Still Sick!

I ended up with a fever yesterday afternoon - looks like going to the gym was NOT a great idea. Luckily it broke around four.

Needless to say, this will be one of my rare days off.

For those that are in town, go to LPSkater's New Year's Eve event at the speedskating oval tonight! You can read about it at her blog and the Lake Placid News website.

Have a safe and happy New Year everyone!

Vacation Good, Sick Bad

Hey All!

Once again, sorry for the long silence. I was running around like crazy (NOT literally, for once) getting ready for a holiday trip to Florida. It was wonderful, although I never did run as planned, just went for a couple long walks with my mother.

Anyway, it's been back to the gym this week. Yesterday I went 3.17 miles in half an hour (including warmup) on the treadmill, followed by leg curls (30 lbs), quad extensions (30 lbs) and calf raises (110 lbs), and 2 x 30 medicine ball rotations (or whatever you call that oblique exercise). There was no Karate class, so didn't get any martial arts training in, unfortunately.

Today I'm not feeling well (coming down with a nasty chest cold), so I kept it light at the gym. I tried out their upright bikes - I can actually reach the pedals on them! (I'm VERY short.) It has different trails with a screen that shows other bicylists and the scenery. It's like a video game that you have to exercise to play - VERY fun! I only did four miles - about twenty minutes. Like I said, keeping it light. In the weight room it was chest and tri day, so I did chest presses (25 lbs), military presses (12 lbs) and overhead tricep extensions (20 lbs) followed by 30 situps on the workout ball.

Well, I'm going to go crash and rest up. If I feel better tomorrow, it's treadmill and back and biceps. (Once again, no Karate because of the holiday.) If I can get on finding someone to sharpen my skates, I may speedskate as well.

Before I leave though - a shout out to http://www.adirondackalmanack.com for linking to me and sending a couple people my way. (To the new people: My blog tends to be FAR more interesting in the summer when I'm competing in running, martial arts and canoeing.)

Swimming and Skating

Helloooooooo people!

Yesterday I managed to run outside - it was wicked cold, but just barely warm enough. I had a time of 25:46, which was actually kinda fast for being in maintenance mode. It just had been so long since I pushed myself that I couldn't resist. I figure one semi-near tempo run a week or so won't kill me.

Today I got a free swim lesson at the gym. I worked on getting comfortable with keeping my face in the water while swimming, something I've always had trouble with. I'd love to take more lessons, but they're expensive - $95 an hour for private lessons.

In other exciting news, the Oval has been flooded and is looking ready to go. YAY! Now if only I can find someone to sharpen my skates. *LOL*

Tomorrow will be legwork and running at the gym. No karate tonight since Dr. Z is out of town.

Back to the Gym

After taking yesterday off to recover, it was time to get back to work.

Ran on the treadmill today. I was able to bump it up to 6.7 very comfortably, which is good. I'm obviously starting to get my cardio back. I'll probably stay around there until February or so when it's time to work on speed for Freihofer's Run for Women. (It's months away from February but I want the luxury of increasing speed very slowly so as to prevent my chronic shin splints from acting up.)

I did my entire upper body weight workout since I missed yesterday. It was tough, but I managed. I've changed to two sets of fifteen for everything in preparation for the "light weights but many reps" type of strength I'll need for the 90-Miler.

Tomorrow will be bike, legs, and Karate!

First High Peak Bagged!

Wow, it was one of those weekends where I needed to go back to work to get some rest! LOL.

Friday night was Karate. BruceLee was there for a little while, but mostly it was just Dr. Z and I. We worked on brown belt kata and once BruceLee arrived, KusankuDai.

Saturday we went crosscountry skiing. It was the first time there was actually enough snow on the ground to do it properly. Despite the frigid single-digit temperatures, we managed to keep warm enough for two laps around the golf course. I'm starting to get the hang of it, but uphill is still giving me a problem. It just feels extremely unnatural to go uphill on skiis.

Sunday was a long hike with Dr.Z, JewishMom and Megatron. And by "long" I mean all eight hours of daylight we have this time of year. We went up Phelps under snowy, windy and icy conditions, but we made it! Dr. Z and I officially bagged our first high peak and are on our way to becoming 46ers.

Needless to say, no gym today, only Karate. Even *I* can only do so much! LOL

Double the Workout, Double the Fun

Managed to sneak away to the gym today. I started off on the bike, with covering 6.7 miles in 25 minutes at level 5. I had to do both upper body workouts today after missing several days this week, which was quite the challenge, especially since all I had had a chance to eat was a tangerine and it was noon.

Looking forward to Karate tonight. Tomorrow is cross-country skiing now that we FINALLY have enough snow. Yay! (I'm also hoping to make it to the gym to run and do legs.)

Yay for Gyms! Boo for Work Meetings!

As feared, I didn't have a chance to go to the gym yesterday due to work. I did manage to drag myself away from the computer and go to Karate though. We actually sparred, which was a nice surprise. I had some tough competition after weeks of basically training lower ranks on how to spar - SoccerStar (brown belt), Sensei SixPack (4th degree), TattooedBruceLee (1st degree) and Dr. Z, who's a second degree. The only "easy" fight I had was with FakeDaughter's brother. We then did a lot of bunkai, of course, but at least I got to work with IronDaughter.

Finally got to the gym today. Ran 3 miles even in 30 minutes, so my cardio is coming back. (I'm not too worried about speed since I ran the first half mile of an "easy" run in 3:45 without trying last week.)

I was hoping to get to both legs AND chest/tris but only got to do legs before running out of time and having to get back for a meeting. Oh well - I'll just add 'em on to back and bis tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be all upper body and bike at the gym followed by Friday Night Karate with Dr. Z.

Am I Boring You Yet?

Heh. Sorry, once again not much for updates.

Saturday, Dr. Z bought me an early Christmas present - a three month membership to the gym to get me through winter. Yay! I was happy to go back.

Sunday I went hiking up Pitchoff with Dr. Z and JewishMom, but had to turn back early when my front foot slipped and my back foot caught in a root at the same time, tweaking my knee in a very bad way. Luckily, lots of ice and elevation the rest of the day healed things up nicely.

Monday I broke in my new gym membership. I jogged on the treadmill - knee felt fine - and then did chest and triceps for weightwork. Unfortunately by the time evening came around the lack of sleep the night before caught up with me and I didn't go to Karate.

Tuesday I went to the gym again and did the bike for 25 minutes on level two. I wanted to keep it light and had to keep it short because of meetings. I worked back and biceps downstairs.

Today probably won't see me at the gym since I need to use what little free time I have to go grocery shopping. However, I'm going to Karate if I have to drag myself kicking and screaming.

