Second Time in My Life…

… that I’ve ridden 30 MILES AT ONE TIME.

It was hard the last 7 miles, I struggled. But I ride at MINGO CREEK COUNTY PARK because it's paved & there are hills. The first 20 miles were good -- right on pace for 10 miles in 60 minutes... I discovered that peanut butter crackers did better than granola bars. Coconut water was GOOD. I don't like the taste, but my recovery was quick.

After my ride you couldn’t have bribed me to climb stairs. I'm not even sure I could do it backwards. I don't hurt, I'm fatigued. Shower  ASPERCREME & Tylenol. Triple date night.

I wore sunscreen. Sport, 70 spf. I don't think it worked, I may have to re-apply at some point during the race. I didn’t feel like it worked well enough.

The last three miles, I've got to get better fueling when I’m riding. I'm going to try coconut water instead of the sport drink. I need more after 20 miles. Maybe it's time to invest in sport gels.

I’m burning a lot of calories/energy & not replacing it. It really showed in my last 10 mile times because I was riding the same course. My body is rebelling because I need more calories.

Maybe there's a buffet on one of the RACE LOOPS??

And you know what? I know I mess around and joke: I’m just going for a 30 mile bike ride, but this is SERIOUS athletic stuff. Maybe it's time to really treat my body that way?

My problem is, I EXHIBITED THE SAME SYMPTOMS about mile 25 with LOW BLOOD SUGAR. It's from extreme exercise. It's not really a WALL. It's a medical problem I've got to deal with if I'm going to make the second half of my ride without being taken to the hospital.

I feel it when I begin to get COLD and clammy. Then I become panicked and disoriented.

Don't get me wrong, I put myself out there today in those conditions ON PURPOSE. Because that's most likely what I'm going to have to deal with. I need to combat these medical issues NOW.

Even if I start at 6:30am and take refueling/resting stops every hour, I'm still going to be riding at NOON.

Here's the fun part of today: the down hill? I had it up to 29.8 mph and the Park speed limit is 15 mph!!!!

It's not so much the monotonous-ness of a "loop", but the terrain is lethal. I won't encounter those type of hills in Indiana OR Illinois. I tense because I know the hills are coming and there's no WAY to avoid them. I just slog through it the best I can -- I know it's helping make me stronger. But hills should be for SHORT mileage. Runners do them on Off Running Days.

I even blew the chain after mile 12 shifting on a hill. I had to fix it and I was surprised how quickly it went back on.

I realize all this IS making me stronger. But as the mileage gets higher, I also want to avoid injury. I was really pushing it yesterday on those hills & knew it would be easy to blow a muscle as easy as the chain.

Do I feel ready in 19 days to do 50 miles? No.

But I’m not afraid.

In the meantime, I’m hoping to get out there next week for ONE MORE LONG 35 mile ride before I taper…

Quick Update & Recap…

… I have been lucky over the July 4th Holiday to actually get about 27 miles [three different rides 10:33 -- 7.13 -- 10.55] outside on the roads of Indiana.

I’ve found that I actually enjoy riding there more than in PA.  Not because they’re completely flat, which, they are NOT, but because it’s the type of course where I’ll actually be riding my 50 miles.

I gotta be honest – just the thought of it scares me a bit. I have doubts sometimes that I’ll actually make it. But I’ve got a plan set in my head that no matter how long it takes me, I will take a break every hour – stop and get off the bike, shake out my legs. Make sure I get enough protein and water/drink to continue and keep my sugar levels up to keep riding.

Beyond that? It’s pretty much a crap shoot and I’m not going to think about inclement weather or WIND. [Which, to be honest, I’ve come to hate more than hills.]

Because of the area rains/storms/flooding, I wasn’t able to ride for the past few days outdoors.  All the safe places I can think of to ride more than 3 miles are either soggy wet mud or I couldn’t get to them due to road closures from flooding clean up. [PHOTOS FROM LOCAL FLOODING DAMAGE]

I did put up a quick 6.01 MILES tonight on the stationary bike. My body wasn’t happy about that – I actually wanted to do 10 miles. [My behind was so objective, I think I need body glide!]

I’m going into tech/production week, so my outdoor time will be limited again. But I’m going to try to get in as much mileage as I can – every time I crawl on whatever bike I can pedal, I’m getting stronger…

Milestones…

… are every where in our lives.

I hit some pretty big ones this week and I’m not done yet.

