Slippery, Slushy, Shamrock Shuffle

Happy Birthday to ME.
Sunday was my birthday and it was also Shamrock Shuffle day. All I can say is that it was one of the craziest weather races I've ever done - that's why I love Chicago! I planned to run down to the race since I had 9 miles scheduled but there was no practical and safe way to run there. Instead just ran it tempo paced. Before the race started I had lost all feeling below the knee and shoes weighed 10 lbs! Hubby was the best sport ever. He spent all morning texting his friends who we all planned to run with but poor guy, they all bailed. He did end up running with Lynnie while I moved up to the front to get the race over and done with. I will post pics once I get them - still living in the 90's with a disposable camera since the digital is broke.
8k - 39:30
Hubby - 1:01

Last Week Workout Summary
Mon - Yoga and Stretch
Tues - Run 4.4 TM, Swim w/ Masters
Weds - Spin 45mins, Swim w/ Masters
Thurs - Run 6, Massage!!
Fri - Run 5, Yoga
Sat - Bike @ Computrainer class 2:42
Sun - Run 8k
Total Miles: 20.5
Total Swim yrds - 5000

R.I.P Favorite Swim Cap

I can't believe I had two botched workouts in a row. Yesterday I had a 6 mile run in the morning. I was all dressed to go then realized there was no way I was running in the Monsoon occurring outside. So I hightailed it to the gym for a TM run (booo!). When I got there I was already cutting into my time so I thought I would run as far as I could for 50 minutes. I'm just about to get on the TM and I noticed I did not have my ipod...where was my ipod...oh no, freaking out...obviously I left it at home. I like my gym in a way - they think they're a night club so the music is always jammin'. Not that I love the music they play but it keeps me awake in the morning. The people watching wasn't entertaining either. Instead I watched outside the window at people attempting to walk in the monsoon. I was only able to get in 4.5 miles in the allotted time. When I got home and took off my hoodie guess what I found....oh my ipod, it was on me the entire time.

Now for the evening workout. I went to swim with the masters program. As I was about to get into the water, I gave my swim cap one more little tug, and rip there goes my swim cap. I didn't have my extra cap in my bag, the coach on deck didn't have an extra, and everyone else was already in the water so I didn't want to make a big fuss. I swam all practice sans cap. I'm so lucky to have a sister that's a hair stylist - she is always loading me down with products to help me keep my hair blonde and smooth, not green and crunchy.

The master program I swim with has late night practices 7:30-9 so I must eat before I go. One of my favorite quick and easy food are PJ's Organics Organic Chicken Burritos (found at whole foods). So what if I have a Burrito Belly before I go swim, these things are worth it! To cook - microwave for 2 minutes wrapped in paper towel then place in toaster over and toast on Med. I ate this with sweet potatoes containing agave nectar, maple syrup, and a splash of vanilla and edamame.

Here was breakfast.
A Mango Strawberry Smoothie and a 2 Egg Omelet with Asparagus and Feta

I must apologize for the picture quality. I broke my camera two weeks ago so these were all take via cell phone.

Shoe Review

Yesterday I called my shoe store. I support a running store from my hometown back in Indiana. When I called I received some bad news - my shoes (Asics GT- 2130) were redesigned and are now the Asics GT-2140. The shoe guru informed me the new model has a much different fit - which totally bummed me out. He told me to go and try on two other shoes - the Asics 1140 and the Adrenaline 9.

Here's a little info on my history of running shoes. When I was little (remember I started running at 9) I wore velcro Etonics because at that time the only shoe available to fit my little foot where walking shoes made for senior citizens. Finally when my feet were big enough I settled into the Asics 1000 series. Then in college I changed to the new Brooks Adrenaline. I have a super narrow foot and a high arch (i can stick a pencil under my foot and it wont touch my foot at all). I ran in the Adrenaline's for a handful of years until one day I was at a group track practice and forgot my shoes. I went to the nearest sporting goods store and what do you know - they didn't carry any Brooks shoes just Nike and Asics. I bought the cheapest pair of decent Asics - the GT-2100 series. I have been running in them since (3 yrs) and so you can see the freak out this can cause.

