flatten that line

After owning and training with my Garmin Forerunner 305 for 3 years, and being coached by Mary for 1.5, I FINALLY learned how to upload the data from the Garmin onto my computer. Previously, I just used the Garmin to keep track of distance and pace, and then average HR once I started with Mary. I would report this stuff for every workout but seriously.. what kind of information am I giving her when I tell her my average pace over 100 miles was 17 mph and my HR was 151 bpm. Two data points from an entire day's worth of training? That's ridiculous and essentially useless.

I decided that I wanted to learn how to upload the files onto my computer a while ago, but I just could never get it to work. After basically having instructions given to me step-by-step by a friend, I FINALLY figured out how to do it! (That process was not without its frustrations though). Being a scientist (I <3 charts), this influx of new data was really exciting to me!

Now, after seeing Garmin files for the past few weeks of workouts, I can see how much work I really need to do. My HR and pace files look like an EKG monitor. These major inconsistencies in my heart rate and pace are NOT good for Ironman distance events. Every unnecessary heart rate spike I have will affect me later on in the day - probably at mile 18 in the Ironman run. Since one of my major personal goals in my upcoming Ironman (5 weeks, bitches!) is to run a really solid, evenly-paced marathon.. I have a lot of work to do in order to get my HR and pace lines smooth as possible in order to make this goal a reality.

I have noticed that I do a little better in races (I did pretty well in the Flower City Challenge) and in endurance runs than I do with cycling. In long Saturday training rides especially, I am ALL OVER the place. My background: running. So this is not shocking to me at all.

Good Example:

my HR data from Flower City Challenge half marathon.. good upward HR
trend, not a lot of spikes.. that bit in the middle was in the very hilly cemetery

Bad Example:

Note ALL of the spikes in both HR and pace. I am very, very inconsistent on the bike.

It's a bit discouraging and frustrating to look at this data, but I also think it's a really, really good thing because it gives me a concrete goal to work on. Before, I would just do my long rides with no distance or pace goal in mind - I just wanted to finish. Now I can still leave those pace and distance goals alone (since they are sooo dependent on environmental factors that change daily) but I can really focus on my heart rate and keeping it from spiking - and then I can actually look back on my data post-ride and see how well I did.

Mary has given me a HR cap of 155 for bike rides (I spoke a little about this earlier in the week). I have found that it's easy enough to do when the hills are small and I can spin up them, but once I have to utilize my "granniest" gear, I am screwed and my HR skyrockets. What I am also supposed to do is not let my HR dip down super low either, so I have to work hard to not coast down small-ish hills or let myself slack off when there is a tailwind carrying me along.

Just some more things to work on in the upcoming weeks! :)

rain rain go away

Anyone else who lives in the NE can understand the horrible weather for training that we had this weekend. It has been raining nonstop since Friday evening. There are puddles, dead worms, and squished snails EVERYWHERE. Rain is forecasted to continue like this through Thursday.

I had a large weekend on tap: 5.5 hour ride/30 min run on Saturday and 3 hour run/1 hr recovery ride/30 min recovery swim on Sunday. One of my regular riding partners was on a rest week and the other is tapering for Triple T this coming weekend, so I was on my own for the majority of the weekend.

Becuase it is mid-May and because my first triathlon is in 3 weeks and my first Ironman is in 6 weeks, I was training outside come hell or high water. People (non-triathlon people.. yeah.. those freaks) keep saying "oh I guess you didn't get outside on your bike this weekend, did you?" Hell-to-the-YEAH I did!! Rain.. does not stop me!

I had some company for the first part of my long ride on Saturday from my German friend, Matthias. True to form, it was raining when we headed out (as it was last time). At least it was in the 60s on Saturday so I was just wet and dirty and NOT cold as well. He rode with me for 90 mins or so and then he headed back and I forged on alone. My main goal for this ride was to work on capping my HR at 155 (per Mary - more on this in a later post) even when climbing hills. I chose a route with a lot of big rollers (the dreaded 5/20) to try to simulate what I think I am going to see in Coeur D'Alene. (Because I have never been to Idaho, I am just doing guesswork based on what I have read on slowtwitch). The HR cap worked fine when I could spin up the hills, but failed miserably when I hit hills that maxed out my gearing and I was stuck wobbling up the hill in my smallest gear. I ride a 12-27 cassette so I guess my only option here is to just suck it up and get stronger.

