Week 7 Recap and My First Oly

Well I'm one week away from finishing the Base Building Phase and I'm officially an Olympic Distance Finisher. Week 7, you are officially toast.

This may be my first week that I actually hit all of my workouts. I was a little low on overall time (when you take out my volleyball game) but most of that was because I nailed my swim during Saturday's Tri. My workouts are typically 2000yards in 45 minutes. I swam the 1650 yard open water leg in 21.

Best Workout of the Week
Duh. My race. It was intense. It was by far the most difficult thing I've ever done (probably). I haven't  pushed myself to new limits since I took on the Flying Pig Marathon back in 2008. In terms of speed, I haven't pushed myself since the 2008 Louisville Half Marathon. So yeah, this was super terrifying. I finished in 4 hours, which was about 25 minutes slower than I was hoping. But it was also my first ever Olympic on a hilly bike course. I guess I'll cut myself some slack.

Finisher!!!

Best Meal of the Week
I screwed the pooch a little bit last week in terms of my 'planning'. Whoops. First slip up since January. Guess it's really not that big of a deal. I made my mixed veggie hash with a chile lime chicken burger again. Yum. I'm also happy about how I've been eating better lunches. Tonight I made a variation of one of my favorite meals from home, chicken and pasta. My dad makes it better, but it was pretty yummy.

Being the smartypants that I am, I took tomorrow off as a random vacation day. I sat down in January when I was planning my race schedule and took a bunch of random days off so that I got each and every one of my vacation days. I'm so excited! I have a long to-do list but it's way better than anything that would happen at work. Hopefully a race recap (and recaps for the Shelbyville Tri and Derby Mini) will be on the list too.

Happy Happy Ellie

Happy Running!!

How was your weekend? Did you race? Tell me about it
What's your favorite meal from 'home'? Does your family have any classics?

Tri Talk Tuesday: Must Haves for the Run

I'm going to take a whirl at linking up with Courtney at The TriGirl Chronicles, Phaedra at Blisters and Black Toenails and Cynthia at You Signed up for WHAT? for Tri Talk Tuesday this month. Each month they pick a Triathlon Topic to write about and this month it's the Run. Now, since I've only completed two Triathlons in my life I don't have a lot of triathlon specific run advice. What I do have is an arsenal of running stuff that has adapted quite well to triathlon and helped me be successful thus far. I give you,

1. Sports Bra

 

Whether you're wearing a Tri Kit or something else, you will most likely need a good sports bra. Lets be honest, I'm a busty lady. Keeping the girls in check is difficult but essential for running. In Triathlon the only discipline that they become an issue is in the run. After years of searching for a good sports bra I've finally fallen in love. Moving Comfort has a style for every body and every sport. Personally, I love the Juno and the Jubralee. I've worn both during swims and have found them to be comfortable and quick drying. MC can get a little pricey (which is relative in triathlon) but they always have stuff on sale, which you can check out here.

2. Body Glide
Ever had something rub the wrong way during a long run? Well guess what, it's going to rub just as badly after a long bike and a good swim. I wear body glide on the daily. In fact, I wear it whenever I wear skirts since these Thunder Thighs like to rub. C'est la vie. I keep it in transition and slather a bunch on my thighs after I get off of the bike. If you change socks - which I might this weekend at Tri Fest - Slather it in between your toes to keep from rubbing. I should buy stock in this stuff.


3. Good Socks

I can't stress this enough. The insides of shoes gross me out so I wear socks for the bike AND the run. Since your feet are wet when you put them on you need them to be quick drying and cushioning. This is hard to come by. I have been loving Swiftwick compression socks for the bike and shorter runs. They dry super quick, are really breathable and give my feet a little hug. For longer runs - and for this weekend's Olympic Tri - I change for the run. I love Balega, which have a little extra cushion. With my achy feet I need a little extra cushion on the balls of my feet.

