The Daily Sweat

Weak butt and hips

2012-02-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

Hey, what do you know, I'm another runner with a weak butt and hips. I totally knew that's what I was going to hear when I went to the chiropractor on Friday - I wish I would learn! Must keep up on hip/butt strengthening! Easier said than done.

So my knee injury happened because my weak glutes/hips/core aren't firing the way they should be, so the rest of my leg is having to support the lack of muscle ending up in pain in the outside of my knee. Luckly, I found a chiropractor that knows triathlon very well (he's completed multiple Ironmans), so I feel I'm in great hands.

The chiropractor specializes in Active Release and Graston, which I've had done before on an IT band injury. I believe in the effectiveness of these methods and believe that they'll get me back running quickly. They do hurt, but it's a "hurt so good" feeling. I have minor bruising from the Graston, but a bruise is better than running in pain.

Kinesio tape for support. You can kind of see my bruise...

I have a visit with him on Monday to do some more work and I may get the green light to run on Tuesday *fingers crossed.* Until then, I'm biking, swimming, ellipticizing, walking - ANYTHING to get a bit of a workout in. He also prescribed some stretches and one glute strengthening exercise. He said I'll get more exercises next week.

If I want to continue running, it is imperative that I focus more attention on my butt and hips and not blow it off like I've done in the past. My new goal is simply to get buns of steel.

January Swim Challenge - check!

2012-01-31T17:17:00.000-08:00

I challenged myself in the 2nd week of January to swim 20,000 yards by month's end. I was in desperate need of "get into the pool" motivation, so this little challenge was exactly what I needed. And after reading that this girl swam something like 12 miles in a week, I was feeling lazy and the pool was calling my name.

I'm happy to announce that I swam 20,600 yards in January! That includes 10 visits to the pool. I tell myself that it's not worth it to go to the pool unless I swim at least a mile, but I strive for at least 2,000 yards. If I have to wake up early and instantly get in a pool, I might as well swim for awhile! I do a mix of workouts - easy, speed intervals, distance - to mix things up so I never get bored in the pool. Today's workout was aimed more toward distance:

I didn't time all my intervals (I never do), but I was happy with the ones I did time. Over the course of the month, I have gotten my average/100 yards down to 1:52 from 1:55ish. If I really push it, I can sustain sub-1:50 over about 300 yards. Very, very happy with this progression.

So what is my challenge for February? Swim 30,000 yards (13 pool visits) and bike over 200 miles. I haven't been biking more than 16 miles at a time on my trainer, so it's time to up the saddle time and get in some rides outside.

In running news - I'm 99% sure that my IT band is flaring up again. I have had a bad pain (different though from past IT band injuries) on the outside of my knee for the past two week. I was able to run though it for awhile, but this weekend it said no and I was unable to complete my 9 miler. I have an appointment with the chiropractor on Friday, so until then, no running. Sigh. Will running ever come easy for me? Can I please get a freaking break?

What is your February challenge?

Weather doesn't stop me

2012-01-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

Did you see it? Seattle made National news with our Snopocalypse this week. What was originally forecast as 8-15" of snow in Seattle came to reality with about 4-5 inches. All that angst for 4-5 inches?!

Anyway, I did not let the snow or cold stop me from getting my workouts in. I have my trusty Jetta Wagon with studded snow tires and I love driving in the snow, so I went on with my days as usual.

Wednesday, I had a glorious 1,700 yard swim with the pool all to myself. One more reason to love snow! If you can drive in it, you're rewarded with an empty pool. This swim workout was a speed one and I was happy that I hit all my 50 yard sprints at :47. By the way, I'm up to 8,050 yards in my January Swim Challenge - woot! Wednesday night I did a 30 minute spin on my trainer and did some core work.

This morning (Thursday) the snow was supposed to end and warmer temps were to be on their way. Not the case. These weather-people are really good a guessing... Anyway, more snow and ICE everywhere. Still made it into work and then met a friend at Green Lake for a short run. I was happy to see so many people out and about - walkers, runners, cross country skiers and even 2 people on bikes (that looked hard). It made for a nice compact snowy surface to run on. I forgot my Garmin, but I'm sure our pace was around 10:00-10:30. Snow just makes you run slow... well, unless you're sliding down a hill...

They keep saying the rain will come tomorrow and wash away the snow - we'll see if that actually happens. I'd like to it so my long run on Saturday is done on solid surfaces. :)

Do you like running in the snow? I think I want some yaktraks, but it really only snows once a year here in Seattle. Not sure if it's worth it.

Snowy Run

View from my work

Took 3 days off

2012-01-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

I can't remember the last time I took 3 days off from working out. Seriously. I came down with a nasty cold on Wednesday and have been couch-ridden since. I've missed two runs and a swim since then, so I feel, well, you know how I feel. Lazy, blah, and the more I lay on my couch, the less I want to get off it...

I attempted to get back into things today with a run/walk. Since my energy has been really low, I know I couldn't get crazy and bust out 5 miles, so I ran/walked 4. I hope this week I'm successful in getting my body back to good health and hopefully it will repay me in some good runs. :)

Since I've missed those 2 runs (one long run), I've slightly altered my half marathon plan to get things back on course. I'm not too worried about it - I still have 8 weeks to get in those long runs.

Before my cold came, I got in swim #2 in my January swim challenge. I've completed 4,000 yards and have 16,000 to go. I'm going to have to add in an extra swim one of these weeks since I missed my Friday swim. This is what Wednesday's swim looked like:

So here's to getting healthy again. How to you get back into running after being sick?

Getting my butt to the pool

2012-01-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

Since October, I've swam so little I'm embarassed to tell you how many yards that equals... What? It was off season! Anyway, I need to start building my swim base again before serious training starts in a couple months, so I am challenging myself to swim 20,000 yards by the end of January. This may seem miniscule to some, but for me to get this done I need to get up early and in the pool 3 days a week for the next 3.5 weeks.

I don't know how I've lost my motivation to wake up and go to the gym in the past few months. I used to ONLY workout in the AM and now I do most of my sweating in the PM. But swimming after work sucks because the pool is ALWAYS full and my stomach usually isn't digested enough to swim, so I really need to find what works for me to get up, drive to the pool, swim, drive home, shower and be at work before 9am. This is very doable, just gotta put the plan in motion, which is the hard part.

I put a little countdown on the top of my sidebar so I can mark down all the yards I swim - I hope that is motivating in itself. When do you swim?

Speed Work: Track vs. Treadmill

2012-01-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

The past two speed work sessions I've done have been indoors on the treadmill. Let's just get one thing straight: I HATE the treadmill. But, when the only time I can get a speed workout in is during dark hours, a treadmill is a safer bet than a dark track at the nearby college.

When I do my workouts on the track, I run a lot faster than I do on the TM (30 sec faster/mile pace), but I find that the case with all treadmill runs vs. outside runs. I think the pace on the treadmill is faster than it actually says...does anyone agree? Anyway, the past two workouts I've pushed myself to run faster than it is comfortable, so I figure I'm getting some kind of benefit from it.

I've been doing a mix of 400s and 800s at a 8:06-8:13 pace on the treadmill. If I were to run these on the track, I could probably hit around a 7:35-7:45 pace. Am I cheating myself by not making the treadmill pace equal my outdoor pace? The effort seems just as hard when set to 8:06 pace.

So I'm looking for your thoughts on this. Should I bump the speed up? Add a bit of incline? In general, are speed workouts done on the treadmill as effective as the actual track?

2012 Goals

2011-12-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

2011 was a great year for me in the world of swimming, biking and running. Based on what I did this year, I have some goals I'm going to work toward in 2012. Here is what I did in 2011 that is notable, and what I hope it do in 2012.

I swam, biked and ran farther than I ever have. Swim = 134,525 yards. Bike = 2,074 miles. Run = 900 miles. I'm very proud of this and the goal is to increase all of these numbers in 2012.
I PR'd a half marathon - 2:02. The goal was to go sub 2 hours in 2011, but since I didn't reach it, it is now a 2012 goal.
Completed my first Olympic distance triathlon in 3:02 2012 goal is to go sub 3:00

Other goals include:

Getting to know more people in the Seattle triathlon scene. I need more training buddies!
Race a bike race. I know I'm not fast, but I would like to experience racing on my bike outside of triathlon.
Run farther than 13.1 miles
Keep up on weekly speed workouts. I would be ecstatic if my average pace was around 8:30 by end of 2012.

I know all of these are realistic given I properly train, stay injury free and push myself. So here's to 2012 - lets get sweating!

It wasn't a fluke

2011-12-22T20:20:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note here...

I just want it to be known that I ran a short 3.1 miler after work before a dinner party. In most cases, this wouldn't be blog worthy, but after my 2 months of sucky runs, this run deserves a headline.

I ran those 3.1 miles and averaged 8:50 pace. Yippee!

It's not a fluke, my running is back and I can't think of a better Christmas present than getting my speed back.

And I got a new shirt to really tell the world what I love

A good run x 2

2011-12-20T22:17:00.000-08:00

If you've been reading my last few posts or follow me on Daily Mile, you will probably know that since the beginning of November, I've had a hard time running. My pace is significantly slower, my breathing labored and my body overall heavy and stiff. I don't know what caused this, but I took it as a sign to slow things down and only run if I was enjoying running. Who wants to run when it sucks? Not me!

So going into a 12k this past weekend, I was a little nervous. I had been doing some longer runs with friends, but at a slower pace and nothing close to 7.5 miles, so the thought of running that long in a race was freaking me out a bit. I decided to make my goal "run the whole thing." I know I couldn't PR this (current 12k PR 1:07), but I could give it what I had, have a fun time with my friend Rebecca and see what would happen.

Rebecca and I - my friend let me borrow her tutu...

We ran the whole hilly beast and had a great time! We finished in 1:12 (my Garmin said 7.56 miles which would be a 9:31 pace), which I'm super stoked about because there were hills for days! The bonus was that I felt completely opposite of what I have been feeling the past couple months - I felt energetic, my body wanted to run (although a bit slower) and it was the first time in a long time that I enjoyed running that far! Yes! I told Rebecca "I hope this is a turning point in my running" and I think it was....

Because this morning I met a friend, Paige, to run 4 miles and we averaged a nice 9:15 pace, which is about where my runs used to be at. Yippee! I'm BACK! I hope I didn't just jinx it...

Being "back" came just at the right time - Half Marathon training started this week! Speed workouts will start tomorrow.

Monday musings

2011-12-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

We're 12 days into December and I'm happy to report that I am sticking to my "Focus on being Happy and Healthy." I've been getting in some form of exercise, 6 days a week and laying off the bad temptations that the holidays can bring. It is harder, however, when my man-friend is visiting for the weekend because beer intake and dining out skyrocket. But everything is okay in moderation and I make sure to get a salad with most meals and lay off the french fries. :)

The holiday season is going to get a swift kick into high gear this weekend as I have 3 Christmas parties and I'm running a holiday themed 12k. I'll pretty much be wearing my ugly sweater all weekend. I'm excited for everything, but most excited for the 12k. A good handful of my running buddies are registered and the more people you know at a race, the more fun, right? I have no time goal for the 12k, but I'd like to run the whole thing. I know that sounds easy to most of you, but my running just hasn't been what it used to be this summer, so those 7 and some odd miles will be a bit of a challenge for me. Just. Keep. Moving! will be my mantra. :)

Not much else to report around here... Still getting together my half marathon training plan for the race on March 10th. I'd like to officially start training next week (12 weeks out).

Thanks for reading!

I didn't like Bikram Yoga

2011-12-06T20:51:00.001-08:00

I went to my first, and probably last, Bikram (hot) yoga class tonight. I did not enjoy it.

First of all, I'm not a yogi what-so-ever, but I do enjoy a good session of vinyasa yoga. I love the poses and the fast flow. I thought Bikram would be those same poses, but in a hot environment. Nope. Not even 1 downward dog! I guess I didn't know that Bikram poses are different than the yoga I am used to. Anyway, the combination of poses I wan't a fan of and getting super light headed, I didn't have a good time.

I had to lay down multiple times because I felt dizzy and after the class I felt sick. The only part that I liked about it is that I sweated buckets. But I could have done that just laying in that hot room for 90 minutes.

I paid $20 for that class and I could go to 10 more classes in the next 14 days on that same $20, but we'll see how my body feels in the next couple days. There were some moved that my knees really didn't like - I have this funny knee/shin disorder called Osgood-Schlatter which was caused when I was growing as a kid where there is excess bone growth on my tibia, which actually sticks out past my knee cap, so it is hard for me to kneel or sit on my knees without a good deal of pain. So I think my knees might be a little sore tomorrow if not a bit bruised from all the "on knee" poses we did.

Anyway, I left the classes saying "I'd rather go for a run." Ha! I guess hot yoga is not for everyone and I'm totally okay with that!

Are you a yogi? Do you like Bikram yoga?

Focus on being Happy and Healthy

2011-11-27T16:57:00.001-08:00

Thank you all who shared your thoughts a couple posts ago about my running and lack of motivation to train for the marathon. I've decided to not continue training for the marathon and make sure that my runs are FUN, not something that I dread. I run because it's fun!

So since I am no longer stressed about marathon training, I'm just enjoying working out, no matter what the workout is. I've been spinning quite a bit and believe it or not, I've started swimming 2-3 days a week again. Although it's hard to get back into swimming after a month off, it feels amazing to be in the pool again. :)

This month, I'm really focusing on being healthy and happy. This time of year brings a lot of joy and happiness, but can also cause me to feel anxious and stressed out due so many people everywhere. I need to be extra patient, take a deep breath, keep calm and carry on. I hope to keep my holiday treats in check and eat a lot of veggies to keep my girlish figure the same size it is now. I just want to feel good this month!

I have plans to run the same half marathon I ran last March, so training will start to ramp up for that at the end of the month. Other than that, I think my body is ready for "doing whatever." Keep active, but no focus on regimented training.

What do you have planned for December?

I'm still thankful for...

2011-11-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

I was going to write all the things I'm thankful for, but my post last year still sums it up.

I'm in Westport, WA, which is on the coast, for the weekend celebrating Thanksgiving with my boyfriend's family. It only took me 4 hours to get here last night compared to the usual 2.5 hours....yay.

I got up this morning and did my own Turkey Trot. I did 4.3 miles and I'm glad I did it when I did because now it is windy and stormy out and I probably wouldn't have gone out if the weather was like this. Had to burn some calories before the feast this evening, right? I even did a core workout while my boyfriend slaved in the kitchen making banana/chocolate muffins and apple pie. :)

The goal is to not go crazy with food tonight, but that's always the goal, right? While I was writing this, I read a few blogs and came across Jason's post on avoiding weight gain during the holidays and the tips that he found in an article are great reminders for a day like today. Go over to his blog and check 'em out.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Just don't know what to do with myself

2011-11-21T22:09:00.001-08:00

Sung to the tune of the song they sing in My Best Friend's Wedding... Why don't I know what to do with myself? I don't know if I'm ready to do this marathon thang. I missed a long run this weekend and frankly can't get myself to go out in the dark, cold, wet night and make it up. Like I said in this post, the weather and darkness were going to be two of my biggest challenges for this race and I hit the freakin' bulls-eye.

I really don't know what I want to do. Part of me wants to suck it up and keep training for the marathon and part of me wants to say F-it and train for a sub 2 hour half marathon in the beginning of March. I'm leaning toward the latter. I was really using the marathon as a way to keep active during the winter months, but I can still do that with half marathon training too. Just less mileage, more speed work. Ugh, I hate being indecisive!

For now I'll continue to follow marathon training, but if a long more long runs go bad or bust, I'll switch to half marathon training and focus more on speed. I just need to keep my body moving because I'm not going to be that average American who gains 5-7 pounds during the holidays and not burn it off. If everything goes right, I want to loose 5-7 pounds over the next month and a half. Wouldn't that just throw those statistics people a curve ball! :)

Anyway, please share your thoughts, I'd love to hear what you think about my indecisiveness.

Marathon plan change

2011-11-12T17:06:00.001-08:00

This weekend I finished my 2nd long run of marathon training - 9 miles. Well, it ended up being 8.86 miles... close enough. I met up again with Alma bright and early at Seward Park and I'm kicking myself not taking any pictures because it was a great morning. Rain was expected, but we both were pleasantly surprised when it was dry, yet cool for our entire run. We really lucked out because the rest of the day here in Seattle was a wet one.

