Friday, July 31, 2009

Made up for my slacker Thursday by swimming, cycling and lifting!

Lake Swim @ 00:50:00
Commute Home @ 01:00:00
Upper Weights @ 00:30:00
Core @ 00:30:00

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Commuted by bike into work and ended up going out to happy hour with a co-worker instead of lifting or riding home...

12 Mile Commute @ 00:50:00

Ruth did mention that after I left in the morning, she had put me at a very low percentage or probability that I would actually ride home. I did prove her right :(

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Today was distance day and I was able to keep up with Lottie (drafting rocks) during the sets. Also brought water to sip and that seemed to really help.

2700 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Then BR and I went for a run, and she decided to join me for my planned hill repeat workout. We ran around the outer track to the tennis courts and then did 5 hill repeats on the hill I used to train on with Katie. My times were (1:50, 1:52, 1:46, 1:45 and 1:41).

5.5 Mile Hill Repeat Workout @ 00:56>30

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Slept fairly well last night and Yoga was excellent, as usual. My hamstring really needed the stretching -- had not stretched it since LAST week's Yoga class and it reminded me all day that it had been a while...

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

Today was the 2nd to last day of my summer session class! whoop whoop :) I would say it in Mandarin but I don't know how...

Monday, July 27, 2009

Blew off the swim practice alarm in favor of coffee with Ruth and Wally :) Did manage to make it into core class.

Core Class @ 00:30:00

Then I rode s l o w l y home on the Hindenburg to try to keep my internal thermometer down...

12 Mile Bike Commute @ 01:00:00+

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Woke up at 6AM and went for my 12 mile run before it got too hot. Mission almost successful -- was dripping by the time I was finished but happy that I was not doing it any later in the day.

12 Mile Run @ 02:00:00

Then got in a lift after my WW meeting. I lost 2 lbs this week but I had run in the morning so I am really not sure how much of it was water weight or not. Either way, I will take it for this week and it will give me incentive to be sure I keep on track just in case it was a bit of water weight loss.

Then got in a lift after.

Upper Weights @ 00:30:00
Core @ 00:10:00

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Happy with my workout today! Slept in until I could not sleep any more (8:20 AM). Drove to Leschi and staged my ride from there. Planned an out and back around the South end of the lake. I didn't have enough miles at the turn around point I planned so I instead decided to climb the hill Ryan showed me last week that took me to Coal Creek Parkway. I decided to follow it a bit to see where it took me and finally turned around where it hit I90 and 405 to avoid the SC riders.

I was pleased with the ride and managed to average 16.3 with all the climbing! Then I started my brick and felt slow starting, but negative split it on the way back so that made me happy.

43.5 Mile Bike @ 02:40:00

4.3 Mile Run @ 00:40:00

Friday, July 24, 2009

BEAUTIFUL morning for a lake swim! Didn't get to socialize after because of morning meetings.

1 Mile Open Water Swim @ 00:50:00

Then blew off my lift -- just was not up to it. Will get it in on Sunday.
I had grand workout plans today but an extra long work day just got in the way. However, I was at least able to commute into work on my freshly tuned up Hindenburg and back so that was good.

24 Mile Bike Commute @ 01:50:00

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

I am smack in the middle of my most intense 48 hours of my week. Went from 6:15 AM yoga to a very full work day and then off to class until 9 PM.

Was able to get up this morning for swim practice and then Barbara Rose and I ran around the lake, throwing some 4x400's on the track for good measure. Note to self. Eat a gel and carry water next time I do intervals after swim practice.

Swimming was really tough and I had a very difficult time keeping up with the big girls. I even sat out a couple of 50's during the 4x250 set because I was falling so far behind.

2500 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

4.5 Mile Run @ 00:43:16 (400's were 1:41, 1:43, 1:45, 1:43) Not terribly impressive but not bad for my first interval set in years AND after swim practice.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Yoga today.