Between Seasons

Once again, I haven't updated in a while because nothing much is going on. I've been doing a three mile job either on Dr. Z's treadmill or outdoors (as the weather permits) about three times a week. Just enough to kind of keep my hand in it during the off-season.

Karate's been the usual. I've missed a few classes due to work being absolutely hectic.

In winter sports news, I just found out yesterday that the Speedskating Oval won't be opening until the 20th due to budget cuts by our esteemed governor. BOOOOOOOO!!! It should already be the season - it's cold enough, that's for sure. Between that and John Dimon closing up shop, it's just not a good year for speedskaters in Lake Placid.

Running Again! And X-C Fun!

Well Saturday started my trek back into running after a month off. My cardio is shot to hell, but it felt great and my shins feel like new. Yay! It was only three miles on a treadmill, but I'm very happy to get back into it.

Sunday I got to try out my new cross country skis on the Ray Brook golf course. (There was BARELY enough snow but I really wanted to play with my new toys.) It was...interesting. I kept trying to ski Alpine-style. I'll get the hang of Nordic style eventually. I can't wait to try again with more snow.

Today I went for my first outdoor run in almost six weeks. It took me over 27 minutes to run three flat miles, but what the hell. Like I said, I did need that time off.

Karate

Well, once again I'm keeping it very light this week, so the only update I have is Monday night's Karate class. Sensei couldn't make it once again, so Sensei SixPack taught the class. We started off with...SPARRING! Which I haven't done in ages. Of course Dr. Z and I squared off and danced a bit and as usual he kicked my ass. The other three fights I had were with younger, lower ranked kids where I did more teaching than getting schooled. (It was one or the other - the only other person there my rank or anywhere near was SoccerStar, who was tagged by Sensei SixPack for a marathon sparring session.)

Didn't do anything yesterday, although I should have done some weight work. My bad! Even a hardcore athlete like myself gets held up by a crazy week at work sometimes.

Tonight Sensei *should* be back, so I'm guessing bunkai and/or jujitsu will be the order of the day. I'm also hoping to at least go for a walk if work will allow.

Hiking and Biking

Good Morning! Here's your weekly off-season update:

Wednesday Night - Karate. Sensei was not there and Sensei SixPack had to leave early, so Dr. Z ended up being in charge. We worked Kata (spent most of the time teaching) and some self-defense.

Thursday - Last day at the gym. I had the bike up to level six and also worked on back and biceps. Very sad to see my pass expire, but I don't have the extra $45 a month a membership would require.

Friday - Day off. Did go to Karate with Dr. Z, where we worked on Bo sparring for the first time in over a year and reviewed kata. We left early thanks to loud Can/Am kids in the hotel.

Saturday - Gym with Dr. Z. I worked chest and triceps, after biking nearly eleven miles. (The bike at the FCI is definitely calibrated differently.)

Sunday - Hiking! We decided to do Scarface. Dr. Z got tired, so we turned around before summiting. (It was cold, windy, fogging and snowy anyway.)

Today is Karate and some weightlifting at home if I can find the time. One more week until I can start running again! (And only two until the Speedskating Oval opens!)

P.S.

Forgot to mention - I added a feedback/rating thingamijigy at the bottom of the posts. They're hard to read, but you get to rate my workouts either "Kickass!" "Not Bad" or "Lazy Bum!" Let me know and kick my ass if I need it.

Gym Almost Over

Well, my month pass at the gym is almost over. I still haven't decided what to do next. Speedskating won't be starting for at least three more weeks. I did buy some running tights, so may take running up again even though Dr. Z would probably prefer I take a little more time off.

It really is too bad - I'm just starting to get half-decent on the recumbent bike. However, I don't have the extra $45/month for a full-time membership, especially when I don't even need it 4 or 5 months out of the year.

Any ideas, people?

Same Old, Same Old

Last night's Karate class was almost identical to Monday's class. Sensei was in a chatty mood again, so we didn't really get started until seven. After that it was about half an hour of teaching kata and then half an hour of jujitsu, just like Monday.

I'm getting better at the recumbent bike at the gym. It's still not very cardio-intensive, but I've built up some muscle and have been able to up the level to five. I'll need the leg muscles for speedskating anyway. Weights are going well as well. I had forgotten how much I love resistance training.

Tomorrow will be, guess what, more gym and Karate.

More Updates

Some more random updates now that it's midweek:

- Sunday I bought my first pair of cross-country skis. The local place had a deal going and set me up completely for $150. Score!

- I noticed that they also had the Denali Lightning Ascents I've been coveting, so I asked if I could get a discount if I bought them at the same time. They gave me 15% off, knocking $40 off the price. Double-score!

The weather all week? Sixty and sunny. Hee. Not that I'm going to complain. I'll take the nice weather while it lasts and let my new purchases sit in the basement. Dr. Z and I were even able to go for a short bike ride yesterday.

Other than that, I've been hitting the gym. I canNOT wait to run again. I can't believe it's been less than two weeks and I've got at least another week off to go. ARGH!

Now that competition season is over, not much coming up except gym workouts and Karate. Once the snow falls, stuff will pick back up.

Diamond Valley Classic Tournament

Ugh...well, the DVC was NOT our school's best showing by far. First off, the only people from Lake Placid who showed up were myself and Dr. Z. It WAS a 3.5 hour drive each way, but STILL. It's one of only two annual tournaments anywhere near the area.

Anyway, not only did only two of us compete, neither one of us did well at all. First off was kata. I forgot Chinto part of the way through. I tried to fake it, but I fooled no one, earning fourth place (i.e. last) from all of the judges.

That then set me up to be all frazzled and psyched out for sparring, which was immediately after. I not only didn't win any fights, I didn't get A SINGLE POINT. There was a long wait for weapons after that, and I considered not competing in that event at all considering what kind of day I was having, but Dr. Z talked me back into it.

I watched the other two competitors first, and realized I had a pretty damn good chance of taking first. I went up, and gave a pretty good performance (although I had a couple slight missteps) and got second place all around from the judges. So yay, my first silver in martial arts! (And several people actually thought I should have gotten first.)

Dr. Z had an even tougher day. After judging all morning (as black belts are required to do), his first event was weapons, which is usually his best. Although he did his bo kata as usual and it looked awesome as usual, he took last place, beat out by two people with flashier but much last practical kata. I personally think it had to do a LOT with the school the judges on that particular panel were from.

This psyched him out enough that he then went and FORGOT CHINTO AS WELL. Unbelievable. Both of us forgot it. He fudged it well enough to beat out one guy and take third place out of four.

His final event was sparring. Unfortunately his first round was with a former professional fighter who hit him so hard so many times his head was spinning at the end. This left him unable to beat a guy that he usually would have creamed in the second round.

