Trumanburg bike ride

Awesome bike ride with Sarah, Matt and Cresten! We happened upon an apple tree when we stopped for a break. As Cresten pointed out, we rapidly went through all the stages of human evolution while trying to get to the apples. First attempt was to climb the tree. Second attempt was to use fallen apples to knock apples out of the tree. Finally we developed tools and used a stick to knock apples to the ground. Success! The apples were mighty tasty too.



Even though we faced some killer hills and only two of us had proper road bikes, everyone claims to have enjoyed themselves. The highlight was the 4 mile cruise back into town on 79. The sun was just starting to get low in the sky and the views of Cornell were quite spectacular. Nothing reinforces the isolation of Ithaca like seeing campus nestled among miles and miles of emptiness.


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Mountain Madness and short term retirement

Michelle, Brian, Ben, Cresten and I did the Mountain Madness race this weekend in Newfield. Michelle, Brian, and I did the 14k and the other brave souls did 30k. My time was 1 hr 46 which is a 12 min/mile pace. That's slower than normal for me but the 'Mountain Madness' name is not incorrect... this was a super hilly course. This is the first race I've done purely out of peer pressure and I realized that I've briefly lost my enthusiasm for racing. I'm not in the business of torturing myself, despite how it might appear, so I'm going to rest for awhile until it becomes fun again.

After 9 months of scheduling my life around workouts, it'll be nice to put training on the back burner for a bit. I have enjoyed this past year immensely--- it has taught me a lot about myself and about my physical and mental limits. Now that the triathlon has passed, I'm done feeling guilty if I take 4 consecutive days off from running as I did this week. Luckily exercise has become too much a part of my life for me to give it up completely. And I suspect I'll be back to my usual racing antics before long. Until then, this blog is on vacation!

First triathlon!

I did it! It's been exactly one year since my very first race when I did the CLT as a relay. Since then, I've learned a lot about racing and training, and things went really smoothly. I made a list of triathlon items all week, packed the night before (never pack the morning of a big race!), set out exactly what to wear in the morning down to my sunglasses and watch, got out of bed at 5:45AM and was at the park by 7:10AM. That gave me a comfortable amount of time to set up my station before my 8:20AM start time although more time wouldn't have hurt. I had neatly divided my swim, bike, and run stuff into different baggies, so I pulled them out one by one and had everything set up on top of a towel with the appropriate footwear (3 pairs of shoes for one race!). I talked myself through each of my transitions and felt unusually organized and calm. I had some extra time to visit with my friends, get my number marked all over my body (hands, arms, calves, and thighs), and pick up my timing chip.

Food/water/etc: I had cereal and lots of coffee before leaving home. I was pretty well hydrated at the start and ate half a Clif bar before the race. I had a few sips of water during the swim-bike transition and I should have drank more because I was severely dehydrated the entire first half of the bike. If I ever do another bike race, I'll need to figure out a better way of hydrating: either a Camelback (yuck) or installing a water bottle near the handlebars. The water bottles along the down tube are just too awkward to be reached easily. I taped one pack of goo to my bike and had another in my bike jersey. I consumed those along with gatorade and water on the bike ride. I had too much to eat because it took my stomach a little time to settle down when I started running.

Clothes (and there were a lot of them): SWIM: swimsuit with a sports bra underneath, full body wetsuit, goggles and swim cap. BIKE: bike shorts pulled over the swimsuit (stylish!), bike jersey top, sunglasses, helmet, socks, and biking shoes. RUN: tank top (pre-pinned with race number), running shorts, and running shoes. It's really hard to change clothing while soaking wet, so next time I'd consider wearing bathing suit bottoms and a tank top so I'd only have to pull on shorts. They've cleverly made the number tags waterproof so those can be pinned on before the race.

Weather: Perfect! A cool 60-70F and overcast without rain.

