Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf

Oryx wrote: »

Open invitation to your gaff on a public message board.

Brave!

Sure, what's the harm? Not like we don't have a little pond between us!

Saturday, January 10th, 2015

Run plan: 16 miles easy, am.....7 miles steady, pm

Oh, and I had a handicap today - no gels, and restricted nutrition between runs to help promote fuel efficiency.



What's a girl not to like?

AM -
After giving the streets a glance, it was obvious there was still too much ice and snow laying about, thus making a street stomp way too dangerous for this Dory-do. So, into the snowy field in 18 degree Fahrenheit temperature I went to get this done. Sure, there's oodles of snow and ice on my running path, but all things considered this was the safer of the two choices.

From the very first mile, I really felt good - body felt good. I just ran by easy perceived effort, keeping in mind that the key run of the day was going to be the second one, so I was careful to be honest about my effort. No gels, no problem. The only mile I started to drag a bit on was mile 15, but I rallied on the final mile to finish in style. The snow and ice didn't cause me too much difficulty, but the slower paces below are pretty indicative of the miles that contained the most slippery of situations.

9:01, 9:10, 8:45, 8:58, 9:06, 9:13, 8:52, 9:06
9:18, 8:55, 9:03, 9:02, 9:10, 8:47, 9:25, 8:47

Actual run, am - 16 miles in 2:24:48 for an average pace of 9:03 min/mile

PM -
I kept nutrition between the two runs to a minimum, and after a 5 hour break, I hopped on the treadmill to knock out this second run. (The treadmill was the only option due to it being evening time, and due to the snow/ice on the streets) And, like the first run of the day, this went very well.

With the treadmill at a 1% incline, I eased into the first mile and settled into a pace of 8 min/mile - my steady pace....and I kept this pace going through mile 5. By mile 6, I was feeling strong enough to push it a bit, so I upped the pace to 7:54 min/mile...and then upped it again to 7:48 min/mile on mile 7. There honestly were no issues with this run - it was remarkably manageable, so I'm very, very pleased.

Actual run, pm - 7 miles steady on the treadie in 56:27

I immediately hopped on the Cat to spin the legs out for 30 minutes...then there was a little yoga mat action in the form of stretching and foam rolling.

Loving my run plan. Loving my pool. But need to give the Cat a little more love. !!!!

Monday, January 12th, 2015

Run plan: 40 minutes recovery hydro-treadie

Did this at high noon while it was raining outside. I started out at a slowish wave current pace but upped it twice because I felt like it was just too easy. I know this was a recovery run, but I had a good night's sleep last night and my body felt fine....and with the lack of pounding on the body, I wanted to experiment a little. And, it's worth another mention - water acoustics are seriously where it's at. I gave Colbie Caillat a run for her money today. Jason Mraz could be so lucky!

Actual run: 40 minutes of splashing and singing recovery (?) style

I have neglected the Cat for way too long.....so tonight it was spinnin' and grinnin' while surfing the net and getting caught up on the logs here. This felt good. And hour of bent over sweating is in stark contrast to all that pool time!

I followed this spin up with stretching, then 30 minutes of kettle bells with my baby bells. I did MUCH better this week than last week. Of course, one of my house kitties was vying for my attention by rubbing against my legs while I was working my moves, and all I could think of was NOT dropping the bell on his noggin! All went well - I only dropped the bell once and it wasn't on him!

Tuesday, January 13th, 2015

Run plan: 60 minutes easy hydro-treadmill, am....9 miles easy, pm

GOOOOOOOD MORNINGGGGG!!! This first session was a rise and shine kinda session at 4:30 in the morn'. Good god, what have I become? Nice session.....the resistance of the water is interesting.

The second session was done in the field sneaky lunchtime style. I was a little tight on time, so I probably pushed the pace a bit to get the entire 9 miles in. I wore my Garmin hoping to track the miles so I could mix up my course, but satellites wouldn't lock so I ended up going around the field 13 times. Gah. But on a bright note, I had a bit of company in the peanut gallery - a gorgeous red tailed hawk was perched on a low lying branch in the edge next to my path. To my delight, the raptor didn't seemed bothered by me running by him 13 times, but I went back and checked on him midday to be sure he wasn't still sitting there, potentially sick or injured. I was relieved that had gone on his merry way.

Actual runs: 60 minutes hydro-treadie, am.....9.1 miles easy bird watching field miles, pm

It was time to hit the pool immediately after work. An hour of swimming at a nice, comfortable pace was just the right way to finish the day. All good in the hood.