So, not the greatest day for either of us, but there's plenty of time to practice and prepare for the Northeast Open next summer. In the meantime, I have to admit that I'm VERY happy to have a break from competing (in THREE sports) until canoe racing starts up again in April.

Getting Better

Last night was Karate. We did about 45 minutes of self-defense based on kata, then the black belts broke off to work on upper kata while I ran the qu belts through kicking drills. After that, we all got back together for 15 minutes of simple self-defense techniques.

I went to the gym this morning after de-icing the car. I was able to ride the bike for 29 minutes at Level 3, so I'm getting there. Of course, by the time I'm really good I'll be back to running...hahahaha. I also did legwork since I didn't want to tire my legs the day before the tournament. It went pretty darn well. There was some foreign sports team there training as well. I couldn't tell what language they were speaking or what sport they do, but it broke up the monotony.

Tomorrow is gym, then it's off to Herkimer for the tournament!

Still Slow

Not many updates lately, but there's also not much going on. Running is over and I'm doing the bike at the gym to let my lower legs heal, canoeing is over and we put the canoe away for winter storage a couple days ago, nothing new at Karate, and no speedskating yet. (Although we DID just have our first snow of the year - half a foot of the wet, heavy stuff fell last night.)

Dr. Z and I did do a quick hike up Mount Baker on Sunday. We would have done a longer hike but the weather was supposed to be really terrible in the afternoon so we didn't think we had a lot of time. Turned out to be gorgeous the entire day, but what the hell. You can never predict the weather in Lake Placid.

Don't worry, a couple more weeks and not only will I be running again (low-key, offseason stuff but running nonetheless), in a month the speedskating oval will be opening and I will once again be attempting to NOT fall on my ass.

More Gym

I've been going to the gym all week. I'm still getting used to running on a treadmill, but it's getting better. My muscles are also still trying to get used to weightlifting, but I'm getting there. I increased my weights slightly today. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Yesterday was no gym (too busy at work), but there was Karate. Sensei spent most of the class talking and giving out promotions, but we did work basics a bit, which was great. We also did some more jiujitsu. I still haven't been promoted, but hopefully it will happen soon.

Tomorrow, more gym and Karate with Dr. Z.

Weekend Update

Friday night Dr. Z and I did some preparation for the karate tournament coming up in two weeks. A little touch sparring - my reflexes are still a bit off after not sparring much the past few months, and some review of kata and weapons. I'm still feeling a little rusty in general but hopefully I can get prepared in time to do well.

Saturday we went hiking with JewishMom and her friends. Despite concerns about Dr. Z's knee, we ended up going way ahead of them. We felt bad, but we really weren't going that fast at all. They were just at a real snail's pace. Anyway, it was still a good hike up Noonmark and back. It's nice to be getting back into hiking and was good practice for my trail run this weekend.

Today is a light gym workout (tired legs) and Karate. Tomorrow, gym and not sure what else. Unfortunately canoe season is over. :-(

Gym!

I won a monthly membership to the local gym last week, so have been taking advantage all week despite it still being perfectly good running weather outside.

It's gone pretty well, although there's been a bit of an adjustment with running on a treadmill again. I've also been doing some very light weights. Gotta love living in a small town though. In the three times I've been there, I've bumped into IronMom, Sensei SixPack, and one of the Karate parents.

Otherwise, it's been pretty quiet in the world of athletics, with it being between seasons and all.

Bad News/Good News

Hey all two of my confirmed readers! Heehee.

Bad news first. The reason there was no posting last week is because I was battling a nasty, nasty cold and didn't exercise at all.

Good news (there's a lot more of this, luckily): I was well enough to go down to Connecticut to train with O'Sensei. We spent Friday night doing self-defense against knife attacks. Not my strong suit, but it was still amazing being in a roomful of very high-level martial artists. (At a high brown belt I was one of the lowest-ranked people there.) O'Sensei didn't seem himself from what people had described of him, but I found out later that he was stressed and upset due to some stupid martial arts politics. (Yes, they do exist and are in Tae Kwon Do and probably every other art in existence as well.) Afterwards, I found out from Sensei that O'Sensei was supposed to present me with my black belt certificate but politics kept it from happening.

So, I now have two black belts, just not officially yet. Not sure when I will actually be officially promoted because Sensei tends to be absent-minded about such things.

Saturday was the big banquet for O'Sensei's 60th anniversary of teaching. It was really fun to see everyone dressed up. What was truly amusing is that you could tell that most of the people there would have been a lot more comfortable sitting around in their gi's.

More good news: Yesterday Dr. Z and I went on our first hike in months. We decided to do Catamount, which in the end wasn't a good idea for me. I'm bad at rock-scrambling as it is, but I still had vertigo from my cold, which made it even more challenging. After hours of having to balance by sight alone, I was physically and mentally exhausted. I did manage to not fall off the side of the mountain though and am even not that sore this morning.

There's no Karate today because of the holiday, but I plan on trying an easy run and hopefully some canoeing with Dr. Z after work.

Last 5K of the Year

Yesterday was the Tracks for the Train 5K. It was my first race in the cold - I actually wore tights under my shorts! I made sure to warm up really well beforehand.

The actual race wasn't my best despite a flat course and ideal weather conditions. Although there weren't any mile markers, I believe I went out too fast and ended up paying for it the last mile. (I actually had to take two walking breaks.) Despite losing time on mile three and coming in at an embarrassing 24:18, I ended up second overall, first in age group, and seventh runner in, exactly like last week. If I had paced better, I would have placed first overall and fourth runner in. Oh well.

Anyway, it's kind of sad that there's only one race left before the season is over. Hopefully my tights for my costume will arrive in time!

Today is a two-mile recovery run and Karate.

Windy, Cold, and...hail? Yes.

Went for a light run today. I did four miles in 32:51 - an 8:13 pace. Maybe a little fast but after an easy two miles on Wednesday and yesterday off I desperately needed to work a LITTLE bit. It was a miserable run, weather-wise. It started off 49 degrees, overcast and windy. I wore my new white tights to keep my legs from freezing. The sun tried to come out a couple times but then it clouded back up and by the time I was doing my cooldown it started to freakin' HAIL. Good lord.

Of course, it's cleared up since...

Tonight is a little kata review, tomorrow a very slow 2-mile jog and then Sunday it's time to ZOOM in my last 5K of the season. (...sniff.)

