So far, everything is going good with my workouts, and I don't feel so sore. But let's wait for the end of the week for the final judgement on that.
When I was cycling yesterday, I focused on sitting in the seat and shifting gears so that I wasn't pushing a high/hard gear going up hills or an incline or pedaling with no resistance on the downhills. I'm practicing the coordination needed to for gear shifting with both hands and I haven't quite got it down yet. This was one of those serendipitous discoveries that I made that my web search later showed was the right thing to do.
I'll be shifting gears in other ways. For my online class, we’re supposed to read anywhere from 75-178 pages a week and the instructor suggested that class participants to allow 6 hours a week for reading. Hahahahahah. I've never thought of myself as a slow reader, but it always takes me longer to read, process, and remember material. I am so very thankful now that I spent the summer reading, highlighting, and taking notes on most of these texts. If I had to read everything beginning now, I would drown. My focus will be on reviewing and remembering, rather than just trying to do a first read. I'm frustrated, though, because we did a practice test and I'm still had difficulty with many questions--even those that were more fact-based. And then there's the questions based on the reading and I can't recall where I read it. Yikes. It's not enough to read something and vaguely remember it because the test involves knowing details. One also has to know what is on a particular form--and what is NOT on that form.
The class is going to take a lot of time, and I think that as a compromise, beginning in September I'm going to move my running back to the treadmill in the predawn hours. It takes less time to go from my bed to the treadmill, and it frees up valuable time in the late afternoon and early evening.
Week 7 went out without event. I went for a 7 mile long run on Saturday, but ended up doing about 7.75 miles because I miscalculated the distance around the park when using the IronGirl route and making a complete circle. Lesson learned: it's actually closer to 8 miles and this knowledge will come in handy for my two 8 mile runs coming right up. All seems well on the running front.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
IronGirl Triathlon
I wanted to learn more about triathlon, so at the last minute, I decided to volunteer for the IronGirl Triathlon. This was the most volunteer-friendly race I have ever participated in. Everyone was so nice, and willing to answer questions and explain things. I was amazed at both the oldest and the youngest athletes. I didn't expect to see people in their 70s doing a triathlon, nor did I expect to see 13-year-olds competing. My kids couldn't do that. It was interesting to see the whole event, what people were wearing, their equipment, and how they approached transition. Although it was a very long volunteer commitment, the entire event was very well run and a truly great experience.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Week 6: Yin and Yang
The week started out good with an easy 40 minute run with generous walk breaks. I swear, it doesn't make that much difference in time if I take walk breaks. My knee has been good, for the most part. I was working at home, so I took the opportunity to run at about 7 a.m. in the park. It always amazes me the number of people running in the park on a weekday, during rush hour when most people are commuting to work. There's some equipment sitting in the middle of the lake, but I never took much notice of it before. Today, I saw the equipment in action and realized that the algae is periodically removed from the lake.
This week, I did three workouts--run, bike, and run--on consecutive days. The whole thing is making me incredibly sore, and I'm a bit discouraged. I took Saturday off due to muscle soreness, skipped the swim workout, and then closed the week by running on Sunday (after volunteering at IronGirl). I'm also frustrated with wearing the knee band, which seems to help prevent knee soreness on longer runs. When people see me at the end of a workout with that band on, more than once I've been asked "Are you OK?" Yes, I'm OK!
I'm trying to figure out how to juggle all of the workouts so that I can complete everything without falling apart. I believe that the developers of the training plan envisioned that people were going to be doing a very leisurely bike ride or a very slow swim on their cross training days. Instead, I'm able to bring some conditioning to both sports and I'm an experienced swimmer, so I may be doing these workouts at a greater intensity and overdoing my crosstraining. Maybe juggling days will help and watching the overall intensity level of crosstraining will help. Maybe, just maybe, my body might adapt someday.
Phase I of my CAE prep came to a close. This weekend, I didn't do any real reading; instead, I'm reviewing my flash cards prior to my online class starting. I think I'll also go back and tackle the new edition of PPAM and take notes on the marketing book. Every time I turn around, I find a new book that's recommended reading, and now a book on core competencies in professional development is recommended reading before ASAE's course. I quickly ordered it and I'll tackle it when it arrives on my doorstep.