Unfortunately, the weather has been less than cooperative, so I’ve done my mileage on the stationary bike indoors.  The good part about that is it’s given me the opportunity to catch up on some of my Netflix addictions. BORGIA, Drop Dead Diva, Grateful Dead: Anthem to Beauty, and Arrested Development. [I know, I’m slow…]

While you might think that’s a LOT of neflix-ing, it was also a LOT of riding.  In fact – I’ve put up 152.5 miles for the month of June. [38.2 this week and I’ve got to get in at least 12.25 more miles before June 30th.]

Including my LONGEST RIDE [22.59 MILES] since my last bike race June 16, 2012.

All inclusive with running/walking/biking – I have put up over 900 miles since I began this journey in March of 2011.

That’s to Grandma’s house and back!!

Literally. She lives in New York…

Busy Training Week…

… and I’m proud to say, most of it was outdoors and on my REAL bike!

But I got in a quick 5.25 MILES ON MY NEW STATIONARY BIKE. Right after I was trying to move it up the stairs into the house and it slid backwards and hit me in the head. OUCH. At least it was only my head.

I’m somewhere between Week Four and Week Five of training. I worked on adding up the Week Five short distances [22.5 miles total] 6.81 MILES, 8.84 MILES, and 3.05 MILES TOTALING: 23.95 miles for Week Five.

And the Week Four long ride: 20.95 MILES.

Week Four is officially in the books [40.5 miles], I’m working on Week Five [45 miles] and trying to fit in a long ride [22.5 miles] between the horrendously Hot/Humid Summer weather and a rehearsal/travel schedule.

My goal is this – try to put up the short mileage on the stationary bike while watching dvd’s, Netflix and running lines.  The long mileage, I feel like it needs to be outdoor real-time on the bike.

I put up 41.3 biking miles last week…

I’m Not Sure…

… but for the most part, June 2013 is shaping up to be a banner month.

I always love a good challenge. This HALF CENTURY is no different – let’s meet this HEAD ON and try to finish it in style.

Okay, at my age? I’ll just settle for finishing with all my body parts in tact. Or at least as much in tact as I can keep them these days.

Already for June – I have already racked up 73.02 training miles!  Not as many outside on the trail as I would like – but hoping more since I finally had the GEAR CABLE FIXED at PRO BIKES in the SOUTH HILLS earlier this week.

Today’s quick ride on the stationary bike at the gym was MY FASTEST 7.01 MILES YET!

I still need to finish the run of this production weekend for NUNSENSE and then I’m hoping to get my Week Four long ride of 20 miles in the books.

One way or another, I’m going to keep this training moving forward…

It’s a Work…

…in progress.

I’m a little behind on Week Three Training because of the repair that needs to happen on my bike.

Last week, I decided to help ease the back strain of my mountain bike handlebars and modify them to cruisers. This will help me sit in a more upright position when riding.

It was really an easy process and took minutes.

Even with the fact that I’d put the hand brakes on backwards and needed to reverse them, it was an easy process.

Replacing the torn strap of my bike rack – also simple.

These were all things I could do with my limited ‘repair’ skills. I just needed to find the ‘minutes’ to do them.

Until I went to lift my bike to the bike rack on my car, turned the handle bars with too much torque on the gear cable and busted it. [It’s the one on the left that is busted.]

I’m smart – but I also know my frustration levels can be off the charts. I’m taking the bike to a repair shop to fix the gear cable.  Otherwise, I’m READY to ride!!

Which finds me back at the gym on the stationary bike until I can get to the bike repair. [It’s ride-able, I just have long mileage to put up and there’s a HUGE difference between riding over 10 miles and having to WALK over TEN MILES pushing your broken BIKE.]

I finished up WEEK THREE - DAY THREE: 17.53 MILES.

Bring on Week Four!!

When in Doubt…

… pedal it out.

As much as I enjoy riding outside on the trail, I have been satisfied with the challenge of working on dialogue for NUNSENSE while I put in my weekly mileage.

You wouldn’t think it would keep me interested, but talk about using BOTH sides of my brain?

More than anything, I think it keeps my brain occupied so that I’m not looking every two seconds to check my speed or mileage.

“How many more miles? Too many!”

Today was one of Week Three’s SHORT RIDES 9.53 MILES.

I would love to be able to get the long ride [17.5 miles] in on the trail – but my bike needs some modifications [new handlebars] and I have to replace a strap on my bike rack. This week being production week – I’m not sure that’s going to happen.