Actual swim: ~3,600 meters in da tub

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

Run plan: 60 minutes hydro-treadie easy, am....9 miles easy, pm

Alarm went off at 4:15....and I dragged my @ss out of bed and down to the pool. I had a headache. Totally wasn't feeling the love at that moment, but once I got running in the water with my tunes blasting...blasting as if they were forcing me to enjoy this session dammit!...I started to snap out of my early morning funk. I'm still working through these aqua runs, figuring things out, such as: what is easy, do I lean forward, do I push off the belt, should turnover be fast, should stride be long????? It's really interesting...and I'm finding that the harder I work, the more I lean forward and the more I push off the belt. And because running on the hydro-treadie is so easy on the body, I tend to feel like I'm not doing anything unless I work it. Legs were properly worked during this rise and shine run.

Aaaaand......the next run. Ugh. This was ugly. Barf. So many things went wrong - my legs were tired from the beginning, I went too fast, my path was slick with both snow and mud, I was annoyed at the uneven ground, a sudden wave of nausea overcame me on mile 7 and stopped me in my tracks, I was dying of heat so lost the gloves for some relief, considered calling it a day but couldn't bring myself to doing that, I regrouped after a few minutes of rest and consumption of water, and continued on at an easier pace to finally finish up the blasted run. I'm not totally sure what happened on mile 7 other than by the time I started this run my early morning headache was massive - exploding-head-if-I-bend-over massive. But I got it done, ugly.

Actual runs: 60 minutes running in water before the sun came up.....9.04 ugly field miles in 1:18:20 for an average pace of 8:40 min/mile at head-exploding high noon

I actually wondered how this post-work swim would go as I was still suffering from my headache this evening, but I decided to give it a go. And it was fine. I didn't wear my music headphones - just couldn't stomach that, I needed quiet...peace and quiet....and there is nothing like the peace and quiet you can find while swimming for an hour at a comfortable and soothing pace. I am really enjoying swimming in this endless pool - the current is smooth and steady, and there is very little turbulence in the pool. I still had my headache when I exited the pool, but it seemed to hurt a little less.

Actual swim: ~3,600 meters in da tub

Saturday, January 17th, 2015 - Predicted Time 5 Miler

Yep, I signed up for this 5 mile race a few weeks back when it was suggested to me to get a race in during the month of January. I've never done a 5 mile race before, but when I spied this on the internet it floated my boat because it was less than an hour away from me and it only cost $10.

The weather forecast was predicting sunny and in the 40s (Fahrenheit) for today, but when I walked out the door this morning I knew Mr. Weatherman had played a cruel joke on us, for yet again the old mercury was nowhere near reaching the freezing point. :eek: Bah! Whatever. I just got on with it and didn't fret. I had proper clothing on, and, unlike the 5k race I did all layered up like an Eskimo in fluffy-puffy down last month, I opted for a vest to keep my core warm instead.

I got to the race plenty early, found a great parking spot, snagged my bib and chip, and then headed out with a friend for a 2 mile warm up. I had no idea what the course was going to be like, but based on the little of it we ran and the bits and pieces we heard from others, I knew it was going to be chock full of rollers and a few proper hills. My friend was targeting 33 minutes (soft target for him!), and I was hoping to go a sub 35.

The start was a very anti-climactic "ready, set, go", and it was also littered with kids and slower peeps at the front. But I made my way through the crowd and kept my eye on a fellow I recognized from the 5k last month - he was the winner of that race, but I was gambling I could hang pretty close to him today. However, a strange thing happened right away - something tweaked in my lower back. ?? Seriously, I was barely off the start line and something pulled. It wasn't horribly painful, but something happened. Ugh. But no time to worry about that...I just kept going and hoped it'd work itself out.

After the initial crest at the start, the first mile was pretty much all downhill. I didn't look at my watch on this mile at all, I just tried to run with proper effort and hoped I was doing a good job of it. This first mile was 6:26, and all things considered, this was probably a fair pace. The second mile was nothing like the first mile - this had some good rollers, and was honestly quite tough. And it had me questioning how this day might go, and wondering if this was a glimpse of things to come? Yikes! 6:55 The third mile was much better. A few hills, yes, but mentally and physically I was in the game...and I started to pass one or two runners who were starting to tire. 6:45 Ah, and on mile 4 we had wind. !! Hello, my breezy friend! And it was on this mile that I passed the very young gal (was she even a teenager??) who was impressing me with her better-than-average ability at her barely-out-of-diapers age. 6:52 And, mile 5.....oh how we love mile 5. This was probably the hardest of all 5 miles. This, no doubt, was all uphill. Up, up, up. Not a downhill or flat section to be found....and yet again, I passed a few peeps on this mile, including a gal I had been tracking for some time. Oh, and it was on this mile that I also passed that guy who won the 5k last month. Hello, winner of that 5k race last month....watch me as I pass you by. 6:51 And, just to prove that my Garmin makes me look better than I really am, I still had 432 feet to travel to total 5 miles. :rolleyes: 34 seconds...or 6:58

