Ramblings of a Regular Jane in Training...

Training High....

2012-01-11T09:55:00.001-05:00

I'm sure this says something about my personality being wonky or something, but I'm a totally different person when I am training hard, with purpose. The sun shines a little brighter. The birds chirp a little more gaily. The air is crisper and I am just overall .... better. Week 2, Day 2 of real, honest to goodness tri training and I feel like $100M!!! Yesterday was a hard interval day on the bike - an oldie but a goodie, 3.0 Suffer-O-Rama (gotta love these titles!). Even though I did this last week as well, I had blocked out how tough it is. After the warm-up, we jump right into Troy's patented "5 Killer Minutes" and killer they are! YEOUCH. Save the two time trial efforts where he mercifully lets us *sort* of catch our breath a bit, it's all 100% full out effort work. I actually love this kind of workout, because you really can just bang it out and go for it - playing little games with yourself to try to beat your wattage numbers from the last rep. The reps are short - a minute max - but by the end of that minute your legs and lungs are screaming and you are seeing heart rate numbers that begin to frighten you. I finished the workout with a 110% effort that yielded 410W, which is an all time high! Woo Hoo!!!! What a great way to start the day.

Post Run Sweaty Happiness

After a long day at work (still adjusting to being back after the holidays after a short week last week), I had a 40 minute run on the schedule. The plan is always to get home and immediately head out, but that never, ever happens. What really happens is that I get home, feed the kids, help with homework, yell at the dog for attempting to steal the aforementioned kid's dinner, empty the dishwasher, load the dishwasher, start a load of laundry, etc. It's often easy to cry uncle and just go to bed at this point, but nope, it's Game On time. So I left the house after digging out my headlamp (SO damn hot, I know....), and hit the road. I took a route I normally only take to start really long runs, and did an out and back, which I almost never do. This was a GREAT choice as there was minimal traffic, the moon was nearly full and it was a beautifully clear night. One of those nights where it feels like all is right with the world - the playlist chosen was perfect, the temperature was perfect, everything was just ... perfect. What a great way to end the day - I got home 50 minutes later feeling fantastic and crashed into bed after a quick shower and slept like the dead.

Today started with a pool workout - these are particularly rough days because I like to get to the Y *right* as it opens which means a 4:15am wake up alarm. But I was able to get up and out the door before my brain could register a complaint, and was waiting at the door for the 5am opening. By some miracle, I feel like I am swimming well after a LONG time away from the pool. Perhaps the UB strength work I did all Fall did some good here? I don't know, but I felt great today and was banging out my workout feeling fierce. After a lot of drill work and a long pull set (I hate pull sets), the real work was 10x100 at an anaerobic pace. I typically go out too fast for my first one or two reps and then pay for that over exertion with an inevitable slowdown by the last few, but today I was a rock star. I was a solid 5 seconds FASTER than the fastest time prescribed by my coach for these reps, and I held that pace for all 10 reps, finishing with the last two reps the fastest of all, a full 8 seconds faster than specified. Niiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Tonight I again get to end cap the day with a run, and it looks to be as nice a night as last night - I can't wait!

Life is good.

Back at it in 2012

2012-01-10T12:42:00.000-05:00

Where did I leave off? Day 20 of the Challenge? I kept it going, missing a day or two here and there with the holidays, but the Spinervals 32 Day Challenge was JUST what I needed to help me find my bike mojo again. I truly loved all of the trainer sessions and am really jazzed about my 2012 athletic goals and training.

In January, I started back with my most AWESOME coach, Will of Tri-Hard Endurance Sport Coaching. Way back when, chatting with Troy at the Tucson Tri Camp I attended, he suggested if I was serious about this triathlon thing I should get a coach. At the time I thought he was insane. Seriously, I'm a regular joe, middle aged, with a full time job and kids. A coach? Really???? Well, after my first race when I realized that I could really, really love this sport, I also realized that training myself in 3 disciplines without 1) killing myself or 2) getting burned out seemed impossible. So I found a local coach and hit the jackpot. I started working with Will back in .... '07 I think? and he's been a lifesaver. Late summer/early fall of '11 my work schedule was brutal and I needed a little break from structured training, but now that '12 is here, I'm back at it in full force! I didn't realize how much I missed receiving my training plans - the anticipation of opening them up to see what Will has in store for the month. What will my long bike built to this month? What about the long run? And those tempo sessions! Can't wait to see what they will look like!!!!!!! It's like Christmas at the beginning of every month. We tweak here and there, I report back after particularly interesting or eventful workouts ("Dude, are you trying to KILL ME?!?") and I feel myself getting stronger and more confident every week. Good stuff. Good good stuff.

If you are thinking that you'd like to try something new, try a new race distance, or set a new time goal but don't know where to start, think about getting a coach. Sure, it's a bit of a luxury, but it's SO worth it if you take your training seriously. And if you want the best coach EVER, give Will a call. :)

Day 20: Uphill Grind

2011-12-20T10:48:00.000-05:00

We are up to Day 20 in the Spinervals 32DayChallenge. While I would have LOVED to honest to goodness do this challenge as designed, my work travel made that impossible and I have had to miss quite a few days of cycling. However, when I'm home, my butt is on that trainer for my workout. Even on mornings like today - I have a holiday event tonight so I moved my prescribed strength workout to last night. I NEEDED a hard, hard workout with weights so I pretty much pounded myself into the ground. Fell into bed in a heap and was asleep before I shut my eyes. One of those kind of workouts, you know? When the alarm went off this morning, my first thought was "Ouch, I'm already sore. And wicked tired. I should sleep in." Thankfully that thought didn't win out and I was able to pull myself out of bed and get down to the trainer.

Today a new workout was on the schedule: 41.0: Ascending Mountains. I bought myself the latest 3-DVD pack (among others!) for myself for Xmas, and this workout is currently wrapped and under the tree....... I was THIS close to sneaking it out and replacing it, but thought better of it. I'll have to wait until next week and swap it in for something else to try it out.

So today I did and oldie but a GOODIE: 7.0: The Uphill Grind. I love this one because the cast is all women - all ridiculously accomplished, strong women (among them Olympian Joanna Zeiger), so it's very inspiring. In addition, at a mere 45 minutes, I thought it would be a good one on a day where my legs were already seriously fatigued from the strength workout less than 12 hours prior, but still fit the bill for the scheduled workout of the day. Ha. Hahahahahaha..... That's maniacal laughter - the kind when your brain is totally deprived of oxygen and you are beginning to lose consciousness.....

After a solid warm up and a fun sprint set, the main set consists of 4x5' - where those 5' are 4' of climbing (big gear work) following by a 1' descent (fast hard spinning). Troy is sneaky, sneaky, sneaky in this one - you make it through the first rep feeling pretty good. Solid. Strong. Ditto on the second set. And now you see the pattern forming - we'll be standing in Big/12 for the last 30 seconds of each climb rep - that's after a solid 3.5 minutes of hard big gear work. Ok, got it. During the third set he's upping the intensity and you are standing more often, or worse, sitting in Big/12 while keeping your cadence up (for you non cyclists out there, that hurts). I finish the third set literally just DRIPPING with sweat, my lungs heaving, chugging my water. One more to go. 5 minutes of serious business. Ok, I got this.

Then Troy gets mean. He looks all cute and preppy in his khaki shorts and polo top, but don't let that fool you - he's clearly a mean bastard at heart..... The last rep is almost all standing, right from the get go. We move around from Big/15 to Big/12, but we are standing. Some brief seated work, but only as a tease, really. Half way in, and I am saying bad, bad things out loud to my beloved Coach Troy as my legs are begging for mercy. At the time, I truly mean it when I'm yelling at him to "F&%K OFF!" as he yells at me to keep my cadence up, to stay on that wheel in front of me, to keep pushing up that hill. But I don't back off, no, I do as he says, as I think about climbing Gates Pass and Mt. Lemmon at his training camp in March. I need this. I hate his guts at this moment, but I need this so I do as I'm told. The set finishes with a strong downhill minute, and when it's finally over I happily sit up to soft pedal and towel off for our minute of glorious recovery before the last sprinting set. I'm dizzy, I'm breathing as my good friend Claire describes so eloquently "like a fat girl in gym class," and I can barely see straight.

It's going to be a great day.

Day .... 18?

2011-12-19T14:05:00.001-05:00

Well, travel will put a wrench in the works, that's for sure. I kept up as best as possible while I was on the road, but that's not saying much!!!!! The hotel exercise bikes just suck - ugh.

It felt GREAT to be back on my own bike yestereday - wow. For a variety of reasons I've been in a bit of a grumpy mood but I was just determined to get in my workout yesterday. It would have been SO easy to blow off - I had been up early and run in a local fun-run 5k with my daughter in the morning (that didn't really count as exercise for me as it was a slow jog - SO much fun though!), spent the early afternoon making treats for her holiday party tomorrow and snuck in a little too much frosting..... And I was taking my son to see a movie later that night. It would have been easy to convince myself that I didn't have enough time to workout, even though the clock told me otherwise - I had plenty of time for a workout.