4. Good Shoes
This one is true whether you're a beginning runner or elite triathlete: get good shoes. Be professionally fitted, test them out, don't wear them too long. I've been wearing the Brooks Adrenaline for two years now and I really like them. I need a wider toe box and the Adrenaline deliver. This year, rather than buying the new version I found the 14's on Zappos for a good price. I highly recommend using Zappos for "last year" or later model shoes at a crazy good price. 

5. Visor/hat

If for no other reason than your hair is a hot mess after having on a swim cap and a helmet, you need some headwear for the run. Also, when it's super hot  (like it's going to be for basically all of my races) you need something to shield your face and eyes from the sun. Like with anything else make sure it's moisture wicking and light. I keep going back and forth between a hat (which can hold ice during Muncie's brutal heat) or a visor which is what I've always worn. I currently wear one I won at a volleyball tournament from ASiCS, but Headsweats is a great brand that has both (and has lots of fashion options!)

6. Hydration

This is a tough one because most good courses have plenty of hydration out on the run. That being said, I need to drink a lot because I haven't quite mastered hydration on the bike. A good handheld like this one from Nathan is a good option because you can refill it at the aid stations. It's light weight, has just enough of a pouch for gels and keys, but not so big that it's heavy to carry. I got this one at the Flying Pig Expo last year and I LOVE it.

7. Mental Toughness
So this isn't gear really but it's a necessity. Whether you're doing a super sprint or a full Ironman, the run is all that stands between you and the finish line. It's important to practice positive affirmations or visualizations to help you get there.  This is super important when you have a bad bike. This has become even more helpful for me as I've started training without my ipod (AHHH!). Figure out what works for you - talking to yourself, singing, counting, etc. - and practice it. The run is the finish lap - enjoy it!

Happy Running!

Got any must haves for your running? What gear did I miss?
How do you mentally prepare for the run leg of the triathlon?

Week 6 Recap

This week was a little rough and I didn't quite meet all of my training goals. Two weeks left in base building. Lets see how it went.

I'm considering the swimming done considering I did an OWS on Sunday. So I got my two swims. I slacked on the cycling though, missing Wednesday and finishing early on Saturday

Best Workout of the Week
Saturday I attended an Open Water Swim (OWS) clinic put on by Headfirst Performance. It was a blast! The swim was out at Taylorsville lake, the site of next weekend's TriFest. Three local coaches ran things and gave a lot of helpful tips and tricks about the swim portion of the triathlon. Then we got in the water! The lake was a cool 68 degrees but the air temp was surprisingly warm. One of the directors went out Friday and set up buoy's so it was as close as you can get to a race setting. Despite some hang ups with my wet suit, the swim was great! I'm so glad I got to go down and see the TriFest setting in person in advance. I'm doing the Olympic there next weekend and I'm pretty nervous at this point. I felt relaxed in the water and was able to sight without much of an issue.

Coaches presenting before the swim

Afterward a group (reluctantly) invited me to ride with them. I'd intended to just head out to the Parklands and ride there but i'm really trying to get out of my comfort zone and push myself. They were super super fast and the hills didn't help. One of the coaches stayed back with me while the (mean) girls headed on. He was sweet to go so slow with me. We turned back a little early and, in the midst of the U-turn, I ate concrete. It's difficult to explain how depressing it was. In the middle of a  state highway on the pavement. I thought at first I may have sprained my wrist as it locked up entirely and I couldn't put pressure on it. Here I am, about 5 miles from my car, just...stuck.  In order my feelings were:

• Embarrassment. Omg. How the fuck did that happen? What a doofus!
• Defeat. This is never going to work. There is no way I can ride 10 feet, let alone 56 miles
• Anger. I wanted to throw my bike. I hated it. I wanted to throw it into traffic

We waited for a few minutes and I steeled up my nerves enough to ride again. It was hard to choke back all of those feelings and just keep going. I felt so utterly alone when I got back to the car. No safety net, so help. The drive back to Louisville was long, to say the least.

I sulked for the rest of the day. I still haven't gotten my bike out of my car. I knew this was going to be hard, but had no idea just how hard.

One from last week, one from this week

Went for my scheduled run today to try to shake yesterday off. It was much hotter than I'm used to and I got started pretty late so I was running right in the heat of the day. I focused on keeping my heart rate even and just tried to have fun. Now i'm focused on having a good recovery day.

