Tonight, we drink

Last Sunday I ran the ING Atlanta Half Marathon my first road race. Going into the race the only thing that really bothered me was the strong possibility of rain that the forecast called for, but in the end the weather during the race ended up being perfect (post race it was freezing.) The first ten miles of the race my right knee was all "clicky" and in pain and really had me frustrated. Around mile 8 or 9 I reached a point where people who weren't suppose to passed me was passing me and that really ticked me off. I know i'm not a great runner but yeah I do have some pride. Going in to the race my goal was to run the entire race and come in under 2:05. At mile 10 I couldn't take the pain anymore and decided it would probably be more beneficial for me to stop and stretch than to keep struggling along. So, at the million dollar bathroom in Piedmont park, where we start some of our weekend long runs, I stopped and tried my best to stretch and it actually work. Coming out of the park on 10th street I felt like a completely different person and decided I would push that last 3.1 as hard as I could. I finished the last 3.1 in 27 minutes (a minute off of my best timed 5k) not winded feeling like I had a few more miles in me which is encouraging, though I wish I would have felt better a little earlier 2:05 was definitely a attainable goal. I actually think I could have went sub 2 hours but talking to others my time of 2:13 isn't bad for my first road race ever. So i'm encouraged looking forward.

The encouragement given by my clubmates has been awesome. Not to mention the impressive times they put up in this race. There is a general consensus that I should race more often to raise my confidence in my running ability. Which after hearing a few times I agree with. This whole endurance thing is still relatively new to me. When the idea of not being able to do something creeps in during a run, i'm pretty much doomed. Racing more often would definitely teach me to manage those thoughts.

Since the race my training has looked like this:

• Sunday - ING 13.1 @2:13:36
• Monday- Yoga on Lunch, Swim 2000m
• Tuesday- Pilates on lunch, TNR 4.8 @:43
• Wednesday- Morning Swim 1300m, Afternoon Swim 1400m, Hour Spin
• Thursday- Pilates

And the weekend will be a complete drunken good time. Just so happen this is the weekend of my annual 21st Birthday. Starting monday I intend on following the training schedule as best I can, actually spending some quality time on my bike so I don't DNF at Gulf Coast Triathlon but it's party time this weekend. I dipped my feet into the waters last night going to a salsa set to see friends I never get to see. It really has me excited for the weekend now. Here's to a DUI free, nobody going to jail good time weekend.

Time to channel my inner Forrest Gump

So, we are three days out from ING Georgia and I'm not really sure i'm prepared, though I'm not really nervous about the race(more worried about the weather.) The forecast calls for thunderstorms, not just rain but thunderstorms. I know i'm not made of sugar but running in the cold and the rain is terrible. Last time I ventured out in these conditions I ended up with a cab ride back to my car and taking 2 months off to get better. Really don't want to go through that again.

After the race I think i'm going to make a ortho doctor appointment. Something in my right knee is just not right. Going to 1st Choice has helped manage the pain but it's not fixing anything. It's so discouraging with spring being here and a looming Ironman, but something needs to be done to fix this. Not only am I experiencing pain and a lack of power while running, i'm also having the problems while riding my bike. I want it to be something thats a quick fix but i know that is never the case, and i'm a little nervous about it all. I'll keep the blog posted.

I'm looking forward to updated my ING experience be it positive or negative. My second running race (not taking place in elementary school) ever should be a interesting one. I guess I should go buy a rain coat.

Six months til certifiable

Well we have reached the six month mark til Ironman Wisconsin. It's still a little surreal when I think about the fact that I'm going to be during a Ironman in six months. Funny thing is there is a lot of work to be done until then ... a whole lot. Since my hip flared up last week I took the advice of the doc and didn't run or bike after Tuesday last week. Making for a pretty light week for me.

• Monday Swim 2000 meters
• TNR 6.6 (hurt the hip again)
• Wednesday morning swim 900 meters (felt horrible)
• Saturday swim 2500 meters (felt great) 15 pull ups on the I-beam in Twisted Taco
  

I've come to the realization that I kinda like swimming just because it doesn't hurt. I mean it's a work out and I reach exhaustion but I don't get the kind of pain I get from running where i'm questioning my sanity. I have to keep pushing past my hatred for running and cycling to get stronger though. I have one more weekend of hanging out (last weekend of March for my birthday) then it's full time training.

Next weekend is the ING marathon Atlanta, i'm going to attempt to do the half and hopefully I won't end up in a SAG wagon. I haven't had a long run in a couple of weeks but I feel like my fitness is at a point where I should easily be able to run 13 miles as long as the injury bug doesn't hit. This will be my second running race with the first being two months ago so we will see what happens. However it ends, I have my birthday, friends, and crawfish to look forward to the next weekend.

This weekend ended up being a good time. The bond of working out is so strong between the people in my tri club. It's funny whenever someone has a birthday or some kind of party, in the end all their other friends are gone and the Tri club is all thats left. Endurance athletes - endurance drinkers, crazy combination but it works.

Brown Coyote

Guess who is hurt again? You got it, it's me. I'm so sick of dealing with these pains. Just when I feel like my fitness level is back up, I wake up and can't walk with out looking like Fred Samford (Lizabeth it's the big one.) Today the pain level in my hip reached a all time high, I would say a 9 out of 10. I would like to think because of my past i'm pretty familiar with pain - I mean I did have my achilles cut in half. I have never heard of anyone have as many hip problems or any hip problems anywhere close to my age - even Bo Jackson was in his 30's (i think.) So i've been told not to run or ride the bike for the next few days, and when I do run Saturday to go short and slow ... uh, I only have one speed and that is slow so I already have half of that j/k i've recently added another speed thats more of a "faster slow". If only all my runs felt like the first 3 miles of my Tuesday night run. I'm convinced I was under 9 minute miles and I felt pretty good until my knee quit on me. I actually felt like a runner, it was completely surreal .... then reality hit me with the punch line. I was back to struggling. My right knee needs to get it's shit together, I think it is truly the real thing holding me back.