So I donned the bike shorts, filled up my water bottle, and went downstairs to the House of Pain for my session with Troy. Nothing painful on tap for the day, just a 70 minute aerobic workout. Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh. By minute 15 the grumpiness was but a memory and I was feeling nothing but great. It's amazing what a solid workout can do for your mental state! Somehow, magically, all was right with the world, even though, it's not. :)

Thanks Coach!

Day 6: Pushing the Big Gears

2011-12-06T14:37:00.001-05:00

Today was Day 6 of the Spinervals 32 Day Challenge - an oldie but a goodie!!!! I like these old school Spinervals - 11.0 Big Gear Strength consists of sets entirely completed in Big12 or Big13, with a mix of standing and seated work while in those monster gears. Troy is classic Troy - literally SCREAMING at us to push, Push, PUSH through the last few seconds of the sets. Calling on us to "finish with some PRIDE!" And my favorite Troy-ism: "Three, Two, Oooooooooonnnnnnnnneeeeeeee. Now soft pedal." It's fabulous. These big gear workouts are ones where I can actually keep up with the prescribed gearing - some of the workouts are a bit crazy in this regard. I'm currently simply not even CLOSE to capable of riding *aerobically* in Big15 at a cadence of 90 for extended periods of time. But in this workout, I can push Big12 HARD for the minute-long reps and love every leg burning second of it. The time flew by, and before I knew it, it was time to climb out of the HoP to start my day, already feeling accomplished.

Hilarious crazy morning hair, on top of being a sweaty mess.

Tomorrow is where my resolve to stick with this really kicks in - I'm on a plane at 6:00am and am traveling through next Wednesday night (Boston -> Atlanta -> DC -> Tampa -> Boston). That is 8 days on the road, 8 days away from my OWN bike, my HoP, and stuck on a "cardio machine" type bike in the hotel gym (fingers crossed that they even have one!). But here me now: if there is a bike in the gym, I'll be on it. I'm packing the scheduled workouts and will play them on my laptop, and do my best, putting in the time and effort. It won't even be CLOSE to my usual experience, but it will simply have to do.

Days 4 & 5 of the Spinervals 32-Day Challenge

2011-12-05T09:37:00.001-05:00

This weekend went by in a blur of holiday prep work: shopping, cleaning, decorating (which included hanging precariously from the porch roof as I hung the icicles - 12 years and counting without a serious neck or head injury! Woot!!!!!). Thank goodness for the Spinervals Challenge to keep me sane at this time of year.....

Sunday was Day 4 - another aerobic base building workout. This time it was 28.0 Aerobic Base Builder VI, a 60 minute purely aerobic workout. I like this one a lot - it's got a few higher cadence sets, which really help you work on your pedaling technique which helps to keep things interesting.

Today was Day 5 - and another aerobic base builder to get us ready for some tough big gear work tomorrow. On the schedule was 18.0, but I had used this one on Friday and was in the mood for something new. So I subbed in 25.0, a compilation of ABB's I-IV. Today just FLEW by. Sometimes the ABB workouts can get a little boring, but Troy really does a good job at keeping things interesting by changing up our gearing, tossing in some brief standing efforts, and putting in a variety of sets of varying length. Before I even realized it, I was over 45 minutes done - I wrapped up with a total time today of 1:20, and felt amazing.

Happy "I'm Done" Face!

I need to adjust the prescribed schedule a TAD - Troy has strength on the schedule for us tomorrow, but I'm doing this challenge in conjunction with a P90X rotation, and I do those strength workouts on M/W/F. So tonight will be P90X Chest/Shoulders/Triceps to finish out the day feeling like a rock star.

"But, Michelle, what happened to Day 3?" Yeah, we aren't going to talk about Saturday, other than to say I had to use one of my Wild Card rest days ALREADY. Ugh. Moving on.......

Day 2: Aerobic Base Builder

2011-12-02T09:55:00.001-05:00

Day 2 is on the books and it was another fun day in the House of Pain (HoP), the name I use for my scary basement when I'm down there on the trainer. Although today there wasn't much pain involved, as the Spinervals workout of the day for the Challenge was an easy one after yesterday's tough threshold test. Today was Spinervals 16.0: Aero Base Builder I - a nice easy Zone 2 (purely aerobic) session. I'm enjoying getting back in the early morning groove for these cycling workouts, as I've been doing my strength workouts in the evenings lately. I thought the early morning alarm (it goes off at 4:30am sharp!) would be brutal, but I've had no problems getting up and it just feels darn good to be up and getting ready for a good solid workout when you know the majority of the rest of the world is still snoozing.

Ready to GO!

DONE! Note that my headwrap thing is much darker in
this photo. It's completely soaked - you could ring
it out! Maybe that was a little TMI....

I'm a *little* worried about tomorrow - my legs feel fine and the workout is a toughie, but I love muscle endurance workouts so I know it will be an enjoyable 2.5 hours (yeah, you read that right....). But after being off the bike like this for a bit, there are certain body parts that aren't up to their usual endurance levels for this type of activity. So if you see me walking funny Saturday afternoon, just pretend you don't notice and don't laugh until I'm out of earshot please!

A lot of you don't know what Spinervals are or how bike trainer workouts work. Here's my set-up, which should make things pretty clear:

It's really quite simple - your actual bike is attached to a trainer, which allows the back wheel to spin as you pedal. As you change gears, pedaling is easier, or harder, depending on your gearing. My TV/DVD player is just in front of me, and that's where Coach Troy barks out his orders. You simply dutifully do as you are told! It's a GREAT workout, and a lot of fun (if you like getting yelled at, working really, really hard, and sweating a lot, that is). So, if you were curious as to what it really is that I'm doing every morning by 5:00am, here it is, in all it's glamorous glory....

I'm SO glad I found the Challenge - it's just what I needed this month. That said, word on the street is that the New Year's Eve workout is Have Mercy (if you aren't familiar with this workout, I'll simply say that it's aptly named), and the New Year's Day workout is Hardcore 100. As in 100 miles. As in a FIVE HOUR trainer workout. Have Mercy is 2 hours of wicked, twisted brutality that makes you cry for your mother (after saying bad, bad things to Coach Troy.....). Follow that up with Hardcore??? This is going to be an interesting kick off to the new year......... All I've got to say is that my legs had better be steel bands and SMOKIN' after all this work! :)

Back on the Bike: 32-Day Spinervals Challenge

2011-12-01T11:04:00.002-05:00

Yeah, it's been awhile.....

After a crazy few months of LOTS and LOTS of work travel and therefore not much swimbikerun (but lots of strength training, which has been a fun diversion), I'm itching to get back to tri training so I can start '12 feeling strong and READY. I am going to Coach Troy's training camp again this March and want to arrive in tip-top shape when I tackle Mt. Lemmon - I'm totally getting to that pie.....

So.... When I saw that Troy came up with this RIDICULOUS 32-Day December Spinervals Challenge, I was in. At first, he was planning to slaughter us with crazy long/hard Spinerval workouts EVERY day from Dec 1 - Jan 1, but after thinking through a bit, he's adjusted it a TAD. It's still ridiculous, mind you. It's going to hurt, and hurt bad. And I'm so stoked about it I can't contain myself!!!!!

Today was Day 1 - I'll try to blog every day, even if only to specify the workout and a brief comment (such as: "I freakin' hate Troy today!!!!" j/k Troy - you know I love you!). Today was 27.0: Threshold Test and Sufferfest. In a nutshell, this workout serves two purposes: it's a great threshold building workout designed to boost your anaerobic threshold and sustainable power output for time trialing events including triathlons, and it also functions as a repeatable field test used by many prominent coaches and exercise physiologists to determine an athlete's Functional Threshold, or that output of work (power) one can sustain on average over a 20 minute period. We were using it for the latter task today, to set our zones for the workouts for the remainder of the challenge.

It's essentially an hour workout with a 20-minute segment of hell in the middle (the TT segment). I'm excited to see how the challenge will improve my numbers when I retest in January!

It was great, and I mean GREAT to be back on the trainer this morning at 5:30am. It was brutal - there is something about that zone you get in during the last 5 minutes of a TT effort - where you are praying for either death or natural disaster to allow you to get off the bike right now, but somehow, SOMEHOW you are able to dig deeper and hold on to your target numbers and you don't let go. That feeling is truly incredible. When you finish, and finish strong (seemingly an impossible notion mid-way through the workout), you feel like a ROCK STAR. Awesome. Just awesome.

I lost approximately 42 lbs of sweat during the hour workout, and I'm SO happy. Clearly.

Let's Get This Party Started!

Holy Hell, that was a BLAST.

Stay tuned for my daily updates!!!!! And check me out on Facebook as well, where I will be regularly commenting about the challenge on my page as well as the Spinervals FB page. And if you are inspired, JOIN THE FUN!

ABC's of Me

2011-03-09T14:17:00.001-05:00

Yeah, yeah, I know. This is totally lame but I HAVE to get back to my blog, and I keep coming up with great blog post ideas that fizzle out after the first paragraph. So, I thought I'd get the ball rolling by simply doing what everyone else is doing right now in the blogosphere: The ABC's of Me.

Here goes.

Age: 42 (but not for much longer!!!!!)

Bed Size: King - yet, I still sleep on a sliver on the edge, hoping every night that I won't be pushed off! What I sacrifice for my children and dog....

