Is it true....The more you suffer the more you show you really care

"The more you suffer, the more you show you really care" Red Hot Chili Peppers

This was the song playing on the way back from this morning's training run. This line has some sadistic truth in it.

We all met at 7 AM Sunday for a 6 mile run @ mid-tempo pace. First of all, having this on Sunday is throwing me off. I'm so used to 7AM on Saturday that I feel like I should have another day in the weekend. Hmmmfff. I wish I did. Maybe I'll forget to set my alarm (D does have this week off) and not wake up in time for work. SWEET! Ok, I guess I can't do that. At least not intentionally.....

I didn't make my goal, which is not the actual time on the chart. It's all a mind game. According to the chart, I should be running 6 miles at a 10:26 pace. That would be a total of 1: 02:24. My actual time was 1:03:25. So I missed it by 1:01. Realistically, that's not bad since we had a hill, I didn't have a chance to hydrate will yesterday, I didn't eat well yesterday, I had a nice wine tasting evening, etc. But in my mind, I was trying for a 1:00, so I really missed it by 3:25. I have to try for something better than the goal-that way if I don't make it, I can justify it in my head. But if I do reach the ficticious time, that would be better. Yeah.

Backing up to yesterday, the compass and map reading class at REI was great. I forgot some things on the compass and others were explained so it was a nice "refresher" course. But it really wasn't a refresher. If a helicoper were to drop me in the middle of the mountains with a map and a compass, I would have been lost. Now- I might be able to find a way out of a paper bag :0 I now understand declination, how to adjust my compass to magnetic north (that declination thing), how it all relates to a map, really understanding topo lines. AND THE BEST PART, I found out that the average pace to add for a hill-1 minute per 20 vertical ft. Neat formula. And the average pace is 15 minutes per mile. A K is 1.6 of a mile or .6 of a mile= 1 K.

The re-gen class yesterday was also great. This morning when I was using the new "toys," I kept thinking "I paid how much for all this torture?" I think it is helping though. I rolled this morning before the 6 mile run. I could feel pressure in my knee, but I didn't feel any pain. And I wasn't crippled afterwards, hobbling around like a one-legged sailor. Funny visual-Simpsons character in my mind. Wasn't his name Salty?) I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning.

Now I get to park myself in from of the TV and watch Wimbleton. I missed my Nadal playing yesterday :(

Hmmm - reflection

I feel like a voyeur when I read other people's blogs. I get to look into their lives, their souls sometimes, without them knowing it. But that, I guess, is the beauty of blogging. Sometimes we blog and are more truthful and expressive than when we just talk face-to-face.



Conversations like when asked " how's it going" ... "OK" ... When in my head I'm thinking...well this hurts, I'm not feeling confident in my abilities, I'm having issues blah blah blah. But I don't want to seem like a whiner, or that I'm vulnerable, or that I just don't think I'm as capable, etc.....I was raised to not complain (I know-who would have guessed), not to show your emotions and to always be strong.



So back to reflections. When I came across another blog, I started to think about my life and how fortunate I've really been. I look at some of the goals friends have for their 50th BD, and I think "My God that's an amazing Goal!" Not one I would want to every do. But OMG good for her. I'm just not that ambitious! Or maybe it should be said that I have other goals other than that.



Then I reflect on 50 - 3 more years and I'm in that different decade bracket. 50 sounds old when I think about the previous generation -mainly my parents. They are from a different generation when 50 meant to slow down. Of course the did live through internment and WWII, the Korean war, a time when TV was a BIG luxury item, food was seasonal, families had no or only one car, when the decision for my Mom to work was a big deal based on economic survival, my clothes were made by my mother making her own patterns which was a skill taught in school (women were meant to be housewives and the men made all the decisions and the money), etc.

Yet my friends think 50-Wow what can I accomplish by or at 50? HMMM different age bracket=more metals.



