Time Trial

Wow, my energy level today has been through the f'ing roof. Ever have those days where you feel fired up and are getting shit done? I'm there right now and I wish this would last forever. I don't think I did anything different to get me this way either. Last night I had kind of a nice/big dinner out, had some wine (2 glasses), got a decent amount of sleep (~8 hrs), made coffee like normal.... What could it be? I wish I knew those answers, because if there was a pill that did this I'd take it every day.

I'm MANIC!!!

So anyway, today was my infamous two mile TIME TRIAL. I've been a little quiet talking about it because I didn't want to psych myself out leading up to it. I've actually been relatively calm about running lately and not feeling nervous/anxious about performance, so that is wonderful.

I pleaded w/my coach to let me do this on a marked path, but Shawn told me that I had to do it on the track again. He wanted to keep the variables as close from the last one. So, FINE, the track it is.

Before the run I had plenty for breakfast and snacks; here's what I ate:

• 8 a.m.: water, coffee, 2 pieces of toast (one jam, one butter), scrambled eggs (about 1 egg)
• 10:30 a.m.: more coffee, water, yogurt
• Noon: apple, water
  
• 1:45 p.m.: water, Vanilla Gu just before my run

That's about 600 calories. I had no issues with my stomach during the run either!

I got down to the track to find the Portland State University track team working out - damn them! It was kind of inspiring to watch them warm up and do some intervals, but then they luckily left for a road run so I had the track to myself again.

I'm still not at the point where I trust my own pacing which is why I get anal about the Garmin. Instead of just going balls out for the whole run I wanted to set some expectations - my goal was to strive for 7:00/miles. I decided to manually hit the lap button on every quarter; I set my Garmin so that I could view the data fields for:

• current lap (so I could check at the 200 to see if I was pacing right)
• last lap (so I could look down at any point as see how I did on the last 400, not just when it flashes the last lap for a few seconds)
• total distance (in case I forgot what lap I was on!)

So after some drills I hit the line and took off! My first lap was way fast, as I knew it would be. I dialed it way back after I saw the time for that lap and kind of hit a groove on the next one. I really focused on my breathing and stride and did the military chant (left right left) once I got in the right pace. Last lap I just tried to bust my ass and was getting to the point where my breathing was just OOC. Whatevs. Here's the stats:

Lap 1 = 1:34
Lap 2 = 1:48
Lap 3 = 1:47
Lap 4 = 1:49

Mile 1 = 6:58

Lap 5 = 1:49
Lap 6 = 1:51
Lap 7 = 1:49
Lap 8 = 1:44

Mile 2 = 7:13

TOTAL = 14:14
Avg HR = 183

(I know that doesn't add up right but I think Garmin rounds #s or something.)

Comparison to the last TT on 11/7/08:

• no vomiting this time
• one WHOLE minute faster!
• avg HR less by 2 bpm
  

I'd like to think that I was totally drained and cashed after this but so far I feel fine. I could have maybe pushed it more in the middle by a few seconds per lap but I'm not going to over analyze here (right).

So glad about how I did and I feel great! Maybe all my energy is this damn taper - I love you taper! I'm excited for the race this Sunday and have been doing a lot of thinking on race goals, training recap and 2009 goals that I will share here soon.

I also added more peeps to my sidebar that you should check out sometime! Oh, and the significance of the pony pic is nothing other than making you smile. How can you not smile at that?

Notes to self: weather was sunny but track partly in the shade, mid-4os, I wore shorts and short sleeve + long sleeve drifit shirts (had jacket on during warm up/drills)

President Obama

I am doing well with my daily morning schedule and I think it is making my days feel more structured. Yesterday I made the bed, got dressed, cleaned up made coffee, ate breakfast - all good things - however, I failed to take a shower all day. I spent most of the day looking like Aileen Wuornos. It was gross. And I'm never letting that happen again.

And I never made it outside yesterday either. I didn't even leave my building! How lame is that? I know this sunny weather will be gone soon too, which makes my decision even more aggravating. I did do my trigger point and stretching so that is good.

Anyway, today I went on an easy run around the waterfront loop and it was fantastic. Sunny weather and tons of people enjoying it. I am in a great mood because of the inauguration too.

Total Miles = 3.87
Avg Pace = 8:28
Avg HR = 157

I thought a lot about my race this weekend during the run and it was good to start preparing. One can never be too prepared!

I'm off to enjoy more nice weather and chill with Jen at a coffee shop.

I Lost The Last Part Of The List!

I FOUND THE LIST THAT I LOST IN OCTOBER!!!