Long Run and Karate News

Wednesday night we actually sparred in Karate! I was pretty psyched. Although I don't usually spar the week of an upcoming race, it had been so long that I couldn't resist. Unfortunately I took two nasty hits to my left leg. Dr. Z got me right in the shin splint area (ouch!) and this teeny tiny little ten-year-old nailed me right in the nerve center on the side of my quadriceps. If I had been fighting anyone bigger or more advanced, I would have had to bow out of the fight because my leg was USELESS. I had to do some heavy icing when I got home. Two days later and it's STILL bothering me.

Yesterday afternoon I received a very suprising e-mail from Sensei, who said that I could get my black belt certificate signed by O'Sensei, to be given to me at Sensei's discretion. I didn't think I was that close to becoming a black belt! Very cool.

Last night I did my second eight-mile run since the half-marathon. I came in at 1:07:41, which is considerably better than the last one, which took 1:09:24. That's an 8:27 pace versus an 8:41 pace. Of course, that last eight-mile run I was still sore. I actually would have finished closer to an 8:20 pace but my leg was still bothering me from Karate.

Today is a short run with maybe some strides, depending on how my legs feel. I want to get SOME speedwork in before Sunday's race! I'll also have Karate tonight.

Tomorrow? My damn day off. LOL.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Saturday I did a very light two mile run with Dr. Z. roaddogging. I practiced my kick by taking it up from 8:40 to 8:00 in the last mile. I was NOT happy with the humidity and prayed it would go down before Sunday's race.

Unfortunately not only was it humid enough to make sleeping less than ideal, the humidity increased Sunday morning, with gray overcast skies and not a single breeze. I bumped into the IronFamily, with IronDad doing the 10K and IronKid and EltonJohn doing the 5K with me.

I hit the first mile at 7:20, perfectly on pace for a PR. There was some guy breathing down my neck but I did my best to ignore him and just do my own thing. He passed me at the turnaround, but I passed him again shortly after and by the two-mile mark he was far, far behind me. (Basically he exhausted himself trying to catch me.) I can't remember my mile two split, but it was basically still on track. Unfortunately I had to rachet back at that point because I was starting to get a stitch from working so hard to breathe in the soupy air. I got confused at one fork that wasn't marked and had to ask a runner which way, but made up the time with a short sprint.

I came through at 23:47 and confirmed with Dr. Z that I was the second female runner in, beaten only by IronKid. (One thing I love about turnaround races is not only do you know how far you have left, you get a very good idea of your place in the race.)

I was very disappointed by my time, which should have been a minute shorter, but IronKid said her time was off by a minute as well, as was the lead guy's, who runs at the college level and can hit a 15-minute 5K. He actually said that he thought the course was more like 3.2 miles. (I later plugged 3.2 miles into my online log and it computed my pace at a more-accurate sounding 7:24. Yes, a tenth of a mile makes that big a difference.)

There was a long wait afterwards as not only did we have to wait for the 10-K runners to come in, they didn't use chips and had to tabulate everything manually. I used the time to do my cooldown jog and socialize while Dr. Z worked the finish line.

They finally started the door prizes. It was one of those "Everyone wins something" deals, so it took FOREVER. I one a book on the local canoe routes, which delighted Dr. Z to no end.

After long last, they STILL didn't have results, so they just did top female and top male for each event and said they'd mail out medals to everyone else who placed. I was very disappointed, as this is the second time I've placed overall and the second time I wasn't recognized officially. (The first time being the Dippykill Froggy Five, where I placed third but they didn't do awards.)

I'll be sure to post full stats once they're printed in the paper with field size. For the moment though, I was second overall and first in my age group. Yay!

For today, I did a two-mile recovery run, which went fairly well. I wasn't as sore as I feared. I also have Karate tonight.

Tomorrow is my long run. Maybe paddling as well, but looking at the weather I'm not holding out much hope.

Not Much New

Not much new here. Went for a short easy paddle with Dr. Z last night. It felt good to get out after being stuck in the house working all day. We took it real casual, not even timing it.

Went for an easy four mile run this morning. Did it in 32:44 - an 8:11 pace. It felt pretty good. I should be in good shape for Sunday.

Anyway, some easy Karate tonight, a two-mile jog tomorrow, and it's time for my birthday 5K!

Tapering Time

Well, I've been taking it easy since Monday's tempo run. I did an easy 6 miles on Tuesday in an attempt to temporarily reschedule my long runs to accomadate the next few weekends of races. I had to stop at around 5.75 miles. It sounds silly to stop that close the end, but my muscles were talking to me so I listened. I did manage an eight minute pace, so I was pretty pleased with that considering how tired my legs were.

Yesterday I did a light two-mile recovery run. I forgot my watch so I did it by feel - probably an 8:15 or so pace.

I skipped Karate though. I just needed a break from it. I looked around online and in the phone book yesterday and there aren't many options available, even in Plattsburgh. Very disappointing - you'd think there'd at least be one Tae Kwon Do dojang in Plattsburgh.

Today is completely off. I might go for a light paddle with Dr. Z but that would be the most I'd do. There's an extra kata class today, but I can't make it due to a meeting. Stupid work getting in the way of athletics.

Tomorrow is a light four mile run and Karate with Dr. Z.

My Speed is Back!

Did eight miles on Saturday for my long run - Dr. Z definitely had the right idea with keeping it down from the usual ten - I was WIPED after! I didn't even go that fast - just an 8:40 pace.

Yesterday was my day off. In fact, it was cold and gray out so I alternated between watching television and cleaning my office. (Despite taking out two metric tons of crap, two hundred more metric tons of useless garbage remain. Damn clutter!) So, not very atheletic at all.

Today, however, rocked. I went for a tempo run and was feeling pretty good - no wind, dry air, and the temperature was in the high forties. I could feel I had gone out a little fast so I kept myself in check, but had enough for just a bit of a kick at the end. My time? A PR-busting, smashthrough 23:08. That's right - I finally broke 7:30, making a 7:27 pace. My previous best on that course was 23:28, so I was VERY happy. My one little thing I have to improve on is my pacing. It's come a long way, but I know I still ran positive splits. I could feel it.

Anyway, that made me decide to do the Stride for Pride on Sunday. It's a fast, flat course, it benefits disabled runners, and it's on my birthday. How can I NOT do it now that I know I'm recovered from the half-marathon? Of course, IronKid is going so my ass will be royally handed to me by a damn kid half my age. (Crazy kid is hoping to break 20:00. She needs help.)

Tonight, as always, is Karate.

Tomorrow will be six miles as a "long" run since I can't do my usual on Saturday, obviously. I'm also hoping to go for a paddle while I still can. Gotta keep those paddling muscles going as late into the season as I can for the 90-miler next year!

First Tempo Run in Forever

Karate on Wednesday night did end up being bunkai at first, but we did move on to kata. Not the best class, but not bad. Sensei had to leave early so that's why we moved on.