My main issues with riding in the rain is just being soaking wet for so long. It's gross and it promotes chafing in unpleasant areas. Also, I dislike drinking out of water bottles when they are covered with grit because god knows how much cow crap I ran over (5/20 goes through cow country) and then subsequently got in my mouth because it was on the water bottle. GROSS. Everything that went on the ride with me was disgusting by the end, and I cleaned my bike off using a water bottle and water from a spicket in the park where I left my car. Apparently Matthias put his bike in the shower to clean it off!

After riding on Saturday, I had to turn around and run for 3 hours in the rain on Sunday. It was colder on Sunday!! I wore shorts, a base layer, a tech t-shirt, gloves, and a running (baseball) hat and was ok but not great temperature wise. Thank god for base layers was my mantra over the weekend! I was worried about this 3 hour run because when I did it a month or so ago, I had running partners, my legs were fresh, and the weather was ideal. This time around I was going solo, in a windy rainstorm, on tired-ass legs. However.. I managed to run the same exact course FOUR MINUTES FASTER than last time! I am PSYCHED about this! I ran 19.4 miles in 3 hours, which I believe translates to a 9:17 pace!

This is my testament to Mary. It's all about patience. In my year and a half with Mary, I have PRed at the half-IM distance, PRed at the half marathon distance, had the race of my life at the mini-Mussel sprint triathlon, have successfully completed a full Ironman, and I am now confidently running (and pacing myself) for 19 miles with no issues and no dying at the end of runs. Could I have done that without her? Doubtful.

So here is a giant middle finger to this weather. You can't stop me stupid rain! I will ride though you and run through you!

the cookie conundrum

F-ing blogger lost this post so I am RE-POSTING it!

Wow, I have not posted a blog in almost a week because I have been working and training like a maniac!

18 hours and change last week, 5.5 hours (89 miles on the bike) on Saturday, a little over 2 hours of running on Sunday, plus the usual extras. My quads are still not recovered from the half marathon I did a week ago - which was proven to me about 9 miles into my long run yesterday. My long run did not go well and I was disappointed with it, but.. it happens. I also forgot to wear sunscreen because it was only 55 degrees out when I started, but I got FRIED.

The ride on Saturday actually went pretty well. Ken, Kim and I rode 'round the lake (as per usual) and we got rained on pretty heavily about halfway through and subsequently froze until we got to Canandaigua. I am so freakin' SICK of this rain and we were ALL frustrated with the stupid weather! After "warming up" in the Hess Station we headed back out - luckily the sun had come out. For once, I felt halfway decent on the last half of the ride. I did fine on 5/20 and was even able to get some quality tempo work in for about an hour (I was supposed to do 90 mins). Then.. I died. It happens. Overall, I'm pretty happy with 89 miles in 5.5 hours.

Other than the normal things in my life: being busy at work, not sleeping, and training lots.. I only have one thing to write about.

Last week was not a good week. Partly due to working evenings and therefore being unable to see or really talk to any of my friends, partly due to not sleeping well all week, and then just some other stuff. Wasn't really the best week ever. On Thursday, I went to Wegmans to buy lunch after doing my workouts and also bought an iced sugar cookie from the bakery.

how could this not be delicious?

Wegmans makes the best iced sugar cookies EVER. So I was SUPER excited to eat this cookie.. it was basically the highlight of my day - perhaps even my week (is this pathetic?).

I got home from Wegmans (which, btw, is about 100 yds away from where I live) and ate my lunch. And then I went to eat my cookie, and I couldn't find it! I looked in all of the shopping bags, all over my apartment, in my car, in my purse, in the trash can (yuck), on the ground outside the apartment, EVERYWHERE. It was gone. And I was REALLY upset. Bad mood all week was made worse because of the lost cookie. I posted on facebook and got mocking answers such as "did you check your stomach?"

Yes, this is a bit sad, but you know what.. sometimes, the small things in life are what count!

