Sunday, February 24, 2013

Update Feb 11-24, and a fun video!



Feb 11-17
Swim: 16,760yds, 5 swims
Bike: 2:53, 2 rides
Run:  37 miles, 4 runs

            It is amazing the difference a week can make. I had almost identical weeks scheduled on paper, but quite different experiences. The week of the 11-17 felt like one giant physical and mental test, and I felt like I was always behind the eight ball. The week started off strong, but the farther into the week I got, the worse I felt I was doing on workouts. As a runner, I sometimes freak out if I don’t hit my paces…Thursday was a good example of that. Nothing was really “off” but it wasn’t right. It actually made me rather angry when I was struggling to hit pace on tempo day. You can ask any of my teammates from the past 5 years, and they will tell you I can have some pretty “off” days, but I will always be solid on tempo day. Along with the running, I was struggling on in the water a little bit. I do not consider myself to be a good swimmer, but I was swimming times that I should not be. I would fall apart during certain workouts and just hate life for the rest of it. On Sunday I had a big swim/bike workout, and I just completely fell apart. I ended up quitting the workout early—I hate to do that!! I could not hold power on the bike and I could not hit my swim times. I was three weeks out from Clermont, and I began to wonder if I was ready. School wasn’t even that difficult—the workouts were causing me more stress than school was.

Feb 18-24
Swim: 17,460yds, 5 swims
Bike: 4:03, 3 rides
Run: 36 miles, 5 runs

            Now, the week of the 18-24 was much different. I had solid runs all week, biking was good, and I had many solid improvements in the pool. On Saturday I had my first bike/run “brick” since 70.3 Branson, and it was very encouraging. I’m glad my legs remembered how to run quick off the bike. Sunday I had the same swim/bike workout as I did last week, and I even set 2 PRs in the pool during the workout! It really is crazy how 7 days can make all the difference.

Don't I look wonderful getting ready to flip turn?


            So, what do the next two weeks look like? Well, I am racing a 5k at UW-Stevens Point on March 2, and I am hoping to go sub 15:30. All of my workouts have been telling me I can run sub 15:30, so now I am going to go out and do it. I am running unattached, but I still need to mentally invest in the race and be ready to suffer. After racing multiple 70.3 races, I should be used to hurting. The hurt in the run of a 70.3 and the hurt that sets in 3k into the 5k are just different. I had a good talk with Josh Thebeau about this--he basically told me to suck it up and do it. He was a super fast high school runner, and always a good person to go to for running advice. After Stevens Point, I have the Clermont Draft Legal Challenge on March 9. I can’t wait. I am pretty excited since I have been training with this race in mind for a while now…and it is in Florida. Who doesn’t love a trip to Florida?
            Over the past 2 weeks, I have asked myself many times if I actually love training and racing, and if I am actually made to do this. I definitely love training, or I wouldn’t get my butt out of bed every morning to do it. Sometimes the workout are just plain hard, and I they take me beyond my happy place and into a dark place that I don’t enjoy going. I guess if I go there enough it will become my happy place?
            Lastly, dad did his first 12 mile run last week! Funny story—he text’s me on a Wednesday to tell me he just ran 12.4 miles and bonked at mile 9. I was confused, because I didn’t even have him down to run on Wednesday, and his run was supposed to be 10 on Sunday. Although I am glad that he knows he can run 12 miles, with his half marathon 6 weeks away, I think it threw a little wrench in the training plan. I am excited to see how his half marathon goes, and I am pretty sure he will end up running a marathon before I do. He asked me when I will run one, but I have no desire to go long! Every once in a while I toss around the idea of 26.2 or 140.6 but that thought always quickly leaves my head.

Songs of the Week!

And
 This is a much watch! ^

Have a great week! Good luck to everyone racing last chance meets this weekend!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Week of Feb 4-10



Swim: 15,360yds, 5 swims
Bike: 2:51, 2 rides
Run: 41 miles, 5 runs
Total: 11:36

After setting a PR in the 5k last week I decided to run the 3k this week. My 3k PR was 9:04 from 2011, and I figured I should be able to take it out—after all, I did come through the 3k of my 5k in 9:04 (and then faded hardcore). Also, my friend Jake was in the 3k, and it’s always nice to beat him, so I decided to give it a shot. I let him know a few days before the race that I was just going to sit on him until the last 200m, and then out kick him—oh the perks of being a mid-distance runner trying to move up. Well…that only works if you can stick with him for 2800m. On Saturday there was a pack of 3 that quickly separated from the rest of the field.  We came through 800m in 2:20. Around1200m into the race we were down to a pack of two—Jake and me. We came through the mile in 4:42, and Jake started to pull away. By 2k in, Jake was running away with the race, and I just let him go. I knew I just had to hold it together for 1000m and I would run myself to a new PR. I ended up closing in :33.1 for the last 200m to run 8:52—good for a 12 second PR. Can’t complain about that! 11 second 5k PR last weekend, and now a 12 second 3k PR! Jake ran a studly 8:46 for a PR also—it was a good day for both of us.


5k at Illinois College--look at that wonderful face.