I think I finally comprehend the meaning of studying and running. To my understanding, it's like yin and yang -- the equal and opposing forces of mental and physical that when combined in proportion can complement and counterbalance each other to bring about an equilibrium to life.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Week 5: The Mist on the Water
Training has not been spectacular. I began the week with a stretch & strengthen session. A heat wave this week made it difficult to exercise. On Tuesday, I did a 40 min run at a conversational pace - I truly felt that I was running in slow motion, at the rate of a fast walk. Even with very generous walk breaks to avoid the hills near my home, I ran about 12 mins/mile. This should be my long run pace. My knee felt a bit sore at the end of the run and my thigh muscles felt a bit sore that night, probably because of the previous day's stretch and strengthen.
Cycling is easier in the heat because it creates a breeze and there's the feeling of propelling oneself through the air. I went out longer than I should have, but in the middle of the ride, I got one of my foot cramps in my left foot with waves of pain, so I stopped to walk it off in a nearby neighborhood. My legs were sore afterward, especially around the right knee.
Thursday, my knees felt sore after sitting for a long time at work, and I didn't like the way my knees were talking to me, so I took the day off of running and used the time to study. The lesson learned this week is to back off and not overtrain; otherwise, I'll never make it to race day.
Right now is the countdown before my distance learning class begins. It was suggested that we read three books--one about employment law, marketing, and financial statements--prior to starting the class, so I'm trying to get through these. Then, the plan is to go back and read and take notes on any chapters I missed in the other books. I also need to schedule a regular time to review the flash cards, perhaps during breakfast, tutor time, and the last hour before bed when I'm tired and falling asleep while reading.
Friday night I ran at one of my favorite haunts, and I like going back to the park periodically so I can see the ecosystem as it goes through seasonal changes. The one thing that I'm going right is that I'm running slowly at a conversational pace, taking generous walk breaks, and kinesthetically establishing a long run pace. This makes running very easy. Still, at the end of the run, my legs felt sore.
I wanted to keep my weekend schedule the same, so I got up an ran on Saturday morning. Once again, I ran slowly at a conversational pace and took walk breaks. Even so, my time is only a minute slower at 12 min/mile. At the end of this run, my right knee was sore. I hope I didn't overdo.
I went earlier trying to beat the heat, but it was a cool summer day that made me think of the coming fall season. The lake was like glass. Sunlight was shinning on the mist on the water. As time went on, the mist largely disappeared, but when I left, I could see traces of the mist that I've seen before. At first, I thought the mist was due to the different air/water temperatures, but now I think that maybe there's mist was on the lake every morning -- it's a reward for getting up early for a run.
Cycling is easier in the heat because it creates a breeze and there's the feeling of propelling oneself through the air. I went out longer than I should have, but in the middle of the ride, I got one of my foot cramps in my left foot with waves of pain, so I stopped to walk it off in a nearby neighborhood. My legs were sore afterward, especially around the right knee.
Thursday, my knees felt sore after sitting for a long time at work, and I didn't like the way my knees were talking to me, so I took the day off of running and used the time to study. The lesson learned this week is to back off and not overtrain; otherwise, I'll never make it to race day.
Right now is the countdown before my distance learning class begins. It was suggested that we read three books--one about employment law, marketing, and financial statements--prior to starting the class, so I'm trying to get through these. Then, the plan is to go back and read and take notes on any chapters I missed in the other books. I also need to schedule a regular time to review the flash cards, perhaps during breakfast, tutor time, and the last hour before bed when I'm tired and falling asleep while reading.
Friday night I ran at one of my favorite haunts, and I like going back to the park periodically so I can see the ecosystem as it goes through seasonal changes. The one thing that I'm going right is that I'm running slowly at a conversational pace, taking generous walk breaks, and kinesthetically establishing a long run pace. This makes running very easy. Still, at the end of the run, my legs felt sore.
I wanted to keep my weekend schedule the same, so I got up an ran on Saturday morning. Once again, I ran slowly at a conversational pace and took walk breaks. Even so, my time is only a minute slower at 12 min/mile. At the end of this run, my right knee was sore. I hope I didn't overdo.
I went earlier trying to beat the heat, but it was a cool summer day that made me think of the coming fall season. The lake was like glass. Sunlight was shinning on the mist on the water. As time went on, the mist largely disappeared, but when I left, I could see traces of the mist that I've seen before. At first, I thought the mist was due to the different air/water temperatures, but now I think that maybe there's mist was on the lake every morning -- it's a reward for getting up early for a run.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Week 4: Twists and Turns
I'm busy navigating twists and turns on both the running front and the CAE front.
