i'm currently on a training/exercise/sportz kick. i've been doing two a days whenever possible, lots of strength, speed work, extra swims. good grief, who am i? i'm sure this desire for extra sportz will eventually wear out its welcome, but for now, i'm just trying to enjoy myself and shoot, this stuff is fun!
tonight, for example, i was on the fence about joining in a group bike ride. i wasn't meeting anyone, i wasn't even sure if anyone i knew would be there. but, i had brought my bike this morning, i had a car full of spandex and i found myself driving over there. i was sort of just going through the motions. the part of my brain that knew that you never regret a workout was in charge. and guess what? it was fun. like, super fun. like, i ended up beating dudes up hills fun. i was right. (hey, at least i'm not having to admit someone ELSE was right.)
in related news: tonight was the first night i've showered in my own bathroom in weeks. i know, right? but it's almost as if the ymca is a second home, i've got so much stuff stashed there. thank goodness for the kit lockers.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
wednesday whys
here are the questions that are floating around in my head this wednesday.
why is running so hard?
why can't i seem to get back in shape post-race?
why is it taking so long?
why am i complaining? i am not injured, i can run (albeit slowly and for shorter distances than i'd like) and the weather is actually quite nice latey. so, geez. i should zip it.
why is my new bike saddle giving me a pain in the *saddle area*?
why must it get dark so early and why does the sun take so long to come out?
why am i complaining? it's still warm, and i can still ride for an hour or so before work and i still have friends who are willing to meet me and ride. i should be thankful.
why am i signed up for another ironman?
did i let janie pressure me into doing that? or did i pressure myself? do i really want to do it? who can i ask to find out?
why am i not racing savageman this weekend? (wait, answered - see question 2.)
why did i get suckered into volunteering this weekend, when i volunteered for no less than 31 hours this weekend. no, not an exaggeration or typo. 31 hours. i just wanted to sit down and relax and play and enjoy the weekend and now all day saturday is basically tied up.
why is it so hard to get out of the bed but so easy to remember how fun it is to do sportz the second you start doing them?
why is running so hard?
why can't i seem to get back in shape post-race?
why is it taking so long?
why am i complaining? i am not injured, i can run (albeit slowly and for shorter distances than i'd like) and the weather is actually quite nice latey. so, geez. i should zip it.
why is my new bike saddle giving me a pain in the *saddle area*?
why must it get dark so early and why does the sun take so long to come out?
why am i complaining? it's still warm, and i can still ride for an hour or so before work and i still have friends who are willing to meet me and ride. i should be thankful.
why am i signed up for another ironman?
did i let janie pressure me into doing that? or did i pressure myself? do i really want to do it? who can i ask to find out?
why am i not racing savageman this weekend? (wait, answered - see question 2.)
why did i get suckered into volunteering this weekend, when i volunteered for no less than 31 hours this weekend. no, not an exaggeration or typo. 31 hours. i just wanted to sit down and relax and play and enjoy the weekend and now all day saturday is basically tied up.
why is it so hard to get out of the bed but so easy to remember how fun it is to do sportz the second you start doing them?
Friday, September 2, 2011
fast but slow
i got a few little tastes of speed this year and i found out - it's fun to be fast!
**now, i'll back up and clarify, this speed of which i speak is all entirely karen-centric and not meant to be associated with my swim, bike, run colleagues who are light years faster than me. i guess i should edit that line above to say "it's fun to be fastER!" ok. yes, that's what i meant. **
however. fast is not what i am right now. i can't even do fast if i try. my legs just don'twanna. recovering from finishing 140.6 mile race is a long process and one of the things that is affected, not surprisingly, is your speed. not that speed is the only problem, or even the least of your worries, but it does affect fun. since i'm only in it for the fun, well, yes, i have a problem.
your mind thinks, how about an easy 10 miler? your mind is your enemy here. people training for a long race can toss around phrases like "easy 10 miler" and "recovery run" and "hill repeats" and "track workout." people recovering from long races cannot. well, you can toss them around, but they land with a thud on the ground.
people recovering from ridiculous races or injuries, or both, can toss around phrases like, "30 mintues non stop running" and "i'm back up to 4 miles" and "i'm pain free!" and be immensely proud and totally excited.
but here's the dilemma. fast is fun, right? the faster you do your allocated 4 miles, the more fun it is. BUT, the faster you go, the sooner you are done, and the less time you have spent crunching gravel on the mall, watching the sunrise, and giving that slight nod to other runners saying, yeah, i know, it's awesome, isn't it?
you want to go fast, but you want to take it all in...slowly.