In which case, I’ll be back at the gym racking up some more mileage…

Long Overdue Update…

… I’m back to training for the TWO RIVERS CENTURY bike race in Kankakee, Illinois. 

I ended up with a hamstring injury [bowling] and unable to complete my goal of doing the 2013 Pittsburgh Marathon Relay with my team.

Two injuries in less than 8 months that have sidelined me from running, I thought perhaps it was time for me to seriously consider ‘retiring’ from road racing.

No. That doesn’t mean that I’ll give up running. It simply means that when I feel like running, I will go do a mile or two. Or even three. But I won’t train on a regular basis to compete.

I don’t know how I feel about it – other than to say: I feel better saying I’m ‘retired’ from racing than having to sell my racing bib to someone else and watch THEM complete MY race.

So – I’m doing something  a little less stressful on my body. Biking.

I rode a 30 MILE BIKE RACE last June with little or NO training. I’m thinking of working on a TEN WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM to work up to a Half Century [50 miles].

This is Week Two of Training for me and so far, I have completed it:

8.5 MILES [DAY ONE]

9.01 MILES [DAY TWO]

And my long ride for the week. 15.01 MILES [DAY THREE]

I’m happy to say, that all of these rides were completed on the stationary bike at the gym while I was busy learning lines for NUNSENSE.

May as well put that multi-tasking ability to good use!

2/1 Training Begins…

… like every other time I lace up my shoes and get out the door.

I probably haven’t run this far continuously without more than a 1 minute walking break in between the 2 minute runs since May 2012 when I ran my last 5k race.

But you’ve got to start somewhere.

2.12 MILES OF A RUN and I tried to incorporate as many hills and long stretches of gradual inclines as I possibly could.

There was one 2/1 section of running I just wasn’t able to complete. I ended up walking the last 15 seconds or so of the running interval.

Doesn’t matter.  What matters is that I’ve got 25 days till I’m standing at the Pgh Marathon Relay Exchange waiting to run my 3.5 mile leg.

That photo is true – running has changed my life. It didn’t make it easier. Or more fun. Some days it made it more challenging and those weren’t the RACE days.

But after two years of being on this ‘running’ journey – there’s over 675 athletic miles on my body.

If that doesn’t make you feel gratitude, nothing ever will.

And I do…

I will keep saying it…

… for as long as it takes for me to believe it!

I’m tired today – I’ve had a busy week. A catch up week to really look at my life and re-evaluate what I want and how I like to feel.

I don’t like working out inside. But I do. I do it until I can get outside and do it better. STRONGER.

Don’t get me wrong, I still put that off too. The weather was nasty cold this morning. 16 degrees overnight.  I like running. I love the way it makes me feel, but running in the cold is just miserable.

TODAY'S 2.05 MILE RUN put me at 20.2 miles for the week.

I admit, 16 miles of that was biking.

Whatever makes me a stronger runner.

Tomorrow we rest and recover with a MASSAGE!

Doubt…

… I won’t deny that I haz it.

Thinking about the sweeper truck and staying at 14 minute miles with walking – not letting my Relay Team down. I admit it – it’s pressure.

Maybe I’m trying to play catch up with training. Or maybe I’m just trying to prove to myself that I’m not as out-of-training-shape as I think I am. That I still have the same passion that I once had two years ago.

Two years.

Honestly, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that short of a time since this physical madness started. It feels like I’ve been doing it for a LOT longer.

At any rate…

2.01 MILES OF W3D1 ON THE TRACK WITH 1 POUND WEIGHTS ON EACH ARM.

And today…

6.10 MILES OF BIKING WITH 50 AB CRUNCHES

Seems sufficient for now – I’m looking forward to a Massage Friday morning!!

Just a Wee Bit…

… of strength training. 

I need to break up the run and really work on other avenues of fitness to prepare for my Pgh Marathon Relay.

Last week, I completed 6.15 MILES on the STATIONARY BIKE.

I was actually able to get an 1.89 MILE OUTDOOR RUN in on Saturday afternoon.  I did hills. HILLS. I ain’t scared of no hills.

Yesterday was Easter and my family [and church family] insists on giving me candy and chocolate.  Yes, I over indulged. It happened.

I would like to keep my runs outdoors if possible and the weather looks as though it will warm up as the week goes along. But it was miserable, windy and cold [even snow about lunch time].  I knew I was going to the gym to get a work out in, so I figured I’d change it up a bit and do some biking.

