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December 30, 2005

Things That Shall Not Be Mentioned

Posted by Dawn at 08:28 AM | Comments (2)

December 20, 2005

Thwarted!

The plan this week was to work out three times - Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Today was supposed to be a day at the gym in the morning, with the treadmill class followed by the lower-body class. I got all my stuff together last night, set the alarm for 5, and went to bed, mentally prepared to get up and go to the gym.

Except, when my alarm went off at 5? The two hours of sleep I'd gotten on Sunday night reared their ugly head. Sure, I'd gone to bed at 8:30, but a mere 8.5 hours of sleep after a night of almost none? Just wasn't enough. I told myself I'd go in early, leave early, and go to the gym after work. No problem. I have a bunch of stuff to do tonight, but leaving at 4 to hit the gym would give me enough time to fit it all in. I reset my alarm for 6:30 and went back to sleep for another glorious 90 minutes.

Then I got to work. And work happened. And I remembered why I go to the gym in the morning. I got scheduled for a meeting at 5. PM. So no gym after work. No problem, I'll just go during "lunch" (I'd already eaten lunch at my desk). Except, it was 12:45 - I'd need close to an hour and a half to go, run, shower, and get back to work, and I had a meeting at 2. No dice. And the meeting at 2 was the very reason I couldn't leave at 3, hit the gym, and then make it back home in time for the 5 o'clock call. (If you think I'm taking a 5 p.m. call at my desk when I have the option of doing it at home? You're crazy.)

Then I thought I could go after the call. Which would totally work out. Except... I have to wrap presents, go to a friend's house and drop a gift off, then come home, and pack for my trip home this weekend. And do some serious gift knitting. And get to bed at a decent hour. If I leave for the gym at 6? I won't be home before 8. Which means the rest of that stuff will not get done at a decent hour.

So, sadly, today's workout has been canceled, because The Man is keeping me down. All there is to do now is look forward to going for a nice refreshing run on Thursday.

Posted by Dawn at 03:02 PM | Comments (4)

December 19, 2005

Easy Does It

After a weekend of some good sleeping (not including last night, during which I was struck with a wicked case of insomnia for no good reason), I'm feeling just about back to 100%. My first inclination was to jump back in to my workout schedule 100% this week... but then I totally wore myself out walking around a shopping mall yesterday, and thought better of it. We're going to ease back into it.

The plan for this week? Every other day. I'll do my treadmill/strength class combo on Tuesday and Thursday morning, and then shoot for a longish run (at least an hour, maybe more if I feel up to it) at home on Saturday. I'll take Sunday off, and then next week I'll try to add a few more workouts, depending on how I feel. I'm not in training for an immediate goal race yet, so I just have to remember to take it nice and easy, so I don't overdo it and get sick again. (However, I'm starting to get antsy to run and swim again, which I'm taking as a good sign.)

Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight, so I can get up early and get myself back to the gym.

Posted by Dawn at 11:16 AM | Comments (1)

December 13, 2005

Down for the Count

I've found myself with a nasty, vicious cold this week. Last night, I was thinking, "I need to make sure I get to bed super-early, so I can get up early to go to the gym." Then I realized the gym? Probably not my best plan. Going to bed early, though, that was a good plan.

So, for now I'm going to focus on sleeping and hydrating and kicking this darn thing. The nice thing about being in an in-between time with my training right now is I don't feel pressured to get back into it before I'm well. I'd rather be running, but I'd also rather be healthy. And not having a major goal race any time soon means I can take all the time I need to get healthy, and not feel bad about it.

Send orange juice, and hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things next week.

Posted by Dawn at 10:18 AM | Comments (1)

December 06, 2005

Gilberts Cross Country Challenge

A couple of months ago, some people on the running board I read started talking about this race in December. It was called a "cross-country challenge", it was 8K, about an hour outside of Chicago, and apparently a great time. Having just recently discovered how much fun trail running is, I signed up for it without even thinking. I was looking forward to a crisp Sunday morning romp through mud and trees and whatnot.

Then I got up on Sunday, and realized that it was cold. It was beyond cold. It was "friggin' freezing, Mr. Bigglesworth" kind of cold. I'd stayed with a friend the night before, and all I had with me was a long-sleeved dri-fit shirt and a long-sleeved t-shirt to layer over it, dri-fit pants, gloves, and a headband. Before we even left the apartment, I was wishing I'd had the foresight to pack some extra clothes. In the car, I was torn between wanting the heat cranked up and not wanting to get used to being too warm. Thankfully, when we got to the race, one of the guys we met there had an extra sweatshirt he let me borrow. I was still freezing my tail off, and my toes had long since given up even trying to pretend that they were warm, but it helped.

Number and packet pick-up, as well as the post-race celebration, were in a barn near the parking lot. The start of the race was probably close to a mile away, on the other side of the freeway. We jogged towards the start with everyone else, and I started warming up. Fast. By the time we got to the start, I was ready to strip off the sweatshirt and go. (Of course, once I got running, I was desperately wishing I'd been more careful and not pinned my two shirts together when I put my number on. I was sweaty and wickedly hot, and would have gladly stripped off the extra shirt.)