**now, i'll back up and clarify, this speed of which i speak is all entirely karen-centric and not meant to be associated with my swim, bike, run colleagues who are light years faster than me. i guess i should edit that line above to say "it's fun to be fastER!" ok. yes, that's what i meant. **
however. fast is not what i am right now. i can't even do fast if i try. my legs just don'twanna. recovering from finishing 140.6 mile race is a long process and one of the things that is affected, not surprisingly, is your speed. not that speed is the only problem, or even the least of your worries, but it does affect fun. since i'm only in it for the fun, well, yes, i have a problem.
your mind thinks, how about an easy 10 miler? your mind is your enemy here. people training for a long race can toss around phrases like "easy 10 miler" and "recovery run" and "hill repeats" and "track workout." people recovering from long races cannot. well, you can toss them around, but they land with a thud on the ground.
people recovering from ridiculous races or injuries, or both, can toss around phrases like, "30 mintues non stop running" and "i'm back up to 4 miles" and "i'm pain free!" and be immensely proud and totally excited.
but here's the dilemma. fast is fun, right? the faster you do your allocated 4 miles, the more fun it is. BUT, the faster you go, the sooner you are done, and the less time you have spent crunching gravel on the mall, watching the sunrise, and giving that slight nod to other runners saying, yeah, i know, it's awesome, isn't it?
you want to go fast, but you want to take it all in...slowly.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
this is taking forever
we had a lovely little storm pass through the area last night and this morning. i really love being stuck in the house and forced to entertain myself. i look so forward to these storms. rain, snow, whatever, it's all good to me. my house usually gets really clean (like, eat off the floors clean) and i get caught up on reading, sleeping and googling things. it's awesome.
the storm cleared up and moved north this morning, leaving us with a gorgeous late summer afternoon. it's odd not to get up and work out first thing. add to that the oddness of not *needing* to get up or work out at all and i almost missed out on a really pretty afternoon for a run. it could have been a travesty. but it wasn't.
it wasn't The Best Run Ever though, noooo, far from it. it was painful. i was out of breath, thirsty, tired, and i wanted to complain, despite some good company. it wasn't painful because i'm injured. it was painful because, and this may be breaking news to some people, running is HARD. it's even harder when you haven't run for a while because you have been injured. i also expect that i'm still slowly coming back from that little race i did a month ago.
but, in my typical, "hmmm, in retrospect, that wasn't so bad" memory, it was pretty fun to be running again, even if it is taking forever to get back where i think i should be, running-wise. i'm hoping to be back in shape enough to do a olympic distace triathlon in october, meaning i'd need to be ok with running a 10k on tired legs. which, wow, that just seems sad from someone whose preference is running much farther after swimming and biking. but i'm trying to roll with it. and then, run with it. #triathletehumor
the storm cleared up and moved north this morning, leaving us with a gorgeous late summer afternoon. it's odd not to get up and work out first thing. add to that the oddness of not *needing* to get up or work out at all and i almost missed out on a really pretty afternoon for a run. it could have been a travesty. but it wasn't.
it wasn't The Best Run Ever though, noooo, far from it. it was painful. i was out of breath, thirsty, tired, and i wanted to complain, despite some good company. it wasn't painful because i'm injured. it was painful because, and this may be breaking news to some people, running is HARD. it's even harder when you haven't run for a while because you have been injured. i also expect that i'm still slowly coming back from that little race i did a month ago.