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

Monday, July 20, 2009

Today turned into one of those better than nothing workout days. Wally and I completely ignored the 4:45 alarm and missed swimming, and then missed core class and then I ended up working from home.

Managed to get out on my bike for a hilly-ish ride in the later afternoon and followed my 12 mile running route but made myself climb any sweet descents again to get in extra hill work.

14 Mile Ride @ 01:00:00

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Slept in this morning (lovely) and then went to my WW meeting to learn that I had lost only .6 lbs. A bit frustrating but I am averaging half a pound per week and I know that is a good pace. I also stayed after and talked with the leader about my slow loss. She let me know that athletes who may switch the kinds of workouts they do (that would be me lately) may not see any significant drop for 4+ weeks. She asked if my clothing is fitting differently (it is) and said that I should not use weight to track and instead should used measurements. I measured my waist this morning and will track that.

Went for a run after that doing a loop from my meeting at Northgate up to 175th and then back home. It was pretty hilly and my legs definitely were still feeling yesterday :)

10 Mile Run @ 01:35:00

Then got in a lift after in the evening between study sessions.

Upper Weights @ 00:30:00

Saturday, July 18, 2009

My directive for long rides was to ride with/chase people faster than I and end rides exhausted with my "tongue hanging out". I have been avoiding it now for 2 weeks and finally sent out the following last minute e-mail to a biking team I loosely belong to.

"I have been told that if I want to ride faster, I need to chase faster people. So my newest goal is to try to keep up with your weekend rides by 5 minute increments. 1st ride, don't get dropped for 10 minutes, 2nd ride, 15 minutes, etc.

So is anyone riding on Saturday? If so, what time and from where?"


I secretly hoped that no one would respond and I would have the perfect excuse to just do my thing. Then Ryan responded to meet me at the Dog at 7:30 and followed it up with a VM to Ruth (who is in Oregon) to make sure I got the e-mail. So after a late night, I got up at 6:00, very very nervous about the ride. Ryan was super sweet and offered me some terrific coaching tips. He even stayed with me for the first 35 miles and even though I was having a great time learning a lot, near the end of his time with me, I was looking very forward to being dropped and left on my own. The second half was much tougher and I was pretty tired but made it home and got in a 3 mile run. I did notice that I kept scraping my left foot on the ground and needed to lift my legs more.

I then went to a hair cutting appointment (almost falling asleep) and then took a nap. And slept for 3.5 HOURS. OMG.

59 Mile Ride @ 03:50:00ish
3 Mile Run @ 00:30:00

Friday, July 17, 2009

Skipped a lake swim this morning in favor of a Greenlake workout and was glad I did. We had a guest coach who had us do this super hard set of 100's on 3 minutes. Now, that sound easy BUT we had to SPRINT the 100's and all the lanes started at the same time each interval. Still sounds like there is still some wiggle room for slacking BUT he recorded our splits and made us say them each time. Out loud. Peer pressure/public humiliation can be a powerful motivator. I stayed consistently between a 1:28 and 1:26 for them, ending with the 1:26 so I worked much harder than I planned to.

2000 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Managed to catch the bus to make it to core class!

Core Class @ 00:30:00

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Had a super packed day at work but managed to escape in time to get in a decent ride. It took me a while to get there though because I had to take the shuttle from work to downtown, then the bus to Capital Hill to pick up my car (with bike in it) to Ruth's. From there, I drove to Madrona and parked to get in my bike ride. How many vehicles does it take to get in a decent bike ride around the South end of the lake on a Thursday? Apparently 3 :)

I also got a bit of a gift on the ride and got dropped partway in by a guy who was cruising a little faster than I. Normally, I would just get all zen (read lazy) about it and stick to my speed. This time, I decided to chase him and kept him in my sights until he turned off. That gave me a baseline for the speed I needed to maintain (18-21 on flats) and I worked super hard to push myself. Pretty proud of my unintentional tempo ride.