I look at how fortunate I've been in HS with friends that kept me grounded and kept pulling me away from undersireable elements...drugs, alcohol, that "bad-boy" that lead me towards all that. I'm no saint and I did my fair share of partying in high school and college. But my friends and my conscience kept me just far enough into this side of "good" that I was always able to pull away from that (as fun and exciting as it was). Can't deny that it was a good time! And I could have seriously done damage to myself and to others. Not knowing where I parked the car or how I even got home but kinda remembering I drove home...scary stuff but I was having fun.



My friends have always been my close "family" and I know how lucky I am to have all of you in my life. Just FYI...

So upon further review.....

I added up the lap times from yesterday and here's what I figured (if my math is correct). I am assuming the cummulative times below didn't include the 90 second much needed rest.

Lap 1 400 m- 1:55
Lap 2 800 m - 3:51
Lap 3 1200 m - 5:58
Lap 4 1600m -8:03
Lap 5 2000m - 10:13
Lap 6 2400 m - 12:25
Lap 7 2800m - 14:38
Lap 8: 3200m - 16:54

So according to the chart, I should fall into this:

MARATHON TARGET 4:15:00
MARATHON TARGET PACE PER MILE 0:09:43

5-K RACE TIME 0:26:10

SPEED WORK

400 M PACE 0:01:56
600 M PACE 0:02:56
800 M PACE 0:03:57
1000 M PACE 0:04:58
1200 M PACE 0:06:01
1600 M PACE 0:08:09
2000 M PACE 0:10:17

HA-that's a faster pace than I expected to do. HAHAHAHA. Yeah I'm still the slowest on the track... but HAHAHAHAHA that's a better pace. And maybe the next 5K I can PR at at sub-30!!!!

On a suckier note, I'm feeling this in my hip flexor. Well I guess that's what it's called. Its the top of my thigh part. Also feel it in my IT band and knee. But through about the first 5 laps I was pain free. Yeah. That's progression.

It's always so hard

So since I verbally commited to doing the Pasadena Half (maybe full but doubt it) Marathon, I guess I'd better train.

Tonight-Speedwork. I HATE speedwork, so I guess I'd better suck it up and do it.
8 x 400M 90 second recovery @ 2:15 target.

Lap 1-1:55 (yeah)
Lap 2-1:56 (cool-and still no pain in my knee)
Lap 3-2:06 (still ok)
Lap 4: 2:05 (starting to feel tired)
Lap 5: 2:10 (WHAT?!?)
Lap 6: 2:12 (this is starting to suck)
Lap 7: 2:13 (OK now I'm sucking wind)
Lap 8: 2:16 (Thank god it's over!!)

Oh-I just re-looked at the pace chart. At a 2:15 target, that would give me a 4:54 marathon, 5K race-30 minutes. I've been trying for a sub-30 5K so I better move my pace target to 2:10. I've been close, but have not been able to break that sub-30 5K. Looking at my lap times, I was able to do the first 5 laps at that pace. It's the last 3 when I get tired that I can't sustain that pace. Gotta work on that. Gotta increase the cardio. Can I blame the slower pace on the 175 situps and 140 burpees I did yesterday? HMMM maybe not. That's just an excuse I guess.

Is it in my nature to be a slacker?

So it was the second night in a row for bootcamp. Boy I'm tired.
100 situps
run over to 100 burpees
run back to 75 situps
run to 75 burpees (only completed 40). Was glad to get over half done before time was called.

Tonight is tempo work...getting ready for Pasadena.

So is there a body type that wasnt' built for running? I sure feel like I'm one of them. When things start to get good, I get injured. Is this all in my head? By body tells me no. But I can't build up my cardio to do any better. According to Malkovich in Dangerous Liasons, maybe its not in my nature. Of course he does die in the end, of his own accord. Can't loose the extra weight. Can't increase my cardio. Can't Can't Can't. It's all in my head, right? I should be thinking what can I do to..... BUT Is it in my nature?

