Winter finally arrived in Texas. I can't complain; we were still in the 70s and 80s in December and I just know it will be warm again soon. In the mean time, the trainer and I have been spending a lot of quality time together. I am watching the series 24 and it keeps me entertained while I sweat it out. I had a small set back (hopefully it is over!) last week. I had a 1:30 bike with a 1:00 run. I had a good strong bike session and as soon as I stepped out the door to run I had sharp right knee pain. I walked for a while to see if it would ease up with no success. Walking, biking and swimming were fine, but one step of running was painful. I called Active Spine and Sport and got an appointment for 6 days out. No running until the appointment made for no knee pain on the day I was scheduled to go in, but I went anyway and explained what I had experienced. Dr. Kemp did 45 minutes of active release therapy (PAIN!) and when I left there my entire right side felt awesome. It was so relaxed and loose. He said it is most likely just scar tissue building up. I am going for one more session this next week, but I have had two pain free runs and things seem to be back to normal. Pete bought me a foam roller to help stretch after my runs and I have new shoes on the way. I have had a few weeks of good workouts and things seem to be going well. Can't wait to get back outside on the bike!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Gettin' with the Program!
Dang it! I just typed up a good post and then I deleted it when I tried to increase the font!
Ok, what I was saying is...
Let's just pretend these last 3 weeks didn't happen. Workout wise, anyway.
Christmas was wonderful. New Years was a blast. And it all kicked my butt! Eating crap and missing MOST of your workouts will set you back, let me tell ya! But I can't say that I regret it. It was a great holiday season, as usual.
As of this week I am back on the program with motivation and determination. I am trying not to be frustrated by the loss of speed and endurance that a mere few weeks of laziness will cause. It will come back and I will be able to start seeing improvements soon.
Lots of trainer hours going on right now. I do not own the right gear to ride outside when it is 40 degrees and I don't have any motivation to buy it because I HATE to ride in the cold! I started renting the television series 24 and that keeps me entertained and I feel like I am able to give a good effort and get a good workout on the trainer. I am also hoping that it will benefit me that I am really hot as I ride with the heater on and no fan since my race is likely to be hot and humid.
So here we are. No turning back. Pushing hard and looking forward to lots of good training days.
Ok, what I was saying is...
Let's just pretend these last 3 weeks didn't happen. Workout wise, anyway.
Christmas was wonderful. New Years was a blast. And it all kicked my butt! Eating crap and missing MOST of your workouts will set you back, let me tell ya! But I can't say that I regret it. It was a great holiday season, as usual.
As of this week I am back on the program with motivation and determination. I am trying not to be frustrated by the loss of speed and endurance that a mere few weeks of laziness will cause. It will come back and I will be able to start seeing improvements soon.
Lots of trainer hours going on right now. I do not own the right gear to ride outside when it is 40 degrees and I don't have any motivation to buy it because I HATE to ride in the cold! I started renting the television series 24 and that keeps me entertained and I feel like I am able to give a good effort and get a good workout on the trainer. I am also hoping that it will benefit me that I am really hot as I ride with the heater on and no fan since my race is likely to be hot and humid.
So here we are. No turning back. Pushing hard and looking forward to lots of good training days.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Making it through the Holdiays
Last weekend we had our first of four Christmas celebrations for 2010. I love this time of year and all of the get togethers and parties, but they sure don't fit into Ironman training! I was a little stressed about it last week when I missed a number of workouts and then I realized that in about 10 days all of this fun will be over and I will still have nearly 5 months before race day. So I have decided to do what I can, go with the flow, and hit it hard again when January rolls around.
We had a blast at the Whiterock marathon relay! I am SO proud of Soren. She woke up at 4:30 am to run a 5 mile leg of the marathon that would not start until nearly noon! We were at the race site by 6:15 and it was pretty cold, so we stayed in the car for a while. Pete and I were running the 3rd leg and Soren was running the 5th, so our buses did not leave Fair Park at the same time. Pete and I loaded our bus and left our sweet 11 year old standing with strangers in the cold trusting that she would get on the right bus, make it to her relay exchange point and be waiting when Nana came running, many hours later. That was a crazy feeling. Pete and I arrived at our exchange point right before the race started, so we would wait for the 1st and 2nd relay members to complete their legs and then we would be off. Zach was handing off to me and thanks to cell phones, I had the warning of our first runner and was warmed up and ready when he came running. I had a leg that was, according to my garmin, 6.8 miles. I took off and was not in the mood to run hard, but felt the pressure of being on a team and pushed myself to a great run of 50 minutes. After I handed the timing chip off to my relay partner I waited with mom for Pete to come hand off to her (my team was a good 14 minutes ahead when Pete got the chip; he made up 8 minutes of that lead in those 6.8 miles!) and then I ran with mom to the 5th exchange and was able to run with Soren to the finish. Those 5 miles of running with Soren in the marathon atmosphere were so awesome! We had a blast taking in the cheers of the crowd and looking at the beautiful neighborhoods we were running through. This was Soren's first time to run 5 miles and she kicked butt! She averaged 9 minute miles and finished strong. She said she was able to take a nap on the bus and stay warm while she was waiting for her leg of the run. I was so relieved to see her waiting when mom and I ran up. What an amazing kid I have. That was such a fun day. I was able to log 16 miles for the day and enjoyed each and every one of them.
