Marathon.  I wasn't sure what happened but then I started to read the article. I looked to Facebook  because several from the Elmhurst Running Club were out there, many of who we see on the path during our morning runs. Even thou we don't know everyone by name, we know each other from the path. Even thou I don't run there pace or distance, they still say hello and wish us luck. It was hard to fathom what just happened. Hard to believe that this could happen. Hard to think that I actually knew people there and was worried. The news feeds were going crazy with details, the video feeds were flooding the internet.

At first they said it was only 23 injured and 2 dead, one being an 8yr old child. Now that I look online they are saying the injured are in the 100's and that there are 3 dead.  Most are spectators as the bombing happened near the finish.  Who could've thought such a tragedy could happen at such a joyous and amazing event.  To qualify for Boston, it's a feat in itself. To have family and friends there to watch you cross the finish, I could only imagine.  They were all there just to watch the culmination of there friends/families hard work and this happens. I was just planning my marathon and now this scares me and makes me wonder what I should do. What about the races I'm already signed up for? Will I be safe there? Will my friends/family/team be safe at there races?

I know I'm babbling here, but I just can't get my mind around this...

What if this was a race I was at?

What if I was there at the finish cheering my team on?

What if my friends/family were to there watch and cheer me on?

Are we ever safe?

What do we do now?

What do I do now with all my races planned this year?

For now all I can do is pray for those who lost family member, pray for those injured, and be thankful that all my friends and safe.

13 mile training run...

According to our training schedule, this weekend was a 13-14 mile long run, at our long run pace.  Seeing that I want to do Milwaukee in a 2:30, I was to run between a 11:47 - 12:53. I thought that would be sooo doable and that I could even do better, keeping between a 11:30-11:45.  Little did  I know that the stress on me from the Release weekend and warranty week would have such an impact on my run.

Since my work week was soo bad, I had decided to take Friday off to relax and get some stuff done, like chop my hair. Yeah I needed a new do so that I could be ready for race season. It was too long to deal with and my only condition I told my stylist was that it should still fit in a pony tail... So it's chopped but look cute and I can even french braid it :)  Even with the day off, that didn't help me out for the run. The damage was already done. Lack of sleep, poor nutrition and dehydrated were just the topper of all my problems ahead of me.

So here we are, race day!  Stephanie I, Wendy, Lena, Stephanie B and myself. We're all set for this training run.  Well it was a training run for all of us but Lena, this would be her first 1/2 marathon, and Stephanie B would be pacing her, while Wendy and Stephanie I would pace together.  Me being the slower one, I was alone for the run. No to worry, I'm use to it, but at least I had my tunes to keep me going.

As always i took off too quickly, keeping up with Wendy and Stephanie I for the first mile.  I realized I would fizzle out quickly if I kept this up so I started to pull back and added a little walk.  After that I kept it at the a good pace and kept that going until about mile 8. At that point, or maybe just before, I started to feel a pull in my left calf. I slowed down and walked and it went away. I started to run again, and then again it came back and this time it hurt. I again pulled back and walked it off. Once again.. Not good, this time it was both legs and I almost fell.  I was getting cramping in both legs and it hurt. I knew it, I was already dehydrated, even thou I was drinking water but it seemed to be the side effects from my work week.  At mile 9-10 it was it... I just couldn't keep it up. Anytime I picked up my pace I would stumble and the pain was bad. I was crying and I wanted to give up. I kept talking myself into pushing thru the pain and it was grueling. I never cried during a run and this time I was crying like a baby. I was hurting bad and worrying that I would fall because my calf would tighten and my foot would drag. I didn't know what to do. I was still 3 miles from the finish. I pushed thru it and finally saw the 13 mile marker.  Only had to finish crossing the overpass and a small run thru the grass and I would be done.  I saw the girls cheering me on and I was hurting that for the first time I started to ball after I crossed the finish line.  I just lost it and the pain was still there.

Even thou I finished and I did PR (2:46), I was so disappointed with myself because I let my job affect my training.  I just hope that I can get over this and move forward with my training and meet my meet all my goals for this race season.

Just when you want to give up...

 

This weekend is our deployment weekend, also today is the 4 month anniversary of my baby Delilah's passing. I've been missing her so much lately it's been affecting my every day activities including my running and training overall.  The last couple of runs have been all over the place. I either do great or I have to talk myself out of giving up. With deployment activities my stress level has been really high and that also doesn't help me in my training. I've been averaging 2-3 hrs of sleep at night, not eating as well as I should and definitely not well hydrated.  The double wammy of missing Delilah and deployment is really killer.

During the Monday night run, i did great! I kept my pace for my 20 minute tempo and it was awesome, even thou I puked on the 4th loop.  But then on Tuesday I just felt like blah and couldn't get up at for spin class (also didn't hurt that Wendy was on vacation so didn't have her there to push me to go, push in a good way that is).  Then Wednesday I was really out of if, my emotions were at the worst and I still went to the last night of Winter Runners, and it showed it in my run.  I couldn't keep a good pace at all. I just wanted to give up but I did my 16 minutes out and back but no negative split here. I walked more than I wanted to the run back. I stayed a little for the bit after and had a slice of pizza and took a couple pictures then it was back home. It was then another night of no sleep, well I think I dozed on and off on the coach but nothing worth saying that I got some rest. Luckily I got to work from home on Thursday, but in hopes to be a little relaxed before go live I skipped my swim that night.

Since release means I have to start work at 2-3 pm on Friday until Saturday morning sometime, I knew I wouldn't be making it out to run with the group Saturday morning.  So I had no other choice but to do my long run Friday morning.  Even thou I tried to sleep in Payton had other ideas... Play while mommy sleeps and take a nap when mommy wakes up.  So at 930ish I was up and getting dressed and heading out the door for my 8 mile run. I kept going back and forth on what my plan was for today. Go east 1 then back 1 for warm-up then 2 out west and then back at race pace, then back east 1 and back for cool down... Then I kept thinking that will all the back and forth I would easily give up and just head home, so instead I made a simple out and back heading west.  The path was still in crappy conditions. There were so many holes and ice and muck that it just sucked and I feared rolling my ankles. I couldn't keep a good pace and again I started to talk myself out of it. Then I started to justify my crap run with the fact that I'm not sleeping, not eating and not being well hydrated.  I also realized I didn't have the auto lap feature on so I had to fix that just after mile 1... I just wasn't with it and my time was showing it.  After my warm-up I just moved to the street and gulped down my Gu.  Then I was off... I was really moving well, thankful for stable ground. Surprisingly my pace rocked it.  At 4 miles set to be at my race pace (11:27) I thought that would be doable, and trying not to walk would be the greatest challenge, but  I thought I could do it. Imagine my amazement that I was at a 10:38 - 11:04, with my overall pace at a 11:27.  WOW I guess I got my mojo once I left the path and it was awesome. I finished my run feeling great and realizing that I can totally do this. My music was my company and it kept me going. Thinking of my Delilah pushed me to be strong and get thru my miles. My baby girl will always be with me and I know that I can count of her to give me the strength and courage to complete all that lies ahead of me.

With this feeling of accomplishment, I finally buckled down and registered for Racine 70.3... No turning back now!!!

Prairie Path - Weekend Long Run by sandrade70 at Garmin Connect - Details