Yesterday I decided to do my second brick workout. I went with The Husband to the usual place we ride, which is outside our city natatorium. He was going to do some swimming drills, so I decided I'd run a mile or so while he did that.
I took off at my usual pace, and felt pretty good. The sun was beating down on me a little, but it didn't feel too bad. I ran longer than my usual interval, and everything was feeling pretty good. I returned to the parking lot, dripping sweat and really, REALLY hot. I pulled out my phone to check the weather and saw that it was 95*, with a heat index of 98*. HOT.
I stood around waiting for The Husband to come out of the natatorium so we could ride our bikes. Another friend was joining us, and once she and Tyler were there we started getting ready to go. I put on my helmet, and within a minute or so I started feeling lightheaded and dizzy. I gulped down some Nuun (Tropical flavor, which was new to me!) and tried to cool off.
After a few minutes I decided to sit down and removed my helmet. We decided to skip the ride since I wasn't feeling too steady, and we went home. I felt bad for making The Husband miss his scheduled ride, but it was definitely for the best. We will try to make up for it this afternoon, but we're under a severe thunderstorm warning right now, so that may not happen.
Lesson learned - even if a run feels good, it takes some time to get reacquainted with hot-weather running!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Last "long run"
Saturday I did my last "long" run before the San Diego Rock N Roll half this coming Sunday, June 3. I was on my own for the first half of my workout, as The Husband decided to do a longer trail run instead. I did pretty well keeping my normal pace and intervals going (my Garmin 110 doesn't have the built-in interval timer, so I look at my watch A LOT when not running with The Husband, who has our intervals set on his 305).
I spent the second half of my 5 miler walking with a teammate, who will also be my room mate in San Diego. I noticed afterward that my back was pretty stiff, and the bottom of my two smallest toes on the right foot were a bit sore, but not blistered. I noticed these ailments following the Cowtown half in February as well, and I think it has to do with walking more than running during a workout. Strange!
This week I'm just hoping to get in 2 short runs, probably 2 and 3 miles. I also want to ride my bike, but we'll see about that. I've decided to nix the weight lifting routine until after I return from my race, because I want my legs (and the rest of me!) to be fresh and not experience lingering soreness during my travels and race.
I spent the second half of my 5 miler walking with a teammate, who will also be my room mate in San Diego. I noticed afterward that my back was pretty stiff, and the bottom of my two smallest toes on the right foot were a bit sore, but not blistered. I noticed these ailments following the Cowtown half in February as well, and I think it has to do with walking more than running during a workout. Strange!
This week I'm just hoping to get in 2 short runs, probably 2 and 3 miles. I also want to ride my bike, but we'll see about that. I've decided to nix the weight lifting routine until after I return from my race, because I want my legs (and the rest of me!) to be fresh and not experience lingering soreness during my travels and race.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Mid-week update
So, Saturday we did a 6 mile "long" run. I'm tapering for San Diego (June 3!), so I'm not too worried about mileage at this point. It was a pretty good run, nothing special.
Monday The Husband and I went for our second trail run. This time we did 3 miles around dusk (it was just getting dark as we finished up). It was a pretty good run, except it was pretty warm and the humidity increased throughout the time we were running. There were also some black buzzy insects that kept following us and buzzing really close to our ears, which is annoying. And, there is this flowering shrub/vine thing, apparently ubiquitous around these parts, that is in bloom and the smell is AWFUL. I'm sure someone would probably like it, but it's too strong and cloying, and it dries out my throat. I think I may be mildly allergic. :-/
The evil plant looks something like this:
And can be found lining the trails and sidewalks in many areas, often right alongside the much nicer smelling honeysuckle plants. The ones I'm seeing now aren't quite in full bloom like this, but they are already VERY fragrant.
As we were heading back to our car after the trail run we spotted a large snake. It was dark in color, about 3' long, and 3" in diameter at the largest part. Not sure what kind it was since it was getting dark (and, to be honest, I didn't want to get any closer!), but it was kind of creepy, haha.
