Ridin...

On Saturday I rode for a couple of hours at Lululemon in Oak Brook.  It was nice to ride for a couple of hours after a long run.  The stuff at Lululemon is awesome, if you haven't checked it out I definitely would.

This morning was the start of the computainer season at Endure It.  The set wasn't too bad this morning as we're just getting back into things, and it was kind of a sample of some things to come.  Here is the set:

Warm Up: 15 minutes

Main Set:
Set #1 - 15 minutes
• 4’ @ 70%
• 1’ @ 50%
• 3’ @ 80%
• 1’ @ 50%
• 2’ @ 90%
• 1’ @50%
• 1’ @ AT
• 2’ @ 50%
Drill Set #1 – 12 minutes
• 2 x through the following
o 2 minutes right leg (small chain ring)
o 2 minutes left leg (small chain ring)
o 2 minutes both legs
Set #2 – 15 minutes
• 2’ @ 90%
• 1’ @ 70%
• 2’ @ AT
• 1’ @ 80%
• 3’ @ 90%
• 1’ @ 70%
• 3’ @ AT
• 1’ @ 90%
• 1’ @ AT
Cool Down

My legs felt pretty good on the computrainer this morning and it was pretty easy to hold my numbers.  Riding to the shop this morning was a bit chilly though.  It was in the 30's so I know that I need to get used to the cold riding temps.  An easy run is on tap for tonight, seeing as my ride was harder, I'm not planning on busting out a hard run.  I say that now so we'll see what ends up happening.  Hopefully I'll keep things in check.

First Race of the Season

So I was basically "dared" into racing this morning. At computrainer on Wed. morning Chad kept taunting me telling me I should go out and run the NCO 10k in Naperville which took place this morning. And seeing as it's for a good cause, and because I couldn't back down from the challenge I decided to race. I think I have only run an official 10k one time, and that was back in college. My running has been going well, but has been stagnant lately. That happens with me...and I'm pretty sure a lot of people too. Back to the race. My mom was awesome and came to watch me race, and to hang out with the pups while I ran. Thanks Mom it was so nice to have you there watching me race! Thanks to Lululemon I not only had the most comfortable running clothes, but I was also the most stylish. I mean check it out, seriously does it get any better than that? Also a big thanks to GU for my roctane to give me the boost I needed and to Brooks for my sweet running flats. Here are a few pics from the day:

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The pups waiting...

Thanks Lululemon, most comfortable running clothing, and most stylish as well!

They didn't have a 2nd place overall trophy, so instead I got one telling me that I won my division. It's always nice to get some hardware!!

My plan was to head out with the leaders and to see how long I could hang. Well the horn sounded and I set off with one other guy, we opened a small gap on the people behind us relatively early on...probably because we went through the first half mile at around a 5:15 pace. I thought if the pace stayed there I was screwed!! The pace slowed down slightly, and I was shoulder to shoulder with this guy for the great majority of the race. It was cool running behind the motorcycles, which is an experience which I hope to have again at some point. We went through the first mile right at 5:49, alright let's see if I can hang with that. We were still together and went through the second mile in 5:51...I was hoping it would have slowed down...nope. Mile 3 was a little break...5:54 and at this point it was about holding on. I was already at a PR for the 5k distance with that pace so I wasn't sure what to expect the second half of the race. Well Mile 4 was right back at a 5:51 pace, and the finish started creeping into my mind, at this point I realized we had dropped everyone and it was just the two of us. We would both put small surges in and we would each answer. Mile 5 was back at 5:53 and it started up a bridge on an overpass over I-88. The guy surged and I had no answer. He put a small gap on me and I didn't have the extra gear to go and get him. I was ticked and had puke in my throat, stomach started cramping, everything was hurting, I just couldn't bring him back. Mile 6 was a 5:54, the slowest mile of the day, we had caught the 5k group at that point and it was constant weaving in and out. So trying to catch this dude and weave just wasn't working that well.

I ended up with a PR of 36:24 which was good enough for 2nd place overall. I don't know how many people raced, but that doesn't matter. I'm happy that I was able to get a PR and to finish in the top 3 overall, as that was a goal I had for the season. I know where I'm lacking...speed work. I had no kick, no way to answer. My tempo and threshold type of work has paid off as I was able to hold a steady state (I mean shoot my mile times didn't change more than 5 seconds the whole race) now it's time to add the speed stuff in.

