Seaotter Gravel
1 year ago
Monday, January 14, 2008
Here Goes...
Back to school tomorrow! I'll be pretty busy getting in the swing of things this week and preparing to leave for the Frost Yer Fanny duathlon in Austin this weekend. I'll post a race report on the du and then will be blogging a bunch about the training camp in Kona- we leave on the 25th!!! I'm soooo excited :)
Friday, January 11, 2008
Sweet Swim Surprise
Glad to say I'm over my cold :) It's good to get that out of the way before the season even starts and it makes me appreciate every opportunity to train all the more. Back on the trainer this morning which felt great and then I was really looking forward to swimming as it's so refreshing/relaxing a workout. However, I expected to be a little sloppy in the water after 3 days and being ill. To my surprise, I had one of the best swims ever! My 100s fast set I was swimming abnormaly faster than before. I can't explain why or how, but it was awesome.
Tomorrow I'm scheduled to do a 5k out at White Rock Lake...we'll see what my coach and I decide on this though as it's supposed to be cold race time and with my bronchials not 100% I'm not sure it's worth aggravating them. It's a bit of a bummer because I had been looking forward to this race all week as it's a pacing test for me to hit each mile as instructed.
Well, off to the bike shop!
Tomorrow I'm scheduled to do a 5k out at White Rock Lake...we'll see what my coach and I decide on this though as it's supposed to be cold race time and with my bronchials not 100% I'm not sure it's worth aggravating them. It's a bit of a bummer because I had been looking forward to this race all week as it's a pacing test for me to hit each mile as instructed.
Well, off to the bike shop!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Smart Decision
Over the course of a year and a half or so of training for triathlon, I've learned a lot. Some lessons have been free of cost such as simple advice from friends and coaches...others, however, have come with a big price and those are the ones that I'll probably never forget. One of the biggest is dealing with an injury or sickness.
Training for Ironman I started to develop pain in my right foot- from the calve to the arch. But, as many of us do, I ignored it and continued to train. Eventually I couldn't run without crying, got a brace, bought numerous over-the-counter-orthodics, and had to water run for about 2 weeks. Now I know to pay attention at the first signs of discomfort, ice, stretch, and wear enough support.
As for the illness, this I wouldn't even wish upon my worst enemy...
In mid-September just prior to heading out to San Diego for a knarly week of training before the taper to IM, I got food poisoning!! A friend and I went to an Italian restaurant and the Sea Bass became my living nightmare. On the car ride home I began to feel tipsy, and all I had to drink was water. Sure enough, I spent the whole night hugging the toilet, throwing up and feeling nasuea as I never before had experienced. I've had my share of eating a bad shrimp, etc but this was unreal, I felt like I wanted to die. The net morning, I had to go into work for aout an hour before heading to the airport. I looked pale green and tried to sip on ginger juice and eat applesauce, but nothing helped, I continuously got worse. I don't remember the drive to the airport, but once I parked, as the shuttle lady was loading my luggage I was throwing up next to my car. The airport and the airplane ride were living hell. I only hoped I would feel better in a day or so since the whole purpose of this trip was major training.
Long story short, it got BAD. The next morning I attempted a 30min swim and 2 hr bike ride with a transition run- STUPID STUPID!! I could only take in water and about 1/2 cup of it so I was dehydrated, weak from lack of food, dizzy, nasueaus, etc. This lasted the whole week and I had to go home early as I wasn't able to train and my Ironman race could really be sacrificed if I didn't get better soon. The straw that broke the camel's back was the 6 hour ride I attempted, only to last 4 hours and throw up every 30min.
When I returned to Dallas I spent 3 days on the couch trying to eat as much food as possible. I had done a 10min run and found that my legs were empty, they couldn't support me- it was horrible. After the time off and the fueling, I ran again and it was like my body had rebelled from taking the sudden 3 days off after all the previous' months training and the stress of the illness just prior, that my legs hurt so bad I had to stop and walk every minute or so.