Chore You Dislike: Pretty much anything that can be described by the tag "chore." EXCEPT for mopping. I love mopping. I could mop all day.

Dogs: I am wholeheartedly a dog person, but not a yippy rat-dog person. Eddie is my boy.

What's not to love????

Essential Start to the Day: Training. Even if I am only doing a single workout that day, it will be the first thing I do.

Favorite Color: Fall-ish burnt orange.

Gold or Silver: Both - more silver than gold lately, but will still pull out the gold jewelry on occasion.

Height: 5'9"

Job Title: Product Manager / Independent Team Beachbody Coach / Mom, depending on the time of day

Kids: Boy Child (11), Girl Child (8)

Live: Winchester, MA (super cute 'burb of Boston)

Mom's Name: Doreen

Nickname: Missy, but only used by relatives. NO ONE else may call me Missy. From a young age, I was quick to correct anyone who tried to use a nickname on me.

Overnight Hospital Stay: Plenty - I think my parents were worried about getting calls from social services when I was a kid. Recently, for the birth of the kids (both completely unmedicated, uneventful births).

Pet Peeves: People saying they would LOVE to do XYZ if only "they could find the time." It ain't hiding behind the couch, folks. "Oh, lookie honey! I found 45 minutes tucked between the cushions!!!!! How on earth did THAT find its way there?" If you want it badly enough, you make the time - own up to your choices.

Quote from a Movie: "There is no charge for awesomeness ... or attractiveness." (Kung Fu Panda)

Righty or Lefty: Righty

Siblings: Younger sister

Time I Wake Up: Hold onto your hats, folks. Typically, 4:30am (sometimes earlier). Shorter workouts let me sleep until 5:30am. That's six days a week. All year round. See point above about making time for important stuff if you are gobsmacked by this.

Underwear: Yes (and always super cute), unless I'm working out. VPL, chaffing - just too many things to go wrong during a workout. Sometimes painfully, painfully wrong.

Vegetables I Don't Like: Used to be brussel sprouts, but I've come to like them over time. Otherwise, I don't think I've come across a veggie I didn't like!

What Makes Me Run Late: I am generally on time. It drives me nuts when people are late, so I try my best to be punctual myself. At the end of the day, I can be late getting home if a meeting runs over.

XRays I've Had: Teeth. Mammogram. Left Arm (2x, broken both times). Chest, after I tested positive for TB exposure when I was pregnant with Boy Child. Friendly Tip of the Day: Do your best to avoid being spit on by filthy homeless men in Harvard Square, especially in the facial area. Trust me on this one.

Yummy Food I Make: The kids RAVE about my pancakes (don't tell them it's just Aunt Jemima mix!!!!). I am also proud of carrying on the Xmas tradition of Sauerkraut Balls and Kielbasi & Sauerkraut. I'm also getting pretty good at a number of vegan recipes.

Zoo Animal Favorites: The ape house. I could spend ALL day watching the gorillas and chimps.

Ok, that was actually sort of fun!

Yogahhhhhhhhhhhhh

2010-11-07T19:59:00.000-05:00

So, as my rest period comes to a close, I've come to appreciate yoga even more (I've been a fan for quite a while, but don't do it as much as I know that I should). During the last 3 weeks I've been doing a LOT of yoga - some workouts to video at home, some Hatha-style at work, PiYo - a blend of Pilates and Yoga (which I'm taking a class to become certified to teach in a few weeks!), and today, a Hot Power Yoga class. I've taken a power yoga class before and really enjoyed it - it's my preferred form of yoga to practice at home. But while I've heard of hot yoga (the room is heated to 95+ degrees), I hadn't had the chance to try it out. Today, I joined a friend at a local studio for the Hour of Power - an hour of challenging power yoga, in a room that felt like a sauna, packed with UBER hard core looking yoga peeps. Gulp.

It. Was. Awesome!!!!!!! I sweat from places that I didn't know had sweat glands. By mid-workout, I had a waterfall running off my shoulders onto my mat everytime we entered into Downward Facing Dog. My forearms were sweating. My ears were sweating. My shins were sweating. It was amazing!

I am totally this good. Totally.

The best part, of course, is the last 5 minutes when you lay back into "corpse pose" and clear your mind and relax. Just let everything go, and melt (in this class, that's almost literally true!) into your mat. Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. While I love this, I also struggle mightily with this portion of the class. You are supposed to TOTALLY clear your mind. Frankly, I don't even know what that means! What happens when you clear your mind? Can you really think about NOTHING? Aren't you in fact, still thinking? But just about nothing?

I try. I really do. I try my hardest to clear my mind, focus on my "third eye" and truly relax. This is how well I did today:

Aaaaaaaah. That was a great class. I feel amazing. I love this part. Relax. Clear the mind.
Right - this is where I focus on that "third eye" thing. Ha ha. I'd look funny with a third eye. Maybe it could be a different color? Green. I'd pick green for my third eye.
Stop it. This is serious. Focus. On nothing. And relax.
Ok, good. This is good.
Wow. I'm really sweaty. And I'm now lying in a literal pool of my own sweat right now. That's kind of gross. I think I'm the sweatiest person in the class. I wonder if the teacher noticed. I wonder if there is some kind of prize for sweating the most. I'll have to ask afterwards.
Don't be stupid. That would be totally un-yogaish. We aren't supposed to be competitive here.
But I was really good today. And the sweatiest. I definitely would place in my AG, if not OA, in class today. If they did that sort of thing, of course.
ACK! I'm not clearing my mind. Ok, focus on that eye and let everything else go.
Man, my mat is seriously wet. How am I going to roll this thing up after class? It's going to be disgusting! I'll have to clean it when I get home.
How do you clean a yoga mat? I can put it in the tub, I guess. Good god, when is the last time I cleaned the tub? Ok, I'll clean the tub first, then put my mat in there. Yeah. that'll work.
Wow! It's time to wiggle our fingers and toes already? That was GREAT!

Clearly, I need to work on this.

Tomorrow, the alarm will go off at 4:30 and I'll be on the bike by 5:00 for an hour. Then there is a short afternoon run. Back in my element!!!!!!! I can't wait!

But I will also keep up with my yoga, for I truly do believe that figuring out how to totally clear the mind is a good thing. In the meantime, I'll try not to giggle when I think about my pretty green third eye the next time I'm in Savasana.

Namaste, my friends.

And Now the Suffering REALLY Begins!

2010-10-21T09:57:00.001-04:00

If there was any doubt that I ran my heart out on Sunday, the pain I've been in since proves that I left it ALL on the streets of Lowell. Yeouch. I haven't been this sore in .... a long time. It's primarily been my calves, which have been nearly non-functional. My coworkers joked that I look like the Tin Man before they found his oil can, as I tried to walk without engaging my calf muscles (very difficult to do, but entirely possible, if you have no issues with looking like a TOTAL idiot in public). In addition, I've just been So. Very. Tired. So much so that I threw in the towel yesterday and left work early to get home and go to bed. I then slept until 11:30am and stayed in bed until I couldn't stand the horrible mid-day TV shows any longer.
Sidebar: How many Judge Judy knockoff shows ARE there on television these days????? And where do they FIND those people? It was .... horrifying.

After my lazifest I actually started to feel stir crazy, and after running (ok, well, more awkwardly jerking in a generally forward direction is a better description) a few errands around town, I decided to try the new stretch DVD I received the other day.

Queue heavenly music.....

Bliss, pure bliss. For just under an hour Karen Voight led me through a series of stretches that took me from the Tin Man to near Gumby status. I can walk again!!!!!!!! Bless you, Ms. Voight, bless you.

Now, the off-season truly begins. I'm already starting to go a bit whacky doing nothing, but I know it's for the best so on my butt I will remain parked. I'm looking forward to pulling out some yoga workouts I haven't done in ages (starting with some gentle stretching type selections, then moving into some of the more hard-core power yoga stuff that I love), but I'm already dreaming of swimbikerun.

In the meantime, I'll continue to bask in the glow of my post-race happiness, indulge in a drink or two (I'm enjoying a nice glass of wine as I type this - CRAZY!!!!!) and start to plan my goals for next year.

As I prepare my goals for next year, I would love to hear from you all - what are your goals for '11? Become more active on a regular basis and lose those last pesky few pounds? Sign up for your first race? Go for a PR? Try a new sport, like triathlon? Let me know - I'd really love to hear what you are thinking about for your '11 plans. I'll keep you posted as I figure it out on my end, 'k?

Great Expectations: Lowell Race Report

2010-10-18T12:43:00.000-04:00

Baystate Half-Marathon, Lowell MA

I've run this race twice before, and while the course itself is pretty darn ugly, it's a great race for a PR. It's flat (and therefore fast), it's a double loop (and therefore easy to pace), it's in mid-October so usually the weather is PERFECT for running (chilly, crisp, and clear), it's well run, and it's got a lot of spectators to keep the energy high. All aspects point to a great run - all you need is the training in the bank (check!), and the mental fortitude to pull it all together on race day (check!), and a little luck.

