It's been a while...

It has actually been a LONG while since I posted something!  Now that my finals are over (and I finally found out that I passed everything YIPEE!), I have time for working out and posting.  I actually got back on the 22nd and have been working out since then, but for some reason, sitting around the house doing nothing (and yes, doing nothing is everything I dreamed it would be) takes up more time than medical school, and I haven't been posting.  But back to the the topic of this post.  It's been awhile since I've seriously lifted.  I'm talking months since I last lifted...so, of course, I went lifting for the first time yesterday.  I know Jessica hates lifting with a passion, so she'll disagree, but it was actually nice to get back into the gym and pound out some reps.

My actual lifting repertoire is pretty limited, but I (and anyone else) can get in a great workout with just a few exercises, and I always make sure to fit in some ab exercises in there!  For this past session, I did: Bench, a double shoulder exercise with free weights, dips, dumb bell rows, French curls, lat pull downs, and pull ups.  My brother and I then ended with a killer 10 minute ab workout, which was so difficult I can't remember it because I blocked it from my memory.  

Although my weights and reps were lower than what I used to do (I did manage to get through 3 sets of everything), this morning I am SO sore.  I am so sore that I am almost unable to change my clothes, turn the steering wheel in my car, or laugh because my arms/shoulders/back and abs are so sore.  It's been awhile since I was this sore, and I find that I do not particularly miss this feeling.  I am consoling myself with the fact that I am seriously out of shape after not working out, and eating only candy and panda express during the past couple weeks...damn you finals!...and these pains are necessary for getting back into shape, and much more of these pains will happen while training up for IMAZ.  The fact that all of this is going into IMAZ makes it worth it and always gets me excited for this coming November!

It's also been a REALLY long while since I biked.  I need to start doing that ASAP, but today is not that day, as it is snowing here in McLean!  A great day for a fun run!

Choosing a training plan

After a lovely and much-needed Christmas holiday, Amanda and I are ready to start the New Year off with a bang!

I did some biking, running and even an outdoor swim over the holiday.  I was down in Richmond visiting the husband's family and their club has an outdoor heated pool--heaven!! I miss swimming outside so much...it is the one thing I can't get in NYC and the fact that it was the middle of December and only crazy people desire to swim outside in such conditions, it meant I had the entire pool to myself.  I logged in 3,000, even doing 10 X 100 of intervals/1:20 pace/1:15 for the last few, so thrilled was I with my outdoor solitude.  100's of any multiple more than 5 was something I had swore I'd leave behind in college (along with 200's of butterfly), but I was feeling spry, and the opportunity to have an empty pool on a winter's day all to myself won't come again for quite some time!

Now, the time has begun for Amanda and me to find a training plan and schedule out the upcoming ten months.  It sounds crazy, but with our respective schedules in the real world (school, work, travel, family obligations, etc.) along with the other races we plan to do in the summer, the further out we can plan our training, especially long rides, I figure the better-off we will be in terms of sanity and making sure we are prepared to perform to the best of our abilities come November.

Does any one recommend a particular Iron Man training plan?  We are both of a relatively high fitness level.  I've run marathons before and we've both competed in almost a dozen Olympic races between us.  I personally feel comfortable with the longer runs, leftover from my marathon training earlier this autumn.  I want to especially focus on my bike endurance--both time in the saddle and just being able to run off the bike effectively.   I prepared to integrating doubles back in to my life...shades of college and high school swimming all over again!

This is one free training plan I found online, but welcome recommendations in the comments!

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=441

And then a few other options on Training Peaks for a fee of course:

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/what-are-you-training-for/triathlon-ironman-training-plans.aspx

Will be exciting to take the next steps!

No Patreaus sightings, alas!

Spies!

Mixing up my usual run-route, in which I either hit the W&OD trail on foot instead of bike (which is sometimes discouraging, because all I can think at every land mark is "Aw man, I'm only HERE" versus on the bike), or else two trail runs near our house, I decided to hug Georgetown Pike coming out of my parent's neighborhood and run out to the CIA and back.  The foot path runs along the periphery of my old high-school (where our 4-peat Virginia State wins for the swim team are still listed on the outside brick, booyakasha!), all the way out to the CIA, where I can't help but voyeur through the barbed-wire fence and eyeball all the security cameras. 

