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Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf
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Good news then ?
I guess when you win a bottle of wine it's pretty good news.
My time wasn't as fast as I had hoped - still a pb, but my very poor execution (and to a lesser degree, the conditions of the day and course) put the kibosh on any hopes of a healthy improvement. Oh weil. Race report coming.... 
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I guess when you win a bottle of wine it's pretty good news. My time wasn't as fast as I had hoped - still a pb, but my very poor execution (and to a lesser degree, the conditions of the day and course) put the kibosh on any hopes of a healthy improvement. Oh weil. Race report coming....
Hey, congratulations, a win is a rare event. Time is irrelevant, and any way with this heat - forget it. OK ... now 'bout that report ...0 -
Time in the Saddle, the Love Story Continues....
No run for me today, so I thought it would be advantageous to have a little one on one time with my Mad One. And since I was in absolutely no hurry to be any where today, I decided I'd spend a little extra quality time with my Mad One and do the Olympic tri course, which is basically the Sprint course with an extra 10 mile loop.
My mood for today was to keep things pretty comfortable - to not worry about pace, but rather to log in some time in the saddle and to work on my comfort level and confidence while perched on my steed. Mission accomplished. I have really come a long way in a few weeks. The downhills are no problem (except when some flippin' idiot in a little tin can comes sneaking up behind me and honks his horn at me just before he passes me. really?? did he really need to do that?? what was his goal? his purpose?? to scare the sh!t out of me? piss me off? because he pretty much did both. my only regret is I haven't learned how to maneuver my bike hands-free otherwise I would have given a very enthusiastic two finger salute).....clipping in and out is a snap.....intersections are no bother.....even uphills are just a matter of getting in the right gear and spinning up them. I did tend to keep my bike in a high gear (terminology??), in part because I prefer to mash, and in part because I was being lazy with the shifter, and in part because I felt like by doing so I was concentrating on strength of the legs. (maybe I am fooling myself with the strength thing??)
As I was nearing the end of my solo ride, I realized I'm really enjoying the bike - this bike - and I somehow felt if I could spend enough time on the bike I'd be better at cycling than running. I think my potential lies within the bike, if only I had more time to get the body used to it - get used to spending mass quantities of time bent in that position, sitting on that little seat, and circling, circling circling.
Actual bike: 26.2 miles in 1:40:33 for a very slow but enjoyable pace of 15.6 mph with a top speed of 34.3 mph~~~~~~~
Swim Session
This was a pretty tough session in the water, primarily due to the short prescribed rest time between the kick and pull intervals. It was a push, push, push to get those intervals done...but got them done I did, even as I saw my rest period slip away from me with each passing interval.
I was pleased with my 400s - I was consistent, and I kept things controlled and deliberate for each one. On the last 400 I employed a bit more of the kick, which I pretty much needed to do to keep pace with the previous two 400s as my arms were starting to feel the stress. I feel this set redeems my mediocre 200 session a few nights ago. Happy enough.
400 yard warm up - easy to 80%
10 x 40 yard kick - off on 45 seconds, all came in 35-40 seconds
200 yard easy
10 x 40 yard pull - off on 35 seconds, all came in 25-30 seconds
200 yard easy
3 x 400 yard free - off on 5:50, all three came in on 5:35
200 yard easy
Actual: 3,000 yard swim0 -
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Vine to Wine 5k, Barren Ridge Vineyards*
Friday, June 28, 2013
*(aka - how to go out too hard, blow up, and still win a bottle of wine in three easy steps)
Step 1 - Line up at the front of the pack and surround yourself with very fit looking men, spry young boys, and two fast looking 27 year old gals.
Step 2 - Dash off like a mad woman crazed with PB fever when the horn goes off.
Step 3 - Put down a PB mile time in mile 1 of 6:26. (:eek::D:confused::o) (oh my god...did I just do a 6:26 mile???
wtf....???)
Yep, that's pretty much all it took to cause my epic blowup after mile 1. I was sucking in so much air that by the time I hit the start of mile 2 my diaphragm was burning and the area around and under my ribcage was in painful stitches. (The poor fella who was running with me for the first mile and a half must've thought I was afflicted with some kind of lung disease I was making so much noise. At one point he pulled ahead of me, no doubt out of self-preservation instincts, but then somehow on mile 2 I left him for dust and never saw him again.) I tried to ignore the pain I was feeling from breathing too hard - tried to relax the muscles, even tried to breath short, shallow breaths - but in the end I had to slow it down, which did help some, but the damage was done.