Yesterday I did my first tempo run in weeks and only the second one in a MONTH. (I stopped doing them in favor of longer, slower runs because of the half-marathon and the tendonitis in my hamstrings.) My time was 23:46, which would usually be a terrible time, but 5-10 seconds off my usual isn't too bad, especially with the sore legs. I'm pretty pleased with how little speed I've lost. A few more tempo runs and a little more healing and I should be back to a 7:30 pace. I'm still not sure if I'm doing the Stride for Pride though, especially with another 5K race the week after.

Just a two mile recovery run today. There's no Karate since Dr. Z is out of town, but I might do a review at home, especially with missing class on Monday and there being no extra Tuesday or Thursday class this week.

Tomorrow is an eight mile long slow run. (Shorter than the usual ten to allow my legs to heal.)

Recovery

I've taken the first half of the week very easy with trying to recover from the half-marathon. (Especially with the tendonitis in my hamstrings that just. won't. go. away.)

Monday I took off completely, not even going to Karate. I had had a second night of no sleep on Sunday and just was not up to it.

Yesterday I ran a very easy 5K in 25:47. Every time I felt myself speeding up I eased back down. My legs thanked me. I also went for a low-key lap around the lake with Dr. Z. We didn't even time ourselves - it was more about getting out there and stretching our arms. The season's over anyway.

Today I got a little more serious about getting my speed back. I ran 4 miles in 32:10. It's an 8:03 pace, but it's also the fastest I've run since the Olga 5K aside from one other tempo run.

I AM planning on going to Karate tonight. Hopefully we'll be doing kata. The legs are too sore for sparring and I'm getting tired of bunkai/self-defense.

Not sure about tomorrow - I'll probably run something (Have to ask Dr.Z) and I also have to go to Blue Line because my new shoes with only 200 miles on them already have outsoles that look like they have 600 miles on them. Between that and the blister they gave me in the beginning makes me most unimpressed with these shoes. Boo to you, Saucony!

Success at the Half-Marathon

So...the half-marathon. I was SO nervous beforehand, especially with the extremely humid weather, which I don't breathe well in regardless of temperature. Kudos to Dr. Z, who dealt with my pre-race snippishness and moodiness.

I saw several people I knew who were also running, including IronDad, TriBob, and BookstoreTri. (Okay people, I can only come up with so many nicknames in a town full of triathletes. So sue me.)

JewishMom showed up on her bike to wish me well and take pictures, which was awesome of her. I wasn't sure if she was going to show up or not.

We actually started on time. I lined myself up in the back, knowing I wouldn't be able to keep up with most of the crazy long-distance runners in L.P. I did start my stopwatch when I crossed the start line, which will become important later.

Right off the bat, we did a lap around the horse show parking lot. JewishMom snapped a picture and we were off. We crossed the street to head up John Brown's Farm - the nastiest hill on the course. Right at the bottom, the IronFamily was on the corner and they cheered when they saw me, which lifted my spirits.

I fell in with some guys for a while and we were doing a nice 8:40 pace. Dr. Z was on his bike and met me every mile telling me I was "on pace." (At this point I thought he meant under 9:00.) I used the downhill to River RD to gain some time and catch my breath, still feeling good.

I kept mile five at a good pace because it's a long, flat stretch of road that I tend to slow down on for some reason. Having a group to stay with definitely helped. I was happy to see that I wasn't getting passed because it meant I wasn't slowing down. Dr. Z showed up at every mile and finally told me that I was on an 8:40 pace but if I felt good stay with it.

I FINALLY got close to the turnaround and saw that IronDad was ahead of me. It surprised me because of his talk of how slow he is. It made me wonder what he must consider me then.

Around mile ten I really started flagging. It didn't surprise me - I knew the last 5K would be run on guts alone. I found out later that I lost a minute off my pace during miles eleven and twelve, most likely because not only was I tired but there was no one around to pull me along.

At the end of mile twelve, my stomach started seriously cramping. I ended up walking from the end of River Road to past the bridge. Dr. Z encouraged me to "make the hill your bitch," which I did. Unfortunately at the top I had to stop and dry-heave, getting passed by someone in my age group. I continued and made it back to the Horse Show Grounds. 100 freaking meters from the finish line I had to stop and retch again. I was SO annoyed. I ran through the finish with my arms up in victory, finishing in 1:55:59.

I was so, SO happy, especially since the IronFamily, JewishMom, Dr. Z, and BabySis were all there to greet me at the finish. It rocked, and the resulting endorphin crash later that evening was well worth the accomplishment. I could definitely see myself doing it again.

Final Results:

Time: 1:55:59. And this is where the stopwatch comes in. I foolishly did NOT stop it as I crossed, which sucks because for some reason the chip did NOT record the time I crossed the start, which took at LEAST 15 seconds. I know because the picture of me crossing the finish says 1:55:59. I thought the point of chips was to prevent mistakes like this? I'm assuming a true time of 1:55:44.

Place:

112 out of 249 total(Top 45%)
7 out of 21 in age group (Top 33.3%)
28 out of 106 women (Top 26.4%)

So not only did I beat my goal time by over four minutes, I placed VERY respectively in this town of hardcores for my first half ever.

Yay!

To see the photos, check out http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=246900066/a=40039603_40039603/t_=40039603

Keeping it Light...Still

Nothing but a light 4-mile run at an 8:41 pace today. My hamstrings are still giving me problems so I'm going to do lots of stretching today and tomorrow.

My nerves are really starting to get to me. I think that's the problem with tapering - it gives you too much time and energy to angst over the upcoming race.

Anyway, nothing but two miles easy tomorrow along with a short kata review with Dr. Z. Well, that and the infamous pre-race carb feast. Yay for spaghetti and meatballs!

Day Off

As usual, Wednesday is my day off so I'm taking it easy. I won't even be sparring tonight in Karate (if that's what we do) because of the upcoming race.

I did four miles at a very easy 8:45 pace yesterday, finishing in 34:58. On my way out, the IronFamily was getting out of their car. They waved to me and I doffed my cap (hee) at them.

I also went to the local sports shops looking for some red or blue running tights for the Halloween trail run I'm doing on 10/26. No luck yet, but I'm going to try again in Saranac Lake. (Their school teams wear red so they should at least have that color - they were out when I looked last weekend.)

Anyway, Karate tonight, keeping it low-key, and another four easy miles tomorrow. Hopefully my still-sore hamstrings will be better by Saturday!

Light Weekend

Didn't do much physically over the weekend, which was the plan. I'm watching the weather forecast for Saturday like a hawk. Not that I like to obsess over things I can't control or anything.