Highlights:

Swim: I got clobbered in the face twice and nearly had a panic attack before the 5 minute mark. Impressively, this was the only time in the entire race I seriously considered quitting. I guess practice is the only way to get used to open water swimming, but it still freaks me out *every single time*. I managed to stave off a full blown panic attack by keeping pace with the girl next to me. I swam at a slower than comfortable pace for half the distance because I didn't want to move away from the buoys. I felt much better on the return trip and made up some time. Swim time: 1.5K in 35:04.

Transition: Shaky. I took is slow or else I would have crashed my bike. Luckily it only took a mile or two to regain my equilibrium.

Bike: I should be a faster biker but I only seem to have one speed. I think I lack a regular training partner so I don't push myself to improve. It was disheartening to continuously get passed the entire trip, although it did make me realize how many people I had beaten out of the water. I love being on my bike so much that I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. Bike time: 24.6 miles in 1:35:55 (down from 1:40 during the practice a few weeks back), 15.3 mph.

Transition: Painful. My legs and my stomach were not happy for the first mile. After that, my pace picked up nicely.

Run: This hurt the entire time. I really wish that we didn't have to do two loops of the same course. The first time was wonderful. The run takes you right to the base of Taughannock Falls and couldn't be more picturesque. The second loop was slower than the first and only the thought of being able to lie down got me to the finish line. Run time: 1:06:14 for 10K, 10:41 min/mile pace.

Total time: 3:24:31. I won my first and last medal for an athletic event: #2 out of the 4 females aged 25-29 in the intermediate race. It felt stupid to accept the medal but as my friends and my adviser put it, '#2 out of more than two is good.' In the individual events, my rankings reflected the amount of time I spent training on each sport. My swim time was AWESOME and it's because I've been swimming regularly. I've been running short distances lately so I was undertrained for 6 miles, and I can count the number of times I've been road biking this year on two hands. But it's over and I have no complaints whatsoever about the way things turned out. I have no regrets about signing up for the intermediate. I would not have enjoyed the sprint distance nearly as much.

What's next for me? I'm done with training for the season. My next race is the one to graduate. I do have one more physical goal for the year though. I would really like to be able to do a pullup because I've never been able to do one. Yup, that's right: I'm aiming to do one pullup. I think that means lots of quality time at the climbing wall and with my shiny new pullup bar.

CLT Pictures

There will be a complete rundown of the triathlon eventually, but here are some pictures to start with.

The start of my swim wave. This is the point at which complete terror and panic set in as it finally dawned on me what I had signed up to do.


The sprint distance was to the green buoy and the intermediate was to the yellow. This picture is deceptive: they're a lot further than they seem.


Finishing the swim. Some genius told me to take the top half of the wetsuit off as I ran, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Those pictures are not flattering and thus are not shown here.


Returning to Taughannock after a lovely 25 mile bike ride. The pictures of me biking are really interesting because my posture is all wrong. That explains why my shoulders were the sorest part of me on the day after the tri.


Running. This is the point at which exhaustion set in. It was not helped by the fact that I had to do 2 loops of the 5k course which made everything seem even longer. But alas I finished and I even ran the entire time.


The end!

Week of 7/26-7/31

Monday Currently eating every 2 hours. It's kind of fun to be so gluttonous but it'll be hard to stop after the race. Bailed on the swim across the lake because I was reminded I should be "tapering."

Tuesday I got super sick in the middle of the night for the second time this month with excruciating stomach cramps and nausea, and this time I ended up fainting. (I'll spare you the rest of the gory details.) The first time it happened, I assumed it was food poisoning but maybe it's a food allergy?

Wednesday Climbing with Matt. My performance was pathetic-- I couldn't even make it up my easy routes. Matt spent an admirably long time working on the $1000 dyno and came *really* close to getting it. It was amazing to watch!

Thursday-Saturday Rest. After no aerobic activity this week except the 2 mile ride to/from work, I was antsy for the triathlon just so I could get some exercise. I guess the tapering paid off.

Week of 7/19-7/25

Monday First swim across Cayuga Lake! 1.2 miles in 46 minutes.

