Where did the weekend go?
We're already moving on toward Hump Day!
In any case, usually if I haven't posted it means I've actually been busy, which is a good thing, I think.
BTW, I'm SO glad so many people liked the tunes! I'll have to do another post with more...I love spreading the good word of music...
What happened on Saturday? Oh, right...I woke up too early...and after making some coffee and having a brief look at the newspaper and eating a little breakfast, I took my "Cuddle Up with Crosswords" book and crawled back into bed. After about 10 minutes of crosswords, I fell back asleep for a solid 2 hours.
It felt SO good.
Then, feeling refreshed and ready to greet the well-on-its-way day, I got ready for my long run. I know that I posted a couple weeks ago about having a bit of mover's depression - just missing some of the communities I was involved with, not knowing people up here, missing friends. But one of the things I am SO THRILLED about is my 'playground' up here.
An 8 minute drive later, I was at the base of Annadel State Park. I just *knew* it was going to be an awesome run.
Awesome would be an understatement. During my nearly two hours out there, I ran through canopies of towering, majestic redwood trees. I maneuvered through trails littered with rocks just waiting to twist my ankle. I waved hello to trailwalkers, mountain bikers and
fellow runners. I felt so free as I wound my way through forests and meadows, charging full force on the downhills and doing my best to quiet my aching quads and stay strong on the (seemingly) never-ending uphills.My rewards from the climbing were incredible. The views of Sonoma Mountain from the clearings I reached, the beautiful lupines and other wildflowers I saw as I emerged from the forest, and of course, the wild turkeys that I gobbled at (which, to my dismay, didn't gobble back...) all made me so grateful to live in such a beautiful part of the world and to be able to train with such inspirational surroundings.
Then Sunday happened.
My long ride. 50 miles of AGONY. See, I usually like to do the bike on Sat so I can do the run on Sunday and just get used to running on tired legs. But it just didn't work out like that this past weekend.
So, we went out from West Santa Rosa with the intention of about 50 ish miles and some hills. Well, when my friend Tim saw that I just didn't have it, he (thankfully) changed the course. Less hills, same distance. He's the same friend that's becoming certified as a coach, so we talked a lot about training and what my strategy ought to be for that day's ride.
"Your legs are cooked so there's no point in murdering yourself. We'll just focus on endurance for this ride."
The sad thing was that we'd be riding along at what I thought was a decent clip, and Tim would raise the pace. I'd hold on for about oh, two minutes and then fall off. The alarming part was that he told me he was only raising it to about 20-21 mph...turned out my 'decent' clip was only about 18-19 mph. Damn.
But in any case, I pushed through it all, damn well determined to get every bit I could out of this ride and simply see it as part of training, and to do my best in spite of the circumstances. Dear god it hurt SO BADLY.
I had originally planned to do about a 20 minute run after this ride, just to get a little brick in. I nixed that and decided to spend 20 minutes stretching instead. That was good!
Weekend, Part 2
So after a long talk with Tim, I knew what I had to do. I had to buy a trainer.
No, I don't own a trainer.
For a long time I really felt like between spinning classes and teaching spinning classes and my weekend rides, it was doing the job of helping me be a lean, mean cycling machine.
But I think those days are over.
I'm realizing now that my glory days of huge leaps and bounds of improvement may be ending, and it's time to focus on the little things. First three years of triathlon I saw amazing and drastic improvements in just about every area (except my swim...). Previously I was only a swimmer - had never really biked (except as a kid) and had never run (always thought I hated it).
Just about anything I did helped me to get better.
But now...now I need to pay attention to the finesse. My pedal stroke. My bike position. Endurance on the bike. Speed. Run strides. Breathing on the run.
So, I marched myself down to Performance in San Rafael on Sunday pre-Passover seder and bought the trainer (along with other on-sale goodies...).
Today was the first day on it and I must say...it kicked my ass.
I followed a Tim workout and I was just...well...it made me realize how much work I have to do. It helped me to see the weak spot in my pedal stroke. It showed me instantly what I need to work on.
I'm so stoked!
Other Misc.
In other news...
-I'm racing on Sunday. I still need to sign up! I'm really excited! Just not sure how to really be tapering for what I would consider a "C" race...any suggestions? To taper or not to taper?
-We watched Juno last night. I was originally against watching a movie that sort of made humor on the subject of a 16 year-old being pregnant. I ended up REALLY enjoying it. However, I still worry that this idea that going through pregnancy isn't really that hard (esp as a teenager) and giving your baby up for adoption isn't all TOO emotional are things that young people may perceive. Call me whatever, but I still feel that way.
One of my favorite lines from the movie was actually in an outtake...where the old lady says "oh honey, Jesus likes EVERY color...except Mexican." (I'm half-Mexican, so you know...I can laugh at the Mexi jokes)
-I started a new job on Monday. This one will be a much better fit for me and I think keep me much more intellectually challenged. It also means that I won't really have time to post blog entries at work, which I'm really happy about. :) Hence the time-deprived title of this post and my new need to re-organize my time so I can post from home!
6 comments:
Your run sounds amazing - the kind that I dream about. Thanks for making my imagination whirrrlll. :)
NO taper for a C priority race. Those races are great for training though, to use as a great training scenario - but don't waste a taper on a smaller race. Save it for the big ones. I like the C priority races and generally look at them like phenominal workouts - maybe a tad earlier the day before (you wouldn't go out and trash yourself the day before a really really intense workout, right?) and then rock the race. Have fun and enjoy.
Good luck with the new job - hooray!
Meant to be "easier" rather than earlier. Oops - fast typing will do that. :)
Same as what Marit said. No Tapering. C races mean you had a hard week and that race is just practice or more speed work! B races you might rest a little (or go easier ) during the week, but again you only Taper for A races.
good luck!
Tapers are for the weak. Just eat more Fri/Sat (I mean, ensure you are recovering as best as possible). I'll be racing after doing a 1 hour run.
i say treat it like any important workout - don't taper, but if you are feeling tired in previous days, tailor your training (e.g. rest) so that you can get a quality workout on your important "training" day this weekend.
and i am SO JEALOUS of your run! how awesome! i ran on the side of the stupid lakeshore highway this weekend, on the other side of the guardrail in parts where there was a small trail, but mostly on the shoulder. yuckola.
Wow, epic post. I have bad short term memory, so already forgot what the beginning was about, but congrats on the new job.
I say taper. Or at least rest. The cost of races (time, money, physical effort) is high whether it's a 'C' race or an 'A' race. If you're going to go, rest up and make it fast. Until your racing every weekend, resting for every race won't hurt you. If you're looking for a big workout, do a big workout, not a $60 race. (by taper I mean 48 hour rest, and nothing too rough the third day out.
Loren - tapering is for people that win. Not tapering is for whiners that want an excuse for why somebody was able to beat them. If you don't want to lose, don't bring an excuse.
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