Today I'm doing my first weight-lifting workout and then doing another brick. Hope I can still move tomorrow!
Monday The Husband and I went for our second trail run. This time we did 3 miles around dusk (it was just getting dark as we finished up). It was a pretty good run, except it was pretty warm and the humidity increased throughout the time we were running. There were also some black buzzy insects that kept following us and buzzing really close to our ears, which is annoying. And, there is this flowering shrub/vine thing, apparently ubiquitous around these parts, that is in bloom and the smell is AWFUL. I'm sure someone would probably like it, but it's too strong and cloying, and it dries out my throat. I think I may be mildly allergic. :-/
The evil plant looks something like this:
 |
| Abelia chinensis, courtesy of Kurt Stueber, under Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 3.0 |
As we were heading back to our car after the trail run we spotted a large snake. It was dark in color, about 3' long, and 3" in diameter at the largest part. Not sure what kind it was since it was getting dark (and, to be honest, I didn't want to get any closer!), but it was kind of creepy, haha.
Today I'm doing my first weight-lifting workout and then doing another brick. Hope I can still move tomorrow!
Friday, May 18, 2012
First Brick Workout!
Yesterday I completed my first-ever brick workout. I will be doing a lot of these until my duathlon in July to get used to the transition between running and biking and biking and running.
We did a bike/run brick around 6PM yesterday evening. First, we biked for 10ish miles. It was fairly uneventful, with a few good-sized hills thrown in for fun. We saw some goats, cows, and horses while on the bike, since the route we took is in a semi-rural area. At one point we turned on the wrong road, and as we were turning around, I was going a little too fast. I ended up slipping off the edge of the asphalt (no curbs in rural areas, remember!) and nearly sliding down the steep edge of the ditch (no shoulder on the road, either!) while still mounted on my bike. I managed to stop myself without falling down, but my pedal did scrape up (and subsequently bruised) the back of my right calf. But, all's well that ends well, right? :)
Once we returned to the car, we had to put our bikes back on the car, so there was a bit of a rest in between the biking and running, but that's OK. We ran about .75 miles, just so I could get a feel for what it's like. It wasn't as weird as I thought it would be, but my muscles and joints definitely felt very loose and jello-y. It was pretty warm compared to the temperatures I've been running in, so my heart rate was high and I had to walk more than usual, but it was OK.
All in all, I really enjoyed my first multisport workout experience, and I can't wait to do it again! Tomorrow I'm doing 6 or 7 miles with the team. I think we may go by the rec center tonight to sign up for memberships (The Husband gets a discount as a city employee), so hopefully I'll start lifting weights and taking classes, too!
We did a bike/run brick around 6PM yesterday evening. First, we biked for 10ish miles. It was fairly uneventful, with a few good-sized hills thrown in for fun. We saw some goats, cows, and horses while on the bike, since the route we took is in a semi-rural area. At one point we turned on the wrong road, and as we were turning around, I was going a little too fast. I ended up slipping off the edge of the asphalt (no curbs in rural areas, remember!) and nearly sliding down the steep edge of the ditch (no shoulder on the road, either!) while still mounted on my bike. I managed to stop myself without falling down, but my pedal did scrape up (and subsequently bruised) the back of my right calf. But, all's well that ends well, right? :)
Once we returned to the car, we had to put our bikes back on the car, so there was a bit of a rest in between the biking and running, but that's OK. We ran about .75 miles, just so I could get a feel for what it's like. It wasn't as weird as I thought it would be, but my muscles and joints definitely felt very loose and jello-y. It was pretty warm compared to the temperatures I've been running in, so my heart rate was high and I had to walk more than usual, but it was OK.
All in all, I really enjoyed my first multisport workout experience, and I can't wait to do it again! Tomorrow I'm doing 6 or 7 miles with the team. I think we may go by the rec center tonight to sign up for memberships (The Husband gets a discount as a city employee), so hopefully I'll start lifting weights and taking classes, too!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
I'm on fire!