This week is Christmas. I am not sure how many of my workouts I will get competed, but I will give it my all.
We had a blast at the Whiterock marathon relay! I am SO proud of Soren. She woke up at 4:30 am to run a 5 mile leg of the marathon that would not start until nearly noon! We were at the race site by 6:15 and it was pretty cold, so we stayed in the car for a while. Pete and I were running the 3rd leg and Soren was running the 5th, so our buses did not leave Fair Park at the same time. Pete and I loaded our bus and left our sweet 11 year old standing with strangers in the cold trusting that she would get on the right bus, make it to her relay exchange point and be waiting when Nana came running, many hours later. That was a crazy feeling. Pete and I arrived at our exchange point right before the race started, so we would wait for the 1st and 2nd relay members to complete their legs and then we would be off. Zach was handing off to me and thanks to cell phones, I had the warning of our first runner and was warmed up and ready when he came running. I had a leg that was, according to my garmin, 6.8 miles. I took off and was not in the mood to run hard, but felt the pressure of being on a team and pushed myself to a great run of 50 minutes. After I handed the timing chip off to my relay partner I waited with mom for Pete to come hand off to her (my team was a good 14 minutes ahead when Pete got the chip; he made up 8 minutes of that lead in those 6.8 miles!) and then I ran with mom to the 5th exchange and was able to run with Soren to the finish. Those 5 miles of running with Soren in the marathon atmosphere were so awesome! We had a blast taking in the cheers of the crowd and looking at the beautiful neighborhoods we were running through. This was Soren's first time to run 5 miles and she kicked butt! She averaged 9 minute miles and finished strong. She said she was able to take a nap on the bus and stay warm while she was waiting for her leg of the run. I was so relieved to see her waiting when mom and I ran up. What an amazing kid I have. That was such a fun day. I was able to log 16 miles for the day and enjoyed each and every one of them.
This week is Christmas. I am not sure how many of my workouts I will get competed, but I will give it my all.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
going going going
So. Do you like how I have been updating more often as promised? :)
I have been able to stick to the program for the most part. Things are going well. I was able to take a girls trip to San Antonio and run the half marathon. It was such a great time. I went with two girl friends and we stayed at the host hotel; that was the first time I have done that. So.worth.the.money!!! I didn't even have to use a port-o-potty! That is unheard of at a marathon! I was able to run my half, run up and shower and then get back to the finish line to watch my friend finish her marathon. I had a great run with a 1:45 finish time. We had so much fun that we signed up for the Austin half on our way home that evening and booked the host hotel there. Can't wait! That run is in February.
a view of the starting line from our balcony
post race waiting for a table at a mexican restaurant on the river walk
I also got to run a fun 5k before Thanksgiving. It was the Grand Prairie Sneek a Peek. Runners from the family included me, Soren, Reese, Nana, Mat, Kara, Wyatt, Ashton, Parker, Zach, Jodi (with baby Anna bulging), Avery and even Alissa! We all went the full 5k! Go Parkers! We ran through the drive thru Christmas lights display. It was strange to run at night and I found that I was picking up my feet a lot more than normal. I ran a 21:38, which is a good 5k time for me. Running is going well.
Danna and I signed up to go to Hell Week in Fredericksburg in March. We plan on doing a 100-120 mile ride on Saturday and then ride again on Sunday (we will decide what distance after we assess the damage from the day before!) and then come home on Monday. I am excited to be with Danna when she rides her first century ride!
Training is going well. I am really glad that I have a good base because my schedule is a lot more demanding this time around and it is good to have the confidence that I can go the distance even if I don't always hit all of my workouts.
This is pre season week 12 and it calls for 11 hours. I will run a 6 mile leg of the Whiterock Marathon on a relay team on Sunday and since I need a longer run than that I will most likely just run on in to the finish. That will give me around 16 miles which is a little longer than I need but I love the race atmosphere so much that I am sure I won't mind! I am on a team with Zach and three of his friends and we are racing against Team Outlaws which includes Pops, Nana, Pete, Soren and Mat. Losers buy lunch. It will be such a great time.