After lunch, I was working and thought to myself: “I did 6 miles last week – I’m gonna do 10 miles today.”

AND THAT'S WHAT I DID. TEN MILES on the stationary bike. It was actually easier than I thought and I was able to adjust the tension to change gears every 1/4 mile while I was riding.

I haven’t done 10 miles on the bike since last August.

I also added 5 sets of 10 ab crunches on the exercise ball and some stretching.

GOLDEN for a Monday…

Getting over…

… a bit of illness.

Nothing major – just enough to make me feel tired, run down and my stomach a little tender.

[And no it’s not a hangover. THIS TIME.]

I missed a run this week and didn’t want to miss another one.  I packed up and headed to the gym to run the track.

Once I got outside I realized it was nice enough to run out there, but it was rather windy. I’d already made up my mind to do the gym.

That’s what I did: 2.01 MILES ON THE TRACK. My breathing was very labored and I had a bit of an asthma attack when I finished. But – I got through it and I feel stronger for it.

I threw in another round of 40 ab crunches on the exercise ball for good measure.

I no longer feel guilty…

Of course…

… I wish it were outside riding. But when it’s 31 degrees and there’s snow flurries, probably not the best time.

Still – not bad for the stationary bike at the gym and my first time riding any type of bike since August 2012.

I went with 3 miles in mind – but I really wanted to complete 6 miles.

THIRTY TWO MINUTES of a good hard effort.

Then I added 6 minutes of Arm Bike – because, HELLO BIKE NIGHT!

And topped them both off with 40 Ab crunches on the Exercise ball.

Why this sudden flurry of physical activity? Because when I looked at the COURSE MAP FOR THE PITTSBURGH MARATHON RELAY*, I realized that my short 3.5 mile leg was ALL UP HILL.

Time to work on the core and leg strength. I mean – where in Western PA doesn’t HAVE hills?

* I’m running the Exhange 1 to Exchange 2 or the Second Leg.

It Does…

… it changes everything.

The way I feel – the way I look at the world around me. Even incessant running in circles. I hate it – but I feel so much better when I’m done.

Strong. Healthy. Alive.

It was two years ago last week that I began running. I’ve slacked off the last 8 months. Injuries. Boredom. Lack of focus. It all adds up.

Guess what?

I don’t like the way I feel. That doesn’t always inspire me to get to the gym since running outside has been nearly impossible for me these past couple months.

And now that I’ve been three times [THREE!] in the past week?

I FEEL BETTER.   I FEEL STRONGER.  I FEEL HEALTHY. I feel alive.

Someone needs to kick my ass more often and not let me off the hook so easily…

Cleared to Run…

… at least the two outside lanes!

It was a beautiful day on the local high school track. I was able to get in about 2.02 MILES.  Still going around in circles, but so very happy to get out of doors!

It was windy. Very windy. I wasn’t going to let that deter me.

In the middle of my run, I was joined for a wee walk and talk with an older woman who said she recognized me running in the neighborhood.  She was very complimentary and told me that she had also run a 10k when she was in her 50’s.  Apparently it’s a pretty common phenomenon as a mid-life aspiration for a number of folks.

She wished me well and I was on my way…

I felt it toward the end. I was pushing it – I just wanted to be done. It was the first time in a very long time that I felt like I was going to puke up my guts while I was running my last interval.

But it passed and I was finished…

Too Good…

… of a rare warm, sunny day in January to pass on a run.

I’m overdue. I didn’t get a couple scheduled runs in last week. [weather]  So, I’m back on schedule for this week.

I honestly wish I could run/walk outside year ‘round. Except the week between Christmas and New Year’s, snow then, please?

That being said – I got into my gear and hit the neighborhood streets running. 

Sometimes when I go out, I have a route in mind.  I know how long I want to be out and plot my route according to the mileage I want to put up.  Other times, I play games with myself – when I get to the intersection, if there’s no cars coming and I can cross without stopping, I’ll cross. If there is traffic, I’ll turn the corner and run down the block away from the intersection, completely changing my route…

I don’t always play those games – but I like to mix it up and surprise myself.  It’s a challenge because I’m familiar with the terrain [hills/neighborhood] and yet – I’m letting an external event [traffic] decide my route.

2.21 MILES OF FUN RUN.

My favorite part of today’s run was crossing a very busy Route 519 to run into the heart of Houston, PA.  Several large trucks saw me waiting to cross and stopped to let me!

Most appreciative and it sure beats running in circles at the gym…

Round and Round…

Why – Yes.