I was a bit grumpy at the start of the swim. Francesca, the woman who owns the house we swim from, took one look at me and put me on the slow list of swimmers. Granted, her only experience with me in the water was the first week when I got really bad leg cramps. But I swam a mile with leg cramps that left me limping for three days! I see how that doesn't necessarily mean I'm a fast swimmer but it should say something about my level of determination. I was pretty pissed off and we hadn't even left the shore.

When it got to be my turn to swim, there were 11 people in the water with me, and 7 of us were new to swimming across the lake. It ended up being a bit of a clusterf*** which is what always happens when a bunch of newbies get in the water. The pod that was swimming at my pace took off ahead of me and I was left with a pod of slightly slower swimmers. I could have sprinted and caught up with the faster pod, but I wasn't sure about the canoe situation. (We're supposed to get assigned to canoes in the first few minutes of the swim and can't switch after that, and I wasn't sure if that had happened yet). After wasting precious oxygen trying to figure out who I was supposed to be with, I didn't have the energy to catch up with the faster group, and I really didn't want to swim with the slower group. That's what happened to me last week and there are fewer things less fun than treading water while you wait for people to catch up with you.

I was also a bit nervous because my adviser was in one of the canoes and I didn't really want to swim alongside him. I think I was worried that I would be extra stubborn and not get out even if I needed to. In the end, the choice was made for me. The canoe I thought I was swimming beside abruptly left me (not cool!), and I ended up by myself and next to Brian's canoe. He's the last person who's gonna make me swim at a speed that's too slow so he didn't make me wait for anyone else. Having a canoe to myself was very lucky because I got to pick my pace and experiment with breathing, etc.

My canoers did an excellent job of following a straight line (a lot harder than it sounds) so I ended up swimming a shorter distance than the group ahead of me. That meant I got to finish with the fast group (of the slow wave of swimmers) in 46 minutes. I felt vindicated and I think there's still lots of room for improvement.

Swimming was my last fear for the triathlon. Now that I know I can do endurance swimming, I'm getting really excited. I'm not as prepared as I should/could be, but I've done the best I can while balancing work and life. Most importantly, training is still fun and hasn't become a chore. Less than two weeks to go!

Tuesday Quick run after work. 4.74 miles, 10'08 min/mile.

Wednesday After work, I went climbing with Mike, Sarah, Matt, and Sarah's sister. I had an infected splinter in my big toe and it hurt like hell, so I improvised a bit to avoid using my left foot. Worked out great because it was the first time I climbed off route in awhile and it was surprisingly challenging.

Thursday I was running late and I missed the lake swim, so I did a quick run on the East Hill Rec Trail instead. 1.28 miles, 9'51" min/mile & 0.51 miles, 8'33" min/mile.

Friday Swimming with Rick. We did 200 yard intervals for a total of a mile, starting with 4:20 then losing 5 seconds each set. The goal was to swim as fast as possible in each set and then spend the remaining time cooling down. For the first 800 yards, I was consistently swimming 55-60 sec laps which is significantly down from my usual 65-70 sec laps. Looks like all the outdoor swimming is paying off.

Saturday Morning bike ride with Sarah, Cresten, and Mo. We biked up 34 to Lansing and went up near Salmon Creek Rd. I did ~34 miles including my ride to and from Gimme. It was HOT and I was wiped afterward, but the ride itself felt pretty good.

Sunday A mere 3 years after buying my MacBook, I finally got around to transferring all my music over from my old computer. The first thing I did was make a running playlist with all my favorite old songs. The second thing I did was go for a 7.2 mile run (11'06" min/mile). It's amazing how much more fun it is to run with good music.

Week of 7/12-7/18

Monday Climbing with Sarah and Matt. I only went up the wall 4 times and couldn't even do my easy blue route. Significant loss of strength has occurred. Also, I've been feeling lazy lately.

Tuesday Quick run before dinner with emphasis on sprinting. 1.29 miles at 9'29" min/mile and 0.49 miles at 8'51" min/mile. A nice feature on the Nike+ app on for the iPhone is ability to calibrate runs after completion, so I don't have to decide on a calibration distance before starting the run.