So, I spent the rest of the race trying to enjoy what I could and try not to let anyone pass me. I knew the two 27 year old gals were ahead of me, one of whom I could see and I tried to reel in a few times and came very close to doing once or twice, but it just wasn't meant to be. The course was a god awful gravel trail littered with pot holes that you had to hurdle from time to time....and most of the constantly rolling course was in the hot sun (satan-on-a-stick, hot....barbque me in a spicey sauce, hot....charbroil me and serve me on a bun, hot) along lovely pastures with freshly spread and aromatically charged chicken litter (have you ever smelled freshly spread chicken litter that's been infused with the heat of the sun? barf!). And it was an out and back, which meant we had to run to a traffic cone and make a very sharp U-turn and head back. Well, do you know what happens when you are running on gravel at <cough, cough> lightning speed and hang a sharp U-ie?? You slip. That's right, I slipped around the cone, but fortunately I caught myself before real disaster struck. Oh well.
So, the course itself lacked race appeal, but the event was very well run and really great fun. Beautiful location too! In the end, I let two or three men pass me, but I passed at least one (if not two) of those men back before I crossed the finish line. I never caught the two gals. The race was not chip timed, it was just a horn start and a bunch of stopwatches - which surprised me based on the fact that this was the 5th year they've had this race and it had around 350 runners participate. We all got a really nice technical race shirt (is definitely one of my fave shirts!!), a complimentary wine glass and wine tasting of some of their best wines. And post race, my girlfriends and I sat on the veranda in the lovely country evening and watched the sun set while we listened to some really great music by a three piece band. Oh, and I won a bottle of their very best red wine, The Red Barren, for winning my age group - whoop, whoop. So, in the end...a slight pb, a bottle of wine, winner of my age, 3rd lady home, 18th overall....I guess as pgmcpq noted above, not too shabby all things considered.
A few final thoughts....I will only be so fast at the short stuff, but I was certainly hoping to go below 22 minutes on this one. I didn't, but that goose was cooked on mile 1, however I still managed to get a pb (previous was a 22:26 on a nice paved and pot hole free course). On one hand, I DID A 6:26 MILE!!!! On the other hand, I did one of the worst jobs executing a 5k ever. Oh, wouldn't life be grand if I could just string 3 consecutive 6:26 miles together and be done with it?? Maybe one day I will. :)
Any way....bottoms up!!!!
Actual: 3.14 miles in 22:18.05 for an average pace of 7:06 min/mile
6:26, 7:23, 7:33, :54 (6:32)
(plus, I had done about a 1.5 mile warmup prior to the race...so....4.64 miles total)0 -
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A Hot Trot
Plan: easy
Oh, I just about waited too long to get this one done as the heat was getting cranked up early here. OMG, I hate the heat when I run. As a swimmer, I have always loved the heat - could never get enough of the heat as a kid growing up in Alexandria - but as an adult who has commited herself to "x" number of hours each week to running, heat blows. (I just mentioned "heat" five times in that paragraph...now six. !!!!!)
But....the run got done with a bottle of refreshing fluids in each hand. I kept this as easy as I could, kept it within the town limits, did a few hills but nothing god awful as the heat was miserable. Legs could really feel yesterday's spin on the bike and the hard kicking in the pool....and perhaps a bit of residual fatigue from the 5k race Friday night too, so, I made the very tough executive decision to spend the rest of the day relaxing by the pool and reading a book. It's a tough life but somebody's got to live it.
Actual: 8.54 miles in 1:09:48 for an average pace of 8:10 min/mile~~~~~~~
Target running mileage for the week: 35 miles
Actual running mileage for the week: 35.07 miles
Actual swimming yardage for the week: 10,440 yards
Actual bike mileage for the week: 26.2 miles
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And post race, my girlfriends and I sat on the veranda in the lovely country evening and watched the sun set while we listened to some really great music by a three piece band.
I know the heat is hard to run in but it must be lovely to have some type of almost a guarantee of good weather after to organise events like these.