Last night I went to sport store to try on all 3 shoes and compare. Unfortunately they did not have the Adrenaline 9's only the 8's.

Asics GT-2140 - They widened the toe box and it felt like the heel was too narrow - something was definitely up with the heel. The shoe guru said the new design reminded him of the older Adrenaline style with the wider toe box. I can tell you I was NOT a fan!

Asics 1140 - The shoe guru said these are like the 2130's and they were. My feet felt like they were home again!

Adrenaline 8 - Was not a fan. The arch was too low and the toe box too big. The shoe guru said the 9's are more narrow and possibly also modeled off of the 2130s.

For now I am going to buy the 1140s and when I conveniently come into contact with the Adrenaline 9 I will try those on.

Talk to the Water

Below I'll post my weekly workout summary but want to reflect on my weekend.

My hubby was gone all weekend and I missed him terribly but it was warm weekend in chicago for once. I usually never take walks in my neighborhood because I'm pretty beat from my normal workout routine. Since hubby was gone I had to borrow a friends suv to get to computrainer class. He lives a good handful of blocks away from me so I decided to walk to the nearest main intersection and get a cab. But I kept walking and found myself roaming through streets here and there. An hour later (an a stop at chipolte) I arrived home.

I did the same thing Sunday morning. I didn't have workout plans til 1 so I ventured out. I found myself sitting in the park for a good half hour people watching, watching a woman and her dog play fetch - I wasnt sure who was the fetchie because the woman ran to the ball more than the dog. I guess I've had a lot on my mind this week. My dad was diagnosed with stage 2 prostate cancer back in January. He had his removal surgery last Friday and we were all on edge waiting to hear back the test results. On Friday we got the best news-it didn't spread! He's still in recovery mode but it was a huge relief for my family. Since I have had that on my mind for the past few weeks my walks helped me deal with everything else I had been putting on the back burner. Back to the park, sitting on the bench near Scarecrow, a fellow bike buddy and his dog walked by and we started talking Tri's. Its always pleasant to see a familiar face in the park. I kept him company til his dog was tired from playing then I continued on my walk. I ventured around the neighborhood a bit more then finally got home to begin my Sunday workouts.



I went swimming with Amber and she noticed I was completely out of it. It probably had something to do with spending the past two days roaming chicago with just my thoughts. But the moment I got in the water it all went away. I know a lot of people find relaxation in yoga and although I have been getting into yoga more the past few months I still find that being in the water has the most comfort. Maybe its that the water drowns out all noise, all i can hear are the noises I make as I glide through, or the rhythm of my breathing, or the monotony of the pool floor. I was grateful for my swim since my thoughts and my mood was starting drain all my energy. Went I got home I went and ran 8 miles - it felt great to be restored.

Monday - at home yoga
Tuesday - 6 mile run, 2950yrd swim workout
Wednesday - Computrainer class
Thursday - 3 mile run on TM, 30mins core strength, 1000yrd swim drills
Friday - 5 mile tempo run (41:40)
Saturday - Computrainer class (1:50:00) , 60mins strength training
Sunday - 2000yrd swim, 8 mile run (1:09:00)







Sunday Breakfast
Steel cut Oats
Skim Milk
Blue Agave Nectar
Sliced Almonds
Sliced Banana

Hunger Paings

Since I've kicked it into high gear with my training I can't seem to stop the hunger paings. Last night after computrainer class I brought it up with Coach S. I told her what I ate during the day and she said it sounds like I wasn't getting enough protein. Before I decided to sign up for an Ironman I was just training for shorter races. I went about my normal eating habits which was to eat everything in site. I grew up as a picky eater(i really only ate carbs!)-cereal, pancakes, pasta w/ butter & cheese, and PB&J. Two years ago when I lived in CT I started learning more about nutrition, healthy eating habits, and label reading. Mostly my #1 goal is no HFCS . For anyone trying to change eating habits I think this is the easiest way to start. Since then a lot of things have changed. My newest endeavour is protein. My coach told me I needed to have 70g a day. Its been a year now and I still struggle. I mostly get the paings in the afternoon from after lunch until I go home from work. Its distracting sitting here and talking myself out of getting a bag of Cheetos and a coke. Coach S suggested I only need to add a bit more protein to lunch and that should help. I started today and we'll see how it goes.
What I usually eat in a day