My previous half mary PR was (note the foreshadowing by the use of the word "was" here!) 1:44, set on this course two years ago. While I have been primarily a tri-junkie for the last many years, my run has come along nicely, so I felt I was quite capable of beating this. However, this year I was focused on Olympic distance racing (the run being a 10k), so was doing more shorter distance, fast workouts, rather than longer long runs and tempo training. In addition, after tri season comes to an end, I typically have a mental breakdown of sorts, and do NOT feel like training as hard as I have for the prior many, many months. This means that when the alarm goes off at 5:00am on a Sunday morning to get me up for my long run, I'll often roll over, smack off the alarm, and think "I'll do it later this afternoon." Well, with two kids and their activities, stuff to take care of around the house, the dog, etc., sometimes that afternoon run is cut short, or skipped altogether. Bad Zoot. But it is what it is - this is me in September, and I know it. So, while I knew I had the capability to SOMEDAY break that 1:44, I was a *little* worried that maybe, just maybe, I didn't have it all lined up for this year.

A few long runs missed, and it was taper week. Gulp. I had very minimal training on tap for that week - two short runs (5 miles / 3 miles), with fast pick-ups in the middle of them. Those runs went incredibly well - the pick-ups were WAY too fast, but it was hard to hold it in. The easy parts of the runs were also too fast, but again, going any more slowly made me feel like I was walking. Hmmmmmm...... Maybe Sunday will be a good day after all? By Friday I was going insane - all fidgety and crazy being cooped up all week with minimal training, and I was itching for Sunday to arrive. I had a double secret goal of going sub 1:40, with a more realistic goal of a 1:42.

Sunday morning arrived, I woke up before the alarm (a good sign!) and I was calm and focused. My good friend Anne was coming with me as a spectator and we had a fun morning getting checked in and settled at the race site. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I was feeling good. No pressure, but just excited to be out there on a nice Sunday morning on a course I knew and liked. It's time to go!!!!!

I typically take a few miles to really settle in, so the plan was to take it easy those early miles until I felt good. Well, I felt good at "GO!" and after trying to hold back a little during the first mile, I just let myself settle into a comfortable pace from there out. At about the 2.5 mile mark, I was feeling fantastic, and was clicking along at a 7:40-7:45min/mile pace. I couldn't help but smile - it was going to be a good day, and I knew it. The goal from there on out was to keep that pace right there - 7:45's were the goal. I could feel it in my legs and in my heart - I could do it. The first loop went by quickly - I saw Anne (the BEST spectator EVER - running around like a maniac to see me at various spots along the course) at mile 5 and I was feeling GREAT! Looped around the backside of the course to start the loop again, and at mile 7 the real work began. I was still holding pace, but it was getting harder. Would my lack of long runs come to bite me in the ass now???? This is where having an AWESOME coach (shout-out to the Best. Coach. Ever. Will of Tri-Hard) pays off in spades. We have talked in the past about how those hard, at times brutally hard track workouts he gives me not only train your body, but how they train your mind to dig deep, embrace the suffering, and work through it. I reminded myself of how I beat back She-Devil on the track a while back. Yes, the last 6 miles were going to hurt. Indeed, they were going to hurt and I was going to suffer. But I could handle it. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. Just keep running. And block out everything else going on - no mind chatter allowed. Just. Keep. Running.

Somewhere around there a fellow competitor came up next to me, and we were running literally step for step, the same pace. She asked if it bothered me to have her there, and I honestly said no - it was great. And it was. She was PERFECTLY where I wanted to be, and she helped keep me holding it. There was NO way I was going to let her go!!!!! It worked beautifully for the both of us. I'm a pretty strong hill runner, so on the very few, very mild hills that are on this course, I'd gain a bit of a lead as I held my pace solid. She'd then gut it out to catch me back on the slight downhill, and there we were, running side by side, stride for stride. There wasn't much talking - we'd occasionally make a grunting comment to each other, but otherwise, we just ran. Together, but independent. It was a great coincidence. Mile 9 came and I thought about picking it up. Could I? Nope. I'm good right here. Mile 10? Not yet, not yet. Mile 11 hit and I was ready for this bad boy to be over and I knew I could suck it up for 2 miles. I mustered all that I had left, and thought all I had was ~15 minutes, just 15 minutes at most of pain and it would all be over. I had stopped looking at my watch - it was meaningless to me now. I was running with all I had - nothing more, nothing less. No need to see what that pace was to possibly mess with my head. My running partner dropped back at this point, and my goal was to keep her behind me, and start picking off some of the people in range in front of me. Dude with incredibly bad running form (how are you running so well, running like THAT?!?)? See ya. Chick with the pink ball cap? Cute hat, nice job, see you at the finish, BEHIND me. My focus was on the person in front of me, no farther. Soon it was mile 12. A mere 1.1 left. I couldn't feel my legs by this point - they were utterly and completely numb. Otherwise, I felt fantastic - no stomach issues, no cramps, no nothing, just the sweet pain of running at the edge of your limits. I noted that this felt sort of weird - I knew I was running hard, but I didn't really understand how - I couldn't feel my legs, but I could see them turning over quickly.

Soon we were running over the last bridge, the bridge that led to the finish. This particular finish is a bit painful, as we run into the BACK entrance of the ballpark (which of course feels like it's a mile away, although in reality it's probably at most, 100 yards), then we have to run around the warning track all the way around to roughly home base. It. Just. Doesn't. End. So close, but ....... UGH WHERE IS THE FINISH LINE! I saw the timing clock click over to 1:41, and the smile started. I really and truly knew that the sub 1:40 wasn't possible this fall, even though I would have liked it, but a 1:41? That would ROCK. And it was going to happen. It was happening!

This sounds so corny, but I was just so flippin' happy. I had run a perfect race for my current fitness level. I freaking nailed it that morning. I knocked out a HARD 13.1 miles. I knew I could do it, and I did it. Now, not only is finishing 13 miles not a big deal any longer, but finishing 13 miles running HARD, is totally and completely a given. I can do this. Covered in salt, sweat, spit, pee (hey, running is not a pretty sport....), I was grinning from ear to ear.

The grin is still here as I look over the final results: 6/193 women in the 40-49 AG. That's the top 3%. THREE PERCENT!!!!!!! I was 178/1490 overall (including men) - that's the top 12%. Overall. Cool Running lists the top 10 on their AG results page, and I'm freakin' there!!!!!!

Dayum.

*************          FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49          *************

Place    Name              Age     City            Net Time
========================================================================================
    1 KARA HAAS            40 CHELMSFORD      MA 1:26:16 
    2 KAREN ENCARNACION    45 E_WALPOLE       MA 1:28:18 
    3 CRISTINA WINSOR      42 WAKEFIELD       MA 1:30:13 
    4 MARYN BARRETT        41 EAST ANDOVER    NH 1:35:15 
    5 SHARON SEABURY       42 WAKEFIELD       MA 1:38:41 
    6 MICHELLE SPINA       42 WINCHESTER      MA 1:41:23 
    7 KRIS SZABO           40 BILLERICA       MA 1:41:57 
    8 KAREN KEENAN         48 WELLESLEY       MA 1:42:27 
    9 YILI YAO             40 ARLINGTON       MA 1:43:10 
   10 MICHELE MOSHER       40 BOXBORO         MA 1:43:18

21 Day Vegan Kickstart

2010-09-22T11:29:00.000-04:00

So, at the beginning of this month, nicely timed after a weekend filled with an abundance of food and drink, I started a 21-Day Vegan KickStart program organized by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). You can get in on the fun and see the details on-line: 21-Day Vegan Kickstart

I've been trying the vegan thing for a while now, actually, since just after the new year. I'd not been incredibly strict (didn't abandon the cream in my morning coffee, would get a massive craving for a good steak or a poached egg now and again and would indulge, etc.) so this actually hasn't been difficult at all for me - dropping the cream isn't as hard as I'd anticipated, and the indulgences were so few and far between that I really haven't noticed them gone. What has been GREAT though, is the list of recipes that the program is providing! For the most part, they are SUPER easy, while being a bit more interesting than my typical open the veggie drawer in the fridge and steam or saute up a melee of whatever I found in there. After enjoying my mid-morning snack today, I thought I'd share one of those recipes for you all! Here it is:

Easy Bean Dip

Makes 6 servings

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa
¹/₂ teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
Per serving (1/6 of recipe)

Calories: 81
Fat: 0.4 g
Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
Calories from Fat: 4.2%
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 4.7 g
Carbohydrates: 15.4 g
Sugar: 2.7 g
Fiber: 3.8 g
Sodium: 280 mg
Calcium: 47 mg
Iron: 1.6 mg
Vitamin C: 6.4 mg
Beta Carotene: 172 mcg
Vitamin E: 0.6 mg

This is absurdly easy, crazy healthy, and really, really good. I've had it with chopped up veggies, and today, with some of those Z Crackers that you can find at Whole Foods. Yum. Seriously.

People have asked how this way of eating effects my training. In a nutshell, it doesn't. Or, I should say, it effects it in a very positive way. I'm eating insanely healthy. I'd wager that I eat more vegetables in a day than the average person eats in a week. I get in a great deal of healthy fats via seeds, nuts, and avocados, and a crazy amount of antioxidants through the variety of fruits I eat. Overall, I feel really ...... light. Bouncy. Energetic. It's all good.