Any way....totally delighted with my time. And this race reinforces for me the value in racing with respect to the mental aspect - staying tough. My back became a non-issue by the end of mile 1, but now that I'm home and resting, I can feel it tightening up. I'll do some gentle stretching later today....but fingers crossed it's just a momentary nuisance!

Actual, per Garmin: 5.08 miles in 34:25.73 for an average pace of 6:47 min/mile
Actual, per chip (but there was no starting mat so clock started at gun): 34:27 for an average pace of 6:53 min/mile

Saturday, January 17th, 2015

A post-race evening swim....



There is something very magical about being suspended in a tank of water, totally relaxed, and swimming completely uninterrupted with a hypnotic rhythm while being very aware of how the passing water feels on your skin. Amy Lee never sounded so good.

Actual swim: ~3,600 meters in da tub

mossym wrote: »

so let me get this straight. i miss my xmas dinner recoding the SBR Challenge to accept you inputting your swims in something called yards, and you go and start clocking your swims in metres?


bloody yanks...;)

Wait one cotton pickin' minute! (you do track time in minutes, don't you? ) I was told a yards to meters conversion was beyond you.

RacoonQueen wrote: »

No, she swims in 'meters'

WTF are they??? :pac:

And she runs in "miles" too!

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Ok this log just went to a whole new level of silly..

Swimming treadmill for an hour. Good God :eek:

Don't knock it til you try it!!! It's actually quite amazing.

Tuesday, January 20th, 2015

Run plan: 60 minutes easy hydro-treadie, am.....8 miles easy, pm

Alarm goes off at 4:15am.....yawn, stretch, rollover.....open one eye....open the other eye...cat climbs on my chest to say good morning...

So, down the stairs I go....Speedo on, iPad in hand, towel hanging off my shoulder, hair up in a swirl on my head. <deep breath....then exhale> Nothing like a morning run and sing-along in 85 degree water to start the day. I got myself all organized - towel placed by the pool, music at wake-the-dead decibel, a bottle of water within reach. Perfect. And then I tried to open the cover of the pool. The automatic cover....that runs off electricity.....that does not have a manual option. Nothing. huh? I go and check the breaker...and it's tripped. Whew! Sigh of relief, because that would really suck to have gotten up at 4:15 in the morning and not be able to get into my pool because I can't open the cover. So, I try again, with confidence. Nothing. whah??...but I... Back to check the breaker...it's tripped again....I reset it again..... feck! You folks know where this is going. That's right, there was no early morning trot in my pool....no.....apparently when I overflowed the pool on Sunday I got water in things I wasn't supposed to get water in. feck! So up the steps I tromped to basically fret about the sessions I might miss due to this most serious of personal disasters, or so it felt at 4:45 in the morning. :mad:

Any hoo.....
After early calls to the installer, the electrician, and the pool company, I scheduled for both the installer and the electrician to be breathing life back into the pool cover before the close of business today.....and thankthegoodlordabove, the Do Not Resuscitate order did not have to be used - and the automatic pool cover lives to see another day!!! Whoop whoop!!!

And my decision to flip flop runs was a smart gamble - I did the 8 miles easy over lunch, but I had to do it on the treadmill since I had to be available for the electrician....and then I did the 60 minutes easy in da tub after work. The only thing I didn't get done today that I wanted to do is 60 minutes of swimming, but I can't sweat the small stuff!!!

Actual runs: 8 miles easy on the treadie over lunch waiting on the electrician....60 minutes in da tub-treadie after work

Thursday, January 22nd, 2015

Run plan: 60 minutes hydro-treadie easy, am.....8 miles easy, pm

The first little aqua-trot was met with no cover disasters at o'dark-thirty. Thank the good lord above!!! And this was a nice little run as everything seemed to be working well - good pace, good body position, good leg action (both the lift and reach, and the kick and return), and good drive with the arms. Other than it being so darned early in the morning, this is a great way to wake up the body and start my day.