The guards are probably rolling their eyes at me loping along, but I couldn't help smiling "back" at them as I envision General Patreaus and Paula Broadwell (or whomever) taking their "runs" along this same route.  For some strange, voyeuristic reason, I was OBSESSED with that story when it first broke.  It was all so weird and just plain silly in some respects, and sad too, especially for both of their respective spouses. 

But back to the task at hand.  The run is about 8 miles and I tried to hold it to sub-8 minute mile pace, although that was easier said than done come the end, as my legs were definitely getting tired and wobbly, no doubt due from the impromptu long ride the other day.  I probably won't be taking many more long rides before Christmas due to some traveling, and I can't go swimming for at least a week because of a scratch on the inside of my eye (ouch!) and chlorine is a no-no,  so there will be a lot of running in the next few days.  I'm hoping to get a true long run in prior to Christmas, between 14-15 miles, perhaps even tomorrow, since right now, my legs feel pretty fresh.  It is almost as if the run helped shake out some of the lactic acid/kinks from my ride.  Perhaps I'll try for along the Potomac.  I'm sure to have some sort of gossip-politico sighting there!

An unexpected long "winter" ride and "Race for Chase"

Back in VA for an early Christmas, I'm toodling around with my old trusty Scott road bike in the neighborhood, trying out the new aerobars I installed myself last night (all by myself, shock!), and the weather, though gray and gloomy, seemed to be holding up, so I convinced by sister to drop me off at the trailhead for the W&OD Trail, that runs from Arlington to Purcellville.  She dropped me off at the closest drop-off point near our home, which is in Falls Church, and I road out past Herndon, then all the way back past Falls Church and through the Custis Trail detour to Big Wheel Bikes in Arlington, where Sam was waiting for me after ordering a pizza at the delicious "The Italian Store" at the shopping center near by.

It was one of the longer rides I've done continuously in aero, and while I felt a touch awkward, since my road bike isn't to spec measurement like my Cervelo, the Scott is not nearly as light/twitchy/fast, so I still feel more comfortable on it overall, I am ashamed to admit.  The W&O trail sure is great though, and while I love my Central Park loops and the 9W, it is really nice to mix it up and it is gloriously UN-crowded (at least on a gloomy Monday mid-day when most normal people are at work!).

Since I wasn't focused on dodging or passing people like I usually am in NYC, and I wasn't shooting for anything more than just putting in 2:30/3hours on the bike at a solid cruise, my mind was doing a good bit of wandering, and it kept coming back to the horrific Newtown school shooting from this past Friday.

I know I am not the only out there thinking about this, nor was I in any way personally affected.  My heart breaks and I am almost sick to my stomach just thinking about those children, those teachers, and the families. How did we as a nation ever let it come to this.   This is not a blog for politics, and those who know my sister and I personally already know where we stand on those sorts of issues.   But what I think is worth saying is that these shooters, whether it is Columbine or Aurora or Arizona or Newtown, are somehow the ones whose name everyone remembers.   They are the people everyone wants to "know" about.  Can anyone remember the name of a student from Columbine? Or a theater go-er at Aurora? I hope that that will change, among other things.

Who were these children? Those teachers? The names have now been released, and as one person asked on Twitter, "How do you write an obituary for a six-year-old? How do you then write 19 more?" How indeed?

There is one little boy whose name is already going around the triathlon community: Chase Kowalski, who had entered a few youth triathlons and was apparently quite the spunky dynamo at multisport.  Imagining him on his bike, or enjoying summertime at the pool with his team brings tears to my eyes, and the #raceforchase is certainly something I always hope I remember. 

How to fit it all in?!

Yikes on several levels!

Ifyoufollow either of us on Facebook, you no doubt saw our SHOCKED posts about us qualifying for Age Group Nationals....it should be a blast to go, and I personally was especially thrilled since the two Olympic distance races I did last year both had slight snafus.  For the NYC Tri it was a zillion degrees (yes, that's technical term when high temperature is combined with city humidity, ha), and at the Nations Tri, my derailleur on my bike somehow got bumped either in transition or when I sent my bike down to DC from NYC, and I didn't realize it until I was on the race course, but I couldn't shift out of my bottom two gears!   The Nation's Tri course is notoriously flat and fast, so being in those tiny gears meant my legs were spinning like CRAZY for 90% of the race and I sort of coasted the whole way it seemed.  At least my legs were super fresh for the run, right?