Well done on the run - but I still reckon you will get that time down further 0 -
I know the heat is hard to run in but it must be lovely to have some type of almost a guarantee of good weather after to organise events like these.
Well done on the run - but I still reckon you will get that time down further
Thanks. And the heat is horrible to run in....but, like you say, it is nice from an organizational standpoint. Here's the kind of evening we had to endure post-race.
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In the Swim
In preparation for my god awful long mid-week run I have scheduled for tomorrow (let's hope it's not too hot or I will be reduced to a puddle on the pavement - if I don't post tomorrow night, someone come looking for me), tonight was all about the swim. And the swim was a fairly simply structured session - basically a timed 200 sandwiched between two long, delicious 1,000s. Yum. My kind of evening after a long day at the office.
1,000 yard swim - descending, easy to 90% effort
120 yard free to get focused
200 yard timed - concentrating on various aspects of the stroke at various points in the swim and adding quality with each lap - came in on 2:31
1,000 yard swim
Actual: 2,300 yard swim0 -
The 2:10 Tuesday Train
Plan: A 2 hour 10 minute long run at a pace slightly slower than easy
I honestly was dreading this run 24 hours ago. I mean, how the heck was I going to get this done in the heat we've been experiencing and after a full day's work at a veterinary clinic that is busting at the seams with animals?? But the running gods must've been with me today because late in the afternoon the clouds moved in, the temperature dropped, and the rains came.....and that mix made for a near perfect evening for me to run in. Yippee-ki-yay!!
I knew the only way I could get this session done in good style was to stay very disciplined in pace, and my goal was to hover around 8:30 min/mile. My start was at 6pm after being in work since 6:40am...so conservation of energy and proper pace were going to be key. I took a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade with me, had a pack of shot bloks just in case, and I had my tunes plugged in and pumping. Drank both bottles, didn't bother with the shot bloks (but did get very hungry by mile 12 and started fantasizing about food), and got lost in my tunes. I really kept everything pretty low key, even when I was chugging up various hills I just eased up them trying to keep even effort. I did have one unplanned misstep - while rolling down one very nice hill, my bottle top popped off when I went to get a sip causing me to stop momentarily to retrieve it. Well, I stopped my watch, and then apparently I neglected to start it again...and it was approximately a half mile later (all comprising a very nice downhill) when I realized what I had (or hadn't) done.
Crap. Oh well, I decided I'd run until my Garmin clocked 2:10, but I'd know that I actually did closer to 2:14. No worries. I also lost satellite several times, but only once for an extended period of time, on that same mile that I lost the bottle top on.
In summary - loved the run...kept it very comfortable....enjoyed the rain....smiled at a lot of smiley people....and I just know I'm going to be a bit sore tomorrow. Good session, and a bit proud I got this done on a work night.
Actual: per Garmin - 15.4 miles in 2:10:03 for an average pace of 8:27 min/mile (with the lost mileage - ~15.9 miles in ~2:14:xx)
8:28, 8:33, 8:22, 8:22, 8:30
8:30, 8:34, 8:14, 8:50 (all uphill), 8:44 (lost mileage and lost satellite)
8:18, 8:05, 8:21, 8:28, 8:10, 3:26 (7:59)0 -
Hump Day
Run plan: easy
Just a sneaky lunchtime field run in spitting rain and mugginess. I was surprised how "obedient" my legs were considering the beating they took last night and the fatigue that was in them (longest run in a long time, I believe). Today's was a lovely run, actually. I quite enjoyed it - the easy pace without a Garmin, just letting the body dictate what needed to be done, the dark sky, the rain, the solitude. I didn't even have any tunes with me. Peace and quiet. Perfect.
Actual run: ~4.2 miles easy while being one with nature~~~~~~~
Swim
I was sleepy and tired (yes, they actually are two different things) when I hopped in the pool, but I was determined to get this session done on this day so no excuses would do to give me a pass. About all I can really say about this session is: the water felt great, and it felt great to be in the water. But that is about it. I was slow tonight, and I just couldn't get the lead out....I was stuck in the land of enjoyment and relaxation. Ugh. On this night, my pool was like a delicious narcotic that had me in its grasp....successfully tempting me to indulge in pleasure rather than pain. (okay, a bit of artistic exaggeration here...but the point is, I was lacking that extra gear) The main section of the session was 3 x 200s off on 2:45, which was a bit too ambitious for me tonight. Oh well.
