Journeying From Winter to Spring; Runner to Triathlete

Two weeks ago I travelled to NYC for work. The weather decided to take a turn for the better, and I ran in Central Park (perimeter trail- 6 miles). It was 70 degrees, so I ran in shorts and a technical shirt. Yahoo!

Then I returned to Wisconsin ice, snow and wind... but only for a few days. By Friday it decided to become spring here too (a "teaser" I am sure). Last weekend I ran the Fifty Furlong (10K), and it was fifty degrees and sunny. Not only was the weather lovely, but I set a PR.

Now to the challenges of running. Ever heard of ischemic colitis? I just learned about it post-race in a very personal and painful way. Will this be a recurring problem? No way I am going to stop running!

Then there is my new goal: Becoming a Triathlete (BAT for short). To that end I enrolled in some evening classes that are designed to help beginners be ready.

I also rode my first rides with clips. I only fell over twice in our alley as I was trying to figure out how to unclip and stop/balance. Fortunately none of the dozen adults and children outside paid any attention to me.

Yesterday I did my first cycling and running "brick". I am now fully aware of how far from ready I am! It was exhausting!

Bottom line: running and riding outdoors are exhilarating!

Aloha from Kapolei!

Happy 2009! This week marks the beginning of a new year and new goal for me: the triathlon! Not the serious long one, but rather the sprint triathlon. (I want to survive the experience.) So, as part of my training, I added swimming this week. I also traveled to Oahu for a couple of weeks of vacation! Since arriving, I have been out twice to do some open water swims. The lagoons here at Ko'Olina are perfect. About 200 yards across with good breakwaters and underwater nets to screen out sharks. I sucked lots of salt water on my first effort to swim for twenty minutes and managed around 800 yards, slowly. On my second attempt I decided to breath more often (every other stroke versus after every fourth stroke). That went much better! I completed a faster 400. Oh the joys of being a beginner at my age!

I am also still learning my legs. The newest challenge has been a nerve impingement in my right leg and trying to free that up. (My right foot wasn't working exactly right which made running an interesting challenge, especially in the snow back in my home state). My CTS coach keeps reminding me that rest is a good thing; that it is January and some time off does not mean much when the season is so far away.

As a beginner I am in constant fear of de-conditioning, gaining back the weight I lost, and losing the progress toward meeting my fitness goals. On the other hand, it was great to lay around in the sun and sweat, without doing any workout.

Goals for 2009: sprint triathlon and half marathon.

Yaks?

The winter running journey continues. This time the Finnish Five Mile with my daughter. Conditions were wintery: windy, snowy, slushy, cold. We both stretched and jogged to "warm up." (I was kidding myself, warm up? To convince our muscles to work maybe, to feel warm, hardly!) We took off, but my Garmin thought it was too cold and had to be tapped and massaged into starting after we had begun running. Then there were those slushy uphill segments. Yuk! Lots more work, except for those veterans in front of us wearing their "Yaks." (A code work for chains for shoes.) Eventually they jingled out of sight while my daughter and I carefully sought out the less slippery, possible traction areas. Just as we got to the last 400 mark, the 28 years younger daughter says, "Let's sprint in, Mom!" I hated to tell her that the last mile was pretty much my sprint pace, so I said instead, "You go, girl!" Then as she made her move, something in me said, "Get over this age excuse and get going!" So I did and I managed to finish 8 seconds behind her. For us it was another learning experience: buy "Yaks" and "Finnish" well. (For my daughter, age group first; for me, age group third.) Not a bad winter day.

Cross-training: another way to be a novice!

I have to have options. I cannot run everyday and stay healthy. So... my CTS coach has helped me begin cycling. I have replaced my 25 year old 10 speed with a Trek 2.3; I now have lobster claw mittens, a helmet (yes, I should have had one all along), a cadence meter, new pedals and shoes that clip in them. My coach has warned me: every one falls. Lovely. On his advice I am practicing indoors this winter. I have not yet purchased knee pads, and I would hate to tear a hole in my tights or worse yet scar up my knees! Will practice make perfect? Will this novice avoid road rash and worse? Spring will tell.

Running Later: for real!

I am so not a winter competitor! I planned my warm up to take right up until just before the race. My husband was there to take my jogging pants. I was hydrated. I was cold, but I as ready. Sort of. I was about 1/3 of the way back in the group of runners waiting, when I noticed up front that a group had taken off. I asked who that was, and it was my race, the 10K! So I ran to the front and through the group of 5K runners in order to catch up. I ended up trying to pass dozens of slower runners and even the sleigh and reindeer runners! Not a good beginning, and not a good pace. I did finish; my time was not what I wanted, but I was in the middle of my age group.

What have I learned? Don't listen for an announcement. Don't expect a starter to fire a gun. Ask, and act! I don't ever want to be "running later" again!

Learning My Legs

I have spent the past two weeks preparing for my first winter 10K. I even tried running outdoors on a trail by moon light, since that's the warmest time available to me when I am not working. Today is my race: the Jingle Bell 10K. It is a little intimidating to be doing this knowing that I will have some snow and ice to deal with! The week has also reminded me that I am still "learning my legs". On Monday I ended up with some numbness and foot issues on my right side. Between my orthotics and my exercises I have managed to manage by somewhat "off" biometrics. We'll see how it goes today when I try to run at a racing pace. My hope is that in year two of this journey I will know much better how to take care of my legs while I continue to challenge myself in terms of running proficiency and endurance.

Stay tuned for results. Please let me know, how are you doing at learning your legs?

More fun!

Another 5K accomplished (my first Turkey Trot)! A few new things learned: it is more challenging to run in Colorado than Wisconsin; my daughter is now faster than me (and that's a very good thing); some races give medals to walkers too (many of these finishers had times that rivaled the runners'); and never assume that a grandfather, father and grandchild will have a successful 5K experience (even if the weather is lovely). We have actual video footage that includes comments about being "abandoned"!

While in Colorado I went to the rec center with my daughter for a "track session" and managed once again to turn it into a snafu. (I can only imagine what my "virtual coach" thinks.) I am highly educated, good with data and generally proficient in following directions....but not when it comes to my interval work. This time I managed to place my trust in a treadmill that converted my desired pace into speed, but not quite accurately. 8:40 pace to 7.2 mph. I warmed up and gave it my best for 2 x 400 and 2x 800, but wow, was I tired! The last 800 I slowed it down to 7.0 mph. This was pretty discouraging for me. I knew the elevation would take its toll on me, but not to this extent!

The next day I went to a website with a converter and checked out the conversion from the treadmill. Once again, I had done my set wrong! My speed was off. The good news was, I survived running at a faster pace than my coach had scheduled me to do! My current plan is to make a pace chart and either stick on my I-Pod or laminate one and put it on the treadmill. I hate screwing up! (Good converter website -runningforfitness.org).

The good news this week is that I have no travels, no complicating elevation issues and a trustworthy treadmill at the fitness studio I belong to! It might be a normal week, although, don't count on it!

How's your running been going? Liking the cold? Any hints for keeping my feet warm?