Me in the pretty fall colors. Thanks for the pic, Alma!

We headed north along Lake Washington Blvd for 4.5 miles then headed back. About 3.75 miles into it I was struggling. My legs felt like lead and my motivation was low. I got frustrated....how the heck can I run a marathon if I can't run 4 flippin' miles?! Alma quickly suggested that we run/walk, so we ran 5 minutes, walked 1 minute for the remainder of the miles, which felt just fine. Our average pace ended up being 10:20, which is actually really close to what I was supposed to run at today (Marathon pace 9:25 + 45 seconds = 10:10), so maybe I just need to slow down more to feel better.

After some thought about the RLRF plan and some consultation with Sarah and Allison, I've decided to scrap the RLRF program and make my own. The plan was stressing me out and causing anxiety in my running, which is stupid. I run because it's fun. Anxiety is NOT allowed! So I looked at a couple more plans and took some advice from my friends and made a plan that I'm happy with. It has me running 4 day a week with obviously one long run, 2 easy days and one speed/tempo run. If I feel like it, I can turn one of my easy days into another speed workout, but the keyword here is IF I feel like it.

Since this is my first marathon, I don't have a time goal, so speed workouts aren't my number one priority. I know they will make me stronger, so I haven't scraped them altogether, but I really want to focus on just upping my mileage and doing the long runs.

AH! I feel SO much better and more excited about marathon training! RUN ON!

Furman First paces

2011-11-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

I decided to follow the Furman First training plan for my February marathon, but I'm cheap, so I didn't buy the Run Less, Run Faster book, so I took what was free off the internet and supplemented it with paces from the McMillan Running Calculator based off a 2:02 half marathon.

The paces seemed achievable and it set me up to run a 4:20 marathon - something I would be stoked on if it became a reality! Then Alma offered to copy pages (shhhh!) out of her book for the paces I need for track workouts, tempo run and long runs. My Oh My are they fast! Based on my 5k time of 25:20, I should - keyword "should" - be running at 4:07 marathon. That hot time is out of my league and I know it. Let's compare the two plans, shall we?

McMillan vs. Run Less, Run Faster
400m pace: 1:53 - 1:59 vs. 1:52
800m pace: 3:56 - 4:07 vs. 3:49
1200m pace: 6:03 - 6:21 vs. 5:49
1600m pace: 8:14 - 8:32 vs. 7:53
Tempo pace: 8:43 - 9:05 vs. 8:26 - 8:56

Uh yeah, those paces on the right hand side are FAST. They should just call this program the Furman FAST plan. These are especially fast since I've been avoiding all calls from the track since September...oopsie! BUT I can't do anything about what I didn't do at this point, I can only get mentally prepared for what I need to do, which is TRY to get those RLRF paces. I told Alma I thought these paces were nutzo and she said to just try. They did make the RLRF/Furman program hard because you only do 3 runs a week so ALL runs need to be super-high quality. No crap miles here.

On Tuesday I was supposed to do 4x800 at the track, but ended up doing a horrible 4x400 then had an "stomach emergency" and had to go home. Next week, you're mine, Mr. Track.

Up on today's agenda: 7 mile tempo: 1 mile warm up, 5 at Marathon pace (9:25), 1 mile cool down.

Have you trained with this program before? If so, what are you experiences with it? Are the paces attainable?

1st long run of marathon training

2011-11-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

I ran my first official long run for my marathon training this morning. One down, many to go! I met up with Alma in Madison Park and we ran South along Lake Washington Blvd for 4 miles and returned those same 4 miles.

When you get up at run at 7am on a Saturday, you're rewarded with this

Along the way, we ran into/passed a million other runners. Seriously. Well, probably closer to 50 runners, but that is a lot for a Saturday morning between 7 and 8:30am! We were running part of the Seattle Marathon course and many of those runners were out there getting in one of their final long runs before their marathon the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Lots of runners, beautiful weather, fall colors - it was a fantastic time to be out running!

Alma and I chatted away the miles, but I found myself struggling up the hills. I really need to force myself to run hills during training rather than choosing the flat route. They'll only make me stronger, right?! And in Seattle, hills are easy to come by.

Alma and I

I was supposed to run this long run at marathon pace (9:50) + 30 seconds. But instead of doing it at the suggested 10:20 pace, we completed the 8 miles at a 9:56 pace. I think the hardest part of running long is going to be slowing myself down. As the runs get longer, I really need to force myself to slllloooowww down.

I still can't believe I'm training for a freakin' marathon. Who am I?!

Cross Training

2011-11-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your support on my marathon announcement - it means a lot! Today was not a running day, but not a rest day either, so it was a cross training day! I am taking cross training seriously for marathon training since I have a single focus on running rather than the three disciplines of triathlon that automatically builds in cross training.

I found out that the spin room at my gym is open all the time, even if there isn't a class going on. This is new to me. At my old gym in Bellingham, spin bikes were only for spin classes, which was stupid because those bikes are nice and fun to ride. To say the least, I was pretty excited when I found this out on Sunday. I hoped on a bike and did a 45 min self-made workout that left me sweaty and tired. I haven't spun or ridden outside in a month or so, so this was really refreshing and got me pumped to go back. So I did! Monday night for 55 min and tonight (Wednesday) for an hour.

I made up some workouts that went a little like this:
10 min warmup
1 min out of saddle + 1 minute in saddle x5
Pyramid (go up a level each minute for 5 minutes, then back down a level for the last 5 minutes)
2 min on + 1 min off x3
10 min cool down

Having a workout in my head made the time fly. Usually an hour on any equipment inside sucks big time, but this honestly flew by. I plan to keep up my dates with the spin room 3-4 days a week for at least an hour at a time. I'm definitly going to need some new songs on my Shuffle though. One can only listen to Britney, Black Eyed Peas and the Glee cast so much...

Only one in the spin room, so I don't feel weird taking a pic of myself...

All to myself

I've also picked up my weight routine again in the past week or so. Nothing crazy, just some basic exercises on the machines at the gym, plus a few free weights.

I walk by the pool every time I go to the locker room and I swear it is frowning at me. :( I really need to incorporate a couple swims each week just to keep up some swim fitness this off season. I gained so much with all my hard work from June to Sept that I'm afraid I might have already lost it.

How do you cross train when you're only running? or biking?

It is time to run long

2011-11-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Since I am no longer focused on triathlon for the winter months I need something else to occupy my workout focus. For the past couple months, running a marathon has creeped into my thoughts and I think it is finally time that I run 26.2 miles.

I once said that I would never run a marathon. After running 5 half marathons, each time I've never wanted to run another step, but that's because I only trained for 13.1 miles. I know I can train for double that distance, its just going to take a lot more dedication and I can't slack off AT ALL like I have done with some half marathon training. 26.2 miles is a freakishly long distance to run and I need to honor and respect it and stick to a training plan that will properly prepare me.

That said, I've decided to start training this week for the Birch Bay Marathon on February 19th. As of this week, it is 15 weeks away and with my current half marathon base, I think this will be ample time to train. In fact, I started training tonight with a 6 mile tempo run (2 mile warmup, 2 miles sub 9:00, 2 mile cool down) It was a great run to kick off marathon training - felt strong and light. After hearing Alma rave about it, I'm using the Furman First novice marathon plan which has 3 key runs a week: a track workout, a tempo run and a long run. I'll supplement these runs with weight training and spinning.

I've decided not to register for the race until I get some training under my belt or it is about to sell out. There are a lot of things that could go wrong over the next 15 weeks and I'd rather only pay the $60 if I'm for sure going to run it. I already have a list of things that could throw a curve ball at my training: darkness, cold weather, holidays and a vacation. I'm going to try super duper hard to stay strong and work through these obstacles and become a marathoner!

So here's to what I once said I'd never do. This is a perfect reminder to never say never. Cheers!

The hardest half I've ever ran

2011-10-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

I ended up deciding to do the Columbia Gorge Half Marathon on the 23rd and I'm glad that I did. But as I type this two days later, I feel as if my legs might never heal...

I arrived in Hood River, OR the night prior to the race to a beautiful vacation rental home and a group of welcoming friends. I didn't know the people I was staying with super well except Sarah M, but quickly felt comfortable around everyone. We had a yummy pasta dinner, one glass of wine and ended the night watching Over the Top which if you've never seen, you need to. Let's just say the song "Meet me half way" was a theme of our weekend.

Race morning, we all rose, ate and made it to the start line with lots of time to spare. They ended up pushing out the start time 20 minutes because people were late to the shuttle, so I'm happy we arrived early although we waited around for a long time.

Start time came and a few nerves started flowing. I didn't have a time goal for this race, I just wanted to do it, so I'm not sure why I got nervous. I didn't care if I had to walk parts, I just wanted to do it and finish. Plus, it was my birthday and I couldn't NOT do it on my 27th birthday! So the gun went off and I immediately started out slow - a 10:00/mile pace, which I was fine with. I held this pace for the rest of the race.

I had to stop and pee at the first aid station, which was the first time I've ever had to stop and use the bathroom during the race. At this point, I really didn't care about my time, so I went with how I felt for the next 10 miles.

The course was never flat. It climbed from mile 1-3, then a steady downhill from 3-5 where the turnaround was. So we climbed again from 5-7.5ish then downhill the rest of the way. I ran all the downhills, but had to run/walk the uphills. Miles 5-7.5 were beastly and HARD.

I finished at 2:11, which is 9 minutes slower than my current PR, but I'm totally fine with that. I'd love to do this race next year because although the course is hard, it is beautiful and I want to face those hills again! I was the last of my friends to finish, which was kind of okay because I had lots of fans at the finish line! :) Sarah M took the "W" for the women's race with an impressive 1:21:48! Speedster!

It took me a good 4 days for my legs to feel normal again. This whole past week has been all about resting and recouping from Las Vegas and the race. Now that I'm feeling back to my normal self, I'm ready for a new goal... stay tuned!

So exhausted

2011-10-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been the busiest weeks of my life. I worked 12 days straight, 6 of those being long days/nights in Las Vegas. I haven't worked out in 6 days, which is I think the longest stretch of not working out since before I was in college. Vegas was the icing on the already not healthy cake, with food I don't normally eat, a lot of drinks and nights that lasted until 3:30am, but it's over now and life can finally get back to normal.

I'm leaving for Hood River, OR today to run the Columbia Gorge half marathon tomorrow. I don't want to run it at all. I haven't ran in 6 days, my body is exhausted, my brain hurts and to top it off, my kitty died last night, so I'm not in the most chipper of moods. I'm still going down to cheer on the other girls that are running it and I may run/walk it, just to get some exercise and to not let my $70 go to waste, but definitely not worrying about any kind of time goals. I'm hoping even run/walking it will kick start my healthy life again.

Although Vegas was really tiring, I had a lot of fun. I was in charge of our photo booth. There was some down time when customers were in sessions, so I just took pictures of myself. :)

Get me off this unhealthy sprial of doom!

2011-10-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

This week, I have figured out how people get fat and how easily it is to slip into an unhealthy spiral. I've always wondered how people can "let themselves go" and gain a ton of weight, but I think I got a little glimpse this week.

I've been working long hours at work and eating food I don't normally eat and being very sedentary because my lack of time to workout and I can feel my motivation quickly slipping out of my hands. I'm tired all the time, all I want to do is eat bad food and sit on my couch. Who is this?! This is NOT me. And to make matters worse, I'm going to Las Vegas on Saturday for a week for work which will also be long hours and probably not really healthy food. When will it end?!

I know I'm not myself because I blew off two workouts today. I rarely ever blow off workouts. I hate feeling this way and I can't seem to get control of myself, which I really don't like. I know a week of crappy eating and less exercise won't kill me, but I feel like a blob and want my motivation and energy back!

I have a 10 mile run scheduled for tomorrow that I CANNOT blow off and I hope to God that it turns me back into myself because I'm sick of this lazy ass that I've turned into this week. Blech.

I can definitely see how quickly someone could start a couple bad habits here, then a couple more there and soon be 15 pounds heavier. It's a little scary! Got to get out of this dark hole!!

Any advice on how to control unhealthy habits when super busy at work? Do you bring your own food to conferences or do you eat the stuff that is there?

Running Group Love Fest - Contest!

2011-10-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

On Mondays I try really hard to get all my work done so I can meet up with Oiselle and Super Jock 'n Jill for their super radical Monday Night Run. It consists of a medium sized group of runners and usually a 4 mile loop around Green Lake in Seattle. Being that it's a Monday, people use it as an easy run after a hard weekend of workouts. I love meeting up with the group - we talk about any and everything from shoes and training to boys and hating cupcakes. When I don't make it to The Monday Night Run (TMNR) I feel like I've let my friends down and I'm eager to get back the next week. Plus, sometimes we go out for drinks after, play Nuun pong or get to try out free stuff from Gu reps. Bonus!

Do you run with a running group on a regular basis? Why? What brings you back each week? Well, Oiselle wants to honor the running groups that keep us going. Those groups that push us to be better, stronger, and faster runners. All you have to do is submit a few details about your favorite group and your group will be entered into a drawing for Oiselle's Start Line Tee. Everyone in the group will get one so you can match on all your runs!

To enter your running group, send the following information to info@oiselle.com or post to Oiselle's Facebook page by Monday October 17th:

Running group (name or description)
Where are you?
Tell us about it! (Do you meet for speed, long run, are you all training for the same race, etc)
What's your favorite post run activity?
Anything else you want to share.

Check out the post on Oiselle's blog post for more info. And as my favorite comedian Brian Regan would say, Take Luck! And May the coolest team win! :)

15 miles on my feet

2011-10-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

I woke up earlier this morning than I do mid-week. Why? Because I'm an athlete and want to "fit it all in." I had plans with my dad to do our annual father/daughter hike today, but I needed to get in an 8 mile run, so I decided to get up early, do the run, then go hike. Let's just say my legs hurt.

I had the opportunity to run my 8 miler with Kerrie and thank goodness I had someone to run at 6:30am with on a Saturday cause I wouldn't have had a good 8 miler without her. We ran the Cedar River Trail, which is flat and averaged a 9:27 pace. I feel okay about this time, I know I can run faster, but my hips were really giving me troubles like in the Lake Samammish Half Marathon...ugh...

Then I sped home, quickly showered and my Dad and I left on our 7th annual hike! Surprisingly, we didn't choose the hike prior and picked one on a whim this morning. We chose the Noble Knob trail on the Northeast side of Mt. Rainier and boy did we luck out. The views were incredible, the weather was perfect and there weren't gobs of people hiking. In fact we only saw 5 other people on the trail. Score! The hike was 7 miles, but only gained 800 feet, so it wasn't strenuous, but after running 8, 7 more miles on my feet did get a little tiring. But it was totally worth it. I love hiking, getting out in nature and seeing the amazingness Washington has to offer. Kerrie and I were just saying what a perfect place Washington is to live on our run. Plus, this is a special thing that only my Dad and I do, so I really cherish our annual hikes.

Dad and Me

Mt. Rainier

I thought this was the Noble Knob, but it wasn't. But it was cool and knoby.

THIS is the Noble Knob.

You could see for.ev.er. Looking North toward Mt. Baker and the Cascades

Oh yeah, KONA was today. I was out of cell coverage most of the day, but when I got back on my Twitter, Crissy had just taken 2nd on the run. Just reading tweets was nuts. Congrats to ALL athletes that raced at Kona today!

Three Things Thursday

2011-10-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

1. I rode my trainer last night for the first time in my new apartment. I'm on the top floor and only have neighbors on one side of me and below me. I have never heard my neighbors though the walls, but I was nervous that my loud trainer would piss them off. I decided, with help from Twitter, to screw it and ride. If they get mad, they can come up and knock on my door.

2. I'm sure you all know that Kona is this weekend. I love reading blog posts of people that are there, reading tweets about stuff going on and all the hype around it. What an experience that would be! It's not in my dreams to make it to Kona, heck, I don't even know if an Ironman is in my dreams, but being a part of something like that would be incredible. Don't you think?