If you'd like to try to improve your diet but this whole "vegan thing" sounds a bit radical to you, just incorporate a few of the recipes into your diet. Make Monday a "Meatout Monday." Go from there and see how you feel. And leave the guilt behind when you simply need an awesome burger.

Baby steps my friends, baby steps.

MA State Tri Pics

2010-07-22T10:32:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention any actual *details* of my race in that report - doh! Here they are in all their gory detail:

Finish: 2:44:00

AG Place: 4/15

Swim*: 30:05

Bike: 1:20:21

Run: 51:29

*Remember, it was a no wetsuit swim!!!!

That put me 95th OA, 23/116 OA women, 4/15 AG.

What I'm most pleased about is my overall consistency - 25/116 in swim, 32/116 in bike, 29/116 in run. Usually my bike split is MUCH worse than that in terms of placement in the field, as is my run. So I'm seeing definite improvement this season - sweet!!!!!

And here are a couple of pics of the day:


Can you blame me for the tears????? Rock Stars.


Swim. I like this pic.

Climbing the long hill.

At the top. Ouch. I can see sweat dripping off my chin. That's pretty.

Bringing it in.

At the finish. No real need for this additional finish pic, but my legs look totally ripped so I couldn't resist.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

2010-07-21T20:59:00.000-04:00

I raced this past Sunday, the Massachusetts State Triathlon. While I'm always jazzed about my races, this one felt particularly exciting as I raced last year and had a LOUSY race (hissy fit thrown by another competitor during the swim messed with my head and I never really recovered). This year was all about redemption on the course, which I thought I would have otherwise enjoyed.

I had a solid week leading into the race - a few hard workouts early in the week (see previous post about slaying SheDevil below), with a few easier workouts to get ready for the big day on Sunday. I was feeling solid and ready to go! I was even relieved that wetsuits weren't allowed if you wanted to compete in your AG - thank GOD! It would have been MUCH too hot to wear one, but I would have felt compelled if everyone else was - I wouldn't give away the free speed, but was very happy to have it taken away from all of us for the heat relief. Once I figured out what to wear (Compete in a swim suit? Could the undercarriage tolerate 26 miles on the bike sans tri-shorts? Try to put on tri shorts in T1? Can you actually pull spandex over a soaking wet lower body? Wear the 1-piece tri-suit? Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!!) I was psyched and ready to go.

I was particularly excited about this race because I was finally going to meet Ange, a total ROCK-STAR athlete and all around wonderful woman. I've "known" her via her blog and Facebook for a few years now, but haven't had the opportunity to formally meet in person. I was really psyched to finally meet this true wonder woman! Anne, who was also racing that day, and I arrived at the site with plenty of time to spare, which was really quite nice. As we are walking in from the parking lot, I see a familiar form. I know that bike. I know that race suit. Can it be Ange? I'm pretty sure it's Ange!!!!!! We catch up to her as we enter the transition area and it WAS her! It was awesome to finally meet her, if only for a few minutes before we all had to start taking care of business. I like this venue a lot - plenty of close parking, and a large transition area that has a high energy feel to it. We saw a few other folks who we knew, and I had some time to get in a quick bike warm up and a warm up swim. I was ready. Let's go!!!!!

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Tears

Let's start with the tears. The Hoyt's happened to be racing on Sunday as well - while I of course know about them and have openly wept while seeing their story on TV and on-line, I hadn't yet had the privilege of racing with them. After my swim warm up, I saw Rick waiting to start on the lake in his raft. Seeing him there, smiling, ready to go as soon as the race got going........ Oh boy, here it comes. The tight throat. The shallow breathing. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. I am NOT going to cry. Instead, I moved a bit further down the beach so I couldn't see them as easily and got back to the business of focusing on my own race. Whew. That was a close call!!!!!!

We have a LONG wait before our wave, the LAST wave of the day, goes off. The Sprint racers start first, then the Oly waves head in. It was a good 20 minutes before us blue-cappers were hitting the water. By then, the Hoyt's had finished their swim (Dick pulls Rick as he swims using a harness attached to the raft) and were getting ready for the bike leg. Their bike was RIGHT next to where we were currently lined up - I could have reached out and touched them as they were getting settled. It was so incredible watching them - everyone was of course clapping and cheering, and what struck me the most was how happy EVERYONE was. Rick was clearly cracking everyone up - his mom (I assumed it was Mom) was helping Dick get him set in his bike seat and they both were smiling and laughing, even though it was clearly hard work getting him settled. They were LOVING this! That was the end of me - the tears finally made it out.......

Quickly enough it was time for us to go! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!! The swim went well and I still marvel at how far I've come in this leg - from being scared out of my MIND during my first race to now truly loving the swim, and a non-wetsuit swim at that. Incredible, just incredible!

Sweat

The heat was already in full swing as the bike leg started. You know it's going to be a hot day when you are DRIPPING on the bike, and it's not from still being wet from the swim! I had a plan and I stuck to it - biked hard, but not out of my control, and felt really solid and strong out there. The course is a nice one - I hope they can manage to fix the roads before next year as there were sections that were truly just BRUTALLY bad. One of the longer downhill stretches had one of the worst sections - I hit what felt like a ski jump and swear that I went totally airborne! YIKES! Bad roads aside, I feel like I had a solid bike and felt some serious competitive juices flowing - at one point, while gearing up to pass another woman, the following thought went through my head: "It's time to put the beat down on her. Go." WTH was THAT about???? "...the beat down???" Seriously????? But I will admit that it felt gooooooooood to feel so competitive. I'm coming along here!!!!!

Blood

It's not uncommon for me to head out on the run and immediately fall apart mentally. "Why am I doing this? This sucks!!!!! I have a cramp, I should walk. Good god, I'm walking. I suck at this. Why am I doing this again????" I'm happy to say that I think those days are over. I hit the run feeling good - 6.2 miles of hard running and this bad boy was in the bank. Go go go go go!!!!!!!!! While not easy by a long stretch, I actually felt really good on the run - I was running, and running hard, and my thoughts were mostly positive. I saw Ange as she was heading back in from the turnaround - wow. She looked amazing - I was happy that I got to cheer her on and she was kicking ass!!!!!! I love out and back courses because I can see who is in front of me. I counted the women .... 1 .... 2 ..... 3 ............ 14 ...... 15 ..... Sigh, stop counting, this is getting depressing. But, wait!!!!! They all looked young. And the youngsters started in a previous wave!!!!!! I'm ok. Yes, I'm ok. I also noted that they all looked WICKED fit and fast. And I wasn't all that far behind them. Hmmmmmmm. Am I actually starting to be (can I actually say it?) good? Wow. Maybe!

I was happy to hold it together for the full duration of the run - definitely my best overall Olympic distance performance. And I'm almost good. And that feels ...... GREAT.

But where's the blood, you ask? Ok, ok. There wasn't any. But Blood, Sweat and Tears sounded like such a good post title, I couldn't resist! I did have quite a nasty spot of chafing on my ankle from my timing chip strap though - does that count?

The Devil Came Down to Winchester.....

2010-07-14T06:25:00.000-04:00

We all have these types of internal struggles - or at least I hope it's not just me. You have a great morning training session, and afterwards, are excited about what you need to do for your second session later in the day. For me, that's after work - a long time after that first workout, which means many opportunities can appear to nix that evening workout. The day goes on. It gets hot and muggy out. I didn't eat enough. I'm a little stressed about work. And then the killer happens. SheDevil shows up.

I hate SheDevil - she can be incredibly convincing, but she is Bad News and needs to be kept at bay. But here she was, showing up around 5pm, planting some seeds of doubt: "You know you aren't REALLY going to do that track workout tonight Michelle. It's way too hot and sticky out, and you haven't eaten enough today. You'll be miserable." SheDevil has a point. It IS hot and sticky out, which means that a painful track workout is going to be made even more painful. And I HAVEN'T eaten enough, so I'll probably bonk. Hmmmmm. Maybe SheDevil is right?

And so it goes for the last hour of the day, before I head home and have to make the decision about what to change into: running clothes, or comfy hang-out clothes.

To my surprise I was able to ignore SheDevil and put on the running clothes as soon as I got home. I convinced her that I'd do a FEW repeats (7x800 at anaerobic plus pace - I was shooting for 3:31's, which would hurt, and hurt badly), see how I feel, and if I were TRULY miserable after 3, I'd throw in the towel. I grab my iPod and head out the door, to soon discover that the iPod battery is dead. "See," said SheDevil, "your iPod isn't even charged. You are not meant to do this run today." But I ignore her again and throw the iPod back in the house and head around the corner to the local high school track where I do my interval work. While I usually run with music, I figured I could entertain myself easily enough during the intervals - focus on my form, my breathing pattern, on not puking. That kinda thing. I do a few warm up laps around the track, and feel SheDevil's pull: "It is so hot and gross out - you are already soaked with sweat, just after an easy warm-up! This is going to kill you. And you know if you don't hit your intervals, you'll be upset. So why bother trying?"