I resigned the cookie as being lost forever, got ready for work, and then realized that I was running a little early. So I went BACK to Wegmans to buy a replacement cookie, and when I reached the register, my original cookie was there! I guess it had never gotten placed in my bag. So I left Wegmans happy and with TWO fish sugar cookies! (Which I then ate at work).

Flower City Half Marathon race report

This is the 2nd annual running of this race, which is run entirely within the city limits of Rochester. Remember when I posted about this last week and said it was flat except for a hill in the middle? I lied. It's flat in the beginning and the end, with the exception of THREE MILES of hills before and throughout that %&*#-ing cemetery. I forgot how hilly horrible that shit was.

Anyways, I came into this race well rested and tapering. I did not have a long ride on Saturday; instead I had a 1.5 hour recovery ride. I chose to do this ride outside because it was sunny and beautiful out. Although I had good intentions at doing this at recovery pace, I didn't. I didn't hammer it, but I didn't go easy like I should have done.

My race plan for Sunday was to run the first 10 miles with the 1:40 pace group and then try to drop them for the last 5K. Goal time: sub 1:40. This goal time has been on my radar since my last half marathon in 2009 where I ran a 1:41 on a nice flat course. I pulled that 1:41 out of my ass and I KNOW that with some legit training I could go sub 1:40 for sure. I was skeptical that I would be able to do it for this race given the fact that I have done no speedwork whatsoever and my running has been lagging behind where it was last year due to time off for my hamstring injury. So I went into the race drooling over the sub 1:40 but not super cocky that I could get it.

Sunday, I got up at 5 am, ate the typical breakfast of banana, protein shake, toast, and applesauce. My gear was all laid out from the night before so I just put on my race gear and grabbed my bag. I parked in a parking garage downtown where I immediately ran into Solveig. We walked inside and found Ken, Greg & his fiancee Amanda, and a few others. I did a quick warmup and lined up practically on the line so I could be right behind Andy, the 1:40 pace leader/exboyfriend/pacing buddy. You think that would be awkward, but it's not. I set my Garmin to show "average pace" so that I could keep track of where I was (I needed to maintain a 7:37 pace) when I was slowing down through the cemetery section.

can you find me?

The gun went off and we started running. The first couple miles wind through a not-so-nice part of Rochester that I would probably never run in by myself. I had talked to Andy on the phone a few days before the race and we had discussed pacing strategies, since he had never been a pace leader before. We both knew that the course slows way down at about the halfway point, so he had a plan to bank some time in the first half. This is exactly what happened. For the first 6 or so miles, my Garmin showed an average of 7:30 pace. This pace was easy for about 5 miles, and then the 6th mile I really had to work to keep it up.

Once we hit the hill on Goodman, I knew I wasn't going to be able to maintain that pace because the hill is pretty long, and that's exactly what happened. I fell right off the back of the pace group on that hill. My average pace fell to about 7:35 going up that hill. I regrouped and brought my pace back to where it needed to be once I got into the cemetery because those hills are rolling, but I just could NOT catch Andy. The cemetery was awful. It has steep rolling hills, lots of twists and turns, and I had to go to the bathroom. Oh wait, that happened last year too! Mother f-er. Last year I stopped at a portapotty, this year, I was just going to hang on and RUN. I felt like I was going to die, which was appropriate since I was running through a bunch of graveyards! I managed to get my average pace back down to maybe 7:33 through the cemetery by working the downhills hard.

down the finish stretch

K-Dub passed me at mile 9. We exited the cemetery and I got a slight 2nd wind at mile 10. I passed K-Dub back and was running right with one of the Fleet Feet guys named Robbie. I told him I was trying for a 1:40 and I was right on pace, but I was slowly slowing down the last 3 miles. I could see my average pace drop from 7:35 to 7:36 to 7:37. I knew it was going to be right down to the wire. The last 2 miles were torture. We headed over the Ford St. bridge and down the long stretch through Cornhill that I HATE. You know the finish is so close, yet so far. Robbie was running right in front of me and told me to pick it up because I was almost done. I turned the corner and saw the finish. I knew at that point that I was not going to come in under 1:40. I saw Greg on the left and he started running me in, yelling at me to sprint in.. thank god for Greg. What a great guy!