3. I'm doubting my abilities to complete the half marathon in 2.5 weeks. There just isn't enough time to get the long runs in. 13.1 miles is really far to run and it's a hell of a lot longer than the 8 I'm running this Saturday. I think I downsize half marathons because I've done 4 to a distance that is easily doable. Stupid ego! I'm going to die on the 23rd, what was I thinking signing up for this?! No turning back now, just gotta see what my body is willing to put forth come race morning...

Tomorrow is Friday. Can I get a heck yes?! :)

October is for running

2011-10-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

October is my very favorite month. Fall is here, the leaves change, hats and scarves begin to be necessity and most importantly, my birthday is in October! But besides these things, October is for running! Since triathlon season is over, it's time to order a full plate of running and a side dish of biking and swimming.

I dove into half marathon training last week since I only have 4 weeks to train for it. Yes, this is not enough time to effectively train, but I'm doing what I can to do okay in the half on the 23rd. I'm not trying to PR, just want a decent race. I've kept coach Stephanie on board, so she's ramping up my running quite a bit and I'm LOVING the adjustment. I was close to getting burnt out on triathlon training, so just running is fan-freakin-tastic.

I've made a few smaller goals for October that I'm stickin' to myself: ab work and weight training. 3 ab workouts and 2 weight seshs a week. It's time to get buff!

Have any special goals for October?

No internet

2011-10-01T07:40:00.001-07:00

Hi! Just wanted to drop a quick note via iPhone. Since I moved into my new apartment I don't have Internet yet, so as I am reading all of your blog posts via the iPhone, it's a little hard to comment. Not to mention I have the original iPhone, so it takes 4 years for it to load a page.

I'll be back commenting on Sunday! :) have a great weekend!

Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon - Race Report

2011-09-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

I'm an Olympian! Ha, I wish, but I did complete my first Olympic triathlon on Sunday - The Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon. All my hard work this year paid off in my "A" race of the year!

The quick and dirty: Swim was great, bike was okay and the run was hard

You want a little more detail? If you insist...

I woke up to pouring rain and wind race morning and just about died. Just my luck that I get this weather on race day after a streak of perfect weather the past month. But by the time I got to the race site - Nolte State Park in Cumberland, WA - the rain had subsided and the wind was much calmer.

Transition Area

I got to the park early, so I had plenty of time to set up transition, dilly daddle, get my car to the off-site parking, take the shuttle back to the park and get in a warm up swim. I had purchased a new pair of goggles for the race - Speedo Vanquisher - and had to test them out prior, so I'm happy I had time to swim around and make necessary adjustments. For the record, those goggle rocked, clear as day, great suction, I didn't really want to take them off for the bike...

Typical transition photo

Deep Lake - nice and calm

Before the race.

SWIM - 1.5km - 29:39 - 1:51/100yards
The swim was the best leg of the race. It was 2 half mile laps in a really small lake. All men started together and all women started together. I was able to find my water and swim pretty quickly and I just concentrated on swimming straight and picking off the buoys as I went. I went out pretty conservative on the first lap, so I picked it up the second lap. I've never felt that good on a mile swim EVER. Goal was to get out of the water under 30 minutes and my watch said 29:40 when I stepped out of the lake. Score!

After I saw 29:39 on my watch I smiled and said "SWEET!"

Swim exit

T1 - 3:40
I suck at transition. Really should practice these more. I run to my bike and stare at it for a minute before I gather my thoughts on what to do next. I need a game plan cause this is too long!

BIKE - 24 miles - 1:28:44 - 16.82 mph average
The bike course was great, but harder than expected. I'd like to ride it again because it was a good challenge, but I'm not thrilled with my time. I tried to keep my cadence up and push myself, but I didn't want to push too hard cause I knew a 6 mile run would suck after dead legs. This is where I got passed by at least 3 girls in my AG, which sucked because I really wanted to try and keep up, I just couldn't. Really frusterating, but at the same time, really motivating to work at getting stronger on the bike. I took 4 shot blocks over the course of the bike and drank a whole bottle of water, which worked for me during the race.

T2 - 1:48
So much better at T2 than T1

RUN - 6 miles - 58.07 - 9:41/mile
The run course was described as "flat and fast" was surprisingly hilly and for me, slow. There were 3 hills that I had to run/walk up. Trust me, I don't walk unless I really need to and if this course was really what it was advertised as, I wouldn't of had to walk. Whatever, can't do anything about it except keep moving forward, so that's what I did. I would have liked to been more around 9:20-9:30 pace, but again, something to work toward.

OVERALL
3:01:47
7/10 in 25-29 age group
The 6th place girl finished 13 minutes ahead of me, so there was no way I could have beat her.

Yay! Gosh, that Orca tri suit makes me look like an orca...

I'm stoked on my first Olympic tri and although I really wanted to come in under 3 hours, it is what it is and a great learning point to set goals for next year. Thanks for all the "good lucks" and "have funs" from everyone, I thought of you guys when I was racing, I really did! And thanks to Stephanie at SAS Performance Training for kicking my butt into shape.

Scared of the dark = faster runs

2011-09-27T20:42:00.001-07:00

Hi! I know you all ate just dying to hear about my race on Sunday and I'm equally dying to tell you about it, but I'm waiting on race pictures to come out so you can see more of my pretty face in the post. :) I'm hoping to have it published tomorrow.

In the mean time, let's talk about this season change. Fall came quick! All of a sudden it's dark at 7:30 and I'm caught running in it. Not a fan. I don't mind running in the dark as long as I'm prepared: bright clothes, a light, something I can use as a weapon just in case.

But tonight I was caught in the dark about 2 miles away from my house on a new trail (new to me) near railroad tracks. I'm sure this is painting a really safe picture in your head. I'm not gonna lie, I was a tad creeped out. So I booked it. I ran as fast as my "I just raced on Sunday legs" would go and made it home in good time, safely.

I noticed though, that the darkness brings out the best of my running form. I can't see what the ground is doing, so I'm quick to pick up my foot and place it under me instead of extending my stride more as i usually do. Wish I would run this way all the time!

Now that I realize how early the darkness is I won't be caught without the necessary dark running gear. Well, I could donut again if I want to get in a good tempo run.... Just kidding!

How are you dealing with the dark? Do you like to run in the dark? If so, what is your fave dark running gear?

Looking toward 2012 already

2011-09-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

Although I have a race I should be focusing on this Sunday and another one in October, I can't not look at what I want to do in 2012. I think as athletes we're always looking for what's next.

I've completed 4 half marathons and soon that number will be 5. I've cursed that distance and I've loved that distance all at the same time, I've even said "I have no desire what-so-ever to run a marathon." Something has changed over the past month, the mountain that is a marathon is calling my name to climb and conquer it. I never thought I would EVER have the desire to train for a marathon, but then I watched Spirit of the Marathon and got inspired to run 26.2 miles. Dang movie. :)

So I've been looking into 2012 marathons and I know I want to run a "big race." I want there to be a lot of spectators, support, lots of runners with me, etc. The race I found has all of that AND its in a place where running has deep, deep roots: The Eugene Marathon.

I haven't registered yet, but if I do before Oct 1st, it's only $80. That's a deal for a marathon! I would really like to find a group or one running buddy to do the long runs with I know those will be the hardest part and I want someone to battle them out with me.

The ONLY thing holding me back from registering is the lingering thought of doing a Half Ironman in the summer. I'd like to do one in July and there would be overlap between the two training schedules. What do you think? Marathon in May and Half Ironman in July? Is it possible without burnout? I'd love your thoughts, blogworld.

My training secret

2011-09-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

My race is a week from tomorrow and I'm all excitement. There are a few nerves in the mix, but I feel ready for this distance (olympic triathlon) and I'm excited to see how all my training will pay off. I took a new approach to train for this race - I hired a coach.

I've had a coach since the end of June and I've failed to mention this to anyone because I wanted to get my impressions of having a coach before I let other people share their experiences/thoughts. But it has now been 12 weeks of doing workouts provided by my coach and I feel like I can share what I think.

I found Stephanie of SAS Performance on Twitter (I love the internet) after posing a triathlon training question to the Twitterverse. She responded and we got to talking, or tweeting rather, about my training, goals, etc. I checked out her site, chatted with her more via email and then decided to, for lack of better word, hire her to coach me for my Olympic triathlon on September 25th.

Over the past 12 weeks, I been given weekly workout schedules with exactly what to do each day. It may sound regimented, but I love it. I like not thinking about what I need to do, I just do what's on the schedule. Plus, all of the workouts have a purpose: speed work, tempo runs, really hard swims, interval work on the bike, etc. which I had never really incorporated into my training before Stephanie. I have seen increases in speed in swim, bike and run, so already I know my money was very well spent.

Honestly, I was a little afraid to mention that I have a coach. I was afraid that people would say, "You're not an elite athlete, why do you need a coach?" But I looked at it this way - a TON of people have personal trainers at the gym, right? Well, my coach is my personal trainer. I know I won't ever be pro, but I want to improve against myself and maybe place a couple times in my AG and having Stephanie push me to places I couldn't push myself will help me get there.

Do you have a coach? If not, have you thought about hiring one?

Moving physically & literally

2011-09-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been exhausting. And now that I'm chilling and have a chance to turn on the TV and watch the 9/11 anniversary coverage, I can add emotionally exhausted to the list as well.

I'm sure everyone can agree that 9/11 still feels like yesterday. We'll always remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard the horrific news. Every time I hear stories about that day or see videos I get choked up and I can't imagine what it is like for those who knew someone who we lost that day. We will always remember.

Well, prior to my teary-eyed state right now, I was moving all weekend. Two kind of moving: moving my body and moving houses. Both very exhausting.

I finally found an apartment in Seattle this past week, so this was my first chance to move my crap down from Bellingham. That's 85 miles, if you were wondering. I did two loads today, so 255 miles of driving, but it was worth it because I good chunk of stuff down. My trusty Jetta Wagon holds A LOT of stuff. Love her! I have until the end of October to get all my stuff out of Bellingham, but ideally, I'll have it done by the last weekend of September.

On top of moving, I had a couple great workouts. Saturday I did a confidence-boosting brick workout. 1.5 hours on the bike with a 3 miles run after. I averaged 8:50 on those 3 miles and felt SO great. I really needed that workout to give me reassurance that I am able to perform well with my race just 2 weeks from today. I also went on 2 lovely walks in the sun on Saturday to keep my legs moving.

Before I started moving today, I went on a 5 mile run and averaged 9:19. Wished that would have been faster, but coming off the Saturday's workout, I think I can accept it. :)

Congrats to everyone who raced today! Can't wait to read all those recaps.

Protect your Noggin

2011-09-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

For some reason helmets have been coming up a lot lately. Conversations, articles, thoughts, observations - they're everywhere! Well, sometimes not in the place they should be - on your head.

I wear my helmet all. the. time. When I'm on my bike, that is. I wouldn't think twice about putting my helmet on before a ride. I would feel naked if I didn't have it on. I hope all of you are nodding your head right now. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't wear helmets. I know, crazy huh?

I was on my run yesterday on a popular run and bike trail and there were 5 people I counted who didn't have helmets on. The worst part about it that their helmets were hanging off their handlebars! Why would you bring a long a helmet and not wear it?! It's like when kids put their helmets on, but don't buckle it - why even bother bringing a helmet a long your ride? Put that helmet on! I'm not trying to sound like your Mom, really, I'm not.

I recently read an article in Bicycling magazine about helmet laws. States only have laws that state what age helmets must be worn to. After you reach that age, no helmet is required. Seriously? Are you saying my 26 year-old head isn't as important as my 15 year-old head? ALL ages should be wearing helmets.

That said, I'm buying a new helmet today. I've had mine for over 2 years now and there is some wear on it andI think I'm ready for a new one.

Do you wear your helmet all the time while biking?

Track Domination

2011-09-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

I've been doing weekly track workouts since June and most of them have been a success. I hit my time goals, but usually I'm pulling out everything I've got to make those times. Don't get me wrong, finishing a workout that requires that much determination and drive feels freaking amazing, but it can take a lot out of me and leave me feeling sick sometimes.

Tonight was a little different. The workout was 10-15 minute warm up, 1 mile at 8:45, 6x400 under 2:00, 1 mile at 8:45, 10-15 minute cool down. I've never done this workout before, so I was curious to see how I'd do. Well, lets just say I killed it. Total track domination, if you will. The 2 miles that were supposed to be at 8:45 were at 8:15 and each of the 400's were at 1:52. Holler!

I left the track PUMPED! Yeah, my legs were and are a little tight, but I didn't care, those legs stayed strong the entire 6 miles on the track. I'm so, so, SO happy right now - all this track stuff really does pay off.

Just had to share my excitement with someone before I hit the hay. Have you ever shown the track who's boss?

Just running to run

2011-08-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

As a triathlete, or so I call myself, I often wonder what it would feel like to just run. Only run. I haven't just ran since the end of 2009 and maybe before that. Sometimes I read running specific blogs and crave for miles after miles day after day of running. And often what I crave is running to just run. Not to train for anything, just get some exercise, some fresh air and sweat.

There are people out there that do that all the time (imagine that!), I wonder how their relationship with running is? I bet pretty chill, they get along all the time, it's okay if they don't see each other for a couple days and I bet for the most part, pace isn't a huge issue. Or am I wrong, are all runners serious? Do they all get stressed about pace?

I've been struggling with my runs, especially my longer runs lately - just can't get into it. I think it might be the pressures to keep on pace, always staring at my Garmin - it stresses me out! But I think I found a cure yesterday. Last night, I simply went for a run. The Gods must have made me leave my Garmin (a blessing in disguise) at home, so I just ran - me, some good tunes on my Shuffle and sunny Seattle. I know I covered 4 miles because I know the mile markers from my work down the Burke Gilman trail, but have no idea how fast (or slow) I ran. It felt great. I didn't think about biking or swimming or work or life - I thought about how grateful I am to be able to run and how wonderful, although sore, my body felt.

I think my Mondays runs always need to be like this. I usually go to run group on Monday, but often run too fast for my easy days. I was reminded today that you have to take it easy sometimes.

Do you ever run sans Garmin or watch?

A Saturday full of biking

2011-08-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

I didn't plan it, but it just happened. On the training schedule today was a 1:30 bike followed by a 3 mile run also known as a brick workout. The run hurt, but I finished it with a little bit of nervousness for my Oly tri in less than a month...

I had plans to hang out with my friend and I knew she wanted to go for a bike ride, so I thought we'd do something chill, especially after my brick this morning, but she chose a hilly route (it is my favorite route in Bellingham, so I couldn't complain) and I sucked it up and pretended to not be sore from a workout this morning.

We did another 28 miles from my house around Lake Samish and back. It was fun to ride with her and I wasn't being pressed ride fast, so it was a more leisure ride, but I still had to climb hills that my legs would have rather not seen after my brick this morning. We had a blast - it was sunny, the route was scenic and we celebrated by going to Boundary Bay for some beers and Hummus plate (my fave!).

I got in 51 miles of biking plus 3 miles of running today - I'm happy, physically spent and not guilty for having 2 beers. Tomorrow will be an active recovery day with a swim and a bike. I may swap the bike for a run though, we'll see.

I love the feeling of being spent, but I have to be careful because I think I got sick from overtraining/not enough sleep, so it's early to bed tonight to get a solid 9 hours in a do some more sweating in the AM.

What are you up to this weekend?

When sickness comes out of left field

2011-08-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

This week I was planning on writing a post about how to balance work and working out, cause let's face it, I have no life outside of these two things. :) This week at work is particularly busy with training and after-work functions which cut into my workout time so I need to plan wisely to not miss any workouts.

But then I woke up with a cold on Tuesday that got worse throughout the day and now I'm at home, not at work, sneezing uncontrollably and have already missed one workout. Funny how I was worried about balancing work and training, then this third element comes out of left field to throw a wrench in everything. Just lovely.

But it is these kinds of times when you have to get creative if you want to fit it all in, even if you're sick. So I look at my training schedule and see what I can swap around so that I take my day off now instead of Friday. Being flexible is key and not stressing if you miss one workout is also important.

So this is what my week was supposed to look like and the adjustments I've made in red.

