7 Weeks....eek!

Seven weeks sounds like a long time, right? I thought so too. Until I was looking at my training plan last night and had a momentary panic attack realizing that I mostly have about 4 weeks of training left before I start peaking/tapering for the race.

This race felt so far away when we decided on it. The training period has felt infinitely long. And yet, not long enough. I lost a lot of time when I injured my knee, and while I feel like I made tremendous progress over the last training block, I'm still really nervous.

I did my first run of Build 1 last night, which was 3x8 minute intervals with a 15 minute warm up and a 10 minute cool down, with 2 minutes between each interval, and I felt great. It was a little cooler outside, a little breezy (amazing how much cooler things feel when the humidity is lower) and I knocked out the intervals, finishing the run feeling great. My legs are feeling it this morning, but in a good way. Looking forward to tonight's bike ride! If all goes according to plan, I'll actually be able to ride outside tonight!

Training Frustrations

Training for the 70.3 seems to be about learning patience.

All forms of endurance training I've done have helped me build patience, and I'm not a particularly patient person. About the only time I'm patient is when I bake.

Remembering that going slow to keep my heart rate down in the beginning of the season will pay off (and it is).

Paying attention, and I mean REALLY paying attention to (no cheats - I'm looking at you Dunkin' jelly donut) to my diet.

But mostly, it's been about combating injuries. Well, only one true injury, with runner's knee, but lots of little annoyances.

I got a tri bike for the first time this year, and I love it. Makes a huge difference in my ride, and a noticeable difference on my run. However, after putting in some miles on it, I started to experience really severe saddle discomfort. Enter fun new things like saddle sores, chafing and things like Chamois Butt'r. I got a new saddle, the Fizik Vitesse Tri, and it's a little better, and I'm hoping it improves once I break it in more. This week though, after last weekend's ride, I developed a lovely saddle sore that has kept me off the bike on Wednesday, and I suspect is going to nix tomorrow's planned ride as well, so that I can get in my long ride on Sunday.

My run has really been going great - it's my favorite part, obviously, and I've been excited to build my mileage back up (and start searching for a spring marathon). This last block of training included bridge repeats, which I really enjoy. A masochist, I know. But anyways, after a season of no shin splints - the first ever really, despite having been running for years now - they're back. This close to the race, I'm afraid to exacerbate them. I shut down Saturday's long run because of them, and skipped Tuesday's run as well, opting for some solid time in the gym instead. An easy run is on the agenda for tonight, but they're still sore, and I'm contemplating skipping the easy run and just going to yoga, so I can at least get some cardio in, and I think get some much-needed stretching in. I feel like a lot of my issues (saddle sores aside) are coming from tight, wound-up muscles.

I know I'll get past these frustrations and temporary roadblocks, and I'm feeling really good about where my fitness is.

So I'm practicing patience. I can do this. The race is going to go great (52 days!) and it's going to be fun.

Mini Big Day

This weekend was an interesting one for training.

My shins splints have been coming back with a vengeance, I think thanks to running bridges. And I LOVE running bridges, so I'm bummed about having to nix that part of the routine, but also frustrated that I've gone 9 months without them bothering me, and they start to act up so close to the race. I've been running for years now - why do I still have this problem?

Needless to say, after feeling the pain start up again at the beginning of Saturday's long run, I shut it down. Didn't see any point in exacerbating them, especially since I'm going into a rest week on my training schedule. Fingers crossed, with lots of ice and compression and rest, they'll heal up a bit.

So instead, Sunday became a "Mini Big Day." During E's 140.6 training last year, his plan called for two "big days" where he basically mimicked the race, with slightly shorter distances and some rest periods in between. It was a good way to test out fitness, nutrition and race routines. So he suggested I try a mini big day - start out with a 35 minute swim, and follow it with only a short break with a 2-3 hour ride.

Sunday Breakfast Routine

We used the pool in my dad's neighborhood to start the day, and I got in 1500 yards in 30 minutes, with a 200 yard warm up. Then we hopped in the car for the short ride to where we park for our long rides, though this time we opted for Mickler's Beach instead of our normal Jacksonville Beach parking. After a quick change and a quick snack, I took off.

I've been using Hammer Fizz as my electrolyte/sodium supplement on my rides, but tried NUUN lemon tea tablets this time, my first time trying them. I'm in love. The mix tasted great and kept me moving. I alternated between the NUUN and plain water, and used Hammer Perpetuem as my fuel source. I'm still not sold on Perpetuem, but since I use gels on my run, I"m not sure I want to take them on the bike too. I'm worried about how that much sugar would affect my stomach.

I did 35 miles, and finished feeling great. I had planned on a solid three hours, but as I'm still breaking the new saddle in and *ahem* experiencing some discomfort, I decided not to push it.

I'm really happy with where my training is right now. I've really made significant progress in the last few weeks, and I'm feeling much more confident about the race.

I also signed up for a race my nerdy heart is super excited about - the Rocketman Triathlon. It's next May, and it will be the first sporting event ever held at Kennedy Space Center. The bike course is designed to take athletes around space program landmarks like the shuttle launch pads, and some other great areas. I'm STOKED.

How I Found Running

My first marathon! E and I ran it together.

I recently was asked how I found running, and I gave the short answer, but giving that short answer made me think about the long answer, and how much running changed my life.