I finished in 1:40:55.

That's a PR for me by about 40 seconds. It's hard not to be happy with that. The course is harder, it's early in the season, and I PRed! I may not have hit my ultimate goal, but I was only 55 seconds off. Mary told me that if I had done my recovery ride the way I was SUPPOSED to do it the day before, that I could have gone under 1:40. For the record, I ran this race in a 1:50 last year. So.. 9 minutes faster.. NICE!

I guess that sub 1:40 is for another day!

I ended up 8th in my age group out of 199 women, and 35th woman overall. Everyone else had a great day as well!

Nutrition: I ate 1 shot block every 2 miles. I almost choked on a shot block once, and I did not eat one at mile 12 (thought it was pointless and I was too tired to chew by that point).



Greg, me, Solveig, Kenny - the lovely members of Train-This post race!

I have fantastic teammates. Thanks for everything you guys! And now.. over 48 hours later, my quads are STILL WRECKED!

PR time?

I am running a half marathon this Sunday (the Flower City Challenge). The race is held within the city limits of Rochester and is put on by the local Fleet Feet. I also ran this race last year, its inaugural year.

Last year I ran a 1:50. I was plagued with some "bathroom issues" midway through the race and I did a big ride the day before. The course is relatively flat except for one decent hill up Goodman St. (I have run this hill 100+ times since I lived in that neighborhood for 3 years) halfway through that brings you into a large cemetery that you then run though (sadly enough, this cemetery is actually an attraction of our city). (Check out the elevation profile). Seriously.. 100 ft elevation gain - that's it.

My current marathon PR is 1:41 from 2009. As is everyone else, I am always gunning for PRs. However, I am realistic and know that it's not always possible. Depending on where you are in a training cycle, the race may be better suited as a training run at tempo pace. Sometimes, you race either having run beforehand or knowing you have to add on miles afterwards. Sometimes, the weather sucks, or you have equipment failure, or you have an off day. Sometimes, it's just not possible to PR. Last year, it was not possible for me to PR. I was coming off a big bike ride and my legs weren't fresh. Add to that the fact that I barely made it into a porta-potty in time.. yeah.. not a PR day for me. And I didn't expect it to be.

But this year?

I am coming off a rest week last week. The week before that I ran 40 miles. 40 SOLID miles. I am practically tapering into this half-marathon with NO long ride on Saturday (seriously, how is that even possible). I am friends with the 1:40 pace leader.

I think I am gonna go for it!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! (Yes, I know it's Monday). Lent is over, so get back to enjoying your desserts, cursing, dairy, facebook, and whatever else you may have given up (these are all things that my friends gave up!). Personally? I never give up anything for Lent because a) I am not religious and b) I am totally self-indulgent.

I went to my parents' house in Pennsylvania for Easter weekend. I arrived home on Friday evening after napping and swimming post-work. While sitting at the dinner table, I was facing the wall and saw this plaque with my brother's robotics medals hanging from it. Except the plaque had a triathlon picture painted on it. Apparently, after watching the video of my apartment that I posted a few weeks ago that showed what I currently do with my race medals (they're in a cardboard box in a drawer), my dad MADE this for me! How awesome is that!? I hung it up when I got back to my apartment and put 4 of my prettiest medals on it: Philly marathon, Syracuse 70.3, Flower City half-marathon, IMLP. This is perfect for me because I love my new apartment so much and I am trying to make it look nice by actually hanging things on the walls. But I don't want to just buy random generic crap from Bed, Bath and Beyond; I want to hang art that is either locally made, done by friends/family, or has some significance to me. So far I have a painting done by a friend, my framed IMLP poster, this plaque, and a few photos. It's a start!