Wednesday Set my alarm clock for the first time in ages and woke up early so I could go for a run before work (1.39 miles at 9'14" min/mile, 0.49 miles at 9'09" min/mile). I was inspired by Rule #11 of the Runner's Commandments which is "Keep in mind that the later in the day it gets, the more likely it is that you won’t run." After work, I went climbing with Ben and Mike. It was significantly better than Monday and put me in a really good mood.

Thursday Lake swim with the tri club. 1.2 miles in 47 minutes. I drank 3+ liters of water that day, have been having 1-3 bananas a day, and made sure to flex my legs regularly while swimming. Result: no leg cramps! We swam in two waves, fast and slow. I was at the head of the slow group and didn't feel very challenged so next time I'll go with the fast group (!!).

Friday I did something crazy yesterday and bought a bike on a whim. It's an older mountain bike that's never been ridden and was only $50. I bought it as a beater bike for getting to and from work. Naturally, I took it for a spin today. I rode to work, picked up some papers, and then headed down to Gimme Coffee to do some reading. After riding back up to campus, I really began to appreciate my light, comfortable road bike. I'm surprisingly sore from all those hills.

Saturday & Sunday Relaxing in Cape Cod. I did do some swimming but not enough to count as a workout.

Week of 7/5-7/11

Monday Rest.

Tuesday Swimming with Lauren at Six Mile Creek. Given the heat wave, swimming is the sport of choice.

Wednesday Practice triathlon at Taughannock during an epic heat wave. I did the 25 mile bike course in 1 hr 40 min which put me at second to last to finish. As if that weren't embarrassing enough, I couldn't get my bike shoe unclasped so I spent 5 minutes stuck in my shoe (so glad this happened during the practice instead of the real thing). Instead of doing the 5k at Taughannock, I went home and did a quick run around my neighborhood (2.39 miles at 10'57" min/mile).

Thursday Swimming with Rick at Six Mile Creek. We did two laps across the opening at second dam and then spent some time jumping off stuff. Seaweed + goggles = gross. I would rather not know what I was swimming through.

Friday Rest.

Saturday First group bike ride! Sarah, Lauren, Cresten, Michelle, and I met at 9:30 in the AM at Gimme Coffee and biked up to Taughannock. From there, some of us continued up to the falls overlook and then through the back roads of Trumansburg. The return trip was quite pleasant. Because we got the uphill done with at the falls, we got to coast 3 or 4 miles down the freshly paved Rt 79 back into town. Afterward, we enjoyed some delicious coffee. I took my brand new iPhone along for the ride. Although I was too lazy to try out any biking apps this time, I did get to use the GPS feature go get us back home safely and the camera to snap a quick picture of Michelle and Cresten under the falls.


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Sunday Rest.

Week of 6/28-7/4

Monday Climbing with Matt, Lauren, Sarah (States), and Arend. I was *really* sore from tubing but it was fun to climb with a different crowd.

Tuesday REST.

Wednesday 5 mile solo run at a 10 min/mile pace. I love how I go from stressed out because of work to completely carefree after couple of minutes. It helps that everyone is so nice... there were crews of workers in the Plantations and everyone kept looking up from what they were doing and waving. It was really sweet.

Thursday Lake swim with the Ithaca Tri Club. I started with a Thursday swim because they go parallel to the shore, which seemed wise for my first open water swim. The current was moving north to south, so the strong swimmers swam north while the rest of us canoed. Once we reached a point 1.2 miles north of where we started, we switched places and swam back. Many of us were new to open water swimming, so there was some momentary panic as we oriented ourselves to each other and the boats. I'm mildly uneasy in open water ever since a bad riptide experience, so I stayed very close to my canoe. It was a good thing because I developed calf cramps after about 15 minutes of swimming. I managed to make it 1 mile, but at that point my calves were cramping so badly that I had to get into the canoe. I used to get leg cramps as an undergrad, but they haven't been a problem since my diet has become more well rounded (i.e. includes fruits and vegetables).

