2011 in the bag, almost

Usually at this time of year, I look back at my year, celebrate my accomplishments and set goals for the future, but I dunno, it doesn't seem like it's been that good of a year (ooh that's bad English isn't it??!!), as far as training and racing has been concerned. I guess I worked pretty hard for the first six months up until my half iron, and then somehow, in the second half of the year, I slacked off a bunch, took it easy, ran a bunch of races for the fun of it, trained when I felt like it, let myself gain 5 lbs and stay there( where my body seems to like to be...)  But is that a bad thing, or a good thing?  Hmmm...

So I did some races:

March 27, 2011 - Okanagan College Half Marathon - 2:13:49, PR
May 15, 2011 - Oliver Sprint Triathlon - 1:30:41, 2nd AG
June 5, 2011 - Oliver Half Iron  - 6:57:53, PR
July 9, 2011 - Osoyoos Half Iron Relay - 2k swim - 49:28 
July 31, 2011 - San Francisco Half Marathon - 2:26:39
August 21, 2011 - Kelowna Apple Sprint Triathlon - 1:31:21
October 9, 2011 - Okanagan 10K (BMO Okanagan Marathon) - 58:20 (1st 10k)
November 27, 2011 - Ginger Jar Historic 10k - 1:08:51 (injured calf) 

...actually more races than I thought, now that I see them cut and pasted here. The only two I'm really proud of are my half marathon on March 27 and my half iron on June 5.  All the rest of them were sub-par as far as times were concerned.  That being said, I was always content with doing those races for fun, wasn't I?

So when I think about it - I'm more than happy with my year. I must say I really enjoyed the 'fun' races - less pressure, less worry about a PR, more focus on fun and fitness.  I think my true 'triathlete personality' may lean more toward a @trifunster than a super hardcore tri chick. :)

Training


As far as my training is concerned, I definitely did less biking and swimming than last year, but I did more running. Let me go drag up the stats for 2011 and see how they compare to previous years. I don't keep very good track of some workouts such as strength, yoga, walking etc. The only ones I record faithfully are swim, bike, and run.

2011 Totals  - about 180 hrs S, B, R
Bike:	70h 48m 50s	1699.06 KM
Run:	100h 45m 05s	871.45 KM
Swim:	8h 57m 07s	20750 M
Strength:	13h 25m
Core Training:	2h 20m
Elliptical Training:	3h 20m
Rowing:	1h 10m
Skate Skiing:	3h 30m
Stretching:	2h 50m
Volleyball:	1h 30m
Walking:	8h 50m
Yoga:	4h 25 min

2010 Totals - about 234 hrs S, B, R
Bike:	100h 50m 17s	2366.49 KM
Run:	88h 00m 43s	690.33 KM
Swim:	45h 37m 53s	96600 M
Strength:	6h 05m
Core Training:	1h 30m
Elliptical Training:	8h 50m
Hiking:	2h 15m
Massage:	2h 00m
Rowing:	1h 10m
Skate Skiing:	7h 45m
Stretching:	20m
Volleyball:	1h 30m
Walking:	55m
Yoga:	7h 50m

2009 Totals - about 188 hrs S, B, R
Bike:	102h 06m 13s	2152.08 KM
Run:	65h 42m 47s	502.33 KM
Swim:	20h 10m	41250 M
Strength:	9h 52m
Core Training:	30m
Dancing:	2h 20m
Elliptical Training:	4h 03m
Golf:	2h 00m
Hiking:	2h 25m 29s
Misc.:	20m
Plyometrics:	15m
Rowing:	1h 42m
Stationary Biking :	45m
Stretching:	1h 15m
Walking:	30m
Yoga:	5h 50m

2008 Totals - about 216 hrs S, B, R
Bike:	117h 51m 59s	2743.65 KM
Run:	62h 18m 13s	508.07 KM
Swim:	36h 38m 01s	64450.00 M
Strength:	26h 35m
Sports:	24h 05m

2007 Totals - about 173 hrs (S) B, R
Bike:	155h 13m 29s	3472.71 KM
Run:	18h 04m 02s	156.36 KM
Swim:	none
Strength:	3h 00m
Sports:	3h 35m

       
So what will 2012 hold for me? I guess we'll have to wait and see. :)

Running, a fever

Well, that flu bug really kicked my ass.  I was down for the count with fever, congestion, headache, body aches, cough, and a rash all over my body last weekend.  I stayed home from work on Monday, but reluctantly went back to work on Tuesday once my fever was gone because we had Christmas concert rehearsals and I felt I needed to be there.  I was exhausted all week at work, and went to bed as soon as I got home every night. Somehow I survived the week though and now I'm on a two week break until January 3rd. Yay!