And go we did! After we dumped our extra layers (and extra dry clothes to change into after the finish), a volunteer came over to tell us that the race had already started. Oops! We took off, crossed the start line, and off we went. We could still see the big pack of runners crossing the field and going up the first hill, so we knew we weren't too far back. Plus, none of us were really "racing" this race, so it didn't matter that we started a few minutes behind. (We found out later that we were about 2 minutes behind the official start - not too bad.)

We struck out across a field to the first hill, and that field was nasty. First, there was the wind. Secondly, we were running diagonally across furrows in the field, and those furrows were frozen solid. It was bumpy, uneven, and a total pain in the butt to get across. I took is slowly, ran in the footsteps of the person in front of me, and prayed that I wouldn't turn my ankle in the first quarter mile of the race. Then it was up and down a hill, and into the woods.

I'd seen pictures of this race from last year, and it was MUDDY. Everyone was covered in dirt, and I'd expected more of the same. In fact, I was sort of looking forward to it. However, the dry summer, combined with the insanely cold weather, meant that there was no mud. No creek crossings. No nothing. Just snow and leaves. In a few spots, you could tell where there should have been mud, because the ground was softer, but all in all, it was a dry, snowy course. On one hand, I was relieved. The idea of getting wet in what must have been single-digit wind chill was not one that appealed to me at all. On the other, I had been looking forward to splashing through the mud, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that there wasn't any.

There was a group of 7 of us that ran together. None of us were racing, so we'd start off, spread out into a couple of groups, and every so often the people in the front group would stop, and we'd wait for everyone to catch up before taking off again. I've never run a race in a group like that before, and it was a lot of fun. Of course, staying with the group meant that I had 6 witnesses for the couple of times I decided to slide down the hills on my butt, instead of running or walking down them. That's fine. I'm used to a little healthy ridicule, and it was way better than being afraid of slipping down the hill and hurting myself. (I'm terrified of big, steep downhills. Having it be slippery enough to slide down was actually a relief.)

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and this race eventually did. When I got to the top of the last hill, I made sure I had a clear path, then went for it. I barrelled down the hill and across the furrowed field, and met up with my group right before the final dash to the finish. We waited for the rest of our runners, then took off for the last time, crossing the line together around 1:07.

Once we got changed into our dry layers, it was back to the barn for post-race refreshments. I was absolutely starving, and very glad to see trays of fried chicken and pasta and roast beef sandwiches, despite the huge line to get to it all. I grabbed a banana while I waited in line, and then took a little bit of everything when I got to it. It wasn't anything special, but it was tasty. And hot, which was almost more important. Maybe that's why it tasted so good. Sadly, there wasn't any hot cider or hot chocolate or any other sort of warm beverage, but I managed.

The highlight of the morning, though? Being able to take a nice, long, hot shower and thaw out when I got home.

Posted by Dawn at 02:54 PM | Comments (2)

December 05, 2005

Week in Review: 11/28 - 12/4

Monday, 11/28: Rest day Tuesday, 11/29: 3.25 miles of speed/hill intervals; lower body workout Wednesday, 11/30: Rest day Thursday, 12/1: 3 miles of intervals; upper body workout Friday, 12/2: 550m swimming Saturday, 12/3: 1350m swimming (swim class at gym) Sunday, 12/4: 8k cross-country race Total: 11.22 miles running; 1900m swimming

Posted by Dawn at 11:09 AM

December 02, 2005

I Love the Smell of Chlorine in the Morning

I really do - that big whiff of humid, warm, chlorinated air you get when you open the door to a pool area? I've loved it ever since I was a kid, and still do. I loved playing in the pool when I was little (and, well, still do), and the smell of chlorine reminds me of that. Or something. Whatever the reason, it's a good thing, because right now? I reek of it. Seriously. My hands will. not. stop. smelling like chlorine. I took a shower after getting out of the pool, I've washed my hands a few times, I've tried multiple applications of lotion. Yet, the hands, they still smell.

However, despite the lingering eau de pool, I'm glad I got up early and went swimming today. It went much better than last time - partly because, since last time, I got new googles, and so I'm no longer getting water in my eyes when I turn my head to breathe. It's amazing how much of a difference that makes.

I managed to get through 550 meters in the half-hour or so I was in the pool - I took a small break after 25 meters, then a longer break after the next 25. My recovery breaks got longer the more swimming I did, but that's OK. I was hoping to get 800 meters in, but there's always next time. I probably could have done another 250 meters, because I didn't feel especially tired. However, I could feel it getting harder and harder to keep good form, so I must have been more worn out than I felt. I figured that, at this point, it's more important to do fewer, better quality, laps with good form than it is to get a ton of distance in. The last thing I want to do is develop bad habits that I'll just have to do more work to break later.