For next time: I will be better hydrated since dehydration always makes my muscle cramps worse. I will also be better about periodically flexing my legs to prevent this from happening again. Another suggestion I got was to kick less frequently, which will reduce the effort on my legs and is generally good triathlon technique since leg strength should be saved for biking and running.

Friday Bike ride with Sarah (States) for about an hour after work.


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Saturday Calves are still really tight so much so that I'm limping. I had forgotten how much leg cramps suck. Forced day of rest.

Sunday Tri-sport day! Michelle and I ran to Six Mile Creek, met up with folks at the third dam, swam, and then ran back. It wasn't real running or swimming, but I think it still counts. We spent the rest of the day celebrating our country's independence by binge eating. I was in a bit of a funk afterward so I hopped on my bike and went for a sunset bike ride (Honness>Rt 79>Snyder Hill>Honness). Biking cheers me up every single time.

Week of 6/21-6/27

Monday Climbing with Ben L, Cloe, Matt and Sarah, 2 hours. Definitely pushed myself to my limit.

Tuesday Swimming with Rick, 1 mile.

Wednesday Biking with Michelle, 14.9 miles, ~1 hour.


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Thursday Swimming with Rick, 35 laps, 1'05" split times so ~34 min/miles. It felt easy. Apparently all the practice is helping. I feel ready for the tri club lake swims. The cutoff is 45 minutes to swim 1.2 miles across the lake.

Friday Running with Michelle. 2.2 miles at 9'52" min/mile pace.

Saturday Solo bike ride. 20 miles in ~1 hr 45 min. Feeling a little more confident about the tri and even forced myself to clip into the bike.


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Sunday Morning run at Six Mile Creek with Gretchen and Maddy the dog. 3.3 miles at ~10 min/mile pace. That evening I went inner tubing down Fall Creek. Little did I know that it would be the best workout I've had in months. My abdominal muscles are sore from the effort of staying upright in my kiddie sized inner tube. My shoulders are sore from swimming and scrambling over rocks in the many places where the water was only 6 inches deep. But the real highlight came when dusk approached and we decided to abandon the creek, hiked barefoot through the woods, and ended up standing in the dark on the side of the road wearing swimsuits and inner tubes. Sarah S, Matt, Sarah J, Maddie and I were all good sports and didn't kill our event coordinator (Rick), although it is generally agreed that he is no longer allowed to plan trips into the woods.

Week of 6/14-6/20

Monday Morning abs. Went swimming at lunch with Maddie and Rick (1 mile) and climbing after work with Matt and Cloe. Climbing was spectacularly fun. I love watching experienced people climb. Everyone has their own strengths and it was great to see how Cloe handled the routes since she's the same size that I am. However, I was a pile of jelly... no more swimming and climbing on the same day.

Tuesday Ran with Michelle after work. 3.51 miles, 9'55" min/mile pace. Really tired.

Wednesday Rest. Feeling funky this week so I decided a dose of meat was in order. Dinner was a tofu and ground beef burrito.

Thursday Canoe clinic with the Ithaca Triathlon Club. We learned how to canoe while guiding swimmers so that we can do lake swims this summer. So much fun to canoe and splash around in the lake. Can't wait to try swimming across Cayuga.

Friday Running with Michelle around Beebe Lake. 2.5ish miles. Much too hot. Cooled down with dollar beers at the Big Red Barn.

Saturday Swimming at Six Mile Creek. Lots of splashing around. I took the opportunity to swim across the pond at the second dam. I have no idea what the distance was but it was amazingly tiring.

Sunday Rest.


I have no idea how I do it but knees are pretty much always black and blue these days from climbing.


Six Mile Creek

Week of 6/7-6/13

Monday I ran home to grab my car: 0.98 miles at 9'19" min/mile, 0.43 miles at 10'05" min/mile. Then 2.5 hours of awesome climbing with Ben, Sarah, and Matt. Really sore the next day.

