Sick, Sick, Sick

Ugh. What a week/weekend. I started with just a sore throat on Wednesday, but of course I have a cold that's been running it's course. Sore throat is gone, followed by terrible congestion on it's way out (but still lingering), with a stuffed/runny nose on-coming. My run on Friday felt heavy. A typical brick workout on Saturday was just a bike. I completed my run workout on Sunday. It was a struggle, and is anyone could hear me it probably sounded like I was dying at times. I was a coughing, wheezing, congested mess. Given that I'm already getting over the congestion, I'm hoping it'll resolve quickly.

My resolve for biking is waning off. I'm just not sure if the time and money needed to properly invest in it is worth it. I mean, I really enjoying the cross-training I do during the week; it's a nice and necessary break from biking. But not so for the weekend long rides. Even though needed for triathlon training, I can't help but feel it's gets in the way of running, my REAL passion.

Despite being under weather, and because I was unable to run Saturday, I got up extra early on Sunday for a long run at Umstead Park, to precede my [somewhat] regular group run. It was drizzling and cold. But I dressed warm and used my new friend - the headlamp. Running in the dark is a pretty novel experience and one I have enjoyed. The run was definitely tough at times, given my clogged lungs. However, there were several highlights. One was getting lost and getting a unexpected stretch of single-track trail, but most came from those inexplicable runner highs and lows from being out there.

I do think I've found my fuel of choice. I've done Clif Shot Blocks, and various sports drinks and gels. All worked, but I was never like "THIS is the one." Well, I really found that Jelly Belly's Sports Beans were great. It was sweet enough, and I loved the delivery. I just tossed the whole bag (about 100 cals, same as a serving of Shot Blocks or a gel) and it breaks down just like gum. I shoved the wad into the corner of my mouth and let it dissolved slowing. I dunno, maybe it was just that I happened to REALLY need to fuel, but I just thought it was perfect.

Busy week and uncertain weekend. David deploys this weekend for several months.

I got my first flat on my front tire. Sad, but it happens.

A little rat dog ran out in the middle of morning traffic to bark at me.

Recovery week

This was a recovery week so my mileage was taken back a little bit. I also had to drill this weekend with the Coast Guard and did not do my usual weekend bike ride; it's not too hard to twist around my running schedule, and I'm much more willing to do so, but dealing with traveling with a bike for a long distance just isn't my cup of tea. And I told myself from the get go: to make sure I can enjoy the bike, if I don't feel like doing it, I just won't do it. Forcing myself would only make it worse.

It was a rough week. One where I felt like I had a some pretty high points, but then some pretty low ones. I'm not sure if I want to go into the all the details, which may be part of the problem. It's hard to know when and/or who to share some personal problems with, especially for an introvert like myself.

I hope I don't accidentally bite the ultramarathon bug sooner than I should. I had already planned on doing a trail marathon about a month after I do a second half Ironman (HIM in September, marathon in October), which would be right before the fair, so a fun way to end the season and get some R&R. Well, having discovered the NC Half Marathon Series I looked around and saw one that is being held the same weekend as the trail marathon I wanted to do. Turned out for the half there is also a full marathon AND a 40 miler. I'm pretty tempted to see what I can do about it.

I felt like I had more to say... not much going on. I'm going to start volunteering at Rex Hospital. I'm also trying to see about what my schooling options are, but I'm still so mixed up, I don't want to get my hopes/expectations up. Nursing is still a possibility. However, fitness/wellness is never out-of-mind. And I think a budding interest in nutrition has led me to look at food science. A conversation with a professor with NC State's food science department was very informative and their graduate (masters) program is enticing. Who knows...

Mumble Jumble.

Not a whole lot to report. Just trying to keep in the swing of things. I am becoming more and more confident in my bike-run brick workouts. If these training runs are any indication, then I am planning for a great run at the White Lake Half-Ironman.

You know you're a runner when you get called out for the gear you wear. I am classical in my manner of wearing technical, dry-wicking shirts, and barely-there running shorts. Twice this week I was more-or-less cat-called... or so I thought? First was when I was passing by a park and some guy said "Well isn't that cute outfit" with what I took for sarcasm. But after passing, I think he had a daughter and was encouraging her interest. The second time I thought some jerk was whistling at me from his truck. Just turned out to be two dogs slobbering/whimpering.