Tuesday: Swim, ~~bike~~ rest
Wednesday: ~~Track workout~~ bike on trainer, but take it easy
Thursday: swim, ~~easy run~~ track workout
Friday: ~~off day~~ easy run

There you have it - no missed workouts! It all depends on how I feel later on to get on my trainer for a spin, but honestly, I think if you stay active through sickness, you can beat it faster. I have noticed if I lay on the couch, do nothing and "marinate" in my sickness I stay sicker longer, but if I do low intensity activities like walking or an easy bike ride, I'll feel better. Plus fresh air cures all, right?

But I am pissed that I'm sick. This is the 2nd summer cold I've had this year and prior to that, I hadn't been sick in over 2 years... what's up with that?!

Seattle Danskin Triathlon race recap

2011-08-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

If you read my last post, you know I wasn't looking forward to racing on Sunday. Really, I wasn't looking forward to the logistics of getting to and from the race. It was putting a damped on my weekend and excitement to actually race.

I paid the $20, parked at Safeco Field the morning of the race and took the shuttle to the race site. Expense for this race is not $120 plus gas... But, it was there that I saw my aunt and realized she was racing too! I instantly got in a better mood - I knew someone else who was racing (always awesome)!

We both set up our transitions, and I had over an hour until my wave started. I was confused why the 25-29 age group was 19th out of about 25 waves to start, so I asked a volunteer. This was their reasoning: They want the older, slower people to go first because in theory, they'll take longer and they want people to finish within a time frame. Then I asked, but what about all the younger people (like me) who are kind of fast who will be passing all these so-called slow people? The volunteer said, "well then you'll feel good about yourself, won't you" Uh...ok.

To me the organization of waves didn't make much sense, but whatever, I couldn't do anything about it. I could also not do anything about my HORRIBLE transition area. It was at least a 2 minute run from the swim finish. At least I got a half rack all to myself, so I spread my stuff out quite a bit.

I'm standing where you've already ran 100 yards out of the water...still got a trek!

When I lined up for my wave to start, I was feeling better about everything. I had gone through all the hoops and it was finally time to RACE! I was excited, not nervous, and wanted to push myself hard on this sprint. Oh, and since I left my watch at home, this race was done "naked." Had no idea what my times were until hours after when I got home.

SWIM - .5 mile - 15:49 -

I felt great for the first 2/3 of the swim. I passed a lot of girls because 50% were doing breaststroke... When I rounded the last buoy, I could not swim in a straight line and could feel myself getting tired, so I'm sure I added on some time that last bit.

T1 - 3:52

I had to run a bagillion miles from the swim to my transition area then another bagillion miles to the bike start, so I'm not surprised at this time.

BIKE - 12 miles - 38:50 - 18.5mph avg

This was a fast bike course. It was all flat except one short steep hill and a couple small rollers. Only 1 girl passed me on the bike and I did a whole lot of passing myself.

T2 - 1:31

The bike finish was a bit closer to my rack, thank goodness! Did my thing and went on my merry way.

RUN - 3.1 miles - 27:15 - 8:47/mile pace

The start of the run was a little tough, but running off the bike usually is. Since I was racing without my Garmin I had no idea how fast/slow I was going. At about 1.5 miles, I paced off this girl in my age group and I thought we were clipping along quite well. She got me on this uphill at the very end - urg. I would have liked to see my run time more around 26 minutes.

I came in 9th out of 120 in the 25-29 age group and was 86 out of 2036. Despite my negative feels prior, this race ended up being a-okay. I love racing and seeing where I can push my body to, so I'm happy to have the opportunity no matter if everything outside the actual race blows. Will I do this race next year? No.

Not pumped to race tomorrow...

2011-08-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm doing the Danskin Women's sprint triathlon in Seattle and believe it or not, I'm not excited about it. I originally signed up for this race last year, but got injured, so Danskin pushed my registration to this year. I am grateful for the fact that I didn't just loose my $100 (!) registration for this race. Really, a sprint for $100?!

Anyway, since I'm in the midst of training for my A race, this C race is just a training day. Any race is good practice, especially for transitions, OWS and getting your mind in race mode. I am excited to race, but what I have to do from now until the gun goes off is really cramping my style.

Today (the day before the race) I have to go to Seattle Center and pick up my race packet. From there, I'll drive to Genesee Park to rack my bike for tomorrow's race. I've heard parking is a you-know-what around the park, so I get to look forward to that. Then I'll drive home.

Tomorrow, since the race starts at 6:45(!), I'll leave my house a little before 5am and drive to Safeco Field, pay $20 to park (hopefully I'll find cheaper parking) and take the shuttle 4 miles to the park where the race is held. I'll set up transition with 3,000 other women, 75% in which are all about "women power" then wait until a little after 8am when my wave starts.

Since this is not even close to an A race, all this stuff I have to do, especially the day before, is a hassle. I want to enjoy my Saturday, but instead, I get to drive, which I already do way too much. Ugh. I would be way more excited about this race if I knew someone else doing it - that would make it way more fun.

I know once I'm finally at the park tomorrow morning in the water waiting for the gun to go off, I'll be so flipping excited, but until then, I'm working on turning my attitude around.

Have you ever been not really excited for a race?

8 weeks of focus

2011-08-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

I'm 8 weeks out from my first Olympic Triathlon. 8 weeks to get solid training in, prepare mentally and keep my body as happy as possible.

I know I can complete this race, there is no question about that. I could knock out the 1500m swim, 24 mile bike and 10k run right now if I wanted. Heck, I may even impress myself with my times. But "just finishing" this race is not my goal. I want to crush this race. This is my A race and I want to show up ready to kick ass and take names.

So with 8 weeks to go, I'm fully devoted to making myself 110% prepared for race day. For me, it involves more than just sticking to my training plan. It means:

Eating well - try and stay away from crappy office food
Getting enough rest - I get at least 8 hours/night, so I'm good here
Stretching, icing, foam rolling, "sticking" regularly - get those muscles ready for the next beating
Laying off the beer - this is the hardest of the whole list. I'm limiting myself to beers only on the weekend
Envision myself killing it race day - what needs to happen from the moment I wake up to the moment I cross the finish line for the day to be a success?
Find a support team - as of right now, I have no one coming to cheer me on :(

I have yet to determine goal times, that will come closer to the race. What do you think about my list? Would you add anything?

Training and relaxing on vacation

2011-08-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am back from vacation and although I really didn't want to leave, I'm ready to get back into my training schedule. I was able to swim and run quite a bit in Minnesota, but I've missed my Masi so much and I'm ready to take her for a loooonnnggg ride today.

A classic Lake Vermilion sunset

Vacation is a funny thing when you're in the midst of training. I look to vacation for a week of no stress and relaxation, but I also look at it as a week that I have a completely free schedule and can train whenever I want. Being so far away from home and without my bike, I decided to give into rest and relaxation, but not totally.

Many boat rides were taken

I did a few runs, but they weren't the most awesome of runs because of the humidity and crazy hilly terrain (yes, MN is hilly!), but they were runs nonetheless. I swam a couple times and realized that swimming when it's windy is so. freaking. hard. I didn't get down on myself for only doing half of my 30 minute swim or if I ate a few more sweets than normal - I was on vacation and giving myself a hard time for not being a perfect athlete would have added stress, which is not allowed on vacation. My goal for the week was to stay relatively active and not get sucked into the front porch swing too often.

Plus, I kept reminding myself that I was only away from my routine for one week which will probably be a good thing in the long run. It was a week that I gave my body a break and let it heal from the tough weeks I put it through in July. I'm excited to see how my body responds to this next week of training. I'm hoping for fresh legs and a strong pull in the pool. Although my arms are really sore from water skiing this week...

Only on vacation do I drink Bud Light...

I do think it would be a lot of fun to take a training vacation though. How fun would it be to pack up all your gear, head to somewhere beautiful and get in a week of serious sweating?! Someday...someday...

Do you try and stay active on vacations? How do you keep the balance between working out and relaxing?

3 thing Thursday - vacation edition

2011-08-04T11:03:00.001-07:00

GeoTagged, [N47.87248, E92.37967]

Greetings from beautiful Lake Vermilion in Tower, MN!

I thought I could bust out an iPhone post as long as it was kind of short... So here are my 3 things "lake style."

1. The weather has been amazing. 80-85 every day with a warm breeze. I don't mind the heat at all as long as I have a lake to jump into, which I've been doing multiple times a day. :)

The only drawback to the warmer weather is running... It's hard when it's hot! I'm from Seattle, so this heat/humidity is out of my league. My pace is slower, I sweat even more buckets than I normally do and I'm thirsty all day after a run.

I've been trying to run in the AM, but that's takes a lot of coordination between being dropped off on mainland (our cabin is on an island) and being picked up. Going back and forth can be a pain, so I try to work it around other trips being made.

2. I've been helping my Dad with some cabin maintenance. I learned how to re-screen a screen door! I'm helping out with cleaning up fallen trees and assisting my dad with the new outdoor shower he's building. I feel really accomplished when I help out with cabin stuff - I gotta learn how to do it cause someday I'll have to do it!

3. This place is such a gem and I look forward to coming up every single year. It's all about relaxing, seeing family, being grateful for having this place, and getting away from our usual hectic lives. It let's me take a deep breath and let my mind calm for a week. This is my 18th summer up here and I've loved every year!

I'll blog more when I get home. Hope you all ate having a great week.

-Megan

Going on vacation is stressful

2011-07-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving tomorrow for Sea Tac airport at 5:00am. Luckily, I usually get in at o'dark thirty, so this isn't that early, but the fact I'm still up past 10pm, I'm sure I'll be tired. But it's vacation, so excitement will keep me bright and peppy. :)

This week leading up to vacation has been stress to the ful. I've been working 10+ hour days trying to get everything ready for me being gone for one measly week. It was comforting hearing people say "no! you can't go on vacation" when I told them I'll be out next week. At least I know I'm needed :)

My workouts kept up with my busy-ness this week up until yesterday... My body decided to say "no" on a tempo run which ended up not being a tempo run. It's been a while since I had a bad workout, so I was not super surprised that it happened this week. Stress, working a lot, lack of sleep, and tired legs all add up to disaster. I was still really bummed though! Just have to remind myself that not all runs can be great ones.

I thought I could redeem myself by getting in an awesome 3 hour ride today since I was planning to leave work early. Who was I kidding?! Leaving early the day before vacation? Ha! I ended up leaving 4 hours after I planned to leave, which was an hour later than I usually leave the office... awesome. With all the errands/cleaning/prepping for vacation I had to do, the long ride was squished into a pathetic 30 minute spin on my trainer. This was the last time I'll be on my bike until August 6th or 7th and it wasn't even a good ride. :( Sorry Masi!

So I'm off to Northern Minnesota for a week of relaxation, fresh air, family time, water skiing, swimming, running, boating, out houses, amazing sunsets, and so much more. See you in a week!

Guest Post on Oiselle Blog

2011-07-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

Hi! Just wanted to let you know I did a guest post on Oiselle's blog about my first time hittin' the track for a track workout. You should wander over there and check it out!

Biggest training month, endurance athlete? and vacation

2011-07-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

I've been having a hard time thinking of a good post to write, hence the lack of posting. Since I can't think of a topic, I'm going to go with the easy escape - bullet list.

I ran 8 miles yesterday. This run did wonders for my confidence in my training. I can't remember the last time I ran 8 miles, so I was happy that I did it at a 9:13 pace.
5 work days left until vacation. Thank goodness! Since I started my job last November, I have only taken 2 days off. I am overdue for an extended period of time away from the office. Off to my cabin in Northern Minnesota!
I'm on track this month to have the biggest training month, in terms of hours, ever. I'm really excited about this. I'm actually trying to beat July of 2010, which is currently in first. July was my peak month last year, but I think August will be even bigger than July this year cause I have a late September oly triathlon, so the training will continue pretty well through August.
Do you think that training for an Olympic triathlon puts me into the endurance sport category? I don't feel like I'm an "endurance sport athlete" because I consider HIM/Ironman endurance sports. What do you think?
I went on a 37 mile bike ride today. Before hand I ate about 300 calories for bfast and on the bike I only had 1 gel, 1 bottle of Nuun and 1 bottle of water. Should I be eating more on the bike? I felt fine the entire ride, but my stomach was growling as I pulled up to my house. Any suggestions are welcome.
To everyone to raced this weekend whether it be the Ragnar Relay, IMLP or any other race, congrats! Can't wait to read all the recaps.

A real post to come soon!

Got through a mentally tough bike ride

2011-07-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

The training schedule called for 45 miles on the bike today, which I normally welcome with open arms and even get excited about, but today, I woke up to rain.

I am a fair-weather rider, so this was very discouraging. I could have sworn the weather man said it was going to be sunny and 70 today...lies! (or did I just make that up?) I went out to breakfast and all the while contemplated what I was going to do - ride the trainer for 3 hours or buck it up and ride in the rain.

Then I recalled Frayed Laces post about building mental toughness. One of the tips was heading out for a run or a ride in the sub-par weather and that this can help build confidence in your abilities. So I did it, I rode in the rain.

The entire ride was a struggle mentally, never physically although I was trying to ride fast to finish faster. The whole time I swear I was staring at my CatEye watching the miles slowly tick by. Most of the almost 3 hours I was on the bike I thought things like "I can't believe I am riding right now" or "this is going to take forever" "this sucks" but I kept peddling and finally was able to eek out 43 miles.

I got off my bike and was in awe about what I just did. It seemed like 15 minutes ago I tweeted that I didn't want to ride in the rain and now I was standing there, finished with the ride. A instantly felt happy and proud of myself. In hindsight, it wasn't a horrible ride - the rain held pretty well, it wasn't cold out, there was no wind and I kept my pace up - but during the ride I could not muster up a positive thought for the life of me. Strange, isn't it? But I survived and I guess they're right when they say "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and I believe that applies to us mentally just as much as physically.

Have you pushed through a mentally tough workout? What got you through?

Seattle to Portland Bike Ride 2011

2011-07-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

After last year's Seattle to Portland bike ride, I said I'd never do it again. It was painful, I almost cried and it actually made me hate my bike. Not good.

So when I found myself registering for this year's ride back in March I knew there had to be a change so this year's adventure would be better. Team Sweat (Rebecca, Thanh and myself) decided to take a relaxed approach to training and honestly, we only did 40-60 mile long rides before the big ride. Going into this ride, I was expecting it to hurt, but I was determined to stay positive and keep the smiles going over the 200 miles.

We had grand plans to start early-ish on Saturday, but somehow ended up being one of the last groups across the start line. They were literally taking down the start line stuff and the announcer was no longer present. Oopsie, better catch up! We quickly caught riders and soon were in the midst of it all.

Me and Rebecca

Lake Washington Blvd. probably 5 miles into the ride

Near 30ish miles

The weather was beautiful, the tail wind was present and the energy was high. We smashed out the first 100 miles with no problem what-so-ever. It was amazing! I kept expecting something to start hurting, but nothing ever did (well, except my saddle, but that's to be expected) - I was able to keep pushing and ride hard. The first 100 miles is ridiculously flat too, which adds to the easy-ness.

I tried to make stupid faces at all the cameras

After the first 100, the route adds in some rolling hills. Some more up then down, but we only had to get to mile marker 135 and we could rest for the night. I probably could have ridden past 135, but I was pretty dang happy to see Castle Rock High School, which was our camp ground for the night.

I slept in the back of a Subaru, which usually isn't a problem, but I didn't sleep well that night. Getting up and getting on the bike again was a little like pulling teeth, but knowing that we only had 70 miles that day was motivating. Plus, I knew a Sbux was just up the road, which really was the only reason I got on my bike. :)

Start of 2nd day

Rebecca & Thanh

Before we knew it, we were in Oregon! Yipee! We're there right?! No. Once in Oregon, the route still has 50 miles until Portland. We cross the Lewis and Clark bridge in Longview, WA which is 50 miles West of PDX, so there was still a good amount of pavement to be covered.

The second day's scenery leaves much to be desired. For 40 miles you ride a long a busy highway and although some parts are pretty, most are not. And the cars passing by at high speeds doesn't add to the landscape. Once near PDX, the route goes over one of Portland's many bridges and you get an awesome view of the city and then thoughts of the finish line dance in your head. "We just have to ride there" pointing to downtown.