So since I can't exercise right now, i'm going to spend my time playing the guitar, and facebook, and eating, and reading, and being super bored - I've been told i'm a Jack of all trades, master of none. I hope my legs loosen up soon and things get back to normal because honestly I can't handle sitting around doing nothing. I did get to hang out with one of my best friends seeing a B.O.B. concert (this guy is a pretty good performer). Hopefully tomorrow i'm ready to run "short" without it ending with me being Redd Fox again.

Can montages have hiccups?

So i've been on the shelf since my Tuesday night run. Putting a small hiccup in my montage. Running in the cold and getting rained on, I guess was just a little too much for me. It never fails that when my body wants to quit it starts in the right knee and ends in the left hip. While the knee pain is usually gone in a day or two it usually takes about a week for the hip to be pain free. So from Wednesday to Saturday i've been slacking (I intended on running Saturday but life outside exercising caught up with me.) So I will just think of last week as my "recovery week" and continue pushing on to the ING half marathon. Last week my training looked liked this

• Monday - Swim 2200m (very tough swim)
• Tuesday - TNR 6 painful miles
  
• Sunday - Base ride 23ish miles @ Stone Mountain

Notice there are no midday work outs, early morning swims etc etc... I promise to make this week better (it's depressing looking at that list.) Last week I had more sodas than days I worked out, and that's sad. With better work outs comes a better attitude so everyone wins.

So in my last post I talked about being moved into a higher swim lane and my friend over @ penatpeace commented on her struggles of making it to the pool. Well Pen here is a special call out just for you. Last year I remember you were a far better swimmer than I was (and runner but there isn't a chance in hell of me beating/keeping up/seeing you longer than 30 secs in running) gliding through the water with ease, well don't let me beat you out of the water at Wisconsin. Maybe there should be a friendly wager?

Last night while out celebrating a fellow triathlete's birthday, I had a small conversation about the mental side of triathlon. It's no question i'm much much stronger mentally this year than last, though still very weak. While talking to BR, who is a amazing runner and insanely competitive, it was brought up how I need to find "my thing" I can channel to get me in "my zone". I truly believe that being able to tunnel their vision is what makes great athlete's great. The only thing that matters, is the end. I usually trip myself up with thoughts of pains and any and everything else way before the end of any race. Before the endurance sports, I usually only needed to focus 8 to 10 seconds at a time. Making the switch from fast-twitch to slowtwitch the mental is definitely one of the toughest parts. I think i'm where I should be for this being my second year of doing any kind of races. Al'ls well that ends well. Now i'm just typing incoherent thoughts and blah blah blah so I probably should end this.

Little Fish in the Big Pond

Yesterday I was shown the affirmation that I can actually swim and moved to a higher lane. Once in that higher I was then shown that I can't really swim but i'm close. It's crazy, last year when I started triathlon (and organized swimming) I was in the second to last lane. The only people below me were the people who were learning how to swim, and now i'm in the second to highest lane. Granted i'm the weakest in my new lane, i'm still there (sounds like Celie from The Color Purple.) This really makes me excited because I know it's only going to make me better, and shows i've been doing the right things. Since, my hiatus from blogging i've actually started swimming on Wednesday mornings with a clubmate, yes I wake up before work and go swimming and on Friday afternoons. I usually don't realize that it's 6:30 in the morning and i'm in a pool on Wednesdays til about 100m in. Straight cruise control. My clubmate and I sorta have a deal that if one of us doesn't come we get to talk trash about them in internet world. It's got me out of bed the last three weeks ... whatever works. Shout out to TL for sharing what he's learned in his swim lessons, his pointers have definitely helped my swim stroke.

In other news it's actually snowing in Atl... again. Stopped me from going to my lunch workout today. I think i'm going to regret that later, but I will worry about that bridge when I get to it. The weather in Georgia has been like a bad Roller Coaster (space mountain with the lights on), snowing today 60 on Saturday. I'm getting rather tired of this ride, the General said spring was coming. It has to be right around the corner.

Tonight i'm thinking of braving the elements and running in the snow/rain at least for 3 or 4 miles. I can't really afford to get sick right now with ING so close but I also need the miles. It will be a game time decision.

1/01/10

I'm back. Well the last couple of weeks have been pretty good for me. I have said since new years this would be a great year and so far so good. I mean, I haven't been able to blog about it but if not having the internet is your biggest problem, things are pretty good. In terms of training I have been slowly building my workout volume and focusing on the fundamentals especially in running and swimming. In swimming the results have been great, in running .... well it's still a work in progress but I'm headed in the right direction.

My last week went something like this

• Monday - 1500m swim followed by a upper body circuit
• Tuesday - Pilates on lunch. 7.2 mile run in 1:07 that evening (run felt great)
• Wednesday - 1200m swim before work. Lower body weights on Lunch. 500m swim and a hour spin class
• Thursday - Pilates on lunch. 3.1 on the Treddy after work
• Friday - 2000m endurance swim (first endurance swim of the year for me)
• Saturday - 10 mile run in 1:38
• Sunday - 20 mile bike

Since last week I have been having some ITB issues. Hopefully with more biking and cross training my recovery time between runs will speed up. We are a couple of weeks out from ING Atlanta and I would like to break 2 hours in my first half marathon. I don't think thats too outrageous of a goal especially if I can get the pain worked out. A positive attitude will take farther than healthy legs i'm convinced. Let's go March! (the month not a rally)