OMG, I am so happy. (Isn't that insane?) Now my life can get back to normal, right?

Weekly Goals - Recap and Next Week

My goals from last week were to:

1. Watch the nutrition (track what I eat)
   
2. Take vitamins every day
3. Drink 64 oz of water each day
4. Follow my training plan
5. Go to yoga once
6. Drink VERY moderately

And here's how I did:

1. Watch the nutrition (track what I eat) - DONE!

I managed to pretty much track everything everyday. While I didn't necessarily eat the best foods at all times, I was aware of what I was eating and that was really my main goal. Despite not being very strict I still put in under 2000 calories each day, so I think that is okay. I also was given the suggestion of tracking calories through fitday.com and I checked that out too. I don't think I have the discipline to actually log everything on there, but it is a great resource for nutrition and maybe some day I'll use it on a daily basis. Thanks to Rife with Possibilities for the suggestion! I was also reminded about how the calorie counting practice can sometimes lead to bad things, which I agree with too. At this point in my life I think I'm finally figuring out what balance is and how to implement moderation in my life. I will always strive to achieve this. Bottom line, if you start seeing my ribs through my shirts in photos that I post, please admit me into an institution. Thanks!

2. Take vitamins every day - DONE!

There is one day that I can't remember if I did this, but honestly to hit even 6 out of 7 days is a big WIN in my book. Placebo or not....I'm feeling great.

3. Drink 64 oz of water each day - DONE!

4. Follow my training plan - DONE!

5. Go to yoga once - DONE!

6. Drink VERY moderately - DONE!

I set this goal too late, as Monday I had a mini-bender (not really) of my own at home and shamed myself into adding this goal. Since then I was able to keep my shit in check despite various social obligations, which is unbelieveable.

I can't remember the last time I had this big of a success rate. Perhaps I'm making it too easy on myself. Next week's goals will be similar:

1. Watch the nutrition (track what I eat). Eat light, eat good shit...carbo load on Friday?
   
2. Take vitamins every day
3. Drink 64 oz of water each day
4. Follow my training plan. This week it will be light, but I really need to focus on Trigger Point.
   
5. Go to yoga once
6. Drink VERY VERY moderately
   
7. Don't freak out about work. (I think bad shit is about to go down and I'm NOT looking fwd to it.)
   

I can't think of anything else right now - but I think this looks good.

Wrapping it Up

Sunday = Funday

Where has this weekend gone? I'm not ready for another M through F again, and I also can't believe that next weekend is my f'ing race. I am excited and nervous, but also sad that this stage of my training is over with. Sometime this week I'm going to try to lay out a few things on here: 1. Race goals. 2. Training recap. 3. Next steps. 4. Plan for 2009. That is a lot, but the shit needs to happen.

On Friday I was a little sore after the Thursday track workout, but mostly lethargic due to no running scheduled for the day. I was actually really annoyed that I couldn't run. It was such a nice day out, so I decided to go for a long walk around the hood and do one of my favorite things: thrifting. I went to as many thrift stores as I could find and made them my bitch. I got a few fun things and that made me reeeeeally happy. Plus, happy to get outside and enjoy the sun.

Saturday I went for an easy 3 miler, then drove all over the greater Portland area. It was a fun little ticky tour but by the end of the day I was exhausted.

TOTAL MILES = 3.54
AVG PACE = 9:09

Today I drove around the greater GREATER Portland area, looking for places to get hitched. Another long exhausting day. I should have done my run 1st thing in the morning, but we wanted make the most of the sunlight hours, so we left. I ended up running at 6 p.m. after having a late lunch:

• grilled cheese
• tater tots
• Rainier (beer)

Despite the shit I had in my system the run went fine. Started off sketchy with lots of wardrobe malfunctions culminating with my screaming on the Hawthorne bridge out of frustration. Once I got over myself I did okay and ran the regular loop twice.

TOTAL MILES = 6
AVG PACE = 7:59
AVG HR = 161 bpm

I made my goal of this one to keep my HR under 169, which is the high range of my Zone 3. In looking at my Garmin I was surprised to see that I kept having to put more speed on to jack up my HR. I think this is a good problem, meaning that my heart doesn't need to go as fast to get the work done. I don't know....probably will have to consult the coach. In the end, based on my frequent checking of the Garmin for HR, I figured I'd go higher than the 169 avg, but I clearly didn't. I hate to depend on the Garmin so much, but until I know my body really well (which is taking a while...) I need to monitor it this way. The problem now is that I'm not getting the information that I need (i.e. average HR so far, or whatever you would call it). I gots to remember what to change my settings to before going on a run instead of afterwards when I recap since it does me no good.