So, even though it was shorter than I hoped, it was still a good workout. I'm definitely feeling much better about this triathlon I'm signed up for next summer. I've established that I can, indeed, cover 400 yards of swimming. Now I just need to start stringing those 25 meter chunks together so I can do it all in one piece.

Posted by Dawn at 12:05 PM

December 01, 2005

Week in Review: 11/21 - 11/27

Monday, 11/21: Rest
Tuesday, 11/22: 4 miles
Wednesday, 11/23: 5 miles
Thursday, 11/24: 4 miles
Friday, 11/25: Rest
Saturday, 11/26: Rest
Sunday, 11/27: Rest

Total: 13 miles

Posted by Dawn at 01:34 PM

Week in Review: 11/14 - 11/20

Monday, 11/14: Rest
Tuesday, 11/15: 2 miles; lower body workout
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 3 miles; upper body workout
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Legs so very sore after Tuesday's lower body workout.
Total: 5 miles

Posted by Dawn at 01:31 PM

Treading 'n' Shedding

Tuesday morning, I got to the gym right as the Tread 'n' Shed (treadmill) class was starting. I was planning to run on my own, but when the instructor came by and asked if I was going to be doing the class with her? I made a split-second on-the-spot decision to do the class. She gave me the quick rundown of how it works (she dictates the inclines, speed is set by us based on 70% effort (comfortable) to 100% effort (all-out sprint)), and we were off.

I had a little trouble figuring out the pace to start - as I was running this summer, I learned to think of things in terms of 5K pace, 10K pace, marathon pace, etc. To translate that to effort percentages was a little challenging. I did OK, I think. I was constantly tweaking my speed, but I guessed pretty close for the most part. We did hill intervals, speed intervals, and a few really nasty sets that combined hills and speed. To which I said, well, not much, really, since I was pretty much sucking wind at that point and praying for the 30 or 45 or 60 or however many seconds to be over already. It was tough. By the end, I was winded, sweaty, and my heart rate was up. It was awesome. So I went back for more this morning. Today's workout was slightly different, focusing on speed more than hills - this is good. I feel like I can do this class twice a week without killing myself, and so that is the plan from now on. It's a lot more interesting than straight running for that time, and I feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck, so to speak, even if I do only cover 3-3.5 miles in the course of the class (according to the treadmill).

One thing I will say about this class - it's fun. Today, we had a 2-minute sprint interval. I started it at 7.0 MPH, and then gradually kicked it up over the course of the two minutes, realizing that I could actually go faster. By the time the interval was over, I was cruising along at 7.7 MPH, or 8:00 pace. I may have only held that pace for 15 seconds, but it was a cool feeling to be going that fast. It was an even cooler feeling to think I could have gone faster and/or longer.

So, because I like this class and I think it'll do me some good over the winter, I'm revising my off-season plan. I'm tossing the mileage guidelines out the window, and I'm just going to run by time. The treadmill class is 45 minutes long (although we only spend about 40 minutes of it running), so I'll do that twice a week. Then I'll try to get in another weekday run of an hour, and a weekend run of 1.5 - 2 hours. Add in a day of swimming, and a day of biking, and I think I'll be all set for the next couple of months. The next trick is to figure out how to get workouts in on Mondays and Wednesdays. I've been working from home on those days, and so far, I've failed to either get up early enough to run before work or get my butt out to run at lunch. After work isn't an option, partially because it's dark, but also because I just don't have time - in order to get to my Japanese class in the suburbs on time, I need to leave pretty much right after work. Since I no longer have the long, no-good, very bad, horrible commute into the office, I'm thinking about giving up my work from home days so I can go to the gym before work. (Yes, I realize I could get up, go to the gym, then come back home, but that just doesn't appeal to me at all, especially since the gym is wickedly close to the office.) Thanks to my new-and-improved commute, I'll still get home in time to leave (immediately) for class, especially if I sneak out a bit early. Maybe I'll try that on Monday, see how it works out.

Also, I'm pleased to report that the strengthening and toning classes are going well. The woman who teaches that is the same woman who does the treadmill class, and, while she's tough, she's not the Crazy Workout Nazi that was covering for her the first time I did the class. As a result, I totally could have run yesterday if I'd managed to get my butt out the door, and had no problems with the speed and hill drills this morning. Also, during the circuit training classes, she goes around the room and lets us know if our form is OK, or if we need to fix something. This is something I don't think I've ever seen an instructor do, and it's nice. (Although, there have been a few times where I've felt like I've been working, she's made an adjustment, and then it just got HARD. While I may not have appreciated it right then, at least I know I won't be forming too many bad habits on her watch. Nor will I be killing myself.) Plus, a lot of her exercise incorporate a balance or core strength component - Tuesday morning, we did one-legged squats, and today, we did shoulder exercises and push-ups on a BOSU. As I am quickly learning, I have horrible balance and a fairly weak core, so these things will definitely help that.

In summary: gym, good. Classes at the gym, good. Building core strength, super-good. By the time my next marathon training cycle starts in January or February, I'll be ready to rock and roll.

Posted by Dawn at 01:29 PM | Comments (5)