Tuesday Swimming with Rick (1 mile). He made me do sprints with him, which meant I got to swim in his wake and swallow lots of water. Really good workout, though.

Wednesday Feeling extremely exhausted. Rest.

Thursday Running with Michelle (Vet School>Game Farm Rd>Rec Trail>campus), 4.17 miles , 9'19" min/mile. She remarked multiple times that we were keeping a brisk pace. The day of rest really helped.

Friday Swimming with Rick, 1 mile.

Saturday Rest.

Sunday 13.6 mile bike ride (Honness>Ellis Hollow Rd>Rt 79>Honness) in 1 hour 1 min (13.4 mph)

Week of 5/31-6/6

Monday Rest. I bailed on a bike ride with Annie.

Tuesday 11.6 mile bike ride in 52 minutes (13.4 mph) (Ellis Hollow>Genung Rd>Ellis Hollow Creek>home) then 1.73 mile run (9'38" min/mile). First back to back training event. Running was really hard after biking, but surprisingly I still had a fairly decent pace.

Wednesday Quick before work 2.6 mile run (9'27" min/mile) since the rest of the week will be busy with a conference.

Thursday, Friday Rest.

Saturday Tortoise and the Hare 10+K run at Buttermilk Falls with Gretchen, Michelle, and Miguel. 6.7 miles and 1 hour 23 minutes of fun. This was my first real trail run and it was significantly harder than road running. It felt a bit like an obstacle course with all the tree roots and puddles, and the up and down hills made for lots of walking alternating with rapid wild descents. I dropped my keys early in the run. Oops.

Sunday Strength training. I must be slacking off on abs because I was really sore after this.

Activity log

5/31: rest. I've been feeling so lazy lately.

5/30: running speedwork, 1.43 miles at 8'28" min/mile, 0.53 miles at 8'04" min/mile

5/29: RecWay 10K, 59'07" minutes, 9'32" min/mile

5/28: swimming, 33 laps, 36'57" minutes, 1'07" per lap (200 kickboard, 200 pull, 200 freestyle reps). It felt sloppy but I was too tired to do drills.

5/26, 5/27: rest, I cannot remember the last time I was inactive for two consecutive days. It felt awful, but I was swamped at work.

5/25: running with Michelle through the Plantations. Too bloody hot. 4.25 miles at 9'37" min/mile

5/24: climbing. Biggest group so far: Ben^2, Annie, Mike, Sarah, Matt, and me.

5/23: biking! first time with clipless pedals since September or October of last year, 8.6 miles at a blistering pace of 12 mph.

5/22: running with Annie, Gretchen, and Maddy the dog, 4.98 miles, 10'03" min/mile pace

5/21: swimming, I did the swim workout that Rick showed me and I can feel the difference in my strokes already. I did 30 laps (1500 yards) in 36 minutes for an average lap pace of 1'12" min/lap. My pace for pulls and for kickboard laps isright around 60 seconds.

5/20: the nausea is back if I do strength building in the morning so it's time to give that a break. Went for a run after work: 4.31 miles at a 10'21" min/mile pace.

5/19: strength building in the morning, 1 hour of lunch time swimming with Rick

5/18: rest

5/17: abs and yoga before work, running 2.4 miles at 10'38" min/mile after work (meant to go swimming but found out the pool was closed after I'd changed into my swimsuit)

5/16: 2.5 hours of climbing with Mike, Ben, Cloe, and Jason followed by running speedwork, 1.38 miles at 8'29" min/mile, 0.48 miles at 8'23" min/mile

5/15: running with Heather, Gretchen, and Maddy the dog on the South Hill Rec Trail, 5.76 miles at 9'08" min/mile (new personal record!)

5/14: abs and leg strength building

5/13: running with Shamoni, 2.52 miles at 9'15" min/mile, then climbing at the bouldering wall with Mike and Ben. I was surprised to find out that bouldering at Noyes uses completely different muscle groups than climbing at Lindseth.