26.11 Mile Ride @ 01:36:39 (16.3)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

I gave into sloth this morning and Wally and I slept through the alarm until 7 AM. I have been extra tired and whiny lately so I figured I could 1.) Continue to annoy everyone around me or 2.) Catch up on sleep and be ready to handle the rest of the week.

Will get in a run after work :)

Ran a good route staged from Capital Hill.

7 Mile Run @ 01:10:00

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Yoga today. Still sore going down steps. DAMN :(

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

Monday, July 13, 2009

I woke up still super sore in the middle of the night and am not happy about how out of trail running shape I appear to be :(

Swim practice was good even though I left about 5 minutes early to hop on the bus for core class. Didn't quite make it because I had not prepped enough the night before to get everything ready so I instead worked on my core at home.

2100 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00
Core @ 00:10:00

Got in an easy spin on the rollers after work and my sore quads gave me the opportunity to work on lifting the pedals using my hamstrings rather than muscling through with my quads.

11.75 Mile Roller Ride @ 00:45:00

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Today finds me VERY sore. My quads are sore to the point where I am doing that sideways thing down stairs :( I did put a lot of effort into the trail run and pushed myself so I should not be too surprised. I also forgot to mention that I was stung by a BEE on the run. Apparently the guy in front of me got them stirred up and all of a sudden, I could hear these guys swearing behind me. Then I felt a sting right below my neck. I think it had caught in my ponytail and finally found my skin.

At my weigh in today, I gained 1 pound :( Although I have not been perfect, I did not eat enough calories this week to gain a pound and I really believe it is water retention in my sore muscles. I will know more in a day or so when I check my weight again.

Went for a lift after the meeting and even though I did not increase my weights, I was really shaking. Still have a 40 mile bike ride to get in and have homework to do so I will do some and then probably get in a 40 mile ride on the rollers and skip the brick to give my quads a rest.

Upper Weights @ 00:30:00
Core @ 00:15:00

Got in a ride on the rollers this afternoon after finishing my homework. Definitely shy of the 40 on my plan but I did work hard!

25.5 Mile Ride @ 01:32:30 (17.2 mph)

Saturday, July 11, 2009

I started to rally a bit last night and thought that maybe I would do the Cougar Mountain Trail Run anyway. I left the final call for the morning and decided to go for it. It was a beautiful day and I was pretty psyched about the run!

The route was different than last year, .2 miles shorter and I hoped to at least finish in under 2 hours. It was a great workout and definitely kicked my butt! I was strong on the flats and ascents but let a lot of people pass me on the steep descents because I was so slow :(

I checked my results from last year and I was 4 minutes slower on a .2 mile shorter course. A bit of a bummer but I have barely focused on speedwork or hills AND it was a different route so I need to just let it go.

10.2 Mile Trail Run @ 02:00:00

Friday, July 10, 2009

I hoped to get in a lift after work yesterday but ended up staying a bit too late after work. That squished my time to write my papers for class that were due today. The good news is that I got the papers written although I was pretty rusty. It has been 15 YEARS since I wrote a paper and I have some more warming up to do before I get into my groove. Hopefully though it will be enough to make up for how horrible I am doing for the language section of the class.

Was also feeling super body tired yesterday and sent a whiny e-mail to Cheryl. That got me permission to bail on both tonight's 2.4 Open Water Swim race AND tomorrow's Cougar Mountain Trail run. I am feeling a bit better today so I may still do the run tomorrow. She mentioned that my new calorie intake may have a bit to do with being so tired. However, I managed to stress eat my way last night out of any calorie deficit... :(

I finally finished my papers at 10 and then put myself right to bed although I did not fall asleep until 11ish. Did make it to 5 AM swimming and am planning a make-up lift today.

2500 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Crashed early last night and still the 5:30 alarm was not welcome. I planned to get in a 10 mile time trial on the rollers and it seemed to take me extra long to warm my legs up. I did the 10 miles in 35 minutes and averaged 17.2 mph. Looking back at my last time trial (32:30 - 18.3 mph), I was significantly slower. Oh no! I thought I was getting stronger :(

16 Mile Ride @ 01:00:00

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Waking up this morning was brutal after a very long Tuesday but I made it to swim practice where I got my butt kicked by rather evil set of broken 800's.