Pre-AM Workout
Banana &/or pkg oatmeal, bagel w/ PB, or homemade muffin

Breakfast
2 eggs or a smoothie (recipe to follow)

Morning Snack
1 pkg Kirklands Organic oatmeal (flavored)
I add a half pgk of flax oatmeal too if I had eggs
If I have some available then I snack one of my homemade breads or muffins throughout the morning.

Lunch
Salad with cranberries, walnuts, blue cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette
Add Chicken!!

Afternoon Snack
PB&J Sammy - organic PB & Strawberry Jam, Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread

Pre-Workout Snack
Banana
or Energy Bar - my two faves are Lemon Zest Luna bar and PB&J Bonk Breaker (they just came out with a new PB&Banana bread too, its Yummies!)

Dinner
Salmon w/ Broccoli and couscous (meat, veg, carb)
or Barrilla Plus Pasta with chicken, broccoli, EVOO, Garlic, and a pinch of parm

This Mornings Breakfast
Strawberry, Banana, Mango Smoothie

1/4c Naked Protein Zone
1/3c Light Vanilla Soy Milk
1T Flaxseed
1/2 Banana
2 Large Frozen Strawberries (i get kirkland brand from costco)
3 Slices of Mangos
2 small hand fulls for frozen baby leaf spinach
5 Almonds

Run a little bit longer

Last week I had 3-run days in a row, i'm pooped! I am just getting over a really bad sinus infection in which I had to take all of last week off, on top of just getting back from vacation. So that is almost 1.5 weeks I had off. I felt decently strong in all my runs but I did have to do Thursday on a treadmill because Wednesday run proved a tiny bit of my cough still lingers.
This week I attempted to switch it up and am feeling better but I am starting to add intensity to my runs and its causing some of injury pain to come back, looks like I'm already getting a failing grade for my at home injury homework!

One good thing last week was I had my last physical therapy session. Taking a few steps back now it was in Sept 2008 when I was training for a half marathon. I have ran a few in the past but have never 'trained' for one. I started to get a little pain, or tightness, in my hamstring when doing tempo and interval workouts. I knew there was a problem when I would be sitting at my desk or on the couch at home and would get shooting pain down through my hip to my knee. I continued to train and in Oct. PR'd for a half. I took a week off thinking it would help heal the pain. When I started back up I continued to run and begin cycling base training. I continued to have consistent pain in my leg and hip. I wasnt until I went to my parents for Thanksgiving that I finally did something about it. I ended up taking 4 weeks off of running but continued to cycle (computrainer). After 4 weeks of no running and weekly deep tissue therapy I seeked out a Doc. Granted this is one week till 1/1/09, dooms day - the start of Ironman training and I still wasn't able to run. Seeing the the doctor was a huge turn around, although I had an idea of what was going on I was able to take more steps towards the recovery. I was able to start running again but was not allowed any intensity. I had tendonist in my hip from a strained hamstring which was caused by weak glutes. I always find it a common thing in running when injuries or weakness are not dealt with in the early stages they eventually start webbing out to whereever else it can go. After 10 weeks of physical therapy and many torturing massages later I've been released. Now my goal is to keep up with my at home program and strength training.

Just Go

I am finally getting this started. I have debated for the past 2 months on this. What did I want to say? I have so much going on with my training, my nutrition, and life I just need to get it out. Currently I am training for Ironman Louisville in Aug 2009. I have been running since I was 9 and started triathlons after college. Triathlons are a foreign world to me than running ever was. I always felt so comfortable with it. Tri's are completely different story and after 5 years of them I've decided to tackle to biggest one of all. I hope to discuss my training, my team, nutrition, and the recovery of an injury. I'm also a new wife and after a few years of moving around we've finally settled in the great city of Chicago.