Cliche as it is, I came to running on the heels of a really bad breakup. Prior to that, I had been a gym rat, logging hours on the stair stepper, using weights to work out my upper body and dutifully knocking out a series of crunches and pushups daily. I worked out to get in shape and stay fit, but it wasn’t for the love of it, it was just the healthy thing to do. I was still in college then, pretty poor and splitting my time between my classes and a job assistant managing a bookstore.

When the breakup happened, I was devastated. It was unexpected, and I was heartbroken, angry and needed an outlet for all the emotions that seemed to crowd out everything else. My time of the stair stepper no longer cut it; I needed to move.

At the time, the closest thing I owned to sneakers was a battered pair of Chuck Taylors that I wore to work and to punk shows. Poor college student that I was, I took myself to Target and bought the cheapest pair of shoes I could find, a $20 pair of Champion brand sneakers. I pulled on the only workout clothes I owned, which were leftovers from my brief stint as a shot-putter and discus-thrower in high school, hit the trail.

There was a park next to my house that had a .75 mile paved running trail, so I started going there every day, morning, noon and evening, wherever I could fit it in. I was a pack-a-day smoker then too, so speed and consistency were hard to come by; I walked far more than I ran. And really, I knew nothing about running. All that mattered was to keep moving, to break a  sweat and work out some of my angst. And it worked. I didn’t get significantly faster nor even increased my ability to run for periods of time, but I pushed through.

I was working part-time as an office assistant at a law firm by then, and I started going out at lunch with one of the girls. We’d run/walk the bridges, meandering through the downtown area where we worked. It opened a whole new world for me; I didn’t know what it was to explore a place like that, learning the area from the ground up.

Eventually, I moved up slightly in the world by purchasing a pair of New Balance from Kohl's, when the Champion brand sneakers started to make my knees and hips ache (I knew I couldn't afford running store shoes, so I purchased New Balance based purely on the fact that they were on sale, and the fact that they were the brand of choice for my dad, also a runner).
I started doing yoga too, and between the two, found a sense of salvation. I ran my first 5k, and then a couple more. Eventually, I started dating again, and eventually met E. He was training for a marathon when we met, a distance that I barely knew existed, and one that I couldn’t fathom ever completing myself or even wanting to complete. I quit smoking and started running more, really running, and ran my first 10 mile and then my first half marathon, and finally my first marathon. I was hooked. It was (and is) something that's wonderful to do together as a couple, and also something that I have found that can just be for me.

And I still am. I have found a passion for running that has stuck with me; I read about it, write about it and have even been lucky enough to work with a couple running and triathlon companies in my other life as a freelance writer.

I look forward to aging as a runner, and exploring new places and new cities from the ground as I run through them. I've found favorite running spots in places like Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, and some little backroads we explored on a recent trip to Lake Murray in South Carolina. As I began to do triathlons as well, I feel that my fitness journey is only beginning.

New Kicks and Finding My Running Mojo

As much as I enjoy triathlon, my first love remains running. I took a lot of time off after my marathon in January, and when I started back up, I was a little appalled at how much fitness I had lost. It was really rather crushing, and I spent a fair amount of time, both running and non, moping about it.

I’m happy to report now though that I seem to have gotten to a better place. Finally - finally - my times are improving again, and I no longer feel like I’m crawling, trying to keep my heart rate down while struggling to get in some distance.

So, as a reward, I finally used my coupon to BorntoRun.com and bought the Merrell Dash Gloves that I’ve been eyeing.

I’ve started to run the vast majority of my runs in my Nike Frees, and that now includes my 10+ mile runs, so I feel like I can justify treating myself to the pair of minimalist shoes that I’ve been so excited about.

I know I won’t be able to log many miles with them until after the 70.3, but I look forward to at least getting a little bit of time in them. I know they are going to be an adjustment, but it’s a challenge I look forward to!

Trainer Days

The training plan that I’m using to train for this 70.3 has be on the bike on Wednesdays and Fridays, with my weekly long ride on Sundays. So far, Wednesday’s are proving to be challenging to get outside to ride, so I’m spending a lot of time here.

This also means I’m logging a lot of t.v. time. All I can say, is thank god for Netflix and Hulu, and for Arrested Development and Top Gear (U.K., of course.)

A New Addition to the Family

Happy new bike day! I’ve been doing triathlon for a few years now, and while my road bike, Bella, has treated me extremely well, the time has finally come for me to invest in a bike that’s going to be with me for the long haul.

I’ve done a lot of research, debating how much I wanted to spend, what was important to me in a bike, where I could find the best bang for my buck.

There were 2 major things that informed my search:

1) I knew that I wanted a women’s specific bike, which narrowed down my options pretty significantly. I’m fairly petite, and finding a bike more suited to my proportions seemed like the way to go.
2) I was comfortable spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000-$2,500. I don’t need more bike than that, and that’s already a pretty significant investment!

So I started looking around, and made up the small list of bike companies that produce women’s specific tri bikes. Ultimately, my search narrowed down to a tie between the Felt B16W and the Cannondale Slice.

Both sport a great set of components, carbon frames and (insert girly moment) are sharp looking bikes.

The more I researched though, the more I decided that the Felt was the bike for me. I called my local bike shop, Champion Cycling, and it felt like fate: they had a size small B16W on order that would be in the shop by the weekend.

I had the great plan that I was going to go in, do a test ride, then leave and think about it; no impulse purchases.

But then I took her out for a ride, and I just knew: we were meant to be together.

All thoughts of leaving went out the window. E tried to subtly suggest that I make sure to take time to think about it, because I asked him to make sure I didn’t just jump right in.

And what did I do? Jump right in.

But I love it. Happy to be a Felt girl!