I also ran for an hour while at home - not a big deal. Oh, and my mom did all my laundry, and there was a LOT of it! Saturday night I went out to a local redneck bar with my high school friend, Denise. I talk to Denise quite a bit but I hadn't seen her in a few years because I live in Rochester and she lives in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. She came home on Saturday and we went to this bar called PJs. There are only 3 bars in town and this one is an old standby (of the other two: one is scary and the 3rd I have never been to). We ended up having a LOT of fun; another guy that we graduated with came with his fiancee - I hadn't seen him in 9 years. I ended up staying out much too late (and by late I mean 12:30) and after drinking 6 beers between the 2 of us (I had 2, Denise had 4) our tab was $13. Aaaaaand that's what happens in a small town! Also, my 10 year reunion is next year. Denise was our class president so it's her job to plan that thing! Yikes..

I drove back to Rochester on Sunday morning after not enough sleep and with a living room chair stuffed in the back of my car (a hand-me-down from my parents). I managed to find someone willing to come to my apartment at 9:30 pm (before I had to go into work) to help me carry the chair from the car to the apartment! How awesome is that!? Here is the new chair in its new home with an ottoman! You can see how fun my medals look on the wall behind it.

I need to STOP eating Easter candy!

Happy Earth Day!

 HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!!

As triathletes, we tend to appreciate the outdoors.

We bitch and moan when we are relegated inside (for whatever reason) on our trainers, treadmills, and gym pools.

Given the opportunity..

We run through snow, rain, wind, and sunshine. We run on roads, sidewalks, trails, and through parks, neighborhoods, cities. We run when it's hot and when it's cold. We embrace all weather conditions.

We observe the scenery while on the bike. We ride up and down mountains. We fight headwinds and love tailwinds. We see wildlife on the side of the road.

What we also tend to see is garbage all over the side of the road. Oversized vehicles that practically run us OFF the road.

What do I want everyone to do on Earth Day? Pick up litter! Plant a tree! (Is this 5th grade?) Ask yourself, "can I walk to my destination?" Drink tap water instead of buying bottled water.

Conservation isn't a joke. It's something that everyone needs to participate in! It's not so difficult to contribute in small ways. Can you drive a car or a small crossover SUV instead of a giant truck/SUV? Can you walk to the post office instead of driving 0.5 miles to get there? Can you carpool to destinations (such as races)? Can you stick your gel wrapper in your pocket instead of throwing it on the ground? Can you buy a Nalgene bottle to fill with water rather than using disposable cups? Or a travel mug for your coffee rather than a cup from Starbucks every day?

Ridiculous things happen when people continue to look to non-renewable resources (natural gas, coal) to obtain energy. Instead of looking at ways that we can reduce fuel use and implement the use of renewable energies (solar power, wind), we discover new ways to simultaneously destroy the world and obtain more oil and gas because we fail to acknowledge the consequences. We burn the rainforest, oblivious to the millions of animals that die. We refuse to embrace wind turbines because they are "ugly." We "frack" even though it contaminates the watershed.

This fracking spill (see a more informative article here) happened in the county in Pennsylvania where I grew up. Our county sits on the (very large) Marcellus Shale which is a giant deposit of basically untappable gas because the rock is not porous enough. Enter hydraulic fracturing - a horizontal drilling process that allows access to the trapped natural gas. Unfortunately, this process is controversial because there are many steps that can lead to errors, spills, contamination, etc. It wasn't around for very long before it was implemented. Regardless of the consequences, tons of people are leasing their land to the gas companies so they can make a buck. Because it's a big dairy farming area, people where from where I grew up own hundreds of acres and can make thousands and thousands of dollars off of this drilling. They see the dollar signs and ignore the dangers. I am from a very rural, conservative area in Pennsylvania. In places like Syracuse - where it is more liberal and there is more money - people are fighting the fracking and refusing to lease their land. Demographics play such a big role in whether or not drilling is going to take over a town. Everyone in my hometown refers to these gas drillers as "gasholes" because they have overrun the area. Their water trucks are destroying the roads and traffic is ridiculous. This is a small town so the impact is HUGE. My view? I see no benefits to this situation.

Instead of battling the raising gas prices with smaller cars, better public transportation, and general awareness, we continue to exploit natural resources as an "easy way out."

I know, I am a hippie. And I know everyone knows this stuff. And this is probably not the audience that even NEEDS this lecture. But it's Earth Day.. so, I'm doing it anyways. :) Thanks for listening!