Iron Girl 2009

Yesterday was the Aflac Iron Girl 5k/10k in Clearwater. This was my second year running this race with my running girls. We had a few new friends with us this year too. We all ran the 5k, which consists of running over and back on the new Clearwater bridge. The entire race is pretty hilly with a hill at the starting line and another hill right at the base of the "curly cue" you run down after climbing the steep side of the bridge. Even though the bridge is definitely a challenge the views are so amazing that you can't really complain. We had perfect weather! Even though I only improved my time from last year by 10 seconds I felt strong and steady the whole time.

I'm sure I could of pushed myself a bit harder but I was too busy enjoying the beautiful views and appreciating the experience since this will probably be my last Iron Girl event in FL. But, I've already got my sights on the Iron Girl tri in Colombia MD next year!

Short yet productive...

This morning after dropping off all the kids I decided to do a short 2 or 3 mile run in the neighborhood and incorporate some kind of speed work.

I ran from my house to the front gate in 8:25. Then I went into the front park for some speed work around the "loop", which we've figured is just under .25mi per lap. I did 3 laps w/ a 20sec sprint each lap. Then I jogged a nice cool down (into the wind) home.

Luckily the rain didn't start til I was on my way out to run errands. Glad I got in a decent run in without too much discomfort in my shoulder.

No Zephyrhills tri

My friend Karen invited me to do the East Pasco YMCA sprint triathlon with her this coming weekend. I found a babysitter and was super excited for the 300 pool swim, the bike route with no sharp turns and the flat 5k course. I was planning on registering this evening.

Today at my massage I found out that the pain in my right arm was more than just an annoyance. Apparently I have a tear in my rotator cuff. My first response was "so you don't recommend racing next weekend?". You can imagine his response. Since rest, ice, and more massage seems to be the cure, that's exactly what I intend to do. I can make modifications in my classes so that I don't further injure myself, yet still kick every one's butts ;) I'm going to take two weeks off swimming, lay off the weights and only ride the spin bike for the next few weeks. He said even running can be bad if I swing my arms too much. No laughing at me when I'm running on the treadmill with my hands in my pockets!

Body Shock

Even though I've considered myself "back in training" for the past few weeks, I don't think my body realized it til yesterday. The run/swim two-a-day work outs are much easier on the body than biking and then racing to the pool to swim for an hour. After teaching my class last night it was all I could do to get the kids home, fed, and bathed. My main goal was to fall face first into my bed.

I officially have a 50% success rate on my new tri bike. Two rides, only one fall. Odds are looking pretty good. The wind yesterday was so unbelievable that T and I were actually late picking our kids up from preschool. Luckily they don't yell at us like the big kids would have. I keep waiting for that "wind at your back" theory I've been hearing about. Instead, it's the dreaded crosswind that is never helping you along. I was so tense on my bike that my entire upper body was sore.

This soreness didn't help much in the pool. We were supposed to swim 1600 but I think I was short. My neck and shoulders were killing me but I think it was all just tension from being in a constant state of panic on my bike. I felt better by the time I went back to teach class and I've been fine all day today. Achy, but fine.

T and I have swam on the coldest days for the past two weeks. The water always feels great but getting out is another story. The people on the treadmills probably think we're nuts. They're right.

I love days like this because they make you the kind of sore you just couldn't get from any other sport. I hate them for the same reason.

Gasparilla 15k

I'm a firm believer in the old saying " you get out, what you put in". In some cases, you put in diddly, and you get squat.

That's the best way to describe my performance at Gasparilla this year. I am not the kind of runner that cannot train and then pull off a great race. Since I knew I hadn't trained properly and woke up with a belly ache ( i was still getting over the virus that ran viciously through my house) I decided to just enjoy the race atmosphere and not get too caught up with my time. I told the girls ahead of time to leave my butt in the dust when necessary. By mile 3 they were out of my sight.

Miraculously I kept my first 6mi at a 10min pace. I drank when thirsty, kept my pace steady and tried not to look at my watch very often. At mile 5.5 I took my shock blocks. By mile 6 it all turned bad. The water stops caught up with me and I had to hit the porta potty. Eeeeek! In the future, I'll opt for peeing myself. The shocks had a lot of caffeine and sodium in them which led to a super high heart rate and VERY swollen fingers. They were like freakin sausages by the time I crossed the finish line. Needless to say my last 5k of the race was not pretty and I really had no clue of my pace at this point. I was just hoping not to crawl across the finish line.

In the end I was a little slower than last year, which I had expected. Thankfully it wasn't 10min slower!!

This race is such has beautiful scenery, great support and an overall fun and exciting atmosphere. We could not have asked for better weather. The free beer is another nice bonus. Even though, this wasn't my most successful race it was a total blast and I was grateful to share the morning with two very good friends.

Back in training

With tri season just around the corner I'm officially back in training. Eventhough my first race of the season will be a relay, which I'll be biking. I'm happy to say I've whipped out the old swim cap and have been back in the pool for a few weeks. I've been "training" for the upcoming 15k so my running is pretty much back on track. I say "training" because I've only really gotten two long runs in so I'm a little nervous about how I'll do this weekend. I'm just going into it as another chance to spend a nice morning with my running girls. No pressure. PR or not. I don't really care. I have not been on my new tri bike since the "incident". But, next week I'll be putting on my football gear and heading out for another go at it. As long as I stay away from my tri-bars I should be fine.

Monday was the beginning of the two-a-day workouts. Mon and wed. will be our 2-a-day schedule with wed also including my bodyflex class. This is actually an easier schedule for me from last season. Last season I also taught 2hrs in a row (spin & bodyflex) on monday nights after training in the morning. This bit of a break will hopefully allow me to fuel better, thus recover faster.

First 2-a-day wrkout:
10:30am -8mi run
The weather was 70 degress without a cloud in the sky. It was perfect running weather. I ran our regular route twice. I probably did a little over 8. First 4 miles were about 5min faster than the last four. I wore the wrong shoes (thinking I'd save my good ones for sat). Big mistake, I now have two huge blisters on my feet. Good thing I have a few days for them to heal before race day. I'm not sure of my pace since it was frequently disrupted by cars, the crosswalk and a family of ducks. Guessing I was around 10min miles.

2:00 pm- 1500 swim
5x100 easy
4x50 kick drills (these felt great after my run. ouch!)
4x50 drills: buoy, finger drags, one arms, touch-ups
500 steady
100 cool down
Good thing the swim was easy because my legs were already hurting from the run. The swim was actually a great way to work out some of my soreness. I did get a charlie horse in the pool. That was a fun experience. Thank god we weren't in the deep pool. I don't think I could ever live down a rescue at work ;)

Gasparilla 15k

I'm officially registered for the Gasparilla 15k on Feb. 28th. While in Sports Authority on Saturday buying cleats for Drew I found out they were also doing early registration for Gasparilla. Plus, by purchasing $75 of Nike merchandise you can run the 5/15k for free. Since I was already there I figured I might as well buy some running clothes and take advantage of the special.

Last week I ran 5 days in a row with speed work in my 2-3 mi runs. There's 26 days til the race so that should give me plenty of time to get my mileage back up and get some long runs in.