Today, I went out for my first run in 3 weeks and for the most part, I felt ok.  I'm still hacking up a lung and my chest felt kind of tight when I was running so I took it easy and ran slow.  My calf felt really good for the first 15 minutes, and then it started to tighten up so I ran a little more and then walked the last few minutes home.  I iced the calf and put on my Zensah calf sleeve (I ran in it too). I'm REALLY hoping it's going to be ok as  get back to running and start to build up my miles again in time for marathon training in January. (Crossing everything.)

Tomorrow I plan to go to the gym - I have about half my normal energy but I figure I can do an hour at the gym if I don't push too hard.  We'll see.

PS On a brighter note - I lost 3 lbs while I was sick - hardly ate anything at all.  Hoping I can keep it off during the Christmas break. Hmmm....

December

Quick Update

The week after my last, upbeat and optimistic blog post on November 6, I had a fairly crappy running week - I didn't manage my long run on November 13th because everything hurt, and I found it tough to run longer than 30 minutes for the next 3 runs that week. I ran a few times on the treadmill at the gym the following week because of snow and ice and then focussed on my 10k race in Vancouver the following weekend.

On Sunday, November 27, I did the Ginger Jar Historic 10k race around the Stanley Park Seawall.  You can read the full race report here, on Daily Mile, but the short version is that I ran an awesome 9k at a potential PR pace, pulled my calf muscle, and walked/limped the last km in. :)

The next days were recovery from the mild calf strain - icing for 72 hours, heat and stretching for the days following. I tried a 1km run 10 days after the race, but it began to tighten up again so I stopped.

This past week, I had some ART done to my calf and the chiro gave me the all clear to try an easy run this weekend. Unfortunately, I came down with a bad cold/flu bug on Thursday and have been laid up in bed for several days.

When I do get back to running, I will be well rested. :)

On a slightly brighter note, I have been making better progress at getting to the gym to do my strength training. I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be, but I'm getting better at it.

 So that's it - short and sweet.  I'll try to post again later this week.

A New Month

Long time, no see - I bin bizzy....  :D

So, where did we last leave off?

Healthy Eating

I haven't lost any weight but I haven't gained any weight either - so that's a good thing. I've been eating vegetarian at least 4 days a week and other than the glut of halloween candy, I'm doing fairly well with eating in general. Always room for improvement though.

Core Strength Training 

I still pretty much suck at being consistent at this so far.  I've done a solid session at the gym for the last two Saturdays, including some cardio in the pool, rowing, or the bike at the gym. However, as I continue to struggle with getting a decent sleep, I find it difficult to do any kind of workout after school.  My plan is (was) to go to the gym after work on the days I don't run but every week, something has blocked me - either a 3-4 hour sleep the night before, a late meeting, or too many errands.  I will continue to work on this.

Running

Over the past three weeks, I've had some real success with running. 

* I've run 3 times a week, for 3 weeks

* I've been able to do some hilly routes on my week day routes without feeling injured the next day.

* I've built up to running 9-12km every Sunday and I'm now at the point where I don't feel like my legs are lead for the half the run.

Here's what I ran for the past 3 weeks

Oct. 17-23 > Tues 30 min, Fri 30 min, Sun 60 min  (17.7 km)

Oct. 24-30 > Wed 35 min, Fri 45 min, Sun 75 min  (22.2 km)

Nov 1-6    > Tues 45 min, Fri 58 min, Sun 75 min  (26.8 km)


Marathon Plans

I've been looking around at a lot of marathon training plans, primarily at the long runs.  There are many options out there.  I don't want to be coached for this - I find I have to keep asking coaches to change things - it's easier for me to tweak a plan myself. I generally don't have any trouble with having the self-discipline to do the runs (not  true for other training tho).

Things I'm looking for:

* Running only 3 days a week, with cross training on alternate days
* Slow build of the long run with plenty of recovery weeks
* A possibility of some hill work because Vancouver marathon has some hills
* Adjustable to my life, snow/ice, work, and my breakable body

I have found a few plans out there that fit the bill but the other day I was chatting with Stuart from the Quadrathon Podcast (which I happen to be co-hosting for the next little while - check it out!) and he was telling me a little about the Furman FIRST program which he has successfully followed a few times.

I remember looking at it in the past  and being concerned that the three fairly challenging runs per week might be too much for me. However, given that I can now successfully run hills without having to walk, and I've managed to recover from my last two races without injury, I think perhaps I might be ready to try a modified version of the Furman program.