Interval #1 starts. I check my split after the first 400 and find that I'm being a bit too aggressive: 1:40. While I feel good, I remind myself I have 7 of these and I can't blow up after 4. "But I thought we were only doing 3-4 anyway?" SheDevil chimes in. I finish the first interval in 3:25. Ooops - a little too fast, but I'm feeling good! Let's just slow the next one down a tad and see how it goes. Only 6 left!!!!!!! The next interval went just as well, and I dialed it back to a ..... 3:26. Come on, no blowing up here - slow it down! But the speed on such a yucky day (it really WAS hot and humid, and I really WAY underfueled and a bit hungry) gave me some confidence - I was going to finish this workout. Not just finish it, but KILL it!!!!!!

But SheDevil was persistent, continually looking for a chink in the armour: "Look at those dark clouds over there - it is going to start to storm soon!" "Did you feel that little pulling feeling in your hamstring? You don't want to pull a muscle before the race this weekend. Let's call it a day after this one - whaddayousay?" "But I LOVE running in the train, and running in the rain while doing tough intervals on the track, an already badass workout, would be doubly badass! BRING ON THE RAIN!!!!!" "No, no, I really didn't feel anything funny in my hamstring - I'm settling in nicely. I think it's time for you to just Shut. The. Hell. Up."

With each interval, the Devil was driven back, back, back. I ended up finishing all 7 intervals and nailing the workout - totally crushing my original goal split time and holding all of them sub-3:30's, finishing with my strongest at 3:24. "Just call me The Hammer because I just NAILED that workout!!!!!!!" That thought made SheDevil recoil in horror. It was the stupidest thing she's ever heard, and she wasn't going to stick around for the ridiculous giggling that she knew was coming as I ran home. The Hammer. Does that even make sense? I didn't care - at the time I thought it was freaking hilarious, and I laughed to myself all the way home. I'd blame oxygen deprivation, except I'm STILL laughing to myself about it...... I am SUCH a dork.

Jogging home, with a huge smile on my face, I realized there was likely a good life lesson in this to convey to the kids. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, or some such drivel. But all I came up with was my usual "Wanna hug?" when I walked in the door. This is a running joke in the family - I come in all smelly and sweaty and gross, and sincerely ask for a big hug. Which of course sends them running and screaming away in disgust. Good times.

Tonight's victory over SheDevil would just have to remain my little secret.

==============================
I realize I haven't blogged in ..... forever. An embarrassingly long time, in fact. But during this little battle with SheDevil last night, I realized that I really missed it, so I'm back!!!!! I hope you enjoy reading about my ramblings, and that you don't call the looney bin to have them pick me up. I don't think I'm ACTUALLY crazy, although with all the internal dialog I have in my head during my workouts, it might not be a totally ridiculous notion.

Winter Running

2009-01-28T15:55:00.003-05:00

On most days (especially in the months between May and December), I'd say that I truly love winter running. Feeling the crisp, cold air on your face. Hearing the distinctive crunch of snow under your shoes. Smelling the freshness in the air. It's truly beautiful. Like in the picture above - what's not to love about this? Sure, it's cold, but with the technical fabrics that exist these days, you really can dress very well, very easily.

Then there are days like today, where Boston was covered with an icy, sleety mess. At 5:30am this icy, sleety mess started by masquerading as snow, so I left the house, properly bundled in my favorite winter running gear, excited to start the day with a refreshing snowy run. "WHOA!!!!!" I yelled, as I went slipping and sliding down our front walkway. Eh, no big deal. Our walkway was icy from days past, and I just went out a little too quickly on it. I'll be fine once I'm on the road.

Thankfully, it was a short run on the schedule today. Even so, any sane person would have turned around after quickly discovering that this white stuff that looked like snow, was not snow. It was in fact some sort of crazy street lubricant that would give K-Y Jelly a run for its money. At the very least, I should have turned around and gotten my YakTrax so I'd have a chance out there. Nah, it's only a 30 minute run. I'll be fine.

I was fine, but it was a challenge! With every footfall, I'd slip backwards a foot length, so I was doing some bastardized version of the Running Man dance as I ran along the streets of Winchester. Not only do people think we runners are nuts for running in the cold and snow in the first place, but now I'm doing us an additional disservice by truly LOOKING like a fool while doing so. Sorry guys.

I hate running on a treadmill, but I believe today that would have been the better choice. Since I don't HAVE a treadmill, it was a moot point, but perhaps I should finally bite the bullet and get one.

And just imagine the brick workouts I could do, all right there down in the House of Pain? It might be worth it, it JUST might be worth it.....

Where the HELL have I been????

2009-01-28T14:56:00.004-05:00

Or, as an alternate title: I Hate January.

In my opinion, the only thing good about January is that it's over in a couple of days. And good riddance! I've had a lousy month, athletically / health speaking. We returned back to Boston after a truly lovely trip back home (Cleveland) to visit with family over the holidays. That's when it started. First, a neck spasm that had me jacked up on muscle relaxers and prescription pain killers for 4 days. In addition to keeping me from traveling on my first business trip for my new job (and therefore actually STARTING my new job as scheduled - nothing like starting off with 3 sick days, eh?), I was completely blocked from training for a full week.

Ok, well, a week isn't the end of the world. So after I find a good chiropractor who has me on a great program of PT, I'm back to it. Whew. I ramp back up to my usual training levels over the course of a week, and am rolling again, full steam ahead. Woo Hoo!

Then the stomach bug hits. HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING?!? I'm never sick. Ok, well, never is a strong word. I'm rarely sick. But this took me out for 5 days, which included my previously scheduled January race, Derry. You can read all about the fun that Claire and Mary had at the race, while I was at home, wishing I was suffering along with them. I missed out on Derry last year because I was babying my injured calf, to insure I'd make it to the starting line for Boston in April. So I HAD to run Derry this year! I simply HAD to!!!!!!

I'm back. Really, I'm back. The neck is better, and with ongoing PT I'll be better than new. And the stomach thing is gone. And hey, who am I to snub my nose at loosing a few pounds? Ok, not the greatest weight loss plan in the world, but, I'll take it.

I'm done with the whining, I'm done with the worrying, I'm just back to training, with my eyes set on next season.

But I won't be sad when January is a thing of the past.

My first silly run!

2008-12-14T17:27:00.006-05:00

There is no shortage of silly fun runs in the Boston area, but for whatever reason, I've never raced in any. For example, just yesterday was a race in downtown Boston called the Speedo Santa. It's a mere 1.25 mile race in the Copley Square area. A 1.25 mile race? What's the point? Did you catch the name? The Speedo Santa Run requires that runners wear speedos. And nothing else. Yup, you are understanding this correctly. A *LOT* of people pay MONEY (which all goes to charity) to run nearly naked in December in downtown Boston.

I had friends who ran and I would have LOVED to join them, but had other obligations that couldn't be changed. Yet ANOTHER fun run missed!

But luckily, today I had no plans other than the Somerville Jingle Bell Run, a 5k in Davis Square. My first fun run! And fun it was. Hundreds of folks dressed up in elf costumes, reindeer costumes, santa get-ups, etc., to run a 5k around Davis, followed by free beer at a number of local pubs after the race.

While it really was a good time, as far as races go, I now recall the reason why I was having a hard time remembering my last 5k time: I hate short distance running. I'm not even warmed up until I'm a solid 4 miles into a run or race! To be totally done well before I'm in my zone? That's just stupid. The short distance stuff hurts - you find that line as fast as you can - that line that's just a HAIR under "OMG, I'm going to throw up right NOW if I don't slow down" and you hold it for ~20 minutes. There is simply nothing fun or enjoyable about running just under that line. Because sometimes you drift OVER the line, so you really do get that "OMG, I'm going to throw up right NOW if I don't slow down" feeling for a few seconds until you micromanage your pace back down to just under the line.

But from a racing perspective, it was a good experience. Since it was a 5k, I was miserable, and a goal for me this year is to work on the mental aspect of racing. I've got an evil little minion living in my head that often tries to talk me into slowing down. To take it easy, to relax, to have fun! This minion is screwing with my head and needs to be dealt with. So I've been working with my coach on strategies to bat the minion down when she rears her lazy ass head during a race. And she was having a FIELD day this morning! But I used the tricks suggested and was able to successfully shut the bitch up. Woo Hoo! It wasn't a spectacular performance by any means, but it was respectable and I won the mental battle today. Definitely a "W" in the Win/Loss column for me.

And even better, I think it helped to kick me out of Funky Town permanently. I'm getting more and more jazzed about killer training sessions again, which is happy news. I was starting to worry that I'd shot my racing wad, and was simply DONE, as I've been a lazy ass for the last 2 weeks.

It feels good to have found my mojo again.

...live as if this is all there is.

2008-12-06T21:23:00.004-05:00

My bike trainer is set-up in the basement of my house. My house is a 120+ year old Victorian farmhouse in New England, which means that the basement is a scary, scary place. It's totally unfinished, with rocky walls, exposed beams and pipes, and lots and lots of spiderwebs. In other words, it's the perfect place to gut out bike trainer workouts. My bike is set-up somewhat in the middle of the basement, next to the furnace (because you really should sweat 4x your body weight when doing Spinervals workouts to do them right), with a TV/DVD in front of it. Off slightly to the left, is our downstairs spare refrigerator, and on that fridge I have a bunch of inspirational cards, magnets and pictures posted. You know, those square cards that Whole Foods carries with the feel good quotes on them? I collect the ones that may be inspirational when Troy is asking for the impossible 2.5 hours into a brutal workout. For example, I've got Eleanore Roosevelt's "Never never never give up" card. "Leap, and the net will appear." "When you are going through hell, keep going." That kind of thing. It does wonders for my psyche - I eat this stuff up.