Pretty bridge coming into Portland

I quickly ran out of faces to make

And then you near the finish line and the block is lined with fans/spectators and the biking adventure is over. Just like that. When we were done, I couldn't believe what a success the ride was for all of us. Rebecca and I both agreed that after this year's experience, we'd definitely do STP again. Well, probably not, but you get what I'm saying. And it was Thanh's first STP in his first year biking and he totally rocked it. If you're curious, we averaged 15mph over the 203 miles.

Why do I think this year's STP went so much better than last years? Here are my thoughts:

I ate more. Cheeseburger at rest stops? Okay!
I drank SO much more. Lots of Nuun!
I knew how far 205 miles is. Last year I under estimated it.
I took 6 ibuprofen over the two days.
We took a more relaxed approach this year.
The weather was fantastic both days.
I was fitted better on my bike. No sore knees!

Have you done a long multi-day ride before? How did your body handle it?

3 Things Thursday - training, no life and 5ks

2011-07-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I rode the Seattle to Portland bike ride, which is 205 miles over 2 days. I'll have a recap coming soon, I want to wait for my ridiculous event pictures to come in first. Hehehe.

So, I'll give you my 3 things, since it's Thursday.

1. Training has been going great. It's pushing me, but in a good way. I've been swimming more, biking more and doing more track workouts. I'm on my way to a successful Olympic Triathlon in September!

2. Lately, I feel like I've just been going through the motions of life. I get up, swim, go to work, work too long, workout again, drive home, eat dinner, go to bed. Get up and do it again. I don't even have time to watch my Netflix or read blogs (sorry!) What has happened to time?! I *hope* that when I actually move to Seattle, I'll gain about 1.5 hours to my day because my commute will be cut dramatically. Right now though, especially now that it's summer, I feel like I have no life outside of training and working and I'm not real happy about it.

3. I won an entry into the See Jane Run 5k from Tall Mom, so I'm incorporating that into my long run on Sunday. I plan to run the 5k, but not race it, then continue on for another 5 miles. I know there are some local blog ladies running it too plus a few Oiselle ladies, so it should be a sweaty social fest.

I'll be back tomorrow with a full STP recap and it's one you don't want to miss.

Holiday Weekend

2011-07-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, America! :)

4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Although we may not get the best weather for it most years here in the PNW, the weekend is always filled with fireworks, BBQ, beers, friends and family. But this year we lucked out - beautiful, sunny, warm weather all weekend long!

Friday I got off work early and went for a wonderfully sweaty bike ride with Rebecca and a friend of hers. We rode some serious hills that made me realize I need to ride more hills more often. They hurt so bad, but make you such a better rider.

Lush and green Washington with the Cascades in the background

Saturday, I was contemplating whether I was going to run the trail run I had registered for a couple months ago. I had originally signed up for the 10 miler, but downgraded to 5 because I'm not in 10 mile trail shape what-so-ever. It was a gorgeous morning, so I felt guilty not doing it, so I headed out and drove the hour plus drive to the trail. There were some stupid steep sections that everyone was walking up, but other than that, it was a fun trail run. I did manage to get lost, so I ran 6.4 miles instead of the 5.

It was hot in the sun

After the run, I headed down to Westport to visit my fisherman. I was able to get in my 40 mile bike ride on Sunday and rode a highway I drive all the time, but have never biked. I rode from Westport south to Tokeland and back. It is all pretty flat, but I was able to get in a few pickups to get the heart rate going. Here are some pics of an incredible view I got at about 10 miles.

Willapa Bay

Pretty

Sunday night, my fisherman bought some fireworks, or rather just things that go BOOM and we went to the beach to set a few off. The awesome thing about this part of the Washington coast, is that you can drive on the beach. It's SO fun! There were a lot of people down there lighting off fireworks/spectating.

Today I drove up to my parent's house, cleaned my bike, BBQed and now about to go for a run since it has cooled off. It's been a fantastic weekend, I'm just bummed I missed a swim that I was supposed to do yesterday. I'll have to make it up this week sometime.

Were you able to stay active this holiday weekend?

Half way review & what I'm excited about

2011-07-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

We're officially half way through the year, can you believe it? I can't! I usually have mini monthly goals to reach, so I didn't set a big 2011 goal. Instead I just said I wanted to complete all the races I had planned and accept my body for what it is. (Read more here).

I have NOT completed all races I had planned, which I'm totally okay with - I had TOO much on my plate and I didn't feel like I could focus on a race with all that I had going on. My race schedule is now cleaned up so that my next A race is the Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon in September.

On the latter statement, I have been consciously eating more veggies and less processed crap, but I still have a weak spot toward cookies and sweets. I'm more aware of what foods will make me feel like crap later, so I've been better with my decision making. I'm happy where my body is at right now, which is a fantastic feeling. :)

Here is what I'm excited about for the rest of 2011:

The Tour de France starting this weekend!! Go Andy!
Vacation to lake cabin in Minnesota in early August
Finishing my first ever Oly distance triathlon
My 2nd nephew being born
Finally moving to Seattle and out of my sister/parent's house
Getting faster in SBR
Going to Vegas for work in October
Seeing my sister and bro-in-law in October

What are you excited for in the remainder of 2011?

Lake Padden Triathlon recap!

2011-06-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

If you read my pre-race thoughts, I was unsure of what the Lake Padden Triathlon might bring in terms of performance. I am happy to announce that I had a fantastic race and beat my time goal!

I got to the lake and set up transition next to the awesome and hilarious Diana. Before I knew it, I had to get my booty moving if I wanted to get in a warm up run. Did a little mile jaunt then threw on my wetsuit and hopped in the water. Swam around, adjusted my goggles and was ready to go.

Me and Diana

SWIM - 800 yards - 14:25
The swim was in waves of 50ish and I wanted to get in the 3rd wave, but was forced in the 4th. I guess it doesn't really matter - my time will be my time. The first 200 yards of the swim were rough. I swear a dude hung out in my armpit FOREVER, which made doing my thing a little awkward. At the half way point, I finally found myself in a nice open area, but that's because I drifted off the course a tad. At least homie wasn't in my armpit anymore. I kept sighting and stroking and made it to the shore in 14:28 - a minute and a half faster than I wanted.

T1 - 2:03
Nothing to report - my wetsuit didn't really want to get over my time chip...

BIKE - 21 miles - 1:16:22
This is the leg I was most nervous about. This course is hilly and my bike miles/training has suffered as of late and didn't think I was ready for the climbing. I stayed in aero position as much as I could, ate two shot bloks, drank half bottle of nuun and kept my peddle count up. This time last year I could have ridden this course faster, so I know there is big room to improve, but I'm not disappointed with my time at all.

There are 3 hills, but also some nice down hill crusin'

I need a tan

T2 - 1:03

I did what needed to be done and said "oh. my. gosh." to myself as I ran out of transition in response to how my legs felt.

RUN - 5.2 miles - 48:47

The course is a two loop course around the lake trail, so all I thought about the first loop is that I had to do it again. I had no idea how fast I was going (no Garmin) so I just kept moving. On one of the hills during the first loop, both of my quads decided to cramp and stayed cramped for the rest of the run. Fantastic... This has never happened to me, so it felt like I was running slow to compensate for the cramping. Starting my second lap, I knew if I held onto the pace I was running, I would make my goal, so I did just that. By the time the finish line appeared, I was ready to finish the race. Isn't crossing the finish line THE BEST FEELING EVER?! I think so. It might be better than graduating college, in my book.

I'm a fan of my new one piece, even though it makes me feel like a triathlon dork

I finished in 2:22:39. I was shocked to see that I placed 3rd in my age group, but then there were only 9 chicks in my AG. Does 3rd still count as good? Overall, I'm pleased with my 4th triathlon and am hungry for more. This race is exactly what I needed to get pumped up about triathlon again after me questioning triathlon. My next triathlon isn't until August, so the training continues!

Pre-Lake Padden Tri thoughts

2011-06-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

Just because Diana did it, I'm going to write down my pre-race thoughts on tomorrow's triathlon.

I'm nervous. But I get nervous before any race, so it's part of my pre-race ritual, I guess. :) The biggest reason I'm blaming the nerves on is that I'm in the "competitive" division of the race this year, which really just means it's twice as long as the "recreational" division. But this also brings the more serious athletes to the longer distance. So since I'm racing with the big guns, I'm nervous. Lame, I know. There is no way in hell I can compete with them, so why even think about the elites? This race is against me, myself and I and the girl in front of me in the same age group. :) Just have to keep pounding that into my noggin.

I'm excited. I get to race! Yahoo! I get to put my body to the test - how could I NOT be excited?! Plus, a few friends of mine are racing as well so it'll pretty much be the social event of the summer! Not really, but still comforting to see familiar faces.

I'm curious. I wonder what my times are going to be like? I haven't been the best at sticking to a triathlon training schedule so even though I have the miles in, I only had 3-4 brick workouts... That leads me to time goals. Last year I did the "recreational" division in 1:11. This year's course is twice as long, so I'm doubling that time and adding a couple minutes to get a goal of 2:25. If you're curious as well, the swim in 800 yards, bike 20 and run 5.2. If I get around 2:25, I'll be happy as a clam.

So there you have it, I'm nervous, excited and curious. Can't wait to tell you how it goes tomorrow!

4 Things Friday

2011-06-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

1. I'm feeling normal again! Wednesday I pushed over the hump of tired/low-energy and yesterday I felt totally normal. I still have a bit of lingering snot, but it's so minimal that I even swam (shock!) yesterday morning.

2. I have started to take a multi-vitamin in hopes that I can stick to it everyday. I chose NatureMade Multi for her with iron and calcium. I liked that it had added iron because I'm very anemic and I already take an iron supplement. I'm marking the days on my calendar that I take it to keep me consistent. I'm curious if taking these will make me feel different? How long does it take to "feel better" from supplements? As an athlete, should I be taking something other than a multi-vitamin? Suggestions welcome.

Check out that horse pill (laying on top)

3. When I got to work today, this reminder popped up in my email

I guess this really is happening tomorrow. I'm excited, nervous, excited, nervous, etc.

4. I know there are a lot of people racing this weekend and I want to give a special shout out to everyone running the Seattle Rock 'n Roll Marathon or Half! I know there are quite a few bloggers running it (Alma, Mel, Amanda, Kerrie, Carla, Jill, Chelsea) and I have a few co-workers running it to. Good Luck everyone!

Sweating out the sickness

2011-06-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

Since my last "feeling blah" post, the sickness has set in even harder. I had to stay home from work yesterday and I came home early today. Ugh. My nose is raw from tissues and I haven't had a good workout since last Friday - it's driving me bonkers.

I sat on my trainer last night for a very light 30 minute spin. I thought I could sweat the sickness out, instead of continuing to lie on the couch. It felt good, but still felt sub par today.

I truly believe that if you have a bit of energy when you're sick, you should stay active. If you lay on the couch the whole time and marinate in your germs, you'll feel more sick. Sweat it out! Even if it's just a walk, that fresh air and movement will move mountains.

I attempted a run today - first run since Friday, which seems like ages ago. My sickness is contained to above my neck, and "they" say that unless you're sick below the neck (coughing, chest congestion, etc) you're okay to workout. I did a slow 3 miler in the SUN, which automatically made me feel better. Ah, the power of vitamin D!

Before the blah and sickness ~~ruined my life~~ came into play, I had started to set some time goals for this weekend's triathlon. I still want to aim near those time goals, but I'm being more lenient due to the fact that I may still feel semi-weak come Saturday. I have demoted this race from an "A" race to a "B+" race, meaning I'll still race it, but try not to get down on myself if I miss my targets.

That being said, I need a new "A" race. Something in the Fall that I have enough time to properly train for. I'm thinking of the Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon September 25th. I have 13 weeks to train starting Sunday, which is more than enough and if I craft a plan now and really stick with it - I think I could perform very well.

Wow, just finding that race and starting to plan it out just got me re-excited about training! Yip!

Feeling blah

2011-06-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

Feeling blah could not have come at a worse time. It started Thursday with a pain in my butt/hip that I believe was caused from a weight lifting session. I tried to run on it on Friday, but between it hurting and me feeling no motivation what-so-ever, I decided to bag the trail run I was registered for on Saturday. I was bummed about that, but I didn't want to get hurt more, especially with a triathlon next weekend.

For the rest of the weekend, I didn't get in my normal workouts - I ran once and went on a 4 mile hike, but that's about it. I tried to run this morning, got 2 miles and felt no motivation to go any further. This made me really mad. I tried to continue to run, but my body just didn't want to go. Oh yeah, on top of it, I have a sore throat and my head is congested. Of course the first time I get sick in 2+ years is the weekend before my main race of the year.

I really don't think I've been training too hard to get burnt out, so I'm a bit dumbfounded. Why did I get sick? Why am I feeling un-motivated? I read all these awesome blog posts about people having kick ass workouts and I get jealous! I haven't had a "butt kicking" workout in SO long, which leads me to feeling un-prepared for this next weekend's triathlon.

I am not looking for pitty comments, just wanted to put this on the blog, cause that's what bloggers do, right? I WILL get back into it and I WILL get some kick-ass workouts in, soon.

Fremont 5k

2011-06-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last Friday,I ran the Fremont 5k. Yup, it started at 7pm on a Friday night. I like the idea of evening races, but I don't think it is the prime time of day for my body to perform. I mean, I just sat on my butt for 9 hours and ate a full breakfast and lunch and now I get to run really fast?!

Anyway, my work actually paid for 1/2 the registration fee, so there were a lot of my fellow co-workers out and about plus the ladies from Oiselle were representing too! It's fun to have so many people you know at an event.

I haven't raced a 5k since last September, so I wasn't sure how I'd do. I was shooting for around 25 minutes, and ended up pretty dang close to it. Some how, I ran the first mile, part of which is uphill, in 7:50...uhh...not sure if I've ever ran a mile that quick. At least I know I CAN do it! The 2nd 2 miles were around 8:05 pace and I ended in 25:17. Happy with that time :)

Wore a shirt from work that says "Magnum B.I, it's all about the stats"

My 5K PR is 24:50 set in a sprint triathlon, so I know I can go faster, just need to do those speed workouts consistently. This race made me want to do more 5ks - I think there is one July 16th that may be calling my name. The course even runs part of the Fremont 5k course. I know some other Washington blogger ladies are doing the half marathon, blogger meetup anyone?!

Oiselle Winner!

2011-06-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone to entered the Oiselle giveaway! There were 45 entries (wowza!) and one lucky lady is the winner!

I used the random number generator and it spit out: #26 which is R Hacker! The winning comment said:

She started to run in Michigan, so the Born and Raced in Michigan it is!

Please email me at dailysweat [at] gmail [dot] com so I can get you your shirt.

Thanks again to Oiselle for the giveaway!

Work hard, eat well, drink good beer

2011-06-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

My body is happy. Tired, but happy. I accomplished what I set out to do this weekend - sweat, a lot and not get sun burnt doing it.

This morning I drove up to Lake Padden to get in 3 laps of the 2.6 mile loop. My Garmin didn't want to work when I got there, so I ran gidgetless for the first two laps. On the third, I ran into my boyfriend's aunts and a friend and ran with them the last lap. I have no idea how long the 7.8 miles took, but I got it done and that's all that really matters.

After the run, I pulled on my wetsuit (really hard when you're sweaty) and went for my first open water swim of the year! The lake felt SO good after a hot run. I swam across and back, which got me about 800 yards. I love not hitting a physical wall every 25 yards :)

Since it was still really nice out, I couldn't not get on my bike for a little jaunt. Nothing like yesterday's 46 miles, but a respectable 16 on tired legs. I even stopped at Kulshan bikes and got my rear derailleur fixed. It was hitting my spokes in my easiest gear, which is annoying, but also made me climb hills in the next hardest gear.

I rounded out the day with some ab and hip work and finally called it a day with a cold IPA. I could get used to more weekends like this one - work hard, eat well, drink good beer. Cheers to the beginning of summer in the Northwest!

What does your perfect summer weekend consist of?

P.S. Only one more day to get 20% off one Oiselle order using the promo code SWEATEES - check it out, yo!

46 Miles on the Masi in the sun

2011-06-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

I'm at 99 followers. Holy cow! There are quite a few entries for my Oiselle giveaway - thanks everyone who entered! For those of you who haven't - get on it - it ends Wednesday. But the 20% promo only lasts until Monday.