I survived the tri

So the Tinman Sprint Tri was this past Sunday. I survived the VERY hot weather (100+) and I didn't drown. Didn't do well on the swim, but I didn't drown. I did the first of 4 (yes only 4) laps, got to the side and wondered what I was doing there. I'm sure the lifeguard was thinking the same thing. I kept thinking she was thinking what was I thinking when I signed up! Get all that? I did provide entertainment for the support crew-developing a new technique of holding on and dragging my tired and non-swimming a** through the lanes.

I was so tramatized, it's taken 3 days to enter this blog and relive the whole thing. OK it wasn't that bad. But it really wasn't that good either. The run took 40+ minutes to do a 5K! Yes a PR for the worst time ever! I found new aches and pains to go along with the old. 1) felt pressure on my left hip flexor (what's that about?!?) 2) Left knee still bugs me. 3)Right hamstring still tight and I can't seem to fix that. That SUCKED! The whole thing SUCKS.

The bike section was good and I really liked the downhills!! Had to go up to enjoy the down. Then the dreaded pool......

The main reason I did this was because John said he would wear floaties if I did this. But then he was sick and coudn't complete the course. It was debatable if he would even do this tri. Really hope doing the tri didn't make him relapse.

Now onto the AR training. Luckily I found a compass class at REI this weekend. What timing. Dave's boys arrive that day for their summer stay, but I'll be so busy with the compass class, rushing to the regenerative thearpy class, then relaxing with the girls doing wine and cheese. Then getting up to run Sunday morning to train for the Pasadena marathon. I won't see them until Sunday afternoon, maybe after I wake up from a long nap. Is this the trend for the summer? Focus....AR in 17 days. OMG. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?

If it has a white stripe-leave it alone!

Damm dog doesn't remember if it has a white stripe down its back, DON'T PISS IT OFF! So my barky dog was disturbing the neighborhood again last night. BARK BARK BARK at 9 at night (yes I'm THAT neighbor with THAT dog). Then the barky, stinky thing comes running in the house because she pissed off a skunk. This is the second time. When will she learn to leave the striped cat alone!

Thank god for the internet and 24-hr supermarkets! Luckily we already had the "recipe" and stuff to de-skunk her from the last run at 11 at night to pick up this stuff. Here's the "recipe"

1 qt hydrogen peroxide
1/4 c baking soda
1 tbs dish soap

Boy this really works well. Since she's an indoor dog (see the barking reference above) and sleeps on the bed (or anywhere else she wants) she really had to be de-skunked. Can't thank the internet gods enough for the info above!

Now onto the saga of the tri and AR. There's so much going on it's hard for my peabrain to comprehend everything. I must concentrate on the tri (this Sunday it will all be over with). After that I can stress about the AR.

I'm sooooo worried about the AR. A sprint AR was fun and so doable. 12 hours is so much longer, and my teammates are so much faster. I don't want to let them down or hold them up. Being towed the whole race is not much fun or good for my ego. But I'm afraid that's whats going to happen. Yes I'm obsessing. So worried about my abilities.

I was reading another blog about last year's Scout AR and it made me feel much better about this. Until........I went back to re-read it and looked at her bio. She's a marathoner, trail runner, etc.....So I'm back to my worrying and stressing over this. From her blog, I'm looking at 9 miles on the trail and 16 miles on a mt bike. OMG! That's about the Mt Wilson Race and 1.5 around Bonelli. Due to equipment difficulties, they didn't get to the kayaking. So the one saving grace on the blogs is that the longer races are meant to be at a slower pace but a longer distance and time. Maybe my slower pace will be a benefit to my faster teammates :)~

omg - what was I thinking?

We we did a team Christine in Crossfit last night. The box jumps killed my IT band but the ibuprofen and wine afterwards made it fell better.

So today we had our first team training. We did a 3 mile trailrun and a 9 mile bike ride around Bonelli. I had to be towed on the run and the bike. I had nothing in my legs that got me through this. I don't want to let my teammates down so I need to work on longer runs. I guess I'm riding my bike to work from now on. It's not much, but it's a little bit. Then I can do a run when I get home or ride the bike to bootcamp. I need to do something to work on the cardio and get my leg strength up.