My current favorite is from Mary Anne Radmacher. I don't know anything about Mary. I don't have a great literary background, and am embarrassed to admit that most of my free time reading is either triathlon books or magazines or trashy chick lit. So maybe Mary is famous - I'll have to look into that.

Anyway, the bit of genius that I love about Mary is the following:

live with intention.
walk to the edge.
listen hard.
practice wellness.
play with abandon.
laugh.
choose with no regret.
continue to learn.
appreciate your friends.
do what you love.
live as if this is all there is.

Nothing mindblowing, when you think about it. It's really just common sense. But ..... then again, how often do you really stick to these prinicples, if you'd like to call them that? At times it's really easy to just go through the motions day after day. You get up, you get your workout in, you get the kids ready for school, you go to work. You come home, make dinner, help the kids with their homework, clean up the house a bit, maybe squeeze in a few minutes on the computer before bed, then you hit the sack. Repeat. And repeat again. Over, and over, and over. You get numb to it all, and don't really see, feel, hear, experience.

But if you remember that last one, especially, that's such a shame. Live as if this is all there is. Oh My GOD!!!!! Going through the motions, not pushing to the limits as often as you can, not doing what you love. That's just CRIMINAL.

So I'm going to do my best to live as if this is all there is. Because, well, this IS all there is. I'm not going to waste it.

What about you?

Gettin' Sweaty in the Basement with Coach Troy

2008-12-04T20:53:00.004-05:00

Oh, stop it! It was a Spinervals workout!!! Big Gear Strength, to be exact. Although I will admit to having a HUGE crush on Coach Troy, but we'll leave that for another day...

I know that many people despise their bike trainers, but I love mine. I really do. I enjoy riding the trainer nearly as much as I enjoy riding outdoors. Now, if it weren't for Coach Troy and Spinervals, I'm sure I'd be in the "trainers are the work of the devil" camp. But with Troy, what's not to love? A handsome guy screaming at you to focus, ride harder, don't give up, "have some pride and finish strong." In addition, you've got a room full of uber fit cyclists and triathletes to watch suffer along with you. Awesome, awesome stuff.

Big Gear Strength is a 1 hour leg strength building workout. If you loving mashing the big gears, you will love this one. For the most part, you are parked in Big/12, only leaving for brief recovery periods. I happen to LOVE the standing sets, of which there are two. The first, fairly early in the workout, is a 5 minute set where you stand in Big/12 for 45 seconds, then sit in Big/13 for 15 - repeat that pattern 5 times. After the lunge sequence that comes at about the 2/3 point (3x10 lunges, each leg), you do it again, but this time for 3 minutes, alternating 50 seconds standing with 10 seconds sitting. Killer. And beautiful.

There is just under an hour of such quad burning fun, and you end with a leg and lung busting 3x20 seconds all out in Big/12. Ouch.

Troy can make me sweat like nothing else. My calves sweat. My forearms are dripping. I climb up the basement stairs when the workouts are over totally and completely spent, feeling like I just conquered the world.

I'm looking forward to my next sweaty session with Troy!

Thanksgiving Musings....

2008-11-25T14:33:00.003-05:00

To be perfectly honest, what I'm really doing is avoiding cleaning the kitchen, bathrooms, and upstairs hallway, which are the remaining areas of the house that I haven't yet decluttered, swept, mopped, dusted, or otherwise beautified to prepare for my Mom & Stepdad's arrival tomorrow. I'm not really one to muse about Thanksgiving - it's definitely toward the bottom of my favorite holiday list. Xmas has got the obvious appeal - presents, carols, cookies, presents, the kids' excitement as it gets closer to the big day and they get to see what they got from the big guy, ornaments, presents. You understand what I mean. Then there is Halloween - candy and the opportunity to scare little kids - that's just fabu. Easter - more candy - can't really argue with the appeal of that one. 4th of July has fireworks - totally cool. But Thanksgiving - what does it really have going for it?

The dinner - it's ALL about the dinner. And that's my big problem. First of all, I'm not a big cook. I don't enjoy it in the least. If left to my natural tendencies, I'll figure out the absolute easiest way to get a healthy meal pulled together, even if it makes no sense at all to anyone else. A low fat cheese stick and an apple? Dinner is served! Unfortunately, unless there is a market for a live action version of the Peanuts Thankgiving starring my family, I don't think a platter full of cheese sticks and apple slices is going to cut it. Which is unfortunate, as I do a mean Snoopy dance....

Anyway, so I'm not a cook, which makes hosting the holiday an issue for me (btw, I'm hosting this year, which is a clear sign that my parents love me (ok, that they love the grandchildren...), as I know they aren't coming for the food). But on top of it, I'm just not all that into food in general. Sure, I enjoy a fine meal when one is presented to me, with no effort on my part. But if I woke up tomorrow and was told that there would be no more eating? That I could get optimal nutrition (really, not a snake oil scam, but it would really work) from a pill? Whaaaa Hooooo! Count me in! Seriously, think about it! No eathing == no cooking == no dirty dishes == no cleaning up == more time to do stuff I actually ENJOY! And we could turn the kitchen into a big workout room - I wouldn't have to share my space with the kids playroom (and therefore I'd no longer have to threaten them with death if one of their friends touches my weights or tries to do a flip off my roman chair). The benefits to this no eating thing really are incredible, once you start thinking about it.

All that said, I am looking forward to the long weekend, even if I'll be spending much of it in, ugh, the kitchen. My folks will be here, and my kids are about to EXPLODE with excitement at the notion of seeing Grandma and Papa. We are planning some fun activities with them that I'm looking forward to (some walks in the Fells, around Horn Pond, a tour of the North End, etc.), and I enjoy just hanging out with them. So it will be all good in the end.

Of course, it would be better if we could sit down to a plate loaded high with the perfect blend of protein/carb/fat pills, but, I'll deal.

Gladys, the Glady-ator!

2008-11-24T14:51:00.002-05:00

Readers of my The Road to Boston '08 tale may recall that the driving reason for me running Boston last year was to celebrate my turning "the big four-oh." My birthday is about a week after the marathon, and I thought it would be a cool way to ring in a new decade. I thought I was pretty cool, thumbing my nose at aging and all that.

Compared to Gladys, however, I'm totally and completely lame. Check out this woman! Gladys is 90, and she's shooting to break the world record for the marathon in the 90-94 AG. Sweet Jesus! Who knew there even WAS a 90-94 AG!!!!!! This is her 5th marathon - she started training after she saw the fireworks for the 2003 marathon and thought it would be a cool thing to do. How many 85 year olds just decide that training for a marathon is a cool thing to do????

So here's to Gladys - keep on running (or, race walking, as the case may be!), old girl!

Busa Bushwhack Race Report

2008-11-21T08:51:00.004-05:00

Here's my race report from my most recent event, my FIRST EVER trail race (and THIRD EVER trail run!!!). I love race reports, so I'll sprinkle my reports from this season here and there when I don't have much else exciting to talk about.

Busa Bushwhack 9.3 Mile Trail Race Report: The race was Sunday (11/2/08), which was a truly glorious day to run - chilly (in the 30's) and clear. I was totally nervous as I've only ever run on trails TWICE, but thankfully the woman who got me into this is a nut and she took me on REALLY hard trails those two times, so I was well prepared. She had warned me that trail racers are just different than road racers, and she was right. This was SO laid back and casual - it was nice! We met for the pre-race meeting outside the school (we used the cafe for registration and to hold our "stuff" while we ran, which was really convenient), then we all walked together to the start - about 1/2 mile through a sleepy neighborhood. The starting line seemed totally and completely arbitrary - we were literally in the middle of the road, and all of a sudden a guy yelled "Go!" So, off we went! We ran about 1/4 of a mile down the road before we dashed into the woods. I call my friend the Wood Sprite - she darts through the trail with such ease and skill it's amazing - she was gone in a flash (which she takes great delight in as I'm faster than her on the road, which seriously pisses her off!). We all ran together (the 9.3 & the 5.3 milers) for a while, then the 5.3 milers split off which really helped to thin the crowd. The trail was fairly narrow and more technical that I had expected, but less technical than what I had run on previously, so I was never nervous or felt uncomfortable (or at least any more than usual when running on trails). I definitely had to pay attention to where I was running, but never did I think "Ummmm.... How do I get up THAT?" The trail was very well marked and there were a lot of volunteers on the course to guide us. But even with all that I managed to go off trail once - I was just following some folks in front of me, and they took a wrong turn. Luckily, they figured it out quickly enough so I didn't add too much additional running to the route!