Last Tuesday, I checked the weather and it said sunny and 70+ degrees for both Saturday and Sunday. I immediately posted this on Facebook (cause what else do you do when you think of awesome things?!)

"I just looked at the weather for this coming weekend and I can already make a couple predictions of what will happen: a glorious, sunny LONG bike ride, an open water swim (or two), RUNNING in tank tops, numerous applications of sunscreen (I'm white!) and plenty of stretching/foam rolling. Who's with me?!"

So I've been excited since then to get some quality training in, in the SUN! Fact: today is the first day since last September that Western Washington has reached over 70 degrees. It's been too long sun, too long.

I hopped out of bed at 7am - sun already shining - and got on my bike for a longer bike ride. I always get a little nervous for long bike rides by myself due to boredom, but today the sun was my friend and it carried me through 46 miles of gloriousness.


Birch Bay State Park looking North to our Canadian neighbors

West

I rode from Bellingham to Birch Bay State Park and back which is pretty flat with a couple hills. I averaged 15.5 mph and it took me 3 hours.

Hey look, it's me!

Ze Masi. Couldn't find my 2nd bike water bottle so I used an Aquafina as a back up bottle. Don't do it - they're noisy.

In previous solo long rides, I have experienced horrible moods and I blame it on improper nutrition and craptastic weather. Today I made sure to drink plenty of Nuun and eat. I ate 200 calories on the bike, and in hindsight, probably should have eaten more, but those 6 Clif Shot Bloks did the trick and I felt fantastic.

I'll be continuing my sunny training tomorrow morning with a 7-8 run and hopefully an OWS. Till then...

Oiselle Giveaway!

2011-06-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

This is my very, very first giveaway on my blog and I'm so excited that it is with Oiselle! First off, thanks Sarah and Sally over at Oiselle for the opportunity to do a giveaway!

Oiselle recently launched a set of regional t-shirts. Sport where you're from and where you've raced proudly in these cute, super soft t-shirts.

I wore my "Born and Raced in WA" shirt to work last week and noticed people doing a double take on how awesome my shirt was, really, I'm not kidding. :) I really love expressing my love for the state in which I was born and grew up in and where I race the most (my car has a "I heart Washington" sticker on it) so this shirt was essential to my Washington Love collection.

One lucky lady (sorry dudes) will get their t-shirt of choice in this giveaway. Here's what you need to do to enter:

Mandatory: Go to Oiselle's site and tell me in the comments of this post what t-shirt you'd like AND why you love to run the state you live in
Extra entry: Follow my blog via Google Friend connect --> in side bar (separate comment)
Extra entry: Follow Oiselle on Twitter and tweet this: "I want a super cute @oiselle regional tee from @dailysweat!" The comment here when you tweeted
Extra entry: Like Oiselle on Facebook then comment here that you did.

So make a separate comment for each item that you do.

But wait, there's more! From right now until Monday night, you can get 20% off one Oiselle order using this special code: SWEATEES. Their shorts and capris rock and their tank tops are the perfect match between fashion and function - so go check 'em out.

Good luck - I'll choose a random winner on Wednesday, June 8th.

Grand Ridge Solstice Trail Run

2011-06-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

I ran my second trail run last night and fell in love. It was challenging at times, but overall so much fun and I need to do more - soon. It was a mid-week event put on by Evergreen Trail Runs at the Grand Ridge trails in Issaquah, WA. I just have to note how rad mid-week events are! I vote for more!

I did the 5 mile course which had 750 feet of elevation gain. The gain was mostly in two big climbs. The first one was fine, quite a bit of bottle-necking, since I was mid-pack and the second climb was muddy and I ended up walking a bit of it. I ran the 5.2 miles in an hour, which is a horribly slow pace for me when I'm on the pavement, but trail running is a whole new world in which new paces and expectations need to be set. And new muscles to be developed - holy cow running downhill is hard! My quads are oh so sore today.

But I had loads of fun and just signed up for another 5 mile trail run on June 18th - yippee!

Looks like I needed a nap?

PS Ladies - I have a sweet giveaway for you in the morning!

National Running Day!

2011-06-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Happy National Running Day! Get your booty outside and RUN! Doesn't matter if it's 1 mile or 15, just get out there and do it - I promise you'll feel just that much better after. :)

And after you run, go here and share why you run. http://www.runningday.org/site/

Here's mine:

I'll be celebrating National Running Day at the Grand Ridge Solstice trail run. I'm doing the 5 miler and I'm super excited to get out on the trail, breathe some fresh air, and do what I love: run. :)

I think everyday should be National Running Day, don't you?!

Putting my workouts to work

2011-05-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to do this for sometime and today I finally got around to figuring it all out. I've never talked about where I exactly work on my blog because I've never felt the need to share that much and if I talk about it, it'll show up in everyone's Google alerts at work and then my blog will not be my little secret anymore, but that is about to change.

I work for Tableau Software and ever since I started, I've been wanting to use our free software, Tableau Public to visualize my training data from BeginnerTriathlete.com. As athletes, we all love our data and numbers and Tableau is an easy way to make cool charts and graphs and quickly analyze your data. Has my run pace decreased over the past year? What are my biggest mileage months? What is my average heart rate on the bike? These are all questions you can answer if one, you have the data and two, you use Tableau.

So I figured out how to pull all my training history out of BeginnerTriathlete.com since I began using it in March of 2010. Then I connected Tableau Public to my data and started to play around. I'm not a super-star when it comes to using the software yet, but it doesn't mean my simple line charts don't mean anything to me.

Here is a dashboard I made that shows my run pace over the past year or so and also swim/bike/run mileage over that same time period. I added in trend lines and it looks like I need to get my running on a little more to get that trending up! You can click on various points to see the exact mileage.

So I think it would be fun to revisit these every few months to see how my training numbers are looking. If you'd like to play around with your training data for free - check out www.tableausoftware.com/public and download the software.

5 day weekend

2011-05-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

I've had a 5 day weekend this weekend and I have to say, they're a hell of a lot better than 3 day ones. :) Just when I feel like I have to get ready for a work day, I remind myself that I have one more day off!

I was able to get in some great workouts this weekend due to the extra time on my hands.

Friday: I tested the IT band and ran 4 slow miles and I'm happy to note NO IT band pain. Yipee!
Saturday: I ran the run course of the Padden Triathlon, which is 2 x 2.6 mile loop and felt great. I even had my friend Kirsten running with me, which was a treat. We hammered that run out in 48 minutes.
Sunday: Kirsten and I ran another 4 miles together before Ski to Sea festivities started then rode our bikes down to Fairhaven, which ended up being about 8 miles round trip, plus a lot of walking.
Monday: 20 mile ride followed by a 1.75 mile brick run.
And I still have Tuesday off too!

I'm glad I had the motivation to keep active over the weekend - I definitely had my share of beers. I knew there was going to be plenty of beers and yummy food, so I made sure I did three things: one, make time to work out. Two, drink plenty of H20. Three, get plenty of sleep. So even if I did have some fun, I don't feel guilty about it and my body doesn't feel like I trashed it due to those preventative measures.

While spending time with my friend Kirsten this weekend, we decided that we are going to join forces and do the Bellingham Traverse in September. It is a multi-sport race consisting of 5 legs: run, mountain bike, road bike, run and paddle. We're going to divide and conquer - I'll do the first run and the road bike and Kirsten will take the mountain bike, 2nd run and paddle. This is going to be a TON of fun - can't wait!

What did you do this long weekend? Was your weekend as long as mine?

PS. I'm on the Daily Mile - wanna be my friend? http://www.dailymile.com/people/MeganF15

ITBS - What's the root of the problem?

2011-05-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

I've been having some IT band issues as of late and I'm trying to figure out what caused it to flare up. The first time I had ITBS, it was because I ran on the left side of the road during my first half marathon which meant I was left hip was lower than my right for 13.1 miles. Thinking about that now makes me cringe.

That is where it hurts

So since then, I try to avoid pavement that has that slight slope to one side in hopes that I can steer IT band pain away from me. I haven't increased my running miles lately,which can be a cause of ITBS, but have increased my biking miles. I do notice a slight discomfort when I ride, but not as much as when I run. Can biking also cause ITBS?

This week I took things down a notch to work on getting my legs back into working order. I've shortened my runs and I'm making sure I stretch and foam roll after, which makes things feel a lot better. I also had my chiropractor work on it and had a massage, so I'm hoping all this TLC will put me back in the game this weekend. I'd really like to be a-ok for a trail run I have on June 1st - *fingers crossed!*

Love this stretch for IT bands, especially when you pop the hip of the back leg

Make it hurt so good with a Stick or Foam Roller

Ice, Ice, Baby

I still want to know what ultimately caused this...I'm at a loss right now and would really like to know what to avoid in the future. I am already feeling the effects of taking care of my leg versus trying to run though the pain. I just got back from a 4 mile, pain-free run at 9:11 pace. Awesome!

Any other ideas of what might have caused my ITBS?

I keep finding myself on the bike

2011-05-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was supposed to be my "get excited about triathlon" day. Diana and I had planned to do the swim and bike course, but like she said, we got rained out. So I'm still in that slump. But you all had great suggestions about getting out of this "not stoked about racing triathlon" slump:

I just need to race
Maybe I used triathlon to find what sport I'm best at and I'm ready to just concentrate on it
Don't force triathlon, do what is fun
Don't race, but volunteer at one
Just focus on shorter races that require less training

Thanks everyone - Great ideas! I love blogland.

Although my mind is leaning more toward running, my body has found it on the bike quite a bit the past two weeks. I've commuted to work a couple of times, gone on a couple of solo ride and even got lucky with weather and rode with Rebecca twice. Over the past two weeks, I've ridden 160 miles which makes me think my body really does want to ride. :)

I actually just got back from a 20 miler around Bellingham and South Whatcom county. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't raining and even more surprised that I was choosing the hillier route over the flat. I conquered a couple of the hills that are part of the Lake Padden triathlon course and overall felt really good. Gave me a confidence boost knowing that I still have it in me to climb those hills.

The most interesting part of the ride was a random guy that was about to pass me slowing down to strike up a conversation. We actually talked for a good 10 minutes before our paths split. We were both riding solo, so I think we both welcomed the friendly conversation. We chatted about the Lake Padden triathlon, STP, bike problems and my Masi. Don't you love the random conversations you can have while on a bike?

I may go for a run later, but need to roll out my bugger IT band. Hope you are having a great weekend!

Is my heart in triathlon?

2011-05-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

The past couple weeks I've been struggling. Not with my training, but my lack of will to race triathlon. I do love swimming, biking and running, but when I think about actually racing, there are no excited feelings like there were last year. The only racing I really have the urge for is running!

I could never stop doing any of the sports - they all contribute in a special way to keep me in shape. I just simply think I've lost the desire to put 'em all together and race.

I've been training as if I'm motivated to race - I do have a triathlon on June 26th. And I'll continue to train like this until I need to taper...I will still give this race my all even though my heart might not be there. It's no fun to half-ass something.

But this totally could be a physiological slump that only lasts a couple weeks and I could get re-stoked to race. This is probably the case and I'm probably making too much of a deal out of this. I do have a blog date with Diana on Saturday to do the full swim and bike of the Lake Padden Triathlon, so I'm hoping this will pump me up.

Do you ever want to focus on just one of the triathlon sports and use the others for cross training?

Still sweating

2011-05-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

The last time I blogged was Easter. Do I feel guilty? Nope. Well, maybe a little, but I needed the break. But don't you worry, I've still been sweating.

April brought a few new things I'm welcoming into my life with open arms. I learned to love swimming again, started to feel the pay off of track workouts and have started to appreciate yoga. Here is April is numbers:

Swim: 21,200 yards
Bike: 197 miles
Run: 77 miles

I would have liked to see better run miles, but I had a pretty big March with half marathon training, so I spent more time swimming.

What else has been going on in the world of the Daily Sweat?

I'm starting to incorporate massage and chiropractic work into life and wellness. I want to be proactive at injury prevention instead of reactive. My insurance covers it for the most part, so I'm taking advantage.
Work has been nuts. So. Freaking. Busy. Trying to not work too late and keep somewhat of a social life and still get in all my workouts.
I'm biking to work 1-2 days a week. It's 24 miles round trip and it feels great to get a ride in at 6am.
I'm re-visiting my 2011 race schedule. There's just too much going on. I need a couple of races to put my all into instead of doing a lot of so-so events.

Hope everyone is fantastic! Tell me, what has been your best workout in the past two weeks?

Taking this Easter off

2011-04-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! After a really late Easter vigil mass last night (ended at midnight!), I was so happy that my body slept in until 9am. I woke up slightly sore from a bike ride I did yesterday and also to this:

Easter platter for my two sisters, brother-in-law and myself because the Easter bunny didn't feel like getting baskets out of storage. :)

Pretty sure I got my sugar intake for the week before 11am this morning...Thanks Mom! On that note, I really want to get in a run today, but the weather has turned back to typical Seattle weather and is raining. It's now 11:30am and I'm still in my sweats (very unlike me) so I may just deem today as a rest day. To further support me taking a rest day, I just looked at my workout history on Beginnertriathlete.com and I haven't taken a full day off this whole month...yikes. I have done a number of "light" workout days, but there isn't one day in April I haven't done something active. No wonder my legs have been in a constant state of soreness...

Think I'll just kick my feet up today

I'm going to relish in this day of rest - hang with the family, probably watch part 1 of the latest Harry Potter movie that my sister got for Easter, stretch and try to not eat any more sugar...

Have a fantastic Easter!

A return on sweating

2011-04-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

Running, actually all sports in the trifecta that is triathlon, are a lot like business. When hard work is put into a something and its giving you something back, you're getting a return on your investment or sweating, in this case. Hard work will eventually pay you back with a little something we all love: speed.

Friday's are supposed to be my tempo runs, but lately by Friday, my body is pooped from the week's workouts that frankly it just wants to sit and drink an IPA. But today was too gorgeous to NOT run.

View from my 4 o'clock meeting at work. I was itching to get outside!

Being that my legs were tired, I just said to myself, "run by feeling, not by pace and enjoy the sun and scenery." So I ran...down the Burke-Gilman toward UW. I barely checked my Garmin except when it dinged on the mile. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that I was running 8:30-8:45 miles when my legs felt so heavy and sore. Am I getting something in return from my near-puke track workouts?! No, I couldn't - I've only done three.

I don't know what caused this speedy 4 miler done in 34:xx, but I'll take it. In fact, I'll take seconds next Friday.

Same goes for the pool. I had a 52 minute swim this morning and it FLEW by. I swam 2450 yards with lots of 200's followed by 50 kick. I also did fist swimming and catchup drills <---FUN! But my point being, last month I could barely break 1200 yards in the pool in a given workout and now I can swim for days, well, not really, but I can feel the benefits of getting my sleepy butt in the pool at 6am 3 days a week.

Hard work, it pays!

Sammy aka samsonite, sammy wammy, sammykins, wanted to blog too.

Happiness is the journey

2011-04-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Lately I have had this feeling of waiting. Waiting for something to happen to make me happy or happier. Maybe it's waiting to actually move to Seattle or waiting to PR on my next race or waiting till something big happens at work. I can't pinpoint what I'm waiting for, but one thing you need to know about me is that I hate waiting.

I'm reasonably patient for how much I hate to wait, but when I'm waiting for something to make me happier, I'm pretty dang impatient.

I was browsing a greeting card store for a Birthday card this past weekend when I stumbled upon a card with a quote that I had seen many times. It read:

"For a long time it seems to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. Happiness is a journey, not a destination." - Souza

I really needed this reminder. I need to enjoy and cherish the journey from now until moving, now until my next race, now until something big happens at work, etc. Be happy today, don't wait to be happy until tomorrow.

This really resonates with my training as of late. I have been discouraged by my speed, or lack there of. I know it will come with hard work and time, but I can't wait until I'm swim/bike/running my goal pace. There's that waiting again... Yes, all my workouts will bundle up into one big goal that will eventually be reached, but that shouldn't stop me from loving and totally enjoying the track workout I did last night or the long ass swim I did this morning or the yoga class I'll do later.

So that's what I plan to work on. I will consciously enjoy this training journey that I'm on and live in the moment with each workout. I'll be happy for today and today's workout and it'll be a super bonus when I all my hard work pays off to reach that big goal.

Does anyone else feel this way sometimes?