400 yard easy
10 x 160 yard IM
3 x 200 yard free off on 2:45 - in on 2:38. 2:43, 2:45
400 yard easy
Actual: 3,000 yard swim0 -
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elvis jones wrote: »Happy 2xx th birthday ! Enjoy your day !!!
Aw, how sweet of you! Thank you! I will run with sparklers tonight at dusk in your honor.
4th of July!!! Hello??!! Indepence Day!!!!0 -
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interested wrote: »A new holiday ? a bit like independence day ?
Awesome !!!!
Enjoy DD
Everyone, meet my own personal assistant, interested. He cooks, he cleans, and he proof reads all my posts for accuracy. And he'll be lighting all of my sparklers and rockets for me tonight. He's a dream come true!!! X 0 -
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I will share my wine with Elvis....I ate a big fat burger in BB's honor....but I did not take the day off, even though dave said I could. Not hardly.
Fireworks Fun!!
There is nothing like having a day off in the middle of the week to make me feel like I've been given a huge gift of time. Time to do things I like to do....time to do the extras I don't get to do often enough....time to actually interact and share an adventure with like-minded people I enjoy. Long story short, I organized a day of triathlon training - I put a call out to local peeps to meet at the lake and have a bash at the course. T'was fun.
Swim
There were 6 of us for this section of the course, all with varying degrees of ability and experience so it made it a bit disjointed and a bit start and stop. There was one young fella who really struggled out in the water, so I stayed with him and encouraged him on, gave him pointers, and made sure he didn't panic or keel over on me. I think he is now my latest project. We were out in the water for probably 45 minutes, but most of that time was spent treading water due to my responsibilities with my charge and only swam approximately a half a mile. We've planned for another lake swim on Saturday.
Actual: 750 meter swim
Bike
The fear is gone. Woo hoo!!! The bloody fear is gone. I am quite comfortable on my steed....I am quite comfortable clipping in.....and I am quite comfortable going downhill. There were 9 of us for this section of the course, and I hung with the top guy for about six miles, when at that point I decided I needed to let him go as I was working harder than I had any business working and could feel my composure slipping away. Plus, he had fresh legs while mine could feel the 45 minutes in the lake I spent kicking and treading so I knew it would be a stretch to maintain his speed but for so long. After cycling the next four miles on my own with my former companion up in the distance, I decided to take in some hydration at one of the intersections and wait on the next rider or two and cycle with them. After a bit of time, I could see my young swimmer charge pedaling towards me, and then another one of the fellas behind him. We chatted for a moment, then off the three of us went....until I passed them both and never saw them again until we returned back to the lake parking lot. I'm still pretty slow on the bike, but I'm making strides.
Actual bike: 17.4 miles in just over an hour and at an unknown pace (goofed up my Garmin and bike computer)
Run
There were 7 of us for this awful 3.1 mile run. Why awful? Because the course is brutally curvaceous and lumpy.....and it's an out and back....and it was going on 1 o'clock and it was like a furnace out there. I kept it nice and relaxed, and looking at my Garmin probably averaged 8:20 min/mile. (Garmin is upstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it) But, I did have a realization on this awful 3.1 mile curvaceous and lumpy out and back run. As I was hating this run for the course, and as I thought about having to do this course for the 10k run twice, I made the decision then and there that I will only do the sprint distance tri....I will not do both days. There's a very small chance I will change my mind (yet again), but I doubt it. I really want to kill the sprint, and the olympic tri is the day before the sprint, so there is that to consider as well. So there it is...for now.
Actual run: 3.1 miles at an approximate pace of 8:20 min/mile~~~~~~~
Run plan: easy
I decided to put in a few more easy miles this evening in the form of a field run. I could feel the day's efforts in my legs, but I was surprised how relatively strong and agreeable they were to this jaunt. It was hot out this evening, but I hit the pool immediately upon finishing 6 laps around and that cooled me off sufficiently and brought me back to a state of zen.
Actual: ~4.2 miles in my field0
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