Ice Bath after a hot 7 miles

Best Meal of the Week
Last Saturday the Pioneer Woman made a breakfast hash with a fried egg that looked amazing. I made it Sunday night for dinner and made the hash part again on Monday with a chili lime chicken burger from Trader Joe's. Yum! The Hubz was out of town so I ate a little bit more adventurously than I typically do. Paid off!

So there you have it, my week in a nutshell. I can't believe April is over and that in 68 days I will be a (Half) Ironman. Wow. I didn't realize until I looked it up how close it was.

April was pretty good though.

150.63 Total Miles

25:25:41 Total Hours

17, 706 Total Calories

And of course, Ellie dog is still awesome.

Happy Running!

How do you recover after a bad workout?
How was your April? Ready for May??

Week 5 Recap

What a week! It involved both ramping up my training for IM Muncie AND tapering for the KDF Mini Marathon. Lets check it out.

37 Miles!

I'm happy with this week. I've been doing one swim a week and got both in this week while I dropped a little of the run to compensate for Saturday's race. I really need to start getting my ass on the bike a little more.

Best Workout of the Week
Obviously, the race has to take this one! I finished my 8th half marathon in 2:27 which is a decent time for me. I was going for under 2:30 and was ecstatic to negative split this race in the pouring down rain.

Adding to the hardware!

I rescheduled the planned Saturday bike to Sunday. It was hard getting my sore legs going but I'm glad that I did. Im still a little skittish on the bike - particularly stopping and going uphill (the most recent falls). Every ride makes me stronger though so I'm gonna stay in the saddle.

Beautiful Dogwood near the house 

Selfie Break!

Seneca Loop Trailhead

Best Meal of the Week
This one is fairly obvious too. We went to a restaurant called The Cafe after the mini on Saturday. I made the reservations earlier in the week for two reasons: (1) it's close to the race and (2) the food is INSANE. We went there after the 10 miler and I had a Belgian waffle that I almost married right then and there (Sorry Hubz). It was amazing. This time I had it with strawberries and whipped cream. To.Die.For. I ate it so quickly that I didn't even manage to get a picture. Also, diet coke. Lots of diet coke.

Saturday night we went out to our favorite Mediterranean place and again, I ate everything.

This week's menu is promising. The Hubz is off on a work trip so it's just me and Ellie, meaning we're eating adventurously. Last night I made this recipe for Potato Hash from the Pioneer Woman. It was scrumptious. I suggest you make it immediately.

Pre-Egg adding 

Fried egg + Sriracha = bliss

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Just trying to keep work from killing me (and barely succeeding) and trying to get in my miles. And lots and lots of snuggles from my favorite puppy.

Ellie: professional couch crasher

Happy Running!

Did you race last weekend? How'd it go?
What's your favorite go-to weekday meal? 

Week 4 is Toast

We're now halfway through the base building phase of training, also  known as 1/4 of the way there!

Total = 5:53 min cardio, 30.65 miles, 3, 969 Calories

Not too shabby. I need to up my swim and run time a little bit. Finding the time for those workouts is a little difficult. Hopefully I can start sneaking a swim in on Tuesdays. 

Best Workout of the Week

Hands down this was my Saturday ride. The rest of the week was pretty rainy and kept me inside and off the bike. Saturday I packed Ghost up and headed to the Parklands at Floyd's Fork. It's a beautiful park "system" on the east side of the county. It's still in progress and a lot of it isn't open yet. I fell in love with it at the Great Pumpkin 10K last year and thought it would be a great place to bike. Lots of straightaways, not much traffic. It didn't disappoint! The park was fairly busy so i stayed off of the path in some sections but the roads were pretty much empty.