So today, I had weights and a swim on the schedule. Yesterday I made the mistake of choosing to run out in the cold even though my cough/congestion wasn't better. But I looked back on last year's mistake and stopped myself from repeating it. I did weights this morning but chose to opt out of swimming. I'm sick. It's hard to admit and to see that long term this will have no effect on my season if I just step back and give my body the rest I need to get well. Hopefully by tomorrow I can do my workouts at a lower intensity, but I promised myself that if I feel like I did today, another day off will be necessary.
Training for Ironman I started to develop pain in my right foot- from the calve to the arch. But, as many of us do, I ignored it and continued to train. Eventually I couldn't run without crying, got a brace, bought numerous over-the-counter-orthodics, and had to water run for about 2 weeks. Now I know to pay attention at the first signs of discomfort, ice, stretch, and wear enough support.
As for the illness, this I wouldn't even wish upon my worst enemy...
In mid-September just prior to heading out to San Diego for a knarly week of training before the taper to IM, I got food poisoning!! A friend and I went to an Italian restaurant and the Sea Bass became my living nightmare. On the car ride home I began to feel tipsy, and all I had to drink was water. Sure enough, I spent the whole night hugging the toilet, throwing up and feeling nasuea as I never before had experienced. I've had my share of eating a bad shrimp, etc but this was unreal, I felt like I wanted to die. The net morning, I had to go into work for aout an hour before heading to the airport. I looked pale green and tried to sip on ginger juice and eat applesauce, but nothing helped, I continuously got worse. I don't remember the drive to the airport, but once I parked, as the shuttle lady was loading my luggage I was throwing up next to my car. The airport and the airplane ride were living hell. I only hoped I would feel better in a day or so since the whole purpose of this trip was major training.
Long story short, it got BAD. The next morning I attempted a 30min swim and 2 hr bike ride with a transition run- STUPID STUPID!! I could only take in water and about 1/2 cup of it so I was dehydrated, weak from lack of food, dizzy, nasueaus, etc. This lasted the whole week and I had to go home early as I wasn't able to train and my Ironman race could really be sacrificed if I didn't get better soon. The straw that broke the camel's back was the 6 hour ride I attempted, only to last 4 hours and throw up every 30min.
When I returned to Dallas I spent 3 days on the couch trying to eat as much food as possible. I had done a 10min run and found that my legs were empty, they couldn't support me- it was horrible. After the time off and the fueling, I ran again and it was like my body had rebelled from taking the sudden 3 days off after all the previous' months training and the stress of the illness just prior, that my legs hurt so bad I had to stop and walk every minute or so.
So today, I had weights and a swim on the schedule. Yesterday I made the mistake of choosing to run out in the cold even though my cough/congestion wasn't better. But I looked back on last year's mistake and stopped myself from repeating it. I did weights this morning but chose to opt out of swimming. I'm sick. It's hard to admit and to see that long term this will have no effect on my season if I just step back and give my body the rest I need to get well. Hopefully by tomorrow I can do my workouts at a lower intensity, but I promised myself that if I feel like I did today, another day off will be necessary.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Bu-Bye Back Pain
One day, I think I was 12 years old, I walked off the tennis court in tears. My lower back hurt so much that I couldn't even rally in the service box. Weak from little to no strength training combined with absolutely zero stretching produced a chronic back ache that had me off the sport for three months and in and out of massage therapist and chirporacter offices. Nothing seemed to do the trick however. I rolled on baseballs, raquetballs, had my dad use his elbow, but nothing could get into my muscles/tissue deep enough to release the tightness.
Eventually, after some time off, the pain subsided, but the underlying problem remained. It flared up again bad 2 years later to the point where I had to be carried out of a match. Then, back to therapy and once more it hid.
When I started triathlon I had already developed a decent strength training program that helped a lot in supporting my new training style for swim, bike, run. Soon enough though, after months of summer running like I never had before, the pain was back. Thankfully I found a massage therapist at a race, Pauline Hetherington, who after a couple of sessions had me back running. Pauline has been my friend and massage therapist since then (2006), and I haven't had any serious back problems since. I thought it was gone for good.