Hips and Butt of Steel

2011-04-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not of steel, but definitely stronger. Ever since the Lake Samammish Half Marathon Half Marathon hip pain incident, I've been doing a medley of hip exercises and although I have linked to a professional video of these exercises before, I thought it would be fun to show a video of me doing some of the exercises.

I like these moves because they work the whole hip/butt region and who doesn't like a firm tush?! I've been doing these exercises a couple times a week and haven't felt any hip pain since the race. They also serve as a good warm ups before a run. The real test of my hip/butt strength will be running on a gravel surface similar to the race course. So, enjoy!

Hip Exercises for Runners part 1 from Megan Fay on Vimeo.

Hip Exercises for Runners part 2 from Megan Fay on Vimeo.

Catch up

2011-04-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged since last Saturday?! This week has really gotten away from me, so here are some catch up bullets, because we all know bullets are fun!

Last Sunday I ran the Seahawks 12k. Not much to report except I did it in 1:07:24 and I enjoyed the hills that the course had to offer. Unfortunately, my race photos suck to the extreme, so I'm not letting anyone see them. Sorry!
This week has felt particularly weird because I took Monday and Tuesday off for my Grandma's funeral. I still made working out a priority because with all the emotions and the amount of food my family had for this I ate on the heavy side those two days.
Speaking of fitting in workouts, I'm still going strong on following my Lake Padden training plan. I'm so proud of myself, especially getting in the pool 3 days a week. All of a sudden I'm enjoying the long swims and getting up at o'dark thirty to swim is getting easier.
I did another track workout on Tuesday with 10x400m @ 1:50 and I wasn't even sore the next day unlike the week prior. Progress? Next week I'm thinking either 12x400 or 6x800. Must. Get. Faster. Gotta keep dreaming that one day I'll keep up with those Oiselle girls!

I hope you've had a sweaty week! I'll be back sooner than later with some videos. :)

A few things Saturday

2011-04-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hi! Happy weekend! I had started a 3 thing Thursday post, but never finished it, so here are some "things" on a Saturday...

1. This week's training has been Tough, with a capital T. I officially started my training for the Lake Padden Triathlon which is on June 26th and can tell that this training is going to whip my butt into shape. The soreness from Tuesday's 400m repeats lingered the rest of the week, but I still continued with my other swim, bike and run workouts. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I've been scheduling my workouts on a Google Calendar and it is totally working for me. It is so satisfying looking at it and "checking" off a workout.

2. I went to Mariner's opening night last night...I love going to baseball games even if the M's loose, but it was really bad last night. The Indians scored TEN runs, yes ten, in ONE inning. It was pathetic. We hit up the Pyramid beer garden before and made it into Safeco for the Dave Neihaus tribute before the game starts. I know I'll go to more M's games because the experience is fun, but common M's! You can do better than that!

3. As of yesterday, I have already swam more in April than I did in all of March. Holler! This week I did 3 swims and they all kicked my butt. My training schedule has time for swims, not distance, so I've been swimming for time. And I'm totally not cheating either. I start the timer on my watch when I'm swimming and stop it when I'm resting. Yesterday I swam a hecka long swim (48 minutes) - 2150 yards! I did a nice build up or sorts with 50 yard kick between. Do I dare say that I'm loving swimming again?!

Hope you have a great, sweaty weekend - I'm off for a ride!

400 meter repeats hurt

2011-04-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

As I finished my final hard lap of my 400 meter repeats, I finally got that feeling of wanting to puke. I thought, "So that's what it feels like to run so hard you want to puke!"

I did my first official track workout tonight! I want to focus on getting speedier and track workouts will help me do so. I went out planning to do 12 - 400 meter repeats on 1:50-1:55. Really I just wanted to see how bad it was going to hurt then gauge my workout from there. I chose these times based on some info from Alma and using the McMillian Running Calculator based off a 1:59 half marathon finish.

Here's what my workout looked like:

Lap 1: 2:15 (warm up)
Lap 2: 2:14 (warm up)
Lap 3: 1:46 (whoa, that was fast! 7:02 pace)
Lap 4: 1:50 (more on target. 7:11 pace)
Lap 5: 1:51
Lap 6: 1:53
Lap 7: 1:52 (getting tired)
Lap 8: 1:52 (ouchie)
Lap 9: 2:14 (cool down lap. deciding whether or not I want to do more hard laps)
Lap 10: 2:12 (sill contemplating more hard laps)
Lap 11: 1:52 (back at it, the puke feeling is coming on at the end of that lap)
Lap 12: 1:56 (obviously getting tired)
Lap 13: 2:18 (cool down)
Lap 14: 2:13 (cool down)

8 hard laps?! I'll take it, being it's my first track workout. I did rest between each lap until I could gather my breathing again. Is rest supposed to be taken between sets?

Doing this workout completes 3 straight days of actually following my Lake Padden Triathlon training plan. I am putting all my workouts into a Google calendar and it's really helping me balance training and non-training activities.

What helps you stick to a training plan? For me it's the Google Calendar and telling myself I can't buy an americano if I don't get in the pool.

Exploring new trails

2011-04-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get burnt out on your running/biking routes? I do. I get so tired and bored looking at the same things over and over again, day in and day out. So I was super stoked that I found not one, but TWO new trails that are great for running and biking.

I met up with some fellow bloggers at the Cedar River Trail in Renton for a 7 miler. It was the first time I had met these lovely ladies face-to-face! I love internet friends. :)

Chelsea, Kerrie, Me, and Jill

Apparently this trail is 20 miles long and it is nicely paved the whole way. And it is pretty flat, which has it's pros and cons (no hill training), but I could definitely see myself coming back to this trail (it's close to my parent's house) for more training.

I then headed up to Redmond to meet Team Sweat (Rebecca) for a bike ride. We explored the Samammish River Trail that heads into Woodinville and eventually connects with the Burke-Gilman. We did 21 miles. This trail was very similar to the Cedar River one, but wasn't right next to the road. It was a lot more populated with runners, bikers and roller bladers (Who roller blades still?!). The great thing about this trail is that I could, if I was feeling up to it, ride my bike from my work to Rebecca's house - ride the entire length of the Burke Gilman, then hop on the Samammish River Trail. Genius!

These were two fairly easy workouts, but I do feel a little soreness. It was very refreshing getting to exercise in new places. So happy I got a sweaty weekend in! Did you?

Quick March Recap

2011-04-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

I am so tired of not reaching goals. Sick and tired of it. I did not reach March's goal to improve my mileage in all three areas of triathlon. I went 2 for 3. The swimming suffered this month - I just lost all motivation to get in the pool. Ugh!

Swim: 5,750 yards
Bike: 157.5 miles (3 outdoor rides, the rest on the trainer)
Run: 93 miles (this mileage I'm happy with!)

I officially start training for the Lake Padden Triathlon this week, so biking and swimming mileage will increase. If anything, I want to stick to the swims in my training plan because 5,750 yards in a month is pathetic. I just find it really hard to get in the pool at 6-7am, it's the last place my body wants to go at that hour of the day, yet it's the most convenient time for me to swim. Any ideas to get motivated?

I started off this month on the right foot with a 1,000 yard swim. I did some 100s, 150s, kicking drills and come "catch up" stroke drills. So here's to Megan getting her butt in the pool (raising my ~~beer~~ big glass of water).

3 Things Thursday - yoga, iPads, pictures

2011-03-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

1. I took a yoga class for the first time since college last night. I'm not against yoga, I am just usually looking for a sweatier form of exercise than what most yoga classes offer. This class was fast moving and we only held some poses for longer, so I was definitely feeling worked at some points. It was a nice change of and felt good to stretch my body out after the half marathon. I am sore today, especially in my shoulders. Surprisingly, I felt SO relaxed at the very end when we were all laying on our backs - I never thought I could get that out of yoga...

2. Today I bought an iPad. It was a impulse buy, but I think I'm going to love it. I had to wait in line at the Apple store for 1.5 hours to buy one for the Marketing team at work and I figured I should buy one for myself and if I absolutely hate it (yea, right!) I can return it within two weeks. I am one of "them" now.

3. Here are a few pics from last weekend's half marathon.

#134

Alma, me, Carla

Alma and Me

Anonymous Link

2011-03-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

Oh my. You all are So SO kind and caring. Thank you very much for all the comments about my Grandma - I truly appreciate each and every one of them. And hello to new followers of the Daily Sweat! Welcome!

I woke up to a sore body on Sunday even after "Sticking" and icing. The soreness was pretty isolated to my hips where I felt the pain during the race. I wanted to do something chill to just get things moving, so my boyfriend and I rode bikes 3 miles to breakfast and 3 miles back. After that I was feeling good, so I hopped on the trainer for an hour then went for a 2 mile run. All the bike riding felt really good, but by the time I was done running 2 miles, my hips were starting to hurt again. Ugh.

An anonymous commenter left this link in my comments to a great hip-strengthening routine - the Myrtle Routine. Thank you, whoever you are! I tried some of the moves out over the weekend and they felt so good on my achy hips. These are moves are easy to do anywhere, even at work where I sit all day, so I know they are something that I'll stick with.

I did the hip exercises yesterday morning before a 3 mile jog and my hips didn't hurt at all. Yahoo! I'll post more on these exercises and some self-made videos too soon.

Again, thank you all for being so awesome!

A day of losses

2011-03-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

I lost two things today. One, the race against myself to get a sub 2 hour 21k (half marathon) and two, I lost my Grandma.

The latter has been something that I knew was going to happen soon, but still, the news that she actually past this morning wasn't easy to take. Ever since my Grandma's health took a turn down hill, I started thinking a lot about life and the deep question, what is the meaning of life if we just die in the end? Living 88 1/2 years, like my Grandma did, is substantial, but still just this small sliver of history. Each one of us only has that small piece of time to take advantage of and stuff all the meaning we can into it, so when it is our time to join God, we are content and happy with the life that we lived.

My Grandma was a wonderful, sweet, glamorous, witty, beautiful woman and lived a long and loving life. I know that she was happy with her life, the family that her and my Grandpa had created. I will miss her dearly.

My Grandma loved a man in uniform. :)

So I thought a lot about my life during today's race and what I need to do to add the most meaning into my life. I also thought a lot about how much my hips hurt...

Onto the race...

The first 5 miles of the race were uneventful. I was running with the speedster, Alma and keeping the 9 min pace I wanted. Come mile 5 and my hip flexors started aching. Bad. They ached for the next 8.1 miles too. Great. I've never felt this pain in the outside of my hips before and it was slowing me down enough to make a new goal, mid-race, of just beating my previous PR of 2:05 and ditching my sub 2 hours.

I finished 2:02:47 which is a 9:24 pace. Hey, it's still a PR! Now, my body hurts and I need to figure out what the heck is up with those hip flexors. I'm thinking they need to be strengthened with some running drills. Alma also promoted the greatness of sticking to speed workouts and tempo runs religiously. She said I could see A LOT of improvement in my speed if I actually stick to a plan. Imagine that, sticking to a plan = seeing results, who would have known?! Not me cause I can't seem to stick to any kind of plan... Working on that...

Overall the race was great although I had sad lingering thoughts throughout the event, but I got to meet Alma and Carla from Women Runners of King County. I'm hoping for more runs with these ladies very soon.

Alma and Me before the race

Waiting for some other pics...will post as soon as I get them. I spent the rest of the day resting, remembering the great times with my Grandma, eating and icing.

Thanks for reading.

Going fast and taking chances

2011-03-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

As you read this, I'm keeping a 9:00/mile pace, running with some blog friends, listening to a killer playlist and finishing the Lake Samammish 21k (half marathon) in under 2 hours. I. Will. Do. It.

All day Friday, I couldn't focus. Probably because I took TWO rest days (Thursday and Friday) and I need exercise to focus. But also because I was pumped to run today and reach this big goal of mine. I'm laying it all out there on the course, I have nothing to hold back. Or as a great running company would say: Go Fast, Take Chances.

I'm thinking about all of you (blog friends) right now as I run, thanks for all your support!

Three Things Thursday

2011-03-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't participated in Three Things Thursday in ages...

1. I recently saw in the blog/twitter world a reference of a half marathon as a 21k. I loved it! Yes, a half marathon is technically half of a marathon, but I don't think it should be considered half of anything. To me, it is a FULL freakin' race! Therefore, I propose we start a new trend: start calling the half marathon a 21k. (Technically 13.1 miles = 21.08K, but who wants to say that?!)

2. I'm finalizing my playlist for my 21k and need a few more "pump-me-up" songs. Any suggestions?

3. Since I am no longer going to do the Onion Man Triathlon over Memorial Day, I need a race or two for April and May. Washington runners/bikers - any ideas?

Taper time

2011-03-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Lake Samammish Half Marathon is on Saturday, so it makes this week my taper week. In the past, I haven't been real awesome at tapering, so I'm experimenting on what a real taper can do for me.

A half marathon doesn't require a really long taper, in fact, I'm sure there are many people that don't taper, but it all depends on your personal needs. I know that for me, I need to drastically scale down my running and probably not bike to ensure that my legs are fresh and rearing to RUN on Saturday.

So here's my plan:

Sunday: Bike ride, 18 miles
Monday: Run 3.2 miles
Tuesday: Swim 800 yards, walk 2.5 miles
Wednesday: Swim, Run 3 miles, core/upper body weight work
Thursday: Swim, Walk
Friday: Off
Saturday: RACE!

This week compared to the past few weeks is CAKE. But it also means I need to watch what I eat because I'm clearly not burning the calories as I have been. This is the biggest challenge for me. I really rely on my workouts to offset my eating. I eat healthy, but I eat a lot. Jason wrote a great post on tapering.

How do you taper?

Doubting and aerobars

2011-03-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

It is one week until the Lake Samammish Half Marathon and I have a semi-lofty goal of sub-2 hours. This means knocking 5 minutes off my PR, which is 30 seconds faster per mile. This would seem reasonable if I had stuck to my training plan and actually completed speed workouts and more long runs, but I didn't. So with one week to go, I am doubting myself.

Today I ran 7 miles at a 9 minute pace, which should be my race pace to reach my goal, but by the time I finished those 7 miles, my legs were toast. How the heck am I going to keep that pace for 6.1 more miles?!


Can you see the sweat?! It was WARM and SUNNY today!

Wore my sweet Oiselle knickers. SO comfy and cute!

I think we got up to 54 degrees - that's warm for us. :)

I'm not one to beat myself up over a un-achieved time in a race, so I'll just go out there next Saturday, give 'er my all and see what happens. I'm just praying that my stomach doesn't decide to lash out irrationally at me mid-race, because that's what usually kills me and my time.

In other news, REI dividends are out and since I'm have a spending problem at REI and I have one of their credit cards, my dividend was very, very nice. So I purchased some clip on aero bars!

I was debating on getting a tri bike this year, but with it only being my second year doing triathlons, I thought I should wait, see what I want in a tri bike and ride A LOT of bikes before I hand over my life savings. Clip on aero bars have a great dollar:speed gained ratio. Meaning, you can gain a lot of speed for a little amount of dolla bills.

I threw them on my bike. They make my bike look sexy for it's league, I'm not gonna lie. It's not in the league of bike porn (which I've heard and seen a lot of in the blog world), but it's pretty hot hot hot.

I am in a need of a professional fitting though, because I know they are on wrong and I want to be positioned absolutely perfectly to get optimal performance and avoid injury. Anyone know a lot about bike fitting and aerobars? Do you have clip on bars or did you just go big and get a tri bike?

I don't normally post my weekly mileage, but since I haven't been posting about all my workouts, I thought I would start. No comment please on my swimming...

Swim: 800yards, 20m
Bike: 40miles, 2h 28m
Run: 24.5 miles, 3h 42m
Weekly hours sweating: 6h 28m plus 2 weight sessions

STP

2011-03-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

What do I do on St. Patrick's Day while drinking a beer, listening to firefighters in kilts play bagpipes and getting a plastic beaded shamrock necklace put around my neck? I get convinced to do the Seattle to Portland bike ride again.

It's official, I'm registered. Oh boy, here we go again.

If you haven't read about my experience riding STP from last year, you can check it out here. Basically it hurt, a lot. And when I was done I said I'd never do it again.

Never say never, my friends. Never say never.