Yesterday Dr. Z and I watched the boats come in at the end of the 90-miler. I still can't believe we're going to be doing that next year. The couples in our future class (Stock Mixed) posted some sick times, so we probably won't place if the same caliber of people show up. They beat most of the mens' teams! It was a lot of fun though.

Afterwards I went for a six mile run, which I did at an easy 8:46 pace. It went much better than Thursday's run, which I'm happy about. Of course, that could be because I was going a lot slower. (I was doing an 8:15 pace on Thursday.) I was glad to get a second look at the section of the half-marathon course that I'm not familiar with. There's some nasty hills, but at least they're in the beginning.

I found out that BabySis is going to come to watch, which I'm psyched about. I didn't think any of the fam would be able to make it. She won't be there to see me off, but she should arrive in time to meet me at the finish line. I'm hoping JewishMom will make it to. God knows I'll need the cheerleader section.

Only doing two light miles today. Karate is iffy since I barely slept last night. (Hey, if I only have energy for one sport...well, the half-marathon is only five days away.)

Tough Run

Yesterday's run didn't go too well. I ended up only doing four miles instead of the planned six. My legs were just too damn sore and tired. On a positive note, I got to see part of the half-marathon course. It starts out with a hell of a climb, which sucks, but at least it's at the beginning when I'm still fresh. It should also help prevent me from going out too fast at first.

In light of how badly my legs hurt, Dr. Z decided to cancel Sunday's 8-mile run and just do a light four or so that day. Basically I'm going to spend the next week trying to get my legs to finally heal before the race.

Not much today - just a short 2 or 3 mile jog followed by some kata review in Karate tonight.

All Karate All the Time

Yesterday was my rest day, so it was pretty quiet. I did have Karate class, where we did lots of bunkai and a little bit of kata review. There was another class this morning, when we went over a black belt kata I don't even need to know yet. It was pretty interesting since I've never done it before.

Anyway, six miles of running later today with Dr. Z road-dogging. Hopefully it will cool off a bit (or at least get a little less hazy).

Tomorrow? Very light run and yet more Karate.

Weekend Workouts

Friday was a light run just to stretch out the legs and went pretty well. Boy were my legs sore though! Friday night was supposed to be Karate but Dr. Z, who runs the Friday night class, wasn't feeling well so there was no class.

Saturday was a rest day, and I mean TRUE rest day. I spent the day up in Plattsburgh shopping and the only exercise I got was the Mall Shuffle.

Sunday was my long run - the last peak run before tapering for the half-marathon. I did eleven miles (the furthest I've ever ran) in 1:35:36, which translates to a blazing 8:42 pace. I am PSYCHED. As long as I pace well, I am in very good shape for finishing in not only under 2 hours, but maybe even in 1:54 or so. Yay!

Yesterday was a light three mile recovery run. It hurt, but it forced my legs to loosen up, which is good. Last night Dr. Z and I went for a canoe lap around Mirror Lake and blasted our previous PR by almost a MINUTE, coming in at 25:17.

Today I shaved 2 seconds off my previous time on my hilly 5K course, coming in at 23:28 despite still-tired legs. The long-distance running has REALLY helped my endurance at the shorter distances.

All in all, a great week for athletics - 2 PRs in running, a PR in paddling, and two stripes in Karate.

2 More Stripes and Many Miles

The kata review in Karate last night went well, even though I was tired and nervous so didn't perform at my best. Anyway, Sensei said I've come a long way, thanked me for my patience, and gave me two more stripes. Yay! I'm only two stripes away from being a black belt in a second art, which is a scary thought.

Been putting in long runs this week in preparation for the half-marathon. I've been plagued by sore hamstrings for two weeks now, which is frustrating. As I told Dr. Z, running through sore muscles is tiring, painful, and just plain not fun. Anyway, I've been able to fight through it for the most part with some decent times. Monday I ran 6 miles at an 8:20 pace despite doing a spectacular faceplant (I am SO graceful) and today I ran 7 miles at an 8:17 pace. I was hoping more for an 8:10 pace with the cool, dry weather, but the sore muscles just weren't having it.

So onward with the Advil, lots of protein, and cold baths to help my hamstrings heel. Feel free to drop a line if you have any other tricks for quicker recovery.

Race Results

Hello!

Sorry for the delay with the lowdown on the Olga 5K. I've been waiting for the full results (which I haven't seen) to be posted in the paper. Also, since Dr. Z was roaddogging and forgot his camera, there's no pics either.

Anyway, what I CAN tell you is that I came in second in my age group. Good ol' P (from speedskating) showed up randomly, claimed she "hated running," and gave me an ass-whuppin' with a time in the 21's. What the hell is WRONG with her? I posted my first sub-23 minute time with a finish of 22:56. Since it's only 4.93 miles, that comes out to a 23:15 true 5K, still a PR.

I would have had a much better time except that my de facto pacer, GoldenBraid, went out waaaaaay too fast, something I rely on her NOT to do since I have the same issue myself. We hit the one-mile mark at an insane 6:22. I was NOT happy because I knew I would pay for it later, and I did. I had to take TWO walk breaks during the final half-mile and of COURSE Dr. Z saw me and wasn't pleased.

Anyway, it's a good, fast, flat course and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year, hopefully with better pacing and better results. (Especially since a 22:56 5K doesn't impress in the crazy running town that is Saranac Lake.)

Tonight is Karate. Sensei asked to see my kata, so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully I'll have the results of that and Olga for y'all tomorrow.

Stuff

...yeah, I'm REAL creative with the post titles today.

It's been a busy week with the summer activities all wrapping up. Tuesday was the last Sundowner of the year. Dr. Z and I hauled ass and came in at a time of 54:40, a new PR. It was a real nice way to retire the Cajun as we will most likely be purchasing a Jensen in the spring. (Yes, we've decided to move up to Stock class and yes, we've decided to purchase a year earlier than originally planned.)

Wednesday at Karate Sensei said that he wanted to "take another look at [my] katas." I know I'll have to remind him on Monday, but this might be that stripe I've been wanting.

Yesterday was the last Fun Run of the year. For some reason, Coach P. decided to just do the HillyMan route instead of the usual end-of-year 5 and 8K routes. I did the 2 mile modified as a tempo run since I have the Olga race tomorrow and came in at 17:50. (It was really 2.33 miles.) It was fun being the first runner in, although there was an eleven-or-so year-old kid who wasn't far behind me. He's already running sub-8 minute miles. Damn.

I did my usual pre-race 2-mile jog this morning in 17:10. My hamstrings are STILL a bit sore from Sunday (and yesterday) but hopefully with some rest and lots of Advil I'll be in top shape tomorrow.

Tonight is some kata review in Karate. I'm going to keep it light because of the race.

Race results (and perhaps pictures) to follow!