I actually managed to get in a run on a Monday! This must be some kind of miracle, haha. I can very rarely motivate myself to get out and run on Mondays, for whatever reason, but The Husband wanted to go, so we went.
We planned to do 3 miles, but since we tried out a new route, it ended up being 2.75 instead, which is fine. I learned that drinking a latte/mocha before running is a bad idea - it caused some reflux/heartburn/discomfort which was no fun. It was also a bit humid which always makes me slower than usual.
Our pace was pretty slow for a short run, with 14:54/mi. But I got out and did it, and that's the important thing! :)
We planned to do 3 miles, but since we tried out a new route, it ended up being 2.75 instead, which is fine. I learned that drinking a latte/mocha before running is a bad idea - it caused some reflux/heartburn/discomfort which was no fun. It was also a bit humid which always makes me slower than usual.
Our pace was pretty slow for a short run, with 14:54/mi. But I got out and did it, and that's the important thing! :)
Monday, May 14, 2012
10 miles - DONE!
Finally, I got my ten-miler in. I went into the run knowing that I had to get the miles in no matter what happened. I made sure and ate something beforehand. I wore shorts I knew wouldn't ride up. I used Body Glide on my armpit where my sports bra likes to rub.
And, it went really well! We took a slightly different course than usual, which was kind of nice. Around mile 7 we got totally drenched by a sudden (though not unexpected) downpour, which left me squishing in my shoes for the last 3 miles. It was the perfect temperature for running in the rain, though, so it was kind of nice!
I didn't have any foot pain during my run, which was pretty exciting! I only took one longer-than-usual walk break, and stopped to walk for ~30 seconds a few times in the middle of a run interval, but that's pretty much par for the course when I do 10+ miles, so I'm OK with it. Our overall pace was about 14:45/mile, which is about 40 seconds slower per mile than my last few long runs.
I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll do OK in San Diego. I will probably be running alone (The Husband isn't coming, and I don't have another running partner on the team), which will be a first. I'm hoping I can stay motivated and pace myself OK! I should probably have practiced running alone more, though.
I'm planning on doing a couple of short runs this week, and then probably do 8 or so on Saturday. :)
And, it went really well! We took a slightly different course than usual, which was kind of nice. Around mile 7 we got totally drenched by a sudden (though not unexpected) downpour, which left me squishing in my shoes for the last 3 miles. It was the perfect temperature for running in the rain, though, so it was kind of nice!
I didn't have any foot pain during my run, which was pretty exciting! I only took one longer-than-usual walk break, and stopped to walk for ~30 seconds a few times in the middle of a run interval, but that's pretty much par for the course when I do 10+ miles, so I'm OK with it. Our overall pace was about 14:45/mile, which is about 40 seconds slower per mile than my last few long runs.
I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll do OK in San Diego. I will probably be running alone (The Husband isn't coming, and I don't have another running partner on the team), which will be a first. I'm hoping I can stay motivated and pace myself OK! I should probably have practiced running alone more, though.
I'm planning on doing a couple of short runs this week, and then probably do 8 or so on Saturday. :)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Slacking Off
So that 10 mile run that was supposed to happen Saturday while we were out of town? Got pushed to Sunday morning, and then got skipped altogether. *sigh* Oh well, I still have time for 10 this weekend, and it absolutely must get done, since I need to taper (from what, I don't know, since my running has been practically non-existent lately!) after that for the race on June 3.
I did finally manage to go running yesterday morning, after a 1.5 week hiatus. I only did 2 miles, but it felt like quite the accomplishment because I actually dragged myself out of bed at 6AM to get it done. I had been having some hip discomfort on the left side, which happens when I've been inactive for a long period of time (usually this happens on the right side, though). That, coupled with the fact that I hadn't worn my orthotics since Friday morning made my run pretty mediocre, and my feet burned pretty badly for a while during the run. That'll teach me to ignore my PF, huh??