5/12: rest

5/11: running speedwork, 1.34 miles at 9'42" min/mile (true distance 1.4 miles), 0.58 miles at 7'28" min/mile (true distance 0.5 miles)

5/10: climbing with Matt, Sarah, and our new German friend Ericks. I did laps up my favorite blue route, which I was told is a 5.7. It feels so easy now that it's hard to believe I couldn't do it earlier.

5/9: spinning, 20 miles. Despite not having biked regularly for months, I felt in much better shape than the last time I went spinning.

5/8: running with Michelle, Gretchen, and Maddy the dog, 4.4 miles at 9'59" min/mi. My speed is consistently getting faster and I'm almost able to keep up with my friends.

5/7: rest

5/6: running with Michelle, 4.0 miles at a 10'00" min/mi pace, then I did a 0.5 mile at the same pace to recalibrate my iPod to my current speed.

5/5: swimming, 25 laps, 1250 yards, average pace of 1'13" min/split

5/4: running, 4.67 miles at 8'57" min/mi, now the calibration is off in the other direction. Grrr. True distance 4.2 miles and true speed 10'00" min/mi. On the plus side, now I know that it's 1.4 miles from my building to the water towers and each loop through the Plantations is 1.4 miles.

5/3: climbing with Annie, Mike, and Lauren. I conquered the blue route!!!! It seems so easy now that I've memorized every move.

5/2: running speedwork, 0.72 mi at 11'34 min/mi (0.89 mi true distance), 0.54 mi at 8'09" min/mi (0.5 mi true distance). I recalibrated my iPod between the first and second runs. I think my strides having been getting bigger as I try to run faster (which is the wrong way to increase speed but that's another topic) so my iPod has been really off lately.

5/1: running on the South Hill rec trail with Annie, Heather, Gretchen, Michelle, and Maddy the dog, 2.38 mi at 11'51" min/mi, 1.1 mi at 11'34" min/mi

Note to those following via RSS feeds: this will the be the only activity log post you see this month since post revisions don't get updated on the RSS feed. (Does anyone know how to change this setting?)

Miscellaneous updates

Whew, it's been a whirlwind few months. Work has been incredibly busy with writing, talks, and meetings as I've been trying to finish up and graduate. I've managed to stay consistent with my workouts -- in fact, they're one of the things keeping me sane during this hectic time. But I haven't had time to think about a triathlon training schedule or update this blog consistently. Here are a few updates that have been piling up:

• April Nike+ challenge: Vikram defeats the girls by a margin of 0.6 miles (brat! :/) [Vikram 87.23 miles, Punita 61.83 miles, Poonam 24.77 miles]
• May Nike+ challenge: The girls finally win! Vikram ran his first marathon and Poonam stepped up her training for her half marathon. [Punita 50.17 miles, Vikram 47.98 miles, Poonam 35.11 miles]
  
• I passed the 300 mile mark of lifetime miles run.
• I've become terrified of biking. I've lost all my confidence at using clipless pedals and dealing with traffic, and it's been a significant deterrent that's keeping me off my bike.
• I set a few personal records. (The best part of running a new race distance is that you always set a new personal record.) I did the Belle Sherman Elementary 5K last month and the South Hill Recway 10K yesterday. I came very close to matching my 5K pace in my 10K run!
  

Current personal records:

5K: 28 min 55 sec (9'18" min/mile)
10K: 59 min 07 sec (9'32" min/mile)
13.1M: 2 hr 22 min 14 sec (10'52" min/mile)

• As if I'm not busy enough, I have a few other events I'm considering training for: OwascoMan Sprint Triathlon (July), AIDS Ride for Life (September), and the Philadelphia Marathon (November). I'm signed up to do the Tortoise and the Hare 10K+ run through Buttermilk Falls next weekend.
  

Normal blood tests!

Good news! Just got more test results back and everything looks good. My hemoglobin went from 11.1 to 14.2 (normal is 12-14.5) and my ferritin went from 5 to 28 (normal is 10-291). I'm supposed to keep taking iron supplements since my ferritin levels should ideally be above 40 for my activity level and get retested in 6 months.