Run number two was done midday in the field, and the legs were anything but fresh....and my entire body felt so incredibly heavy. Ugh. Good god, this was easy but not so easy, if you know what I mean. I suppose yesterday's hills were in the legs....or it could have been the massage I had just prior to doing these 8 miles. ??? But, 11 laps around the field plus twice around the middle, and we'll call this done.

Actual runs: 60 minutes of tub-trotting, am....8 miles of field-trudging, pm

I hit the pool after work for an hour of swimming. I may have to up the current a bit - I find I am starting to hit the grill where the current comes out on a regular basis now. It's pretty remarkable how delightful it is to swim in this pool - it's much more enjoyable than my friend's endless pool that I was swimming in last year. I remember in his pool, the current would push my hips down to the point that I preferred to swim with a pull buoy, and there was a good bit of turbulence that tossed me about. In my pool, there is none of either of those things. I think the two biggest reasons for this are: my pool is 2 feet longer than his, and I got the performance pool instead of the standard pool (I believe that has to do with the motor that drives the current, making it incredibly smooth and steady). Hmmm....and perhaps it also has to do with the fact that my pool is 12 inches deeper than his. Yeah, I'm sure that contributes to the delightful factor too.

Any way...

Actual swim: ~3,600 delightful meters in my tank

Saturday, January 24th, 2015

Run plan:
AM: 1 mile easy, 4 x (3 miles @ MP, 3:30 recovery), 1 mile easy
PM: 6 miles steady

I was warned, this could be a tough day. :eek: And I really wanted to make today as high a quality as I could, so when I popped outside into the falling icy, wet rain for the first run and had a hard time with traction at some places in my field, I knew within the 1 mile warmup I'd never be able to hit my MP target of 7:40 min/mile in these conditions with mud and snow underfoot. So, because the temps were above freezing, I decided I'd check out the Greenway to see what shape the surface was in - hoping it would just be wet, and not slick. Bingo! I hit the jackpot - it was fine. Puddles in places, but who doesn't love puddles!!??

Briefly, the first set of three miles were fine. Well disciplined and felt fine. 7:36 average for the three miles

The second set of three miles started off way too fast (first mile was ~6:30, thru two miles, ~6:50) and I was feeling my lack of discipline on the final mile. 7:05 average for the three miles

The third set of three miles was evenly paced throughout, and this set felt good. 7:14 average for the three miles

And, the fourth and final set of three miles was by far the hardest. I focused on keeping my upper body relaxed and tapping into my strength, my legs....but by the very last mile, this was verging on uncomfortable. 7:19 average for the three miles

I never planned on going quite this fast as this was done at a way hotter pace than I could sustain for 26.2 miles, but also keep in mind that the Greenway is flat, and my Garmin is probably making me look better by 5 to 10 sec/mile. Oh, and during my recovery periods, I either walked, hit the loo, or sipped on water. And I wore my green Asics Nimbus on this run.

Actual run, AM: 1.09 miles in the field for a total time of 9:04 minutes...then 13.7 miles on the Greenway in 1:51:10 for an average pace of 8:07 min/mile

And......one chocolate milk, one yogurt, one peanut butter sandwich, a 90 minute nap, and 4 hours later....

I hit the Greenway again to get this steady run done before it was too dark to see. I honestly had no idea how this would go, but I just started running....running at a pace I thought I could sustain for an hour, but keeping in mind that my target steady pace should be ~8 min/mile. I have absolutely no frickin' idea what happened, but this went way better than I imagined. In fact, this was a better set than the morning set - this felt "easier". And I wore my pink adizero boston boosts on this run. Here are my paces:

7:35, 7:23, 7:18, 7:21, 7:17, 7:22

Actual run, PM: 6.01 miles in 44:22 for an average pace of 7:23 min/mile

Tomorrow is all easy....and I am so glad!!!!!!

Monday, January 26th, 2015

Run plan: 4 miles recovery

We got some crazy weather happening here - rain, snow, ice, sleet, snow, snow, snow. But the poor north. :eek: The weatherman is predicting up to 24 to 30 inches of snow to accumulate tonight and tomorrow in the northeast. :eek: And intense wind. :eek: So this little recovery trot was done indoors on my good old trusty treadie over lunch while watching the news and the various Governors declaring a state of emergency in their states and were urging everyone to be prepared for the pounding to come. :eek: It's all about the blizzard, baby!

Actual run: 4 comfy-cozy recovery miles done treadie-style

I hopped on the Cat after work for a 60 minute sweatfest spin. And then it was 30 minutes of kettlebells with my baby bells. I'm making progress - no bells were dropped in the making of this session.