 In other new, I finished East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and I absolutely love that book. It may have taken me 5 months to finish—but it finished! It wasn’t my first time reading it, I just wanted to read it again. I really just don’t ever sit down to read books, unless it’s some type of Biology books or something like that. Apparently it’s good for people to read…who knew? Anyway, if you haven’t read it, you should!

Lastly, I would just like to say that I love my teammates at Greenville--especially the 800m crew. This year we decided we are going to have breakfast club once a week, and it is a blast. Although I would like to sleep in on Tues or Thurs morning, this group of crazy guys is awesome enough to get me to drive to campus early for breakfast, before I go sit in a 90 minute class of multicultural children’s literature. Although we are usually all still half asleep at the start of breakfast, it is always a fun time. And, you MUST be an 800m runner to get breakfast—that may be the only reason I still train with the 800m runners. Also, if you are reading this, Josh…We. Need. Bacon.

Song of the Week!


If you have any specific questions you want me to answer, just let me know. I can always use ideas to write about. Have a GREAT week! Good luck to the GC Panthers at NCCAA’s this weekend!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Week of Jan 28 - Feb 3



Swim: 12,720yds, 4 swims
Bike: 1:45, 2 rides
Run: 37.01 miles, 5 runs
Total Time: 9:49

Another interesting week—I had to go home for jury duty,  so it was another week of traveling. Overall, it was still an okay week. We cut back to four days a week of swimming this week, and I am beginning to think I am a 5 day/week swimmer. I didn’t feel as comfortable in the water this week—it was fun though. Biking was…blah. For one reason or another, the workouts just seemed hard to fit in this week. Running was solid, as always—I can think I am having a “completely horrible week of running” and in reality it is just fine. Really don’t have much to say about training this week though. I did it. Survived. Didn’t have any TT or training breakthroughs this week, but I (mostly) got it done.

This week I got to race on the track for the first time since May! I was so excited. I told coach I wanted to run the 5k at Illinois College. I had never run an indoor 5k before, but I figured there’s no better time than now! On Friday night I was so excited, it felt like Christmas Eve. I am not sure if I was excited for the race, or nervous, but I couldn’t wait. Race morning came along and I was ready to go. Basically, to make a long story short…I ran 15:50 to PR (not bad for an “800m runner”).  My splits were...well, if it was a 3k race I would have been set! LOL. I was 4:49/9:42/15:13/15:50. I just got a little too aggressive early in the race--but hey, I've never been one to play it safe! I look forward to the next 5k I get to run on the track, whenever that may be!

My track PR was 16:01 from 2010. My road PR was 15:52 from 2009 (I'm pretty sure it was a short course though). I am happy to have run a PR! Think of it this way, the last time I ran a 5k PR I was running 70-80 miles a week in the middle of the summer, training for cross country. I was happy to PR off ~40 mpw of running (although I am swimming and biking now). And, even though I ran 15:50, I know I did not race to my ability, and I am looking forward to my next shot at a 5k! My track coach will tell you that I am still a middle distance runner (400/800/1500) but I think it is time to make the jump to “long distance.” To him, the 5k/10k is long distance—to me, the 5k is what I run in a sprint tri and the 10k is what I run in the Olympic distance tri. With the 70.3 being my favorite distance to race, the 5k/10k is “middle distance” to me. I guess it all just depends on how you look at it.

My 5k PR got me thinking about other PRs I have set in the last 365 days. So I decided to lay it out.
Running:
     400m (indoor), 800m (indoor), mile (indoor), 3k (indoor), 3 mile (road), 5k (indoor), 10k (road)
Swimming:
     100yd, 200yd, 400yd, 500yd
Triathlon:
     Sprint and Olympic
I think there are many things that have gone into this string of PRs but I am very happy with it. There is no secret to it, just a lot of hard work and sacrifices. I have had a pretty good last 365 days, and I can only hope that the streak will continue for the next year.

Dad’s half marathon training is coming along! He did his 8 mile long run (he made sure to tell me it was 8.4miles, not just 8) this week, and he is up to around 24 mpw. Now, some may say that an 8 mile long run is too much for low mileage, but I disagree. I’ve always been taught that the long run shouldn’t be more than 20-25% of your weekly mileage. But, if you only have 3 or 4 days a week (sometimes 5) to run, and you still want to get the mileage in, sometimes you break the rule. We have come up with a plan to get him to race day in shape and ready to go—and he will be ready!

The Clermont Draft Legal start list came out this week. It was kind of like an “is this real?” moment when I saw my name on the list with “U25 Elite Development” next to it. Everybody had told me I need to try my chances with draft-legal, so here’s my chance. I have total confidence that Coach Steve will get me to the start line of Clermont ready to go. It is a little intimidating to be entered into a race with 74 other studs, with a lot of them aiming to get their pro/elite card. But hey, what have I got to lose?  I am looking forward to the experience on March 9. Maybe this will give me a better idea if I like draft-legal, short course or long course racing—although I highly doubt I will decide draft-legal is “my race” and I did already say that I love the 70.3!

Song of the week!