Swim workout

I'm gonna really miss my friends at Cornell when I leave. No matter what activity I want to do, I have a friend here who is an expert at it. Today I got a personal swimming lesson from someone who swam and did triathlons in college. We realized that it's too early for me to be worrying about speed and that I should spend a few weeks working on technique. We did some drills and put together what I think will be a very good workout for the next few weeks.

warmup
200 yards side swimming (alternate sides every 25 yards) to get used to being on my side
200 yards of catch up strokes focusing on correct hand position for entering the water
200 yards of pull focusing on arm stroke
200 yards of kickboard recovery
200 yards of freestyle to practice putting it all together with a focus on rotating my body
cooldown

The key here is efficiency. My goals are to use my arms more since the key to triathlon swimming is conserving leg power for the cycling and running. I also want to reduce the total number of strokes it takes to get across the pool.

Smoothies

I've become addicted to smoothies lately. They're the perfect food for an active lifestyle. I make them in bulk once or twice a week, and I keep them in my fridge at home and at work. My stomach can tolerate a couple of sips before a run or working out, and I finish the rest afterward. It's important to have carbs right after exercise, and they're an easy way to meet that requirement. They're also quite filling which is great since I tend to workout after work and sometimes don't get home until 8 or 9.

Here are my two favorite "recipes." I especially like the chocolate smoothie because it takes seconds to make. I've found that glass jars (like the kind you buy salsa or pasta sauce in) are a good way to bottle smoothies. The price is right (free), they have wide mouths for easy pouring, and they don't leak like other containers.

Guava-coconut smoothie
-guava puree (Goya brand, frozen)
-coconut (Goya brand, frozen)
-vanilla yogurt
-soy, almond, or rice milk
-protein powder

Chocolate smoothie
-cocoa powder
-vanilla yogurt
-soy, almond, or rice milk
-protein powder
-optional: oatmeal (makes it even more filling)

Activity log

Going back to the activity log format for a bit.

4/29: AM: strength building, PM: 3.63 mi run with Michelle at a 11'10" min/mi pace

4/28: swimming (first time in 4 months!), 1100 yards, 1'09" min/lap. The pool wasn't nearly as cold as I remembered... it probably helps that it's April now instead of December.

4/26: treadmill running, 1.1 mi at 10'38" min/mi and 2 hours of climbing with Annie, Mike, and Matt. There's only one song that makes me tear up every time I hear it, and it came on in the middle of a climb. Needless to say, I didn't nail that route.

4/24: Belle Sherman Elementary 5K, 29 minutes for a speed of 9'21" min/mi :D

4/22: AM: weights, abs PM: running with Michelle, 0.96 mi at 9'19" min/mi, 0.21 at 10'22" min/mi & climbing with Mike and Annie

4/21: weights, abs

4/20: running speed work, 1.37 mi at 8'54" min/mi, 0.49 at 8'25" min/mi

4/18: running with Asti, Erik, and Daisy the dog, 1.68 mi at 10'58" min/mi, 0.43 at 10'13" min/mi

4/16: running speed work, 1.28 mi at 10'20" min/mi, 0.48 mi at 8'58" min/mi

4/15: running with Michelle, 2.67 mi, 28'55", 10'47" min/mi

Lunch recipe

I'm sick and tired of eating quinoa and kidney beans. In order to salvage my appetite, I decided that I needed to find more exciting meals to eat at lunch time. I stumbled on an unexpectedly good "recipe" that I thought I'd share. It's easy to make in bulk and then eat throughout the week.

quinoa*: 1/3 cup per serving
amaranth*: a couple of tablespoons per serving
pesto*: 1-2 tbsp per serving
beans*: 1/3 of a can per serving
cheese
veggies

Cook the quinoa and amaranth with salt to taste for about 15 minutes (2:1 ratio of water to grains), and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. It's a recipe that's easy to adapt to whatever is in the fridge. This week, I used chickpeas, olives, pinenuts, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and feta*.

*iron source