Rock and roll. Love this life!
I have been able to stick to the program for the most part. Things are going well. I was able to take a girls trip to San Antonio and run the half marathon. It was such a great time. I went with two girl friends and we stayed at the host hotel; that was the first time I have done that. So.worth.the.money!!! I didn't even have to use a port-o-potty! That is unheard of at a marathon! I was able to run my half, run up and shower and then get back to the finish line to watch my friend finish her marathon. I had a great run with a 1:45 finish time. We had so much fun that we signed up for the Austin half on our way home that evening and booked the host hotel there. Can't wait! That run is in February.
Me, Nancy and Kellie pre race on our balcony
a view of the starting line from our balcony
post race waiting for a table at a mexican restaurant on the river walk
I also got to run a fun 5k before Thanksgiving. It was the Grand Prairie Sneek a Peek. Runners from the family included me, Soren, Reese, Nana, Mat, Kara, Wyatt, Ashton, Parker, Zach, Jodi (with baby Anna bulging), Avery and even Alissa! We all went the full 5k! Go Parkers! We ran through the drive thru Christmas lights display. It was strange to run at night and I found that I was picking up my feet a lot more than normal. I ran a 21:38, which is a good 5k time for me. Running is going well.
Danna and I signed up to go to Hell Week in Fredericksburg in March. We plan on doing a 100-120 mile ride on Saturday and then ride again on Sunday (we will decide what distance after we assess the damage from the day before!) and then come home on Monday. I am excited to be with Danna when she rides her first century ride!
Training is going well. I am really glad that I have a good base because my schedule is a lot more demanding this time around and it is good to have the confidence that I can go the distance even if I don't always hit all of my workouts.
This is pre season week 12 and it calls for 11 hours. I will run a 6 mile leg of the Whiterock Marathon on a relay team on Sunday and since I need a longer run than that I will most likely just run on in to the finish. That will give me around 16 miles which is a little longer than I need but I love the race atmosphere so much that I am sure I won't mind! I am on a team with Zach and three of his friends and we are racing against Team Outlaws which includes Pops, Nana, Pete, Soren and Mat. Losers buy lunch. It will be such a great time.
Rock and roll. Love this life!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Training!
Training. Check. Blogging. Not Check. Sorry. It is going great! This is week 6 in a 36 week program. It started slow; taking the entire summer off didn't help my speed or endurance-go figure. But my body is slowly remembering how to train for an Ironman. I ran the Reuel Little Classic half marathon two weeks ago. 1:51. Not bad for where I am and considering I ran it as a training run. I was happy with it. Funny thing is - I was the overall female winner! I guess all of the fast girls slept in that day. Sweet. I can pick 'em! I promise to update more often on this road to IM Woodlands.
I will just pick up where I am. This week's schedule:
Swim: 2:30
Bike: 4:15
Run: 2:10
Total: 8:55
Easy cheezy.
Swimming is going well. I am swimming at a new gym across the street. I set the alarm for 10 til 5 and I am in the water at 5! Love it. I was timing myself on my 100s last week and I was frustrated that they were slower than last year. I felt like I had made some improvement and I was giving it all I had for these. Then when I was leaving the pool it dawned on me that it could possibly be a 25 meter pool rather than yards. I asked at the front desk and indeed it is meters! Sweet! It is always nice to not be slower. I am so excited to have Danna to chat with about training. She is racing with me! It is going to be so fun!
I will just pick up where I am. This week's schedule:
Swim: 2:30
Bike: 4:15
Run: 2:10
Total: 8:55
Easy cheezy.
Swimming is going well. I am swimming at a new gym across the street. I set the alarm for 10 til 5 and I am in the water at 5! Love it. I was timing myself on my 100s last week and I was frustrated that they were slower than last year. I felt like I had made some improvement and I was giving it all I had for these. Then when I was leaving the pool it dawned on me that it could possibly be a 25 meter pool rather than yards. I asked at the front desk and indeed it is meters! Sweet! It is always nice to not be slower. I am so excited to have Danna to chat with about training. She is racing with me! It is going to be so fun!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
On the Program
This week Pete and I started introductory week 1 of a 36 week training program for the Woodlands race. I am trying not to be frustrated at my lack of speed and endurance from my long leisurly summer. There is much work to do and I am very excited to get back into the groove of a regular workout schedule. Today I stumbled across a quote for some running motivation:
LISTENING TO YOUR FEET crunch gravel for an hour can erase a day's worth of stress
Monday, August 2, 2010
Here We Go!
It was nice to take 2010 off from racing, but it is again time to get serious. Let's do this!
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