Now if you're asking yourself, "Gee whiz Jenn, you've really mastered this whole biking thing haven't you?" Lest you think I'm some sort of bike expert, I definitely proved my newbieness on Saturday. About 15 minutes in I hit a HUGE hill. It was an overpass that was essentially at an 80 degree incline. I didn't downshift enough before getting on it and the bike just stopped. I tried to stand up but I knew my balance wouldn't hold. I braced myself and just held on to the bike as I leaned left. Crash, boom, ouch. Pavement. Luckily not too many people saw (and I wasn't hurt too badly...). Definitely my worst crash to date. My elbow got progressively sorer and it's nicely bruised. Same with my hip. Today's run also told me that my shoulder took a hit as well. Oh well. I got up and kept biking until my workout was done. I think I just have to get up and recover from those falls to get better. Lucky for me none of them have been that bad and, on the bright side, I fell on the left side of the bike this time!

Horse Park near English Station 

Taking a Break to get my bearings

Rail overpass near Taylorsville rd. 

I think my swim workout from this week also gets an honorable mention. It started with me absolutely positively GTFO not wanting to swim. I dilly dallied, I stalled, I did everything but say "fuck it i'm getting back in bed." Moral victory, right? I get to the pool and had to wait 10 minutes for a lane. WTF. Conviction definitely wavered as I sat there next to a weird old guy who wanted to chit chat about this and that. At least I didn't have to feel weird about forgetting to shave my legs because, yeah, he shouldn't have been looking anyway. 

The main set consisted of 3 times through 150 @ 20 seconds rest, 200 @ 30 seconds rest. It was tough, but felt great! Really proud of myself for sticking it out and getting in a great workout in record time. 

Tuesday Afternoon Run Across the River

Sunset over the Falls of the Ohio 

After my Sunday Treadmill run

Best Meal of the Week

Lots of good stuff on the menu this week but I probably have to go with what we just ate that I was too busy to take a picture of. Trader Joe's flounder stuffed with crab meat, roasted potatoes and kroger salad bar salad. Yumm. This week I bought some turkey burgers to eat with my sweet potatoes. I'll keep you posted, it could go either way. 

Aside from the workouts we had a nice visit from the water fairy who brought use a deluge of rain in the office on Wednesday. 

Thanks, jerk. Plumber came out Friday and could not find the leak. He was here for over 2 hours and still couldn't find it. I followed him around so I know he looked. It's puzzling. I'm posting this here mostly so I have documentation that I am not, in fact, crazy. At least not on this point. 

The biggest benefit of training? Sleeping like a damn baby. 

Ellie knows what i'm talking about. 

Another gradual increase in training this week all culminating in the Derby Festival Mini Marathon. 

82 Days till Muncie!

Happy Running!

Have you ever had a water leak? Did the plumber find it? Tell me more!

Do you shop at Trader Joe's? What's your favorite Tj's treat. 

Week 3 Recap

Week three ended on a high note with the Shelbyville Sprint Triathlon. More on that later.

Best Week Yet!

The time totals don't include the hour of body pump and 45 minutes of volleyball, which would bring my weekly total up to 6:27 for activity. Boo-Yah.

Best Workout of the Week

This one is easily the Shelbyville Sprint Tri. Duh. But in terms of actual workout the best workout I think I had was either my (abbreviated) swim on Tuesday or my Thursday swim. This week was rainy rainy rainy so I couldn't get outside on the bike at all. It was also super light at work so I skipped out early to get to the Y on Tuesday. To my boss (who reads the blog, I'm told) - don't rat me out :) . I did 10 minutes on a spinner bike and hopped in the pool. The workout was the most difficult I've had yet and the main set consisted of 3 rounds of 100 @ 10 seconds rest followed by 250 @ 20 seconds rest. I got through the warm up and into the first set. The 250 felt GREAT. Then the lifeguard got me out because of lightning. Ugh. The storm was getting pretty bad so I called it a day. My swim Thursday was more speed focused and had a pyramid of 25s, 50s, 100s and 200s. It felt good too but not as good.

Best Meal of the Week
This one, again is probably my random Wednesday night pot luck. Here's what was on deck for last week.

Wednesday's quesadillas were made with Tuesday night's fajita leftovers. I opted to have half a quesadilla and add a sweet potato. Super yum. Sweet potatoes are definitely being worked into my diet more!