but, in my typical, "hmmm, in retrospect, that wasn't so bad" memory, it was pretty fun to be running again, even if it is taking forever to get back where i think i should be, running-wise. i'm hoping to be back in shape enough to do a olympic distace triathlon in october, meaning i'd need to be ok with running a 10k on tired legs. which, wow, that just seems sad from someone whose preference is running much farther after swimming and biking. but i'm trying to roll with it. and then, run with it. #triathletehumor
Saturday, August 27, 2011
a little bit jealous
i've been reading lots of other people's blogs lately and really enjoying it. i dug this one up and realized, geez! there have been a lot of lost ideas and thoughts and funny musings! i'm really funny! but not to worry - a) i'm back and b) there's another ironman on the horizon. it's still a very tiny horizon, and the ironman is like a little dot and it's hard to see, even with bifocals, but it's out there, just like alaska is allegedly out there somewhere. i have no proof, and sometimes find it hard to believe, but people say it's true, so i'll just go along with it. for now.
today was a taper ride with the IMMOO girls. alejandro, another lake placidite, and i joined for fun and support, even though the weather was a bit suspect. we both owe these girls a lot - they trained with us, cheered for us, and made us sandwiches with love. they are amazing and they are all going to rock the course in wisconsin in a couple of weeks. they have NO IDEA how much fun they are going to have. but i do. and i'm secretly a little bit jealous.
today was a taper ride with the IMMOO girls. alejandro, another lake placidite, and i joined for fun and support, even though the weather was a bit suspect. we both owe these girls a lot - they trained with us, cheered for us, and made us sandwiches with love. they are amazing and they are all going to rock the course in wisconsin in a couple of weeks. they have NO IDEA how much fun they are going to have. but i do. and i'm secretly a little bit jealous.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Steroids (11)
I had an amazing run yesterday. This is not really that exciting, except that I've actually been sick, NEAR DEATH (ok, that's an exaggeration...) since FEBRUARY 14TH. I remember this date because I got sick when I was home visiting my one-year-old niece for her birthday. She was all sniffly, but still cute, and she helpfully wiped her face on my shirt several times. Oh, and gave me lots of kisses. Germ transfer: complete.
So, I returned home with that "it's going to hurt if i swallow" sore throat. I usually, luckily, can just ignore this and drink fluids and lay off the crazy workouts and feel better pretty quick. I think this time was payback for all of that easy livin.
The sore throat got so painful (and yes, my pain threshold is fairly high) that I went to the actual doctor. You don't have strep, she said. Go with advil cold and sinus, she said.
The following wednesday, I was back. I had turned my car around on my way in to a morning workout and admitted defeat. I couldn't take the pain, which had relocated itself to my sinus.
Let's fast forward here, because this story is getting boring, fast.
I counted. 5 different doctors visits. 6 different prescriptions. Various over the counter medicines. 1 trip to the urgent care. I took the last of my prescrptions yesterday. It just so happens, it was a steroid. Now, rememember how I said I had amazing run yesterday? Yeah.
So, I returned home with that "it's going to hurt if i swallow" sore throat. I usually, luckily, can just ignore this and drink fluids and lay off the crazy workouts and feel better pretty quick. I think this time was payback for all of that easy livin.
The sore throat got so painful (and yes, my pain threshold is fairly high) that I went to the actual doctor. You don't have strep, she said. Go with advil cold and sinus, she said.
The following wednesday, I was back. I had turned my car around on my way in to a morning workout and admitted defeat. I couldn't take the pain, which had relocated itself to my sinus.
Let's fast forward here, because this story is getting boring, fast.
I counted. 5 different doctors visits. 6 different prescriptions. Various over the counter medicines. 1 trip to the urgent care. I took the last of my prescrptions yesterday. It just so happens, it was a steroid. Now, rememember how I said I had amazing run yesterday? Yeah.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
That's me. (10)
I thought this was pretty funny, because...yes, I do these things. I try to keep them in my head, but alas:
http://rwdaily.runnersworld.com/2011/02/the-racing-mindset-stop-this-crazy-thing.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RunnnerWorldDailyViews+%28The+RW+Daily%29&utm_content=FeedBurner+user+view
http://rwdaily.runnersworld.com/2011/02/the-racing-mindset-stop-this-crazy-thing.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RunnnerWorldDailyViews+%28The+RW+Daily%29&utm_content=FeedBurner+user+view
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)