I've been going through several books; and my list seems to grow faster than I can read them. My recent reads:
1) Rowing the Atlantic by Roz Savage : Woman going through a life change is the first row solo across the Atlantic (Canary Islands to Antigua)
2) Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox : Broke the men and women's records for the English Channel swim before she was 18, first to swim the Bering Strait (between Soviet Russia and the US), first to swim to Antarctica (no wetsuit for any of these)
3) I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish - a Palestinian doctor's biography as he works in both Gaza and Israel
Now I am reading Proofiness by Charles Seife where he discusses the misrepresentation of statistics and mathematics in society.

Yesterday I had a great after-dark run at Bond Park. It was the second time I got to use/test my headlamp; the first time on a off-pavement route. It was tons of fun, and surprisingly brisk given the workout I had had earlier that morning.

Only problem was that it probably disrupted my sleep last night. I think I only got about 2 hours of sleep. Not simply toss-and-turning, I've probably been awake since about 1:00am. I feel OK, but I'm bracing for a crash.

I am thoroughly enjoying my training season. For the most part, I'm following a similar schedule that I did last year during the summer and leading up to the City of Oaks Marathon. However, my bike and run workouts are becoming more entwined since I want to be well-prepared for the bike-to-run transition. Though maybe not harmful, it was certainly a shock after my first triathlon a few years ago, and it's worth getting use to the change in movements. Overall, it has made my weekend runs shorter than what I would ideally want (that is, a single long run). However, as it's going, after a bike ride is a run (this one-to-the-other is known as a brick), with another run in the evening. Overall my weekly mileage builds similar to the marathon, but with the shorter individual workouts more in line with the half Ironman (HIM). I'm not sure if it'll turn out how I want, but ideally I can still build longer still and will have a strong base for ultra-races and a full Ironman next year.

I did get some new running shoes. I seem to get just over 500 miles out of a pair. I'm working a little bit on adjusting to a midfoot to forefoot strike, which is considered ideal for injury prevention. And I have a slight eye for a pair of Vibrams but I still think it'll be a little while. I'm already enjoying my entrance in to trail running, which is pretty entrenched with my desire to do ultras. It's also given me an eye to Cary's network of greenways, which aren't trails, but may be a nice divergence from the sidewalk.

Last thoughts:
1) I should really try to focus on slow runs. I usually run base on feel, and lately that's be a lot faster than my norm. I feel ok at the moment, but if I'm not careful, this can lead to serious overtraining.
2) I'm enjoying my aerobars (Thanks Lida and Mark!). Sometimes I feel like a missile.
3) Today's trip to REI was bittersweet. I went for just some more HEED, a sports drink mix from Hammer Nutrition, and just a energy bar or two. Well, they were out of HEED, but had a special on all foods, and I ended up stocking up on a variety of foods, some are staples of my diet; others are ones I'd like to test out in training.
4) Still not sure I'll drop my facebook.

Let the Season Begin

I originally did not have much of a season (particularly the spring) planned. Plagued with my knee injury (IT band tendonitis) from late November to mid January, I was hesitant to plan anything significant, worried about having lost a good running base. However, the past two/three weeks have been very promising, with my weekly mileage in good order. My knee is not absolutely pain free, but a consistent, lasting pain is now an occasional tweak, with little post-run ache. I've adopted a regular stretching routine, and I continue with a brief strength training routine.

So, look to the right to see my current race schedule. The biggest will be my first half Ironman at White Lake in May. A fairly popular race, it now spans two weekends. I'm register for the first, but prompting from my friends is tempting me to move to the second. It primarily depends on the organizers' policy regarding such. I'm also excited to try a weekend double whammy with a 10 miler followed by a half marathon.

My biggest challenge/desire is how to focus my running. I am always after higher mileage, but without any long distance races planned (the Medoc Trail Marathon is really just going to be for fun), I worry about being lackluster. I ultimately want to hit ultra-distance training, but don't want to jump on the train to quickly.

This weekend highlighted the beginning of the season. Saturday was the Krispy Kreme Challenge (2 mi, 12 donuts, 2 more mi under an hour) (4 mile warm up and 4 mile cool down). And Sunday I washed it down with some a Cook-Out milkshake.