I'm planning to run 2-3 miles tonight, and then I have my 10 miles to do on Saturday morning. Luckily I'll be with my team, and the marathoners are doing 20 this weekend, so there'll be plenty of support. I'm also getting excited about my duathlon training, which will probably start next week. I'm planning to participate in my first duathlon on July 22, in celebration of my 26th birthday (July 21). It is a 2 mile run, 9.5 mile bike, 2 mile run. After that I'm also planning on a 15k in September and a half in October, so I'm really hoping to get back in the swing of regular training. Hopefully adding in some crosstraining and cycling will keep me motivated and injury-free!
I did finally manage to go running yesterday morning, after a 1.5 week hiatus. I only did 2 miles, but it felt like quite the accomplishment because I actually dragged myself out of bed at 6AM to get it done. I had been having some hip discomfort on the left side, which happens when I've been inactive for a long period of time (usually this happens on the right side, though). That, coupled with the fact that I hadn't worn my orthotics since Friday morning made my run pretty mediocre, and my feet burned pretty badly for a while during the run. That'll teach me to ignore my PF, huh??
I'm planning to run 2-3 miles tonight, and then I have my 10 miles to do on Saturday morning. Luckily I'll be with my team, and the marathoners are doing 20 this weekend, so there'll be plenty of support. I'm also getting excited about my duathlon training, which will probably start next week. I'm planning to participate in my first duathlon on July 22, in celebration of my 26th birthday (July 21). It is a 2 mile run, 9.5 mile bike, 2 mile run. After that I'm also planning on a 15k in September and a half in October, so I'm really hoping to get back in the swing of regular training. Hopefully adding in some crosstraining and cycling will keep me motivated and injury-free!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Prophesy Fulfilled
I *knew* my luck was running out with excellent long runs, and this Saturday's scheduled 10 miler proved that was true.
Firstly, I didn't fuel properly. Then, it was too humid, which made me have to stop and catch my breath, a LOT. Also, for some reason my new Asics fitted shorts were riding up, causing me to have to pull them out of my nether regions repeatedly, despite the fact that they didn't do that at all on my 8-miler a few weeks ago. Finally, the humidity was also causing sports bra chafage. All of this plus my already sub-par attitude at the beginning of the run lead to me cutting my run short at only 4 miles. I let The Husband continue on, since I didn't want to drag him down with me, and he got in almost 9 miles.
Sometimes I think we need runs like that to remind us that we're not invincible, and that not everything is going to go our way every time. I can appreciate running for that reminder, LOL.
I also volunteered as a Sonic car hop from 8:30AM-6PM on Sunday, so that sort of made up for my shorter workout on Saturday. I was so sore all over and TIRED by the time we were done. I ran some mini Fartleks during my shift, especially during the Happy Hour rush from 2-4PM. We earned a lot of money in tips to help fund cancer research, so I call it a job well-done!
I should probably go run a few miles tonight. Luckily the weather has been pretty great in the evenings this week, so that should be some motivation to get out there!
Firstly, I didn't fuel properly. Then, it was too humid, which made me have to stop and catch my breath, a LOT. Also, for some reason my new Asics fitted shorts were riding up, causing me to have to pull them out of my nether regions repeatedly, despite the fact that they didn't do that at all on my 8-miler a few weeks ago. Finally, the humidity was also causing sports bra chafage. All of this plus my already sub-par attitude at the beginning of the run lead to me cutting my run short at only 4 miles. I let The Husband continue on, since I didn't want to drag him down with me, and he got in almost 9 miles.
Sometimes I think we need runs like that to remind us that we're not invincible, and that not everything is going to go our way every time. I can appreciate running for that reminder, LOL.
I also volunteered as a Sonic car hop from 8:30AM-6PM on Sunday, so that sort of made up for my shorter workout on Saturday. I was so sore all over and TIRED by the time we were done. I ran some mini Fartleks during my shift, especially during the Happy Hour rush from 2-4PM. We earned a lot of money in tips to help fund cancer research, so I call it a job well-done!
I should probably go run a few miles tonight. Luckily the weather has been pretty great in the evenings this week, so that should be some motivation to get out there!
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