2500 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Then ran around the lake with Barbara Rose. Not sure of the time because I forgot to check.

3.2 Mile Run

I have already gone through all my "flex points" AND "exercise points" so far this week and still want to eat more! Even though I have yet to be enchanted by a WW leader, the one on Sunday did say something that I do continue to think about despite how dorky it sounded. Basically there was a discussion about not eating perfectly and completely giving up. She said, "When you drop an egg on the floor, do you then throw away the other 11?" :)

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Yoga class was fairly aerobic for the first 45 minutes but I hung in there and made it through. I sure do love how strong I feel after! Ann sent me this picture from the swim a few weeks ago and it helped to reinforce my decision to start WW :)

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

Then I took an extra long lunch break and rode my bike from work to and around West Seattle to get in some good hills -- including Marine View Drive. It was a good steady workout and the headwind offered even more (unwelcome) resistance. Only averaged 12.9 on that ride but am happy that I was able to get out.

20.2 Mile Ride @ 01:35:00


Monday, July 06, 2009

The universe forced a rest day on me today. Actually, I cannot blame the universe for choosing to sleep in instead of waking up at 4:45 for swim practice. However, when I was almost ready to go to Core Class, I got a phone call from work that there was an issue that needed attention. Worked through that, got on my biking clothing, packed everything up and headed down on the Hindenburg to work. In Ballard, my chain broke and I completely lost it. I could have looked farther, but I had to go to the bathroom SO BADLY that I ran my bike to the nearest Jack in the Box for relief.

I hung out there until Ruth rescued me. And rescued me from eating another 11 freaking point breakfast sandwich!!!

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Barbara Rose met me this morning at 7AM for a 12 mile run. It was great to catch up with her and we had a fantastic run :)

12 Mile Run @ 02:00:00 (time includes all stoplights)

Then I went for my first weigh-in and dropped 2.2 lbs. I was wondering how my weight would be after a long run like that but I came home, ate something and drank a large glass of water to recover. I think it was an honest weigh in.

Got in a lift after the meeting and now am getting ready to hit the books.

Upper Weights @ 00:30:00
Core @ 00:10:00

Saturday, July 04, 2009

I HEART this holiday weekend! Woke up this morning WITHOUT the alarm and felt well rested :) Ruth and I headed to Enumclaw to ride the half-iron course to give her a change of scenery and offer me a chance to get ready for the Black Diamond Half Iron in September.

Speaking of Half Iron's, training for this distance is so CIVILIZED. Cheryl and I met yesterday and I was rather casual and slightly arrogant about this newest training schedule because it seemed so much easier than, for example my last 4-6 months! I just need to find someone to chase down on my long rides. She wants me to be completely exhausted at the end -- apparently long slow distance is no longer an option.

The first half of the ride was just fabulous. When it began to really heat up the second half, I did get a bit pissy. Ruth mentioned that she wondered where my attitude had went and apparently, it was back :). She did a patriotic 50, in honor of the 50 states for the 4th of July.

I did manage to keep my speed up though and even though I did eat every 15 minutes on schedule, I should have had a bit more. I finished with a run around the lake at Nolte State Park even though I did think that I should show my patriotism by declaring independence from Bricks, I reluctantly headed out on foot to circle the tiny lake while she dipped in the lake. I also finished with a dip in a lake and am now looking forward to a 4th of July BBQ :)

54 Mile Bike @ 03:15:00
1.4 Mile Run @ 00:14:00

Friday, July 03, 2009

Today is the first day of my 3 day weekend and the start to it could not be more beautiful. Ruth and I hit the lake around 8 AM for a swim and saw lots of other like-minded swimmers out there.

1.2 Mile Swim @ 00:45:00

Then I bricked the swim and rode my bike from the beach down to Seward Park and then up the hill to Ruth's.