And THEN, the next day, I learned I also made it in the Half-Iron distance, which is funny, because I've actually never done a half-iron race.  There must be some glitch in the system, because I did the Mighty Man Hamptons race in Montauk at the end of September, which has all three distances (sprint, Olympic, and half) over the course of the weekend, and I did the SPRINT with my husband, who was doing his first triathlon, so I thought it would be fun to do it together (and so I could make sure he had his goggles, shoes, towel, etc. He was so cute.  He had his swim cap on an hour before start time.  Put me in, coach!!).

Anyway, I did quite well in the spring, placing 3rd, and I guess being in the top 10% in my age group, according to that USAT email, but it was definitely NOT for half-iron! Oh well, I guess I'll have my pick come registration in February.  

But August seems VERY far away, as Amanda and I focus on just making it through until Christmas (work has been crisis after crisis after sh*t storm each day and Amanda is hunkering down for final exams for her first semester at med school) we are already looking ahead to the summertime, when the bulk of our training is going to be, and we both already have the NYC Tri on the schedule in July, and now AG Nationals, which will be great prep and a way to work out kinks (because sometimes, the best way to train for a triathlon is to DO triathlons!) but travel and a bit of pre-race rest will definitely have to be factored in to our training timeline so our long runs and rides are not affected. 

I pulled the plug on the real-world and have already come down to DC to see the fam for an early Christmas before heading down to Richmond to join the hubs and his family, and as it looks to be quite mild for the next few days, I hope to squeeze in a ride or two on the W&O trail along with some runs.  I have my old road bike stored in my parent's garage here.  I may try and go find some aero bars to pop on them, as I still need to get used to riding in that position for longer than minutes at a time when actually out on the road.

It's ALWAYS Worth It

It has been a hectic couple of days, and will continue to be hectic until the end of the month, with the impending doom of the end of the world and my finals for the MSK module.  Despite my depressing schedule for the next two weeks, working out has really been the light at the end of my tunnel.  I can't stress enough how much better (mentally at least) I feel after working out.  Yesterday, I did a double workout (ran 4 miles, then swam 2500), and today I did a big 15 mile run.  I'm now tired as hell and about to pass out in the library, but I feel a lot less stressed than I did two days ago.  I can get over tiredness (coffee anyone?), but feeling less stressed is getting harder and harder for me to accomplish as I get closer to my finals, so the very painful muscle and joint aches I have right now (every minute I'm steadily realizing 15 miles was definitely too much after yesterdays double workout) are definitely worth it.

As everyone else is nearing the end of the year and is encountering their own stresses don't forget to make some time to workout!  It is definitely worth it!

An unusual use for endurance sports nutrition

Apparently I can't handle the food at the 21 Club, where my husband and I always take out this one particular publishing friend who loves it's old-timey vibe and rich food.  Even the vegetables are doused in butter!

Stock up today just in case!!

Whatever it was, I was feeling a little weird after dinner, and then all hell broke loose.  I wouldn't wish food poisoning on my worst enemy! Sasha was very sweet to keep my company while I tried to get through to the good lord on the big white telephone, and the hubs went out and bought be some Gatorade and Coca-Cola for when I finally emerged.

After passing out for the night, I woke up with the very unpleasant shakes and headaches that usually follow the morning after these purges.  I couldn't take the sickly-sweet taste of more Gatorade or soda, which I usually find too sweet on a healthy day, but needed something in the system along with water and electrolytes. 

Bring on my big tub of lemon-lime Accelerade and a few salt tablets left over from the marathon earlier this fall.  It tasted even chalkier than usual going down, but man did it save me! I could barely sit up to check an email, but in about 20 minutes I actually started to feel human again.   I always knew the importance of being hydrated, etc. but dang, you'll really know it in earnest after a night like this! 

Back to the real world tomorrow.  After a bunch of rainy days here in NYC and then this one day of seclusion, I'm itching for some time outside, and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny! Perhaps a two-part run with Sasha to the Promenade and then by my lonesome to Prospect Park is in order!