Running Some More

This marks the 50th post in my blog about running, at least if you go by the tags. I've been staying just over a 7:30 pace for my tempo runs - hit 7:36 on Monday for the 5K (23:36) and 7:34 today for the 4-miler. I would have done even better, but I went out too fast (Hit mile 1 at 7:15) and by the time I hit mile 3 at 22:20 I had nothing left. My last mile was done at about an 8-mile pace, with several walk breaks. I ended up at 30:15. Not bad though!

In canoeing news (believe it or not, Dr. Z and I *are* still canoeing occasionally), we did a Sundowner on Tuesday. Mac brought the Jensen for us to borrow again. I think he knows he's going to end up selling it to us. Damn can that thing fly! There was a NASTY crosswind on the way back - the war canoe Mac was leading actually turned over! It happened right in front of us, so we stopped to see if they needed help, but Mac said to keep going. We didn't have a great finishing time, between the stop and fighting the wind, but no one broke any records. We were still the third boat in though! (And one of those was the other war canoe, which DIDN'T tip over.)

Not much new happening in Karate. No promotions, nothing special happening in class. I have to admit I'm getting a little fed up with it. I'm sticking it out through the end of the year but after that it might be time to look for another school or just give it up altogether.

Three Great Runs in a Row!!

After almost six weeks of off runs, I've had THREE great tempo/race runs in a row. First off was the Froggy Five last Sunday. It was a five-mile trail race down in Dippykill. I came in third overall out of thirty women. My first time placing overall! I was two minutes behind the second-place girl - although I had better footwork on the downhills, she had obviously done more hillwork and was able to pull away during the uphill portions for the win.

My next tempo run was the Fun Run on Thursday. It was cool and rainy (in fact, almost called off due to thunder) and the course was HillyMan. GoldenBraid showed up and I planted myself behind her according to plan. I was tempted to pull away but just reminded myself I still had miles to go. Around mile two we went separate ways up the hill and I came back down about three hundred meters ahead of her. I managed to pull away even further and came in at a PR-shattering 30:50, which translates into (wait for it), a 7:32 pace. Holy shit! I am officially a 7:30 runner! I'm mad though - they didn't have the results in Saturday's paper so I have to wait for Dr. Z to go through the back issues to see where I placed.

It wasn't a fluke either. This morning I ran a 23:30 5K WITHOUT GoldenBraid there to pace me. (It showed - I did take a very brief walk break.) A little better pacing and I'll break 23:30 without having to improve my cardio.

So yay for breakthroughs!

Sorry So Long...

...since I've posted. It's not that it hasn't been busy, I just haven't been doing very well in the world of sports lately so I didn't feel much like posting.

Anyway, the Fun Run was last night. I had an okay pace (8:10) going - not great, but it was hot and I wasn't feeling well, when I had to make a pit stop around mile three. Amazingly enough, making a detour at the Athletic Center did NOT have me coming in last. In fact, about half a dozen people came in AFTER me. I still had a terrible time at 4.5 miles in 38:40 though. Ugh. I have GOT to get my GI problems under control for running.

Sensei looked at my kata on Wednesday and I screwed up Annaku. Dammit. Not the actual kata - my footwork was just shit. In any case, no new stripes for me. I'm still a Brown 2 even though I got my belt eight freakin' months ago. (Not to mention that brown belt is the hardest belt because you're expected to always volunteer, teach, run warmup, etc. Why couldn't I have been stuck at purple belt or something?)

On a positive note, I managed to nearly match my 5K PR on Sunday despite humid conditions. Having Dr. Z along roaddogging definitely helped. I also found out that my supposed 5K route is closer to 3.2 miles and my time at the 5K marker was 24:00. I may break 24 before the season ends yet. (My original goal was to break 25.)

No canoe news. We've missed the last few races so that I could go to footraces instead. (Not that there's a lot of canoe races midsummer for some strange reason.) This weekend is no exception - we're skipping Saturday's Saranac Flatwater Challenge so that I can do the Dippykill Froggy Five - a five mile trail race in Warrensburg. I'll miss part of the Ironman but should still catch most of it.

Not So Much Zoom

So...The 5K for Missing Children. Argh. The whole point was to see what I could do on the flat, fast Freihofer's course with more training and less people to elbow. Well, the people part worked out just fine. I didn't have any problems with people being in the way at all. Unfortunately there was another factor: the heat and humidity. Dr. Z warned me to drink Gatorade and wet my head beforehand, but I did not heed him enough. (We've since come to the agreement that I'll treat him like I should treat a coach and do what he says.)

Anyway, I hit the first mile marker at exactly 7:30. Perfect pace, exactly what I was going for. I had done two miles at 7:30 on Monday, so figured I could do it for 3.1 in a race. Shortly after though, I bonked completely. I made it to the water station around mile 1.5, where I DID wet my head, but had to walk shortly after. I spent the next 1.5 miles run-walking.

I thought that I at least broke 25:00, but no doing. My official time was 25:10. I came in 111 of 295, or at the top 37.3%. Way under my usual place, but still not bad considering my total bonkout. My female stats are even more impressive - 40 of 169 or the top 23%. In the end, not my best showing by far, but not a complete disaster. Still disappointing though.

Yesterday's tempo came in at 24:28, which I was perfectly happy with, time-wise. (Especially considering I had shinsplints and a stomachache so bad I almost went back to bed and the weather was windy and very humid.) What I was NOT happy with was my pacing - I stopped to walk THREE times. Sprint-walk-sprint-walk-sprint-walk-sprint is EXTREMELY inefficient, so hopefully I'll get this problem fixed soon.

First Trail Race

Saturday was the trail run. I managed to come in 12 out of 58, which put me in the 20th percentile. I also came in second in my age group. I would have beaten that other woman, who posted a 30-second better time, but had tired legs from the Fun Run. I also went out way too fast because they had said it was mostly downhill. (Which, yeah, technically they're right but the FIRST MILE was STRAIGHT UPHILL.) Next year I'll make that race my bitch with hill training, more rest beforehand, and better pacing from knowledge of the course.

Sunday's recovery run was an absolute bitch. I was SORE from the trail run, which was one mile uphill followed by 2.5 miles downhill on a less-than-stable trail. Loose rocks and such everywhere. All my stabilizer muscles were killing me.

Monday I did a two-mile tempo at 15:02. The first half mile was actually a 3:30 split, which was awesome, but I couldn't maintain because, hello, STILL WITH THE SORE MUSCLES. Monday night's karate class was fairly low-key, thank god. (Not that I would have sparred anyway with a race coming up.)

Tuesday's long run went fairly well, although I was still a little sore. I still managed nearly seven miles at an 8:30 pace. That night we had a Sundowner canoe race, where Dr. Z and I managed a personal best 57:56 time.