There were some VERY challenging hills involved - 2 were truly impossible to run - EVERYONE was walking, and this thinned the crowd even more. I ran essentially completely alone for the last 4 miles or so, which was REALLY REALLY weird for a race situation. I had a few "Blair Witch Project" moments where I was CERTAIN that I was somehow running in circles, and I'd never find my way out, and I'd be eaten by wild dogs (which I was positive I heard baying in the background!). I did one superman imitation (tripped on a rock/root when I took my eyes off the trail for a second, went flying to the ground...), but didn't get hurt at all - thankfully it was on a fairly softish part of the trail, not totally covered in rocks/roots. The hardest aspect was watching both your footing and looking for the trail markers (pink ribbon tied to trees/bushes/whatnot) - the route often just took a turn onto no discernible path - you just started heading up a hill in a random part of the woods, following the pink ribbons, so you HAD to look up to see the trail blazes to make sure you weren't headed off in the wrong direction. It's really very mentally challenging as well as physically challenging. Given I was so alone out there, I was convinced that I was dead last. I didn't care, really, but again, it was a very strange feeling - you are NEVER alone in a race! Bizarre. The scenery was truly spectacular - I'd love to run the course again when I could run at a more leisurely pace and actually take it in a bit more. When I finished, in 1:22, I saw my friend who had finished a few minutes before me, and she started laughing when I told her I was last. "Then who are all those people coming in behind you?" So, I wasn't, in fact, dead last. Woo Hoo! LOL. More like mid-packish, toward the bottom of the mid-pack. But in the woods, you can't see the pack! It was GREAT fun, and I really, really enjoyed it. I'll definitely be seeking out more trail race opportunities, and will continue to try to get in one trail run per week!

The spaz in the pool this morning? Yeah, that was me.

2008-11-20T14:27:00.007-05:00

Now that I feel like I can truly practice on drills without feeling like I'm taking away "real" swim workout time (I know, I know. Swimming is ALL technique. Drills should be the BASIS of my swim plan, blah, blah, blah...), I spent a good deal of time this morning breathing on my right. You see, I'm a dedicated left side breather, and damn proud of it. When I read that it's good to be able to breathe on both sides, I gave it a try, and nearly drowned. I'm not sure what I do differently when I breathe to the right, but my form must go all to hell because I feel like a TOTAL spaz in the water.

Two of the big reasons commonly stated for bilateral breathing skill are: 1) in clockwise swims, you can see the buoys as you breathe, rather than having to actively sight for them, and 2) in high waves you might have to breathe to the other side to avoid taking a wave in the face. Well, conveniently for me, all of my races have been 1) counter clockwise, and 2) either in a lake or a very calm bay. So...... why again do I need to learn to breathe on the right?

I know deep down that I should pick up this skill before I hit a race when I'll NEED it, and will be cursing myself for being a lazy slob in the off-season. So, now that it's truly and honestly the off season, and I'm at a point in my training where I'm doing lots of aerobic intervals, it's time to finally learn to right-breathe (as well as commit to the flip turn, but I'm not talking about that now - that lunacy deserves its own post). Today after my warm-up and usual drills, I was to swim 8x200, with 15" rest in between each. And I mentally committed to giving the right side as much attention as the left, right out of the gate.

And so I went, initially alternating 50's, first doing left side breathing, then right side breathing. I must have looked insane - the first 50, I'd glide through the water like a fish, a truly beautiful and graceful sight, clocking impressive 50's even though they were purely aerobic.

"I didn't know that Dara Torres swam at the Woburn Y, did you Ralph?"

"No, I didn't, she's amazing!"

Then it would be time for the switch. "Ralph, is Dara having a seizure or something? She doesn't look .... right. Should we rescue her?" "Well, she IS making forward motion, so I think she's ok. Although I have NO idea what on earth she could be doing. Maybe it's some newfangled drill that only Olympians know about."

But, I kept it up. I'd switch things up a bit, sometimes swimming alternating 100's, sometimes doing the full 200 on one side, then switching for the next. And as much as the seizure-like swimming was driving me mad, I kept at it. And while the Dara-esque form never appeared on the right as it does on the left, by the end of the workout I think I was looking a BIT less like I was drowning.

Baby steps, boys and girls. Baby steps.

Well, drats...

2008-11-18T17:02:00.006-05:00

I haven't run with my running club since Boston, which is a shame as it's a great group and a great deal of fun. But immediately after the marathon, I was in full on triathlon training, which means my workouts were not only very structured (i.e., there was no "easy 6 miler" to map to the group's Wednesday run around Mystic Lake), but also had swimming and biking in the mix, and my running was done on my own for the most part. Anyway, it was decided that since I haven't run with them in such a long time, that I shouldn't be allowed to participate in the BAA number lottery. I'm slightly annoyed (I did pay my yearly dues!), but do understand their point (sort of).

So, it's not looking likely that I'll repeat Boston this year. Perhaps for the best - I'd like to get there on my own (qualify), rather than getting a number handed to me. Maybe this is the kick in the nads I needed to get a qualifying marathon on my athletic pursuits roadmap.

Running is bliss...

2008-11-17T08:44:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was supposed to be a rest day (according to the schedule prepared by my coach - I'll talk more about him at a later time), but my week got completely sidetracked on Thursday morning when I was told that I was being laid off. In short, a lousy few days followed, and my training plan went TOTALLY out the window. Although sometimes when bad things happen, you realize how truly lucky you are - the support I received from colleagues (actually, that's a poor description - these people are good, good friends, not just colleagues) and friends was tremendous, and I was truly blown away by their thoughtfulness and kind words/deeds. I could go on, but then I'll start crying, and I've already moved on from sadness to bitterness and anger about the whole thing and have no desire to backtrack - the bitterness/anger phase is great fun, while crying just sucks.

Anyway, so yesterday. Anne, one of the rock-star friends mentioned above, planned a long run for Sunday, followed by brunch at her house. In addition to being a great friend, Anne is a genius - she's an amazing cook, so if food is involved in any way, shape or form, you say yes to whatever she asks of you. "I'm cleaning the grout in my bathroom this weekend, want to bring your toothbrush and come help?" "Ummmm, I think I might have to take the kids to something or other this weekend......" "I'll make lunch!" "Oh! Well, then, I'm IN!" Not that food was needed as a lure for a long run. I'm a huge fan of the long run - while other folks complained about the longest long runs of marathon training, I looked forward to them. I use them to totally veg out and think about nothing at all, simply listening to my playlist (I have the greatest running playlist of all time) as I crank out the miles. I use them to think about problems with work. I use them to think about problems with life. The long run is better than any therapist in the world, and it's always available and free. You really can't beat that.

So I was in for the run even BEFORE Anne mentioned the food. The weather report wasn't looking great (a good chance of rain was predicted), but that was also of no concern, at least to me (I'm a big fan of running in the rain). Turns out we totally lucked out - it was a lovely day, a bit windy but that added a bit of fun to it. Anne's house is within a mile of the Fresh Pond Resevoir, which has a very nice 2.25 mile running loop around it, so we (Anne, myself, and her friend Laurie who I had met once before) headed over around 10:00 with the notion that we'd run 2 loops for sure, then make a call to decide whether to call it a day at 7 miles or tack on another loop.

Anne asked us what our goals were before we started (always the planner, that Anne!), while Laurie wanted to finish, I wanted to forget about life for a while. Hmmmmm, now I can't remember what Anne said! Anyway, we headed off and had a lovely run. We were all feeling good after the 2nd loop and continued on for another - it's amazing how quickly the miles go by when you are running with others and chatting! We called it at 3 loops and headed back to Anne's. She had already made muffins that were waiting for us, and started in on one of the best omlette's I've ever had!

It was a great morning with a great group. In addition to the wonderful company, I realized yet again that I'm stoked about my winter running plans. The 9 miles felt like nothing - I could have gone on for much longer, and today I feel great. I have definitely settled into the 1/2 marathon distance as being my comfort zone distance (I'm not even feeling warmed up until the 3-4 mile mark!), so I'm really excited about training for races like Derry and Stu's this winter.

Oh, and keep your fingers crossed for me! There are 7 people in my running club interested in the 5 numbers that the BAA has made available for us. I *really* want to run Boston again this year, this time without my bum calf so I can actually train HARD for it to see what I can do. I think I'll find out sometime this week if I get a number.

Viva la Run!

Welcome!

2008-11-17T08:33:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking ahead when I started my first blog, The Road to Boston '08. It was a great story about my training leading up to my first marathon, Boston '08 (and I'm not just saying that - OTHER people told me it was great, I swear!). But now, well, it's over - the race was run, I started, I finished, I laughed, I cried.... Well, you can read about all that in the old blog. The point is that the blog was about training for Boston, which has come and gone, so it's time for a new blog.

So here we are. I was surprised at how many people found and read and enjoyed my old blog, hopefully this one will be as interesting for folks. At the very least, I enjoy writing it, so even if I'm writing only to myself, that'll be ok too.

If you don't know me, check out my Boston blog to see if you like my writing style. I hope you stick around to hear about my training / random ramblings going forward. Which is what this blog will be primarily about. I'm a professional athlete trapped in a high tech weenie's body and life - which means while I have the heart and desire to train and race at a professional level, I actually don't have the talent required to pursue that option. I'm a solid front of the mid packer who for the most part truly loves training and is striving to be the best that I can be given my day-to-day life constraints (job, kids, etc.).