Random? Sure. Delicious? Absolutely.

Friday night we went over to our buddy's house for dinner. It was a blast. He made pork chops and our dear friends Lindsey & John (who also may peek in on the blog....yeah, that's right John) brought fried pickles. Needless to say Saturday morning was a rude awakening. We took Ellie for a long walk at the park to celebrate the return of the Sun.

Next week is the halfway point in the Base Building phase. 90 days to Muncie!

Happy Running!

Did you race this weekend?
Is it rainy where you are?

Race Recap - Papa John's 10 Miler

The Papa John's 10 miler is the 3rd leg of the Louisville Triple Crown of Running and one of my favorite races. It's all a lead up to the Derby Festival Mini & Marathon which are part of the Kentucky Derby Festival. If you haven't figured it out yet, Derby is kind of a big deal around here.

Anyway, normally my training for the triple crown starts in January and is building up to the end of April. This year, my training started in March and is building up to a much different race in the middle of July. So lets just say I was drastically under-trained. I hadn't run 10 miles since the Sports Commission Half in October and hadn't even run 5 miles consistently since January. Thus, my goals going in were:

1. Finish the race
2. Don't get injured
3. If not getting injured means not finishing, that's ok

I woke up at about 5:45 a.m. for the 8 am start. Drank a good amount of water and had some hot tea. For fuel I had some Belvita Breakfast biscuits with a little peantbutter on them. I tried to cut off the fluids and foods by about 6:45. We were in the car by 7:10 and headed to the stadium. We parked a good distance away from the start, but closer to the finish (which is how we both like it). It was a cool 39 degrees at the start with a little wind. I was super cold before the start but in the end I think I was dressed perfectly for a long run in these temps.

Landsharks short sleeve with Target Long sleeve 3/4 Zip on top. Moving Comfort Endurance Capris, Asics Visor, Balega Socks and my previous Brooks Adrenalines. Game on.


The race breaks down nicely into thirds. The first third is the relatively flat 3 mile route out to Iroquois Park, then three miles through a very hilly park, three miles back to the start, and a mile up an overpass and into Papa John's Stadium for the finish.

Based on goals 1-3 above, I decided to run  based on HR rather than time. I set my Garmin 310 to show me HR only.

1st Segment - Focused on keeping it slow and steady with a HR <145. Music choices really helped me here and I picked stuff that was more relaxed and fun than the typical high bpm, bass pounding jams that usually get me amped up (more on that in another post). Managed to nail this part despite the gradual uphill.

2nd Segment - The dreaded park. The coolest part about this is that while you're going down 3rd street you can see the leaders coming out of the park. Everyone cheers and claps when they come by and it's super inspiring. Particularly the wheelchair athletes. it's incredible to think about them going up the hills through the park. The park is tough. There are several big hills followed by equally steep downhills and it just rolls like that for three miles. I feel like I really did well in the park. I managed to recover on the downhills and not push too hard on the uphills. I love the feeling of making it up the final hill and feeling like "yes, it's over!".

3rd Segment - This is always the hardest part for me and I think it's mostly mental. The road feels flat and endless. My HR monitor crapped out just before mile 8 but I was running a little high before that. At that point all I could think was, "stay steady and slow until 8." Dear hubz gets Barn Fever pretty bad: when he sees the end he sprints. In a race where the finish line is  HUGE stadium you can see it well before it's advisable to take off. After the 8 mile marker we got faster and faster and felt pretty strong.

Last Mile - the last mile starts with a HUGE uphill on an overpass. It sucks. I hate it every year. We nailed the last mile though and ran it in 10:56, our fastest mile.

Elevation, Pace & HR Comparisons

Garmin Time: 10.19 miles in 1:59:54 for 11:46 min/miles

Am I impressed with our finish? No, it was by far the slowest 10 miler I've ever run. But it was also the gutsiest. And I was far more nervous and anxious leading up to this race than any recent race I can remember. So I'm thrilled with our finish and the run that got us there.

In the end, the 10 miler was a stepping stone this year and not an end goal. So on to the next one!