My Current Plan

Right now, my plan is to run 45 min twice a week, at least once with hills, and then run 1:15 every Sunday until mid December. I want to get my legs used to running that distance (about 25-30 km per week) and feel good doing it.

I am going to run a fun 10k race at the end of November, and treat it like a mid-long tempo run. Then I plan to start my marathon training on this base.

The Furman plan calls for 3 key runs per week.

Tues - Track workout with 400m - 1600m repeats

Thurs - Tempo run of some sort with warm up and cool down

Sun - Long run (usually marathon pace plus 5-40 sec per km - it varies)


I am basing my paces on a conservative 27:30 5km time.

It gives me a marathon pace of 6:21/km (10:13 mile)

Don't get my wrong, I'm not expecting to be able to run a full marathon at that pace, but that's the training numbers I will use, so long as I am feeling ok. Most of the long runs are based on this pace plus a number of seconds per km.


Short Tempo - 5:21/km  (8:36 mile)


Mid Tempo - 5:41/km (9:08 mile)


Long Tempo - 5:59/km (9:37 mile)


I know I can do the long run at those paces, and I tried the tempo run on Friday and felt ok. I think I'll probably skip the track workout until I've got lots of endurance, assuming I'm not teetering on injury.

I also plan to stretch out the 16 week plan over 20 weeks with a few repeat weeks and recovery weeks thrown in for good measure. I want to build up a bit slower than they suggest.

Should be interesting....


Concerns

* I'm not sure how to do specific paces when I'm running hills.

* I'm not sure how to keep to specific paces when I'm running on snow or ice in the winter.

When in doubt, I'll go by my Heart Rate. :)

I guess I'll figure it out as I go. :)

End of Week Three

Yeah, ok, so I gave up on the halfhearted daily blogging attempt.  Once a week will have to do. So - how was my week you ask?  Well it was pretty darn good actually.  I ran three times, and I ate meatless meals three times.  Yay me...

Training

My run after school on Tuesday was pretty miserable, mainly because I'm on my feet all day and my legs are toast by the time I get home.  When I started my run, my legs were telling me to pack it in early, but then I decided to pretend it was the last 30 minutes of a marathon, and suddenly my legs didn't feel so bad after all. It seriously worked, haha, got to remember that one.

I was busy Thursday and really didn't want to run after dinner so I got up at 6 am on Friday morning and went for a run before my workshop.  It was just another 30 minute easy run, but it was ok.  I ran in the dark so I had my headlamp and red flasher, and I had to bundle up because it was cold.  I enjoyed being out in the cold and the dark though - I'm weird that way.

Saturday, I didn't have anything planned so I decided to go to the gym.  Erik agreed to come along and that got me motivated to swim.  I swam 1000m in 25 minutes, then changed and went up to the gym to do a core and strength workout for 25 minutes, and followed that with another 20 minutes of cardio on the bike.  What a productive day!

Today, I went for my 'long' run - one hour easy Zone 2 pace - and felt better than I have in a LONG time. I resisted the urge to pick up the pace, and tried to focus on my goal of building endurance.  Overall, I'm happy to say I got through the week without hurting and my shin pain seems to have (mostly) disappeared. 

The only #FAIL for the week was that I did not do my planned Core/Strength workouts on Monday and Wednesday. I was really tired and mostly just lazy. However, now that I had a successful workout on Saturday, I think I can get back into the habit again.

Healthy Eating Front

I made a few new recipes this week.  One day I made "Yummy Black Bean, Brown Rice, Swiss Chard Mess" when the boys were having leftover chicken.  Another day I had mushroom/onions/tomatoes on a bun when the boys have burgers. I made a batch of hummus and ate lots of fresh fruit and veggies as well as my soup at work this week. On Friday, I was at a workshop that had delicious lunch served so I enjoyed myself and ate what I wanted and when I got home, I made a big batch of the soup she had served - the recipe for Spicy Sweet Potato Soup is on my blog as well.  On Friday night, Erik and I shared a rib eye, a baguette, and a bottle of red wine.

So - that must be why I've gone through the whole week eating relatively healthy but not losing a single pound.  Maybe I just need to eat LESS healthy food.... ??

Plan for the Coming Week


Mon - Upper Body / Core
Tues - Run 30-45 min easy
Wed - Lower Body / Core
Thur - Run 30-45 min with hills
Fri - day off
Sat - Gym workout, swim, row?
Sun - Long run 1:15