This week is the final countdown! I only have TWO workouts this week - one easy 3 miler and one two mile TIME TRIAL. I am going to see if I can negotiate with the coach to allow me to do the TT on the marked path instead of the track. I kind of loathe a two mile TT on the track. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how I've improved since then.

Have a good week people. Stay strong. You can do it.

Thursday Speedwork

I am writing this at 6:00 p.m., after JUST finishing lunch. Something came up at work just as I was about to go to my track workout (already running late at the time), so I had to take care of that and by the time I got home, settled, etc. it was just late. I'm finding that the best time of day for me to run is after I've been up a few hours, had breakfast and time for it to digest, but before I get hungry again.

My run was fine, I ran down to the track to do 2 miles of cadences 100 meters on and 100 meters off. After painstakingly analyzing this data to come up with averages I was disappointed to see that I shorted myself on the fast parts by quite a bit. According to my Garmin (which can never always be trusted, the little devil) I did the following:

• Fast bits = .885 miles @ 5:59 average pace
• Not fast bits = 1.19 miles @ 7:33 average pace

Total Miles = 4.34
Average Pace = 7:39
Average HR = 167 bpm

(this includes both warm up and cool down)

I didn't feel very fast today...maybe it is because I was listening to NPR and not jamming to music. Maybe next time I'll nix the damn ipod all together. There were tons of people out there running, including a coupla chicks that I swear were doing my exact same warm up and then speed work. They were in fantastic shape and definitely had runner's bodies. I pretty much hate them.

Back to the misproportioned fast/slow cadences. This track must be a bit more circular than I'm used to. I should have started and stopped the fast cadence a little before and after the straightaways. Oh well, next time.

*That is all*

Wait - no it isn't...i'm making green bean casserole for dinner tonight.

Calorie Counter

Trust me, I don't absolutely love monitoring my intake of food, but unfortunately I am not one of those people who just doesn't need to worry about it. Since I've begun my little taper, and also realized how many pounds lately I have lost I've become a little paranoid about putting ##s back on. I just can't disregard how much I am eating right now. I don't want to go bananas and end up gaining any weight.

So, I consulted my coach and the internet and put together some calculations. I've done this before, but it is always good to get a refresher...

From the Discovery Health website I found the following:

Basal Metabolic Rate

You expend energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. Thus your Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day - a tempting idea for some. If you've noticed that every year, it becomes harder to eat whatever you want and stay slim, you've also learned that your Basal Metabolic Rate decreases as you age. Likewise, depriving yourself of food in hopes of losing weight also decreases your BMR, a foil to your intentions. However, a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise can increase your BMR, improving your health and fitness when your body's ability to burn energy gradually slows down.

There is a calculator on that site that gives me a BMR of 1,372.

Then I got this info from Coach Shawn:

Anything you do outside of that is extra. Running adds calories, walking around adds calories and anything else that requires movement. If you have a sedentary job, add about 40%. That brings it up to about 1,820. If you run 5 miles and burn 400 calories, add another 400 to the mixer. Now we are up to 2,220. Anything else is just added as you go along. I would imagine that on a regular day you are burning anywhere from 2,250-2,500. That means that if you eat that many calories a day, you will maintain your current weight. This is a guess.

So...today I'm running 4 miles with speedwork which means I will probably burn about 2,270 total calories today. (1372 BMR + 548 [40% extra] + 350 [my run] = 2,270)

This is mind-blowing to me! Eat 2,270 calories to maintain my weight today? Awesome! I've been tracking my cals the last few days and every day has come in less than 2,000 (if I'm calculating it right). AND THIS INCLUDES ICE CREAM! Can this be right?!

Has anyone tracked this before and how do you think the BMR formula works out?

3 Miles of Pickups

I am going to recap my not yet complete day by saying I did okay with my new to do list and goals. I did everything I was supposed to do to make me a good work from homer. But alas, it didn't work all that well. I am having a really really hard time focusing on work right now, even when it is slightly critical.

I just finished Eat Pray Love and want to learn how to meditate.

I did my planned run today which was 3 miles total with 5 pickups. It went well and the weather is really great so I can't complain.

Total Miles = 3.07
Avg Pace = 7:27
Avg HR = 170 bpm

Now I'm going to end my day for reals and go look at a house then maybe get some sushi. After the pistachios this morning I managed to eat pretty well and not max out. I had a cheese/spinach/tomato sandy for lunch and a banana, then drank some more water. So far it looks like I've consumed about 920 calories (and burned 315 of those!). If I don't blow it at dinner I should be okay.