Congrats to Chad and Dave who put in an awesome effort and were in the top 15 overall, as well as Jenny Garrison who won the female overall top 10 overall too, and Blaine, Dean, Cari and whoever else I might have missed here.

Thanks again Mom for coming to the race, it was nice to have you there, and I'm sure the pups appreciated it!

Before I forget, yesterday was an awesome day of riding! I ended up riding for 4 hours on the computrainer and rode through the following set twice:

10' warm up

7' @ 70%

3' RI

8' @ 80%

2' RI

9' @ 90%

1' RI

10' @ AT

1' RI

9' @ 90%

2' RI

8' @ 80%

3' RI

7' @ 70%

Cool Down

I rode this with the 6 a.m. class and then had planned to ride tempo for the 8 a.m. class, but decided to do it again. And as my luck would have it I was faster during the 2nd class. Solid day and my biking is starting to come around I think.

An Easy Weekend Update

At the end of last week I was feeling pretty fried, my energy was down and my workouts were just alright. I decided to take Thursday night off of swimming, and instead went and swam easy Friday morning which was a good decision. Getting a little extra sleep and then swimming easy was the right thing to do. Friday night I went to Lululemon and bought a few running shirts and a pair of running shorts. I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again...it is the MOST comfortable running clothing that I have worn! Not only is it ridiculously comfortable, but it's also sweet looking.

Saturday I had to ride at Endure It at 10 because I had practice in the morning. The class wasn't very crowded...that doesn't mean it was any easier though. After the usual 15 minute progressive warm up which I hate we did the following:

8 x through the following:
5 minutes @ AT
2 minutes RI

It was a tough workout, but as always you will never regret a workout and I hit the numbers I was supposed to even when I wasn't feeling the best. After about 2 reps of the set my stomach felt pretty crappy, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish. I popped a Jet Blackberry GU and wanted to see if that would help. 2 more reps and I didn't feel any worse, so here I am half way through with the workout and I decided to pop one more GU. Sure enough that did the trick...I was able to finish up strong. I'm glad this happened because I learned something about myself and I learned something that could come in handy come race day. Thanks GU!!!

Yesterday I decided to head downtown to run the Shamrock Shuffle with Wanner. Besides the cold weather we had a great time. It was nice to run with 36,000 people knowing that the end was near.

We used a new toy at masters swimming yesterday. At least it is new to me...a tempo trainer. Definitely something different and fun.

Flushing it out

Part of my focus this year is on "recovery" from my workouts. I would love to be able to get a massage every couple of weeks, as I know that will help with recovery. I'm fortunate enough to have an awesome massage therapist! Nestor Battung is simply amazing. I started going to Nestor last year during the triathlon season and he was vital in keeping me fresh and always had my body ready to race. I met with Nestor last night and he flushed everything out for me. As I have pretty much led on to, Nestor is the man. He has a resume which is too long to list here, with some highlights being working with the United States National Soccer Teams, elite distance athletes who come to Chicago for races like the Chicago Marathon just to name a couple. In addition to his client list, he has an incredible educational background recently completing post graduate work earning his masters degree in clinical massage therapy. Here's a shout out to Nestor saying thanks!

It's another beautiful day today in Chicago, and we had practice this morning so I get to go home after school, which I'm pumped about. I'm going to hang out with the dogs and then hopefully get a quick trainer session in before heading to masters swimming tonight. I did enjoy the sun today and got a quick 4 mile run in. My legs felt great, but I kept it in check...the wind helped me do that! I'm looking forward to the fact that tomorrow is Friday, and I plan on doing some shopping at Lululemon tomorrow night. An awesome store in Oak Brook...make sure you check it out if you were thinking about getting some workout clothes for the summer...or spring break, or just because.

I read a quote recently and can't remember if I have posted it here or not. Sorry off of the top of my head I forget who the quote is from, but I like it none the less...

"He who suffers, remembers."

I have it printed out at my house and I get a constant reminder of why I'm doing the things I'm doing. Whatever works right?