Rebecca (Team Sweat unite!) and I are teaming up to do it again with another one of our friends and will do the ride over two days. I think I'm still in shock about this decision I made. I can't blame it on the alcohol, because I only had one beer, so I guess I really do want to do this ride again. I need to prove that I can ride 200 miles in two days and actually have a lot of fun instead of being in pain the majority of the time.

So I guess I should start upping my bike mileage. I am not however going to go as gung ho for training like I did last year. I figure if some dudes in flip flops riding Fat Tire cruiser bikes can do it with hardly no training, so can I on my road bike. I'm pretty sure my pain came from improper bike fitting, so I'll get that addressed soon.

Ok, now I'm excited.

Runnin 'O the Green - 5 Miler

2011-03-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hi! Yesterday was my first race of the year. Very exciting. Although I woke up to POURING rain, and hesitated about running in a down pour for a hot second, I still had a great time at this local event.

Wet

Am I really about to run in the rain?

I ran this race last year with a time of 49:49. Yikes. I hadn't made running my priority over the winter, so my time definitely showed. But this year is a new story. I've kept my running up and it paid off.

The race is ran though scenic trails of Whatcom Falls park, which I rarely run, so the change of scenery is nice. I'm always reminded when I do run there how much I love it and that I should go back soon. The course has a lot of ups and downs and one long, gradual up that had my lungs burning at the end.

I paced off of a guy going about 8:30-8:45 and we leap frogged though the ENTIRE course. I wonder if I was annoying him? I wasn't annoyed, I liked his pace. That's a compliment, right?

The rain actually didn't bother me at all, it was the puddles. HUGE puddles on the trails. And mud. I had avoided them until the last .15 miles of the course when I tried to avoid it, but ended up running into another puddle that fully submerged my foot. Awesome. At least I was done and my boot dryers were ready to dry out my shoes at home.

My time was 41:00 flat, according to my Garmin. Whoa, I thought, that's really good for me. But then I looked at the distance. 4.66 miles?! It wasn't a full 5 miles?! Is my Garmin not calibrated correctly? Or is the race really that short? I think I'm going to email the race director and look into it...

Overall, it was a fun first event. But my first BIG event is coming up in a couple weeks - Lake Samammish Half Marathon!

Did you race this weekend?

Moving, again, kinda

2011-03-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

So the adventures of traveling Megan have yet to settle down. Since I started my job in Seattle in November, I have been staying with my sister and brother-in-law in Mill Creek during the week, then going to Bellingham on the weekends. I have a lease on a house in Bellingham until October, so while I try to find a subletter, I'm trying to find free places to stay near Seattle.

My sister and brother-in-law have been SO great letting me stay and invade their family space for almost 4 months - THANK YOU! But I'd like to give them a break from me, so I'm moving to Kirkland this weekend to take care of my Grandma's house while she is at another residence. Living in Kirkland will take 16 miles off my commute AND if I want, I can bike into work a get a nice 40 mile round trip ride in each day! I'll probably wait until it gets lighter in the mornings to do that.

Another bonus about living in Kirkland is that it's right next to Redmond, which is deemed the bicycling capital of the Northwest AND the other half of Team Sweat (Rebecca) lives there, so we can bike our little hearts out.

For all you locals, no I'm not worried about the 520 toll starting in the Spring. My work may be reimbursing my expenses when I do drive...yay!

I Embody the Healthy Love of the Run, Oiselle Sponsorship!

2011-03-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hi! Happy weekend! It is absolutely GORGEOUS in Seattle today and it just makes my Spring fever that much worse. I took advantage of the sun and went for my long run today. I was supposed to do 10, but settled for 9 and was happy with that. 3 weeks until half marathon time.

Happy with this time. I did have a couple un-timed stops to stretch my dang IT band

I wore my new Oiselle gear on the run today and it was perfect for the conditions. I would have been a tad chilly without the arm warmers, but with them I was very comfortable. Plus people with arm warmers look that much cooler that people without. Duh.


photo shoot with the mirror!

Speaking of Oiselle, my exciting news that I mentioned in my last post is that I am now an Oiselle sponsored runner! I am SO excited about this! I get to sport their rad gear while training and racing and get the privilege of being an ambassador to their brand. Spread the Oiselle love!

I know and they know that I'm not the fastest athlete and chances are, I probably won't win any races, but according to Oiselle, I "embody the healthy love of the run. You go fast, you take chances. You train hard and love a challenge. You are a strong woman inspiring those around you." Wow, what a compliment! Thank you Oiselle.

The rest of my weekend consists of catching up on some light reading:

And my nephew's 3rd birthday party. What are you up to this weekend?

February recap

2011-03-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

My goal for the month of February was to do 5 outdoor rides. I did not do one. Goal fail. Just too cold here in Washington.

As for mileage I am okay with my numbers. I biked more, ran a bit less and swam more than January. Slowly building things up, up, up.

Swim: 10,600 yards

Bike: 119.75 miles

Run: 71.45 miles

Thanks for all your comments on how many hours you work out a week. I realized that my training is probably just fine for what I'm training for - an Olympic distance triathlon at the end of May. I often read blogs of people training for 70.3 and 140.6 and their massive amounts of training, and feel lazy. But putting my training and their training into perspective, I'm doing the right amount for ME.

I see March's mileage greater than the numbers above, but decided that I don't have a goal for March. Lent starts on the 8th, so I'll be focusing on giving something up for 40 days until Easter.

I have some really exciting news to come soon, can't wait to share it with you!

How many hours do you workout a week?

2011-02-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

I have spring fever. I am dreaming of the days I can bike ride OUTSIDE with fingerless gloves, short shorts and a tank top and still sweat. I'm longing for a run with my sunglasses on and sunscreen is required. But looking at the forecast, that day is not coming any time soon.

Source: Komo 4 News

With President's day last Monday, my whole week felt a little out of whack, plus I think my body was retaliating over my active weekend last weekend, so this past week felt sub-par.

I was able to get in some great running mileage (26 miles), but swim (740 yards?!) and bike (29 miles) suffered. I got in 2 good weight sessions and 1 core workout.

I feel revved and ready to conquer this week's workouts and start March on a strong note. I have one question for you triathletes: how many hours to do average per week working out? I'm currently averaging about 5-6 hours and would like that to be more around 7. What do you think?

Run club sponsored by Oiselle

2011-02-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

Forecasts were calling for snow yesterday and I swear every place besides Seattle got snow. I was playing with the the thought of going to the Wednesday night run group I've been going to because of the possibility of snow, but I decided to go regardless of the weather. Running just sounded good even though I had already logged 4 miles in the AM.

It started to snow just as we started to run. Lovely.

Actually the run was great. There was a few girls that kept a faster pace and I actually had to push myself a bit to keep up on a hill. Felt good to find that motivation to MOVE and CHASE.

I'm glad I did end up going because the lovely Sarah brought us all goodies from Oiselle Running because they sponsored the run that night. How sweet is that? Oiselle, pronounced Wazelle, is a local running clothing company that has a fantastic slogan:

"Oiselle was founded on the basic premise that running is more than a sport. It is a life philosophy that has the power to strengthen us—not just as athletes, but as people, teammates, leaders, and women."

And they make the cutest stuff. I snagged two pieces:

Stripey Tank

I also got some sweet black arm warmers. (photo to come later)

They just came out with their spring 2011 collection and I love it all. Their Fall 2011 collection also looks really promising of me buying more running clothes than I need. Why not wear some functional yet stylish running threads while cruising on your favorite run?

The trainer won again

2011-02-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

I wanted SO bad to ride my bike outside today. SO bad. I woke up, ate a honkin bowl of oats, dressed for biking, and set out on my merry way.

I was home within 20 minutes because I was frozen and it hurt to move my hands. Lame.

I thought I could get past the frozen hands by working harder, peddling harder, but my hands were perma-numb and hurt like a mother. 5 miles in and I was done. I was so disappointed. I AM disappointed. My goal this month was to get 5 outside rides in and I have yet to log one. Ugh. I guess I have to realized that it is February and it is still winter-like weather outside (40ish degrees).

So I went on a walk with a friend on the same trail I ran on yesterday, we covered probably 3 miles then got on my trainer for a 45 minute spin. It was better than no bike ride, but I would have rather been outside. It made me realize I am jealous of all you southern state livers.... After my trainer ride I did some core and dumbbell work and called it a day.

It is now 8:35 and I'm probably going to go to bed in the next 15 minutes. I live an exciting life...

City of Bellingham, I'm Thirsty

2011-02-20T17:23:00.000-08:00

I said it was going to hurt, but it wasn't that bad.

I ran my 10 miler today with a little bit of soreness from yesterday, but it was pretty bearable. Actually, the sorest part of my body from my snow adventures yesterday are my arms, not legs. This means I'm probably not skinning in proper form (using my arms too much rather than my core), but that is for a later conversation.

The weather is beautiful again here in the PNW which made for awesome running weather. I set out on a route I haven't ran in awhile that took me down by a popular park in Bellingham that is right on the water, the onto the interurban trail where I hit my turnaround point. I ran this route a lot last summer when training for the Bellingham Bay half because it has 4 water fountains along the way, so no need to carry water. But I discovered today that each and everyone of those fountains are turned off for the winter.

Thanks City of Bellingham. The runners of Bellingham are going thirsty this winter!

So at mile 8ish, I ran into the Food Co-op and quickly bought a Larabar and gulped down some much needed H2O. The last couple miles dragged because I was still thirsty. All I could think about was a tall glass of water or Cytomax - seriously dehydrated.


Bellingham Bay (took these photos later in the day after my run)


Saw this and laughed. Probably from a running group. I listened to the demand, and ran home.


A nice boardwalk in Bellingham. It's nice to run, but on a busy Saturday it's a lot of dodging people.

Water fountains at that bathroom were not turned on either.

Before the run I rode my road bike downtown to meet up with Lelia for coffee. Although it was a 2 mile round trip ride, it was the first time my road bike has been outside this season. It felt SO good to be not on the trainer. Wind in my hair, coasting down hills...ah, love it! I'm definitely getting on it tomorrow for a chill ride around town.

tomorrow may hurt

2011-02-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

According to my half-mary plan, I was supposed to run 10 whopping miles. But I decided to go with the trend of the past couple weeks and do my long run on Sunday instead. So what did I do today? Played in the snow!

My great and awesome friend Kirsten went up to Mt. Baker and ran around (skinned on our splitboards) for 5 hours. In those 5 hours we only made 3 runs, but we got a ton of sweaty exercise amongst bluebird skies and sunny weather. Glorious! I even got some color on my face from the sun!

As I sit here typing this, my entire body is exhausted. I'm afraid for what 10 miles is going to feel like tomorrow.

Do you ever do something the day before a big workout that ends up effecting the workout negatively? Yes, I think the run will be sluggish, but I had SO much fun today and I would never take that back, ever. :)

p.s. I totally meant to take photos, but I forgot my SD card in my computer at home. Lame.

I'm so sorry

2011-02-18T20:58:00.000-08:00

So last weekend, I put a call out for Washington runners because I wanted to put together a team for the Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage. I got a handful of responses (thank you!) and started to get really excited.

But then my friend reminded me that we are going to do a duathlon in July which I thought was the weekend AFTER Ragnar. Well this year it is the same day as Ragnar. So as lame as this is, I'm not going to pull together a team anymore. I feel like a super failure! I'm SO SO SORRY!

If there is still interest in the group I can coordinate putting people in touch so you can form your own team. :)

A darn good 9 miler

2011-02-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hey kids. I had a fantastic day today. My man-friend had a couple days off of fishing, so he came up to Bellingham to hang out. Made. My. Weekend. Plus, it's Valentine's day weekend, so we're having an early Valentines dinner tonight. :)

Since it was mega windy yesterday, I had to run my long run today. Man, I definitely made the right decision - the weather was perfecto today. I can't even believe that I'm about to say that I got a little hot on my run, believe it or not.


Don't get me wrong, I was struggling trying to find motivation for this run.

Yes, that is blue sky!

I made a promise to myself at the beginning of the run that I could only look at my Garmin when it beeped at each mile. I wanted to run this run based on how my body was feeling, not what my Garmin said and just go with the flow. With this mindset, the miles kept ticking by and before I knew it, I was headed home. I didn't stress about my pace, I just ran at a pace that felt good and that indeed made my run awesome.

9 miles in 1:21:50 - a 9:06 pace

Hells to the yes!

Timer photo

This run gave me hope for my sub 2-hour half marathon goal for the end of March. Yes!

Don't you love it when a training sesh is so ON?!

Now, I'm on to drink a little bit of this bad boy.

Call out for Washington Runners!

2011-02-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Hey! This is the year the I need to do the Ragnar Relay - Northwest Passage. I just decided. Right now. SO, I need 11 friends that like to run (I don't care how fast you are) to join me in a 187 mile overnight relay run from Blaine, WA to Langley, WA July 22-23. More on What is Ragnar here.

It's like a running sleep over!

It'll be you, me, plus 10 others awesome people, 2 vans and way too much fun. Who's in?

There is a cost, but can you really put a price to FUN AND RUNNING?! NO! It will come out to about $100 per person, but oh, so worth it.

Don't want to run, but want to be a part of the relay? Be a volunteer for our team! We'll also need 3 volunteers.

So comment on this post, or email me dailysweat [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested. Right now I have some people in mind that should be contacting me, or else I'm going to come get you - Rebecca R., Kirsten M., Diana Tri's, Abbey C. and Alissa R.

Spinervals - Sweating Buckets

2011-02-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

I got a Spinvervals DVD from P over at Adventures of an Average Athlete awhile ago and I had yet to try it out until today. I almost started to watch Despicable Me, but decided I would probably get a better sweat if I watched the DVD.

It is a 45 minute workout and it lives up to it's name "Sweating Buckets," I was dripping. The whole DVD is intervals (hense the name) - different speeds, different gears, different amounts of time. It was great! It's like spin class at home!

As I type this, my legs are feeling a little worked, but not super-duper sore - next time I'll push myself a little harder to really feel the burn.

I was supposed to run a 9-miler today but like Diana said, it's a freakishly windy day here in Western Washington - so I'm putting it off until tomorrow. I'd rather run in the rain then the wind.

Do you just spin on your trainer, or do you use a DVD like Spinervals?

The beginning - Oly training

2011-02-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

It has started. Official training for my first Olympic triathlon. It is 16 weeks away and that gives me ample time to train, train, train.

I am following BeginnerTriathlete.com's 16-week training plan to guide me through my training. Up until the end of March, I'll be running more than the plan requires for half marathon training, but other than that addition, I'll be sticking to this plan.

Funny thing is - the triathlon I want to do, The Onion Man Tri, is in Walla Walla, WA, which is over the mountains and through the woods aka a really long drive. I don't want to go by myself, so I'll only register and go if I can recruit either someone else to go and do the race with me or get my family to go. So we'll see if I actually sign up.

So here's to training and becoming a lean, mean, triathlon machine. Or least try to be one. ;)

Running on your lunch break

2011-02-03T21:26:00.000-08:00

Those drills I was talking about yesterday, well they made me super sore today. Especially my inner thighs. Ouchie. But it's progress! One day of soreness in the right direction.

Today I did something that I've been wanting to do for awhile. I ran on my lunch break. I have an hour to change, run, shower and make myself presentable, so I went into it with this plan:
- 5 minutes to change
- 30 minutes to run
- 25 minutes to shower and get ready

I ended up needing more than 5 minutes to change before the run, so I had less time after, but I was only gone from my desk for 1:05. Plus, you couldn't even tell I had just gotten my sweat on, bonus!

Although it was exciting that I ran on my lunch break, the run itself was blah. My legs were sore from those drills and I think my body was a bit surprised to be running in the middle of the day. I usually only run before 7am or after 5pm, never ever at noon.

I don't know how often lunch runs will happen because I usually need to get in more than just 30 minutes AND the majority of my lunch breaks are usually spent at my desk working. I guess you wouldn't call that a break, would you? But now I know, it can be done.

I drove up to Bellingham tonight to relieve my sister and her family of me for a night. :) I hopped on the trainer for 50 minutes while watching the 2nd disk of season 8 of 24. I think I've expressed my love toward Jack Bauer on this blog once or twice. :)


Hipstamatic pic of my Masi

Sweaty!