After I spent most of the spring reading and taking notes on two books that are key CAE literature, they came out with new editions! One book doesn't seem to have a great deal of change. But the other book, a collection of topics on association management, has several new chapters, different authors on familiar topics providing updated information as well as a slightly format that features questions at the end of each chapter. I'll be dealing with this in the fall as I go through my online class. Right now, I just want to read/skim all of the books before the class begins. I have several other entire books to read. This should keep me busy.
On the running front, week three flowed into week 4 because I realized that I'd wind up a week short on the training program. Rule number one: Always begin your training program by writing down the weeks and calendar dates. I'd been too lazy to do this before now. But it wasn't a big problem because week 4 was the same as the preceeding week, except that the long run was 5 miles instead of 4 miles.
On Saturday, I tried to get to the park as early as possible in order to beat the heat. Everybody was there! It was like a big fitness party, which provided plenty of opportunity for great people watching. Member of the local running club were running around and a lot of cyclists gathered in groups for a ride. As I left, people were parked on the grass and some cars had kayacks on the roof.
The run went well and I was huffing and puffing along. In my zeal to try to get back into shape, I ran a very consistent 11 min/mile pace, which was good but way too fast. This is my race pace. My long run pace should be a conversational pace of 12:30-13 mins/mile. I'll have to focus on my mantra of "no need for speed" even if everyone seems to be blazing by while I'm waddling along. I also used my fuel belt, which seemed to work well. My knee was fine during the run, but when I got home after the run and began doing household chores, my right knee felt stiff and I had trouble bending it while walking down the stairs. I iced it and the stiffness resolved, but this is worrisome. I also ordred a knee support which I'm going to be experimenting with.
In looking at the IronGirl Triathlon course map, which will be held in the same park in two weeks, I realized that I could extend my route around the lake from 2.4 miles to 3.4 miles by going down a different trail that winds around a baseball diamond. I'll have to try that. The map also helped me discover the route that all the cyclists may be using.
I closed out the week with a 40 min. swim, once again trying to use the low-impact sport to re-build my aerobic fitness. I swam at a moderate/fast pace for about 25 mins., using the rest of the time to warm up or cool down.
After I spent most of the spring reading and taking notes on two books that are key CAE literature, they came out with new editions! One book doesn't seem to have a great deal of change. But the other book, a collection of topics on association management, has several new chapters, different authors on familiar topics providing updated information as well as a slightly format that features questions at the end of each chapter. I'll be dealing with this in the fall as I go through my online class. Right now, I just want to read/skim all of the books before the class begins. I have several other entire books to read. This should keep me busy.
On the running front, week three flowed into week 4 because I realized that I'd wind up a week short on the training program. Rule number one: Always begin your training program by writing down the weeks and calendar dates. I'd been too lazy to do this before now. But it wasn't a big problem because week 4 was the same as the preceeding week, except that the long run was 5 miles instead of 4 miles.
On Saturday, I tried to get to the park as early as possible in order to beat the heat. Everybody was there! It was like a big fitness party, which provided plenty of opportunity for great people watching. Member of the local running club were running around and a lot of cyclists gathered in groups for a ride. As I left, people were parked on the grass and some cars had kayacks on the roof.
The run went well and I was huffing and puffing along. In my zeal to try to get back into shape, I ran a very consistent 11 min/mile pace, which was good but way too fast. This is my race pace. My long run pace should be a conversational pace of 12:30-13 mins/mile. I'll have to focus on my mantra of "no need for speed" even if everyone seems to be blazing by while I'm waddling along. I also used my fuel belt, which seemed to work well. My knee was fine during the run, but when I got home after the run and began doing household chores, my right knee felt stiff and I had trouble bending it while walking down the stairs. I iced it and the stiffness resolved, but this is worrisome. I also ordred a knee support which I'm going to be experimenting with.
In looking at the IronGirl Triathlon course map, which will be held in the same park in two weeks, I realized that I could extend my route around the lake from 2.4 miles to 3.4 miles by going down a different trail that winds around a baseball diamond. I'll have to try that. The map also helped me discover the route that all the cyclists may be using.
I closed out the week with a 40 min. swim, once again trying to use the low-impact sport to re-build my aerobic fitness. I swam at a moderate/fast pace for about 25 mins., using the rest of the time to warm up or cool down.
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