My knee was giving me a little, and I mean just a little, problem on the run. But on the ride it was fine. And after the whole thing, I wasn't limping like last night. So maybe all the stretches are starting to work. YAH. I'm icing as I type.

I'm worried my teammates will get annoyed having to tow me the whole race. I don't want to be the anchor the whole way. Maybe my navigation skills will be my strength. Maybe. I must study up on that.

Tonight is dinner with the family for Father's Day and my birthday (yah).

Had to sign up

So I took the plunge and signed up for the Tinman Tri. I got a few new people to sign up so that would have been really bad if I didn't. So Tri - here I come!

Enough whinning

So it's now Monday morning, I'm able to go up steps (slowly) and now its on to the next event. The dreaded TRI. I keep hesitating to commit. Must overcome the fear of drowning. Well it is a valid fear but I must get out of my comfort zone.

"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot."-Eleanor Roosevelt

The next challenge

So the lead up to the Wilson run consisted of a great time seeing old friends at the pasta dinner/ bib pickup. Then a nice dinner at Zelos with Hope and Kellie. What a nice time. The comraderie support from this group is amazing. I've been lucky enough in life to have 2 great support groups. One from high school, who still are supportive and in my life, and now this group.

Those who were there at the race saw the aftermath of my run. Worst time I've had at 2:17. My IT and knee just didn't want to play. Wished it would have happened during the practice runs. Then I could have worked on it before the race. Had to hobble down the hill. I felt I looked pathetic since most of the great SM Search and Rescue people on the trail kept asking if I was alright. The way I had to run, I felt like a cartoon character. I was getting depressed being passed downhill by those who were behind me at Orchard. But I made it down hill, finally, and past the finish line. Last year my right knee gave me problems. This year was the left. There's next year, right? Still shooting for a sub-2. I is still my goal. I would really like around a 1:45 time next year. Wouldn't that be great?!? That would be, what, 32 min off the previous time? HA!

Now I need to focus on foam rolling the IT band so I can run the 5K in the sprint tri in 2 weeks. Must get it worked on it too. I have 2 weeks to make it better. Must keep up the biking and the swimming. HMMM when to fit in the running? So much to think about.

OMG How impressive is this

So a friend that I've know for a long time emailed me this:

The Mt Wilson race? That's the trail race up to Orchard camp right? I ran that in 1979 (See, I'm old). To this day I still consider that the hardestrace I ever ran. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I think I ranlike 1:15. Good for you doing that. You're tough!

OMG-1:15! Who's the tough one? I'm just trying for around 2 hrs. Love to be sub-2 but the training runs didn't look like I'll do that time. And he did the Boston at 3:18! I'm so impressed (of course and jealous). I would love to be able to run just one mile that fast! I'm just shooting for one sub-9mm. Just one. PLEASSSE RUNNING GODS! JUST ONCE? PLEEAAASSSEEEE.

To all my friends who I train behind, I can hear you (especially Hope) that it's the track and speed work, fartleks, working hard during crossfit blah blah blah. It's much easier begging to the running gods to give me the natural talent to run at this speed. Then to reward myself with french fries and ice cream! HA!

Just thought I'd share.

Ramping up for Mt Wison

So Mt Wilson is tomorrow. Must remember to foam roll. God you would think I would remember to do that everyday since my hamstring is tight, my left knee (patella) is FINALLY feeling like it's tracking right, etc.

So here's my checklist
Must hydrate (yes I've been hydrating well all week)
Must eat right
Must foam roll
Must lay out everything for tomorrow morning
Must pick up bagels for breakfast for tomorrow (yum)
Must prepare Cytomax
Must reset alarm for 5 am (Yuk).
Just one more day. Just one more day. Just one more day. Just one more day....

OMG-I'M SO CONFUSED Facebook, myspace, blogger, blah blah blah. Where do I go?!? What do I do?!? So I was told the myspace was for the kids. And since I'm in the over-40 crowd, I guess I'll start to blog here.