Today, however, I realized it was still there waiting for me to screw up (either by slightly overtraining, making a wrong move, lifting something I shouldn't, etc) and needed some major breakage to really work out the tension that has accumulated over the years- not only in my glutes/low back, but shoulders as well...
Due to traffic and driving distance, and recommendation from Ahmed, I started seeing Donald Mullins for massage about a month ago. Today's session was an awakening. The 250+lb NFL looking dude got his elbow and broke through muscle tissue like a hammer through jello. I know I'll be sore tomorrow after gritting through the best pain in the world. It was worth every second of pain knowing that finally I was getting deeper than anything I could have imagined and will, eventually after a couple more sessions, bring my body to full recovery since that first day I walked out of the court.
That, along with the cold that is compressing my head and causing me to sneeze every minute, will surely have me passed out very early tonight. I regret not running on the treadmill today. It was somewhat sunny and 60s, rare for January, so I decided to do my hour run at the lake. But the wind was incredible and the cold air made my throat burn and I think will prolong my being sick :(
Otherwise, my legs felt really loose and my turnover efficient, which is why it would have been much better health and fitness wise to get on the treadmill and run without sinus misery.
Eventually, after some time off, the pain subsided, but the underlying problem remained. It flared up again bad 2 years later to the point where I had to be carried out of a match. Then, back to therapy and once more it hid.
When I started triathlon I had already developed a decent strength training program that helped a lot in supporting my new training style for swim, bike, run. Soon enough though, after months of summer running like I never had before, the pain was back. Thankfully I found a massage therapist at a race, Pauline Hetherington, who after a couple of sessions had me back running. Pauline has been my friend and massage therapist since then (2006), and I haven't had any serious back problems since. I thought it was gone for good.
Today, however, I realized it was still there waiting for me to screw up (either by slightly overtraining, making a wrong move, lifting something I shouldn't, etc) and needed some major breakage to really work out the tension that has accumulated over the years- not only in my glutes/low back, but shoulders as well...
Due to traffic and driving distance, and recommendation from Ahmed, I started seeing Donald Mullins for massage about a month ago. Today's session was an awakening. The 250+lb NFL looking dude got his elbow and broke through muscle tissue like a hammer through jello. I know I'll be sore tomorrow after gritting through the best pain in the world. It was worth every second of pain knowing that finally I was getting deeper than anything I could have imagined and will, eventually after a couple more sessions, bring my body to full recovery since that first day I walked out of the court.
That, along with the cold that is compressing my head and causing me to sneeze every minute, will surely have me passed out very early tonight. I regret not running on the treadmill today. It was somewhat sunny and 60s, rare for January, so I decided to do my hour run at the lake. But the wind was incredible and the cold air made my throat burn and I think will prolong my being sick :(
Otherwise, my legs felt really loose and my turnover efficient, which is why it would have been much better health and fitness wise to get on the treadmill and run without sinus misery.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Yet another reason I dread winter, especially January
Since I can remember, every January I get sick- sometimes a simple 3-4 day cold which is uncomfortable but I can train through, others a miserable flu where I lay in bed and wish to sleep for eternity. Winter and I just don't mesh well. It got so bad when I was little that I finally got my tonsils removed at age 7.
After a pretty heavy training week last week, and then crazy jump in temperatures...from upper 20s for this Tuesday's race to 70s yesterday through tomorrow...my body started to let me know it was not happy. Suddenly, in the middle of the afternoon yesterday my throat started hurting like hell! But since I didn't feel bad at all (no fever, cough, runny nose, chills, etc) I thought it may be allergies or just irritation from the weather.
Now I'm afraid it has happened once again- I'm sick in January. It sucks!! Now I'm sneezing after ignoring the bad throat pain all day. I took all the Vitamin C, Zinc, Echinacea, etc etc that I could these past 48 hours, but nothing seems to do the trick. I really don't like going to the doctor as I like to try everything homeopathic/natural before buying into doctors' prescriptions.
