On Monday I had my first swimming lesson in over a decade. Evidently the techniques I learned a long time ago stuck with me so there were no comments along the line of "Oh my goodness, what have you been doing?!" I got a few pieces of advice on how to increase the efficiency and strength of my strokes, so that is good.
Beyond that it's been a slow couple of weeks for training. Last week I hurt my arm (don't ask) and this week I've had other commitments. Though with the time rapidly closing in, the Tri needs to become the commitment I skip other things for. I'm considering starting a more structured training plan based on one I found. I will shift the days around so that Wednesday is my rest day (which is only rest from exercise but will still be full of SCA goodness). Then I think the Sat/Sun rest day will have to be flexible based on my SCA schedule as well.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Ultra Pinkness!
I'm sure this somehow relates... the boxing instructor has referred to me as "Pink skirt" on a number of occasions due to my day-glo pink running skirt I sometimes wear. So this week I picked up a pastel pink exercise top from Target and wore just lots of pink. This of course got the reaction of "You better be hitting hard today if you come in a skirt AND all pink." Exactly what I was going for. I kinda like the image. All pink with skirt, and then boxing gloves throwing out some hard hits.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Training by-product
In general I've been focusing on increasing my distances and keeping my speed roughly around 10min/mi. To some extent I thought time on Saturday was quicker because I was running in a (MUCH) larger group. Yet today I ran a 5k by myself and ended up doing it in 28:30 which included a long nasty hill and a bit of walking. I know at somepoint I will need to work specifically on speed but right now I'm still in the phase of wanting to increase my endurance.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
5th!
I took 5th place in my division! I was only 3 minutes behind the 3rd place winner. The results are at posted for your browsing pleasure.
Before you congratulate me too much, remember that there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. While I placed 5th in my division, there were only 8 women (guess all the college girls were still home on spring break). Next year I move up an age division and the woman with the closest time to my own placed 24th out of 46 so that is probably more representative. Overall I was 231 out of 435 runners. So just barely outside of the top 50%. Though Congrats to David for making the top 50% cutoff.
I am still very happy with my run and given that I've been doing this for less than a year, I think it's pretty good.
Before you congratulate me too much, remember that there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. While I placed 5th in my division, there were only 8 women (guess all the college girls were still home on spring break). Next year I move up an age division and the woman with the closest time to my own placed 24th out of 46 so that is probably more representative. Overall I was 231 out of 435 runners. So just barely outside of the top 50%. Though Congrats to David for making the top 50% cutoff.
I am still very happy with my run and given that I've been doing this for less than a year, I think it's pretty good.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Martha Jefferson 8K race
This morning I ran in the Martha Jefferson 8K race. It was cold (40-45ish) and wet (mostly drizzle but one good down pour right before the race), but I ran it anyways. Despite the conditions I had my best time and pace yet for anything over a 5K.
I ran the 4.9mi (according to my Garmin) in 45:38 with an average pace of 9:18/mi. I was honestly expecting to be closer to 10/mi so that's quite a jump. Guess I just REALLY wanted out of the rain. My heart rate stayed mostly in zone 4 & 5 (as it should be) which means I was pushing at a reasonable pace for myself but could probably up it a little as I get more fit.
Based on last year's results, I would place in the 45-50 percentile range overall but dead middle for my division (female, 20-24). However, with the weather keeping all but the die-hards or the crazies (you may guess which I am) away I would suspect I might end up ranking lower. That does not diminish my achievement since I still ran and set a new PR (personal record).
Edit: Looks like this race knocked out all sorts of my time based running goals. Only original one that I had remaining was 10K in 60 minutes. I'm pretty confident I can do this and on a surface besides the UVA track. Just a matter of getting out there and doing it. I may add some goals to increase distance such as becoming comfortable running 10 miles, though I don't think I will be to that point by March 29th for the Cville 10 mile race. I need to work more on sustained energy.
I ran the 4.9mi (according to my Garmin) in 45:38 with an average pace of 9:18/mi. I was honestly expecting to be closer to 10/mi so that's quite a jump. Guess I just REALLY wanted out of the rain. My heart rate stayed mostly in zone 4 & 5 (as it should be) which means I was pushing at a reasonable pace for myself but could probably up it a little as I get more fit.
Based on last year's results, I would place in the 45-50 percentile range overall but dead middle for my division (female, 20-24). However, with the weather keeping all but the die-hards or the crazies (you may guess which I am) away I would suspect I might end up ranking lower. That does not diminish my achievement since I still ran and set a new PR (personal record).
Edit: Looks like this race knocked out all sorts of my time based running goals. Only original one that I had remaining was 10K in 60 minutes. I'm pretty confident I can do this and on a surface besides the UVA track. Just a matter of getting out there and doing it. I may add some goals to increase distance such as becoming comfortable running 10 miles, though I don't think I will be to that point by March 29th for the Cville 10 mile race. I need to work more on sustained energy.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Retaking 7th grade shop
In 7th grade we had a required tech course which taught us all sorts of useful skills such as reading transistor strengths, welding, and bike repair. Guess which one I took a refresher course on tonight.
The Cville triathlon club organizes group work outs, races, social get togethers, and some skill building workshops. Tonight the workshop was on bike repair so when (not if) your bike breaks down in the rain on the side of the road, you have an idea what to do. So much of what they were teaching seemed completely new to me and I realized I hadn't remembered a thing from 7th grade. Therefore tonight I learned what to listen for when trying to diagnose an issue, how to change a flat tire, and the importance of 50 cents worth of oil.
As for the training, I've been doing a fair amount but no great accomplishments recently. I'm working on endurance in the pool. I'm fighting a re-occurring blister from running. I'm doing spin class when I can until it warms up. I'm taking boxing in case something goes terribly wrong. I'm adding in brick workouts (where you ride for quite a while then go run).
Remember how your legs always feel funny when you first get off a bike. Now take that wobbly feeling and go run 6 miles. It will hurt greatly for the first mile or so while the muscles shift but then life should be fine. Therefore to train those muscles to do the shift, we practice that transition - called a brick.
The Cville triathlon club organizes group work outs, races, social get togethers, and some skill building workshops. Tonight the workshop was on bike repair so when (not if) your bike breaks down in the rain on the side of the road, you have an idea what to do. So much of what they were teaching seemed completely new to me and I realized I hadn't remembered a thing from 7th grade. Therefore tonight I learned what to listen for when trying to diagnose an issue, how to change a flat tire, and the importance of 50 cents worth of oil.
As for the training, I've been doing a fair amount but no great accomplishments recently. I'm working on endurance in the pool. I'm fighting a re-occurring blister from running. I'm doing spin class when I can until it warms up. I'm taking boxing in case something goes terribly wrong. I'm adding in brick workouts (where you ride for quite a while then go run).
Remember how your legs always feel funny when you first get off a bike. Now take that wobbly feeling and go run 6 miles. It will hurt greatly for the first mile or so while the muscles shift but then life should be fine. Therefore to train those muscles to do the shift, we practice that transition - called a brick.
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