As I mentioned, I am kinda crazy right now hence the multiple posts and personalities.

Additional Goal For This Week

I remembered last night (after downing way too much wine) that another one of my goals is to drink moderately from now until the race. My revised goals for the week are:

1. Watch the nutrition (track what I eat)
   
2. Take vitamins every day
3. Drink 64 oz of water each day
4. Follow my training plan
5. Go to yoga once
6. Drink VERY moderately

This morning I started my new morning routine and successfully completed all of the following:

1. Make the bed
   
2. Shower/groom
3. Get dressed
   
4. Make coffee and brekkie
5. Clean and set up shop for the day

It felt pretty good but I'm still having a hard time being focused on work. Cleaning and setting up shop for the day was tough - even though the place didn't seem that dirty or disorganized it took forever to do this and I really didn't get started on work until 9, which is terrible. I'm going to make a point of cleaning up as much as I can the night before. Duh!

I am trying so hard this week to moderate my eating too, but it is really difficult. Here's what I've consumed so far today:

• coffee - two cups
• H2O - 32 oz.
  
• english muffin with butter
• yogurt
• 1/2 cup pistachios

It is 11 a.m. and that's about 430 calories so far....am I wrong to think this is a lot of cals so far in the day? The real problem is that I'm practically sitting on my hands to stop myself from eating more. I'm going to focus on making a good lunch, eating it somewhat early and have it all digested for my afternoon run.

Am I being crazy about this right now?

Bang On My Drum All Day

I never intended to use this site to post anything other than running and training related stuff. I think that may change now from time to time. I'm finding that I need to keep myself more on the ball with items not related to training and this is the only place for it.

Sure, I have to do lists, and calendars and personal goals, etc., but I have been less than diligent on keeping those items up lately and it is really starting to throw me off. I feel like I am scattered over the place a lot of the time.

A big reason for this is that I started working from home full time last summer. When I moved from Seattle to Portland in August not only was I working from home 100%, but I was also away from my real office with no easy chance to stop by if I wanted to.

Don't get me wrong, working from home is great...most of the time. I've found, however, that I need structure and routine and depending on oneself for all of that is difficult. I mean, sure I hated the bus ride to work but it gave me structure - wake up, shower, get dressed, walk to bus stop, ride bus, read or work on bus, show up. All of those things are items easily checked off of a list - there you go, before you even started your real day you already have accomplished some things.

Another change is that I've taken on greater responsibility with my job and am in territory that is totally new to me. I find that if I am not super super organized while managing this project I fall apart (mentally, emotionally, etc.!).

So, I'm going to somehow use this place to help keep me going, at least for a little while. This article got me starting thinking....

First stop on this venture is starting a morning routine; here are the 5 things I will start doing to kick start my day:

1. Make the bed
   
2. Shower/groom
3. Get dressed
   
4. Make coffee and brekkie
5. Clean and set up shop for the day
   

Making the bed - listen people, this is harder than it looks. I rarely walk past the bed after I've left it until I fall back into it.... However, I feel that my house is order when this is done so why not?

Shower/groom - ok, seriously, when you don't have to see anyone throughout the course of your day and you don't need to...why? Why do it? Especially when I have a run or workout planned within hours this just doesn't make sense. As you can see, it is so easy to just blow off a morning shower because you can skip straight to the coffee/toast/whatever of your day. I've already managed a way to shorten my beauty routine*, so the least I can do is this.

Get dressed - I often just come downstairs as-is. It is damn cold in my apt and my jammies and fleece-galore do me just fine. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to replicate the office-life and actually don a brassiere. Right?

Coffee/food - the coffee part is easy and not something I'm worried about accomplishing. I need it dammit. But the food part, I could do better at this. Rather than drag out my morning until like 9:30/10, I'm going to prep my breakfast and eat it at a place other than my desk. Then I'm done. Also include vitamins and at least a glass of water in there. (Birds...stones...etc.)

Clean/set up shop - my workspace and living space are all located in the same huge area. I love my apartment but since I have to share my office with my living room and kitchen, things can get complex. Often I'll find myself drawn to stopping work just to clean up a mess or sweep or put something away. No more. I'm getting this part done before I officially start work. That way there will be no distractions once I get to it.

Once I am done with my race I am going to change this up. I may start getting in a bike ride (gasp) or some gym-based workout in the a.m.

What is your morning routine? Is it the same everyday? Does it work for you?

*leave-in conditioner!

Next up:

• Getting out of the house
• Organizing the work area
• Time management