It wouldn't have been so bad to go through this week, as it has been mainly recovery, but next week is intense training again and a 5k race Saturday..GRRR!!! Hopefully it will go away soon.
After a pretty heavy training week last week, and then crazy jump in temperatures...from upper 20s for this Tuesday's race to 70s yesterday through tomorrow...my body started to let me know it was not happy. Suddenly, in the middle of the afternoon yesterday my throat started hurting like hell! But since I didn't feel bad at all (no fever, cough, runny nose, chills, etc) I thought it may be allergies or just irritation from the weather.
Now I'm afraid it has happened once again- I'm sick in January. It sucks!! Now I'm sneezing after ignoring the bad throat pain all day. I took all the Vitamin C, Zinc, Echinacea, etc etc that I could these past 48 hours, but nothing seems to do the trick. I really don't like going to the doctor as I like to try everything homeopathic/natural before buying into doctors' prescriptions.
It wouldn't have been so bad to go through this week, as it has been mainly recovery, but next week is intense training again and a 5k race Saturday..GRRR!!! Hopefully it will go away soon.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Meet "London"
My new road bike is home! I'm gonna get fit on it today and can't wait to ride it Sunday. I've been wanting a road bike for over a year now, and it was worth the wait!!
London will be going with me to the training camp in Hawaii at the end of this month so I can put some heavy mileage on it. I won't be racing it until 2009 so I have plenty of time to make pedaling on it second nature.
How exciting :)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
First Race of 2008! 5 mile Run
I woke up at 5:30 this morning. As predicted, I was in bed by 8:30pm (nerd!). So i made breakfast and heard the weatherman speak of the frigid temps outside- 27!! Hopefully it would warm up by the 10am race start. An hour before, I picked up my brother at his friends' house, as I knew how long it would take him to get in the car, and we headed over to the race. It was still in the low 30s with pretty heavy winds. We did a little warm up and then were off racing. My legs felt good, I thought they would feel a bit stiff, and my HR was staying right where it was supposed to, 160-175, race pace but not an all out effort. I lost track of mile splits, only to clock the first one at 6:20.
I had no expectations of time for this run, since other than track workout times, I'm pretty unsure about my run fitness since Ironman. One thing I do know is my asthma kicks in heavily in cold temperatures (it was the worst when I played ice hockey in elementary school) so breathing got quite wheezy by mile 2. Anyway, per coach's orders, I was to stay in that zone until the last mile and then let it go to above race pace. At the last mile, I picked it up, or at least I think I did, but my HR wouldn't get above 176. I held onto that effort, the hardest I could go for that moment, and crossed the line in 33:49.
I'm pleased with that time, as I can only continue to gain speed for when the season arrives. I managed to win my age group and get 5th female. My brother did awesome- running a 39:23, 2nd in his age group ;).
We stuck around for the awards and to chat with friends, and then went home to shower and eat some good lunch. Now we just returned from the movies- National Treasure: Book of Secrets- entertaining yet exageratingly uncanny, and will for sure be hitting the sack early again.
I had no expectations of time for this run, since other than track workout times, I'm pretty unsure about my run fitness since Ironman. One thing I do know is my asthma kicks in heavily in cold temperatures (it was the worst when I played ice hockey in elementary school) so breathing got quite wheezy by mile 2. Anyway, per coach's orders, I was to stay in that zone until the last mile and then let it go to above race pace. At the last mile, I picked it up, or at least I think I did, but my HR wouldn't get above 176. I held onto that effort, the hardest I could go for that moment, and crossed the line in 33:49.
I'm pleased with that time, as I can only continue to gain speed for when the season arrives. I managed to win my age group and get 5th female. My brother did awesome- running a 39:23, 2nd in his age group ;).
We stuck around for the awards and to chat with friends, and then went home to shower and eat some good lunch. Now we just returned from the movies- National Treasure: Book of Secrets- entertaining yet exageratingly uncanny, and will for sure be hitting the sack early again.
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