Progress

It's become clear that my volume of blogging is directly related to my volume of running. After about a month without running, I've successfully completed two runs. Friday I got in 4 miles on the treadmill. This afternoon I worked through about 5 miles outside.

Neither one was completely pain-free. I should be listening to the recovery/rest die-hards out there. However, although my knee is not 100%, the pain was manageable and did not last past the exercise itself. And I am continuing to be caution. Though I was eager to pick things back up, 5 minutes yesterday was about all I managed before the knee pain was joined by just some run-of-the-mill soreness that, given the circumstances, didn't mesh.

My snail's pace is frustrating, but I'm just grateful for the chance to return to running. And the slower pace and time on the treadmill is giving me the mental alleviation to put some thought into my form and technique. This included some short bouts of deliberate fore-foot running. This style, with many faddish names, is a big craze right now, along with the interest in barefoot/minimalist running.

I finally saw an orthopaedist who has diagnosed the ailment as IT band tendonitis. The IT (illiotibial) band is an odd piece of meat. Not really a muscle, it runs all the way from the glutes down to the knee. Most people who suffer IT band problems suffer from pain along the thigh. In my case, the IT band has likely rubbed too much along the conglomerate of bones that meet at the joint.

This week I've finally begun adding a stretching regiment, after the ortho commented on my tight hamstrings. It's novel to me to put just as much, if not more thought into the cross-training/stabilization routines; however, I know it's something I've been lacking. And if doing so gets me back to the roads and trails and keeps me from the sidelines, then so be it.

It's been several weeks since I last posted, and a lot has gone on. I guess it's hard for me to know who is "in the loop" because of I don't know who only follows me on here, or also on Facebook. I don't know of either gives a complete picture.

The week after the marathon I felt great. A Wed. or Thursday 5 miler felt ok and I decided to make that weekend run 15 miles. I intentionally did not follow a specific route, and ended up doing around 18 miles. Well, I hadn't carried any fluid, so it was a little grueling, but it was cold so there wasn't terrible fluid loss. I had a bit of an ache in my right calf, which dissipated later in the day.

It went down hill the following week. Each successive run, my right knee started hurting. At first not until about 7 miles in, but eventually within the first 2 or 3 miles. I did a 15 miler on Friday (since I was traveling that weekend) and it was hurting within a mile. Me being me, I did the rest of the 15 miles.

Now I've been on a hiatus for nearly three weeks. For someone who loved and thrived off of 45-50 mile weeks, this was torture. The first week I supplemented with cycling and swimming. Both also cause my knee to ache, and I've stopped cycling now too (also because of the cold.).

I've been extremely fortunate though. I was a rower in college, and used to be quite familiar with the erg (the indoor rowing machines NO ONE ever uses, at least not correctly). For the past year, I've never done more than 250 meters; even for rowers an erg is the most boring exercise, and when I had no rowing oriented fitness goal, it seemed so pointless. However, erging has the upside of giving me no knee pain. So now I've been rowing several days a week to replace my running. I think I may actually being rowing more meters now than I did while at State. On the other days I've been swimming, where my yardage has also skyrocketed to support my exercise addiction. I've gone from doing a max of about 4000 yards in a session to a minimum of 5300 (to cover 3 miles).

I know at some point I'll need to go see a doctor. My biggest fear isn't having to take time off, but if whatever is wrong will require surgery.

It's tough to be away from something I love so much (running). I just try and comfort myself with the stories of people who may not even start running until in their 50s, or people who were 100 lbs overweight, or chronic chain smokers, who have been able to turn their lives around. I try to tell myself that if people can turn their lives around, I should be ok with a couple of weeks.

The best thing about going back to erging is that I'm able to do all kinds of mini-goals without the presumption of having my previous fitness. Such as that for that first hour piece, I had no goal 500 m split and just went with it. Obviously, as I've progressed, I have been lazy, but my tolerance for the boredom has increased as well.

More than meeting an ultimate time/distance goal, I love being consistent. This morning was a high point on that scale. For my hour piece, it was set to log 10 minute splits. For 50-40 min, 40-30, 30-20, 20-10, my meters were 2342, 2343, 2343, 2342. Meaning for I maintained the same pace for 40 minutes. For those unfamiliar with the sport, that's not half bad.