Yes. I. Did.

And as the sun came through the windows of the gym and I could watch my shadow, it was almost as good as running outdoors.

KIDDING.

But you know what? Doesn’t matter.

What mattered to me was putting in some mileage and keeping the training moving forward.  And that’s what I did.

After the first, maybe 8-10 minutes I noticed that my left foot custom orthotic insert was bothering me.  The arch of my foot hurt.  I had this issue before when I first started wearing them.  The pain moved to the top of my foot in a muscle that connected to my big toe.  Then just as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared. 

It may have been just a muscle spasm – the important thing was, I have no residual pain and I was able to put up A DECENT 2.01 MILES.

Next week, we increase the running intervals.

Again…

Slight Malfunction…

I understand that GPS isn’t meant for indoor usage.  But right now, it suits my purpose to use the same program that I’ve been using, RUNKEEPER.

There’s other programs/applications out there, but I choose this one because I am able to program the INTERVALS that I choose to run. 

This week is 2:30 minutes of walking and 1:15 minutes of running. Rinse and Repeat. Ad Nauseum.  [And you other athletes out there know exactly what I mean.]

I’m not able to turn off the GPS and still hear the Interval prompts, it’s a shortcoming with the program, but one I’m able to overlook.  The GPS malfunctioned indoors. So what?  I was still able to hear the Interval prompts and that’s more important to me than the mileage.  There will come a point [SOON – PLEASE?] that I will be able to continue my training out of doors. 

But in the meantime – I’ll use the GPS then edit and manually enter the time/mileage; today was 2.01 MILES.

Works for me…

Breaking in New Shoes…

… and running indoors on the track.

TWELFTH of a mile indoor track.  Running in circles forevah. But the important thing to me was to be consistent with changing the intervals to 2:30 minutes of walking and 1:15 minutes of running.

I’m not so much worried about my pace and mileage as I am changing up in the intervals.

The new shoes weren’t horrible – I’m not sure about the size. That’s the problem. I want to be sure they’re large enough with the custom insoles – and yet not TOO large.  Truth be told, they feel a little large.

I won’t kid you – it’s difficult not to be discouraged. It’s beginning all over again – it’s not that my body doesn’t want to run. It’s that my stamina and strength disappeared so quickly. I’ll get it back. I’m not quitting. I already am stronger than I was last week.

1.79 MILES that looks like I ran around the dining room table.

Whatever. 

DONE.

Time to Catch Up…

… My dad told me so many times just to TRY. Wake up sick before school – Try. Can’t do homework – Try. Can’t go to sleep – Try.

Can’t – TRY.  I come by it honest.

So this ‘running thing’ that I do – it’s time to try.

The other day, I began with a AN OUTDOOR 1.51 MILES because the weather was mild and I needed to gage where I am physically.  Not bad – not much soreness after.  Not a whole lot of stamina, but I wasn’t pushing – I was just testing the running waters.  That night, I had some leg cramping that I couldn’t get worked out – I finally wrapped a heating pad around my calf and that seemed to do the trick.

Muscle memory took over on the 1.51 mile run and I didn’t really have to THINK about form any more than I usually do. When I looked at my running pace/time – I’m not far off where I had been this Summer.  This is very encouraging to me.

Today was my first test run in the new custom orthotic inserts. [They’re to help with my INJURY.]  It wasn’t  a horrible 1.78 MILES AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. I’m sure they’re not completely broken in yet – but that’s okay.

Here’s my strategy for training for the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay – I’m beginning with timed intervals. Normally in the past, I’ve run 10/2, 8/1 and most recently 5/1. [That breaks down to 10 minutes running – 2 minutes walking.]

I’ve decided not to continue on the C25K PROGRAM simply because it doesn’t really meet my needs at this time. It’s a wonderful program and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who’s starting out. I did it, loved it and obviously, it worked for me.  The premise of the program is to run a continuous 30 minutes.

However for me, I’ve found that RUNNING/WALKING INTERVALS works best for me, both in strength, stamina AND working within my physical limitations.  The plan over the next few weeks is to go from 3/1 [and I’ve reversed the process because I’m breaking in the orthotic inserts AND getting over an injury] 3 minutes of WALKING and 1 minute of RUNNING.  Every three days of this training, I will decrease the walking interval and increase the running interval.

At least that’s my plan.  Square ONE plan, but it seems to be working, so I’m happy with that…

Happy and HEALTHY 2013!