15 Mile Bike @ 00:55:00

I have been thinking a lot about FOOD, specifically my history around it and am putting some pieces together, especially after finding my birth mother 3 months ago. When she visited a couple of weeks ago for my Ironman race, she shared much about her life and my first couple of years.

Food, or the lack of has been a part of my cells from the moment they started splitting. My mother's family starved for years trying to survive after the Korean war. Her life was unthinkable and she survived exploitation, starvation, abuse and humiliation just to earn enough to keep her brother, sister and mother alive. There were many heartbreaking stories -- one was about how they had been hungry for days and she finally was able to pull together enough money to buy some rice, only to have her siblings eat it raw, and immediately throw up before she could cook it because they were so hungry.

When she became pregnant with me, and it became obvious that my American soldier biological father had no intention of marrying/supporting us, she and my grandmother made the decision that they could not feed one more mouth. Despite the efforts of one of the many back alley "clinics" available to girls in her situation, I survived and entered this earth underdeveloped and into a family that was already stretched to provide for the current members.

The following two years, things got a little better for my family. We lived in a small village and apparently, I would wander about and visit all the neighbors with my favorite toy -- a bowl and spoon :) Around dinner time, they would call for me and a neighbor would say "she's here" and send me home. From looking at the pictures, I was a very sturdy toddler and obviously loved and fed.

My mother met someone else and got pregnant again with my younger sister, Paula. She married the man and went to the United States while very pregnant to have her in America. The idea was that they would send for me once she got established but that dream quickly was squashed. One day, she got a letter from her sister telling her that I had eaten 6 eggs in a row! That was when she made the decision to put me up for adoption because she never wanted me to go hungry the way she had. I was adopted fairly quickly and into a good family in Pennsylvania. Of course, my adopted mother had many of the eating issues of middle-class white women of her era and my relationship with food continued to develop along its twisted path.

So here I am now and I am grateful for all I have learned about my long ago past and the lessons I have gained from years of endurance training. This will be my biggest endurance event yet and I am going to cross that finish line.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Today I am struggling lots with this new food plan. Ruth graduated from Cortiva last night so I met her and some friends for a drink before, and then we all went out for dinner after. I usually go through the majority of my daily point allotment before dinner and yesterday was no exception even though I earned more through working out. By the time we made it to the restaurant, I was HUNGRY and did not make the best choice when ordering my dinner. The good news is that I managed to not eat it all like I would have in the past, but the bad news is that I used up my weekly point bank when the night was done.

Went to 24 Hour Fitness this morning and got in a weight workout.

Core @ 00:15:00
Upper Weights @ 00:30:00

I also understand that I still have a lot of growing to do around the immediacy of gratification. This first week, I have nothing to show for my efforts and still have this mindset that I have a deficit from my Ironman from 2 weeks ago. Ruth packed me a great lunch today but I was still feeling super tired and hungry this afternoon and finally broke into my granola cereal. Tip for myself for next time. Start with half a cup, rather than just going for the whole (10 point) double serving! Now I am in a deficit for the week and it is only 4 PM. We are going for a nice bike ride around the South end of the lake after work so I will be able to literally earn my dinner!

Had a beautiful ride around the South end of the lake!

32 Mile Ride @ 02:00:00

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Yesterday was a pretty intense day between lots of competing demands at work and then class. I had a sandwich before class started but was very hungry by the time class was over at 9 PM. Fortunately, Ruth talked me down from going to a drive through and suggested her trick -- eat cottage cheese with salsa stirred in. I resisted because it sounded gross BUT I did try it and was pleasantly surprised! Yum :)

This morning was distance day in the pool and I led a set of 10x50's in the fast girl lane and then happily went to the back for the remainder of the workout. I also noticed my shoulders this morning from yesterday's chatterongas :)

2500 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Got in a super easy run around Greenlake after. I used to hate those bricks but apparently I have developed some sort of pain tolerance because I did it voluntarily this morning.

3.2 Mile Run @ 00:31:00