Yesterday was my day off and boy did I need it! I did go to Karate, but all we did was kata so I worked just enough to loosen my stiff muscles a bit.

Today's easy four-mile run went well. I did an 8:10 pace, which Dr. Z thought was a bit too fast. It's a hell of a lot better than last week, when I did the Fun Run at a way-too-fast 7:56 pace. Plus this was shorter AND I have twelve more hours to recover.

Tomorrow will be a very light two-mile jog and some practice for the upcoming martial arts tournament.

Saturday - My last 5K of the season!

TOO fast? Yes there is such a thing...

...unfortunately. Last night was the first Fun Run of the year. My goal was to keep to an 8:15 pace in order to save my legs for Saturday's trail run. Unfortunately I got pulled along by the crowd and did the first two miles in 14:30 - WAY too fast. My first mile was 7:20, which is RIDICULOUS. You should have SEEN the look Dr. Z gave me when he called out my split. Once I got out on my own after mile two I was able to back off into a proper 8:15 pace. I still averaged an out-of-control 7:55 pace, which is insane for a 4.28 mile run.

So I did the Flatlander course in 33:57. The one good thing is that as its name implies, it's a flat route with almost no hills, so hopefully I didn't burn out my legs. We'll see how they feel when I do my 2 mile taper jog today. (Which, thanks to the 50 degree and raining weather I REALLY don't feel like doing.)

So today is resting up for tomorrow. I'll jog the two miles then tonight do some light kata at Karate. After that? CARBO-LOADING! Yay for pasta!

Busy Busy Busy

Friday night was Karate. I got a lot of work done on kata and picked up my sai for the first time in months. I am SO behind in getting ready for the tournament in a few weeks.

Saturday was the 9-Miler in Tupper Lake. It was a hell of a canoe race - Dr. Z and I chased this other couple the entire way. We managed to sneak up on them but they pulled away to beat us by a slim twelve seconds. I'm evilly pleased that they will no longer be seeing us as not much of a threat. That's right, people. Watch your backs.

Sunday was a day off, but I did watch the Lake Placid Marathon. In fact, I made it up to the finish line just in time to see IronKid and IronDad finish. They were supposed to do a four-person relay, but the other two people backed out so IronKid ran eleven miles and IronDad ran fifteen. Those people need serious help. I also ended up going for a thirteen-mile bike ride, but tried to keep it in low gear with high-RPMs.

Monday was my tempo run. Despite being a little tired from the previous day's bike ride I managed a time of 24:34. Not as good as my new PR, but way under my previous one and under less-than-ideal conditions. Looks like that breakthrough is here to stay. There was also Karate, but Sensei was finally back and it was All Bunkai All the Time. Gah. No. More. Please. I HATE self-defense and I hate hate HATE self-defense based on kata.

Today I ran my long, slow run which was increased to seven miles. Seven fucking miles. I have literally never run that far in my life. I managed an 8:32 pace, finishing in 59:41, so I'm pretty damn psyched. Luckily I'm officially off the hook on adding more mileage until it's a bit easier for me. (The eventual goal is for my long run to be ten miles, upped from the original eight when I decided to do a half-marathon in September.)

Tonight is canoe practice around the lake. It's windy out so it's going to be tough, but oh well.

New 5K PR!

Tuesday night's Sundowner ended up being cancelled due to a NASTY thunderstorm in the area that ended up closing down a lot of streets and causing a lot of damage, including to my house. Instead, we at burgers by candlelight at Mac's (the power had gone out) and watched the rain pour down. I actually bumped into P, whose boyfriend is one of the racers, which was nice. Turns out she disappeared from the speedskating oval once the snow got good on Whiteface. (Or as she put it, "I have a skiing problem.")

Wednesday turned out to be a TOTAL day off, as I fell asleep and missed class. It was probably for the best - it was sparring night and I totally wasn't up for it. Dr. Z came home beat up and happy though.

Now for the big news, I just broke my PR this morning. IronKid joined me for a run and did an excellent job of pulling me along just enough without tiring me out before the end of the run. (Which she could have done easily - her 5K race pace is 6:30.)

I took off a whopping 22 seconds for a time of 24:20. That's right - sub-24:30, baby. Also, fifteen more seconds off and I'm at a 7:45 pace. Awesome.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

We're into Day Four of a heat wave here in Lake Placid. It's absolutely killing my running. Saturday I could barely eek out two miles at a slow 8:45 pace.

Sunday was the Madrid Canoe Regatta. As usual, Dr. Z and I had to be up at the crack of dawn. The howling winds made for a tough as hell race but we managed to come in second, beat by those machines in the other Wenonah. They have GOT to stop coming to the same races we do! LOL!

Yesterday I ran and managed to tie Fridays 5K tempo time at 24:43. I seem stuck there for the time being, but am happy considering the heat and humidity. I was at least lucky enough to get out there while it was overcast.

Karate was pretty low-key due to the heat. We mainly worked forms. I got a real good review of all three brown belt katas with Senseis Sixpack and OldSchool.

Today's run was a total damn washout. I made my 8:15 splits the first two miles, but then totally bonked out and had to runwalk the rest of the way back, making for a sucktastic time of 37:08. I hydrated well beforehand, but I think the heat got to me anyway. It was 85 and not only is the entire route in the sun, there was no wind to cool me off. What the hell. I'm so glad it's cooling off tomorrow.

In the meantime, the first Sundowner is tonight. Yay! Tomorrow is my rest day, so nothing there except Karate.

So Far so Good

One item I forgot to mention in Tuesday's post is that I received my second brown belt stripe on Monday. YAY! It was actually pretty funny because it was the Return of Sensei and many people received stripes. It was as if he pulled Sensei Sixpack aside and said, "I'm back! Stripes for everyone!"

Tuesday's paddle went surprisingly well. Our first lap around the lake was 27:00, which I was happy with considering that we hadn't paddled in weeks. Our second lap was a blistering 26:40. Damn. That's a second only to our PR.

Yesterday was my first long slow run of the year. It was supposed to be six miles at a 9:00 pace, but thanks to me getting the turnaround Dr. Z described wrong, it ended up being 5.25 miles at a 9:25 pace. Oh well.

Last night's karate class was okay. Sensei came back to observe. It was sparring night, but I wasn't quite ready to jump into that yet, so I helped teach some white belts.

Tonight is an easy lap around the lake followed by a gait analysis at Lake Placid Sports Medicine. I can't wait to see what they have to say!

Freihofers!

So...Freihofers! Yay! Dr. Z and I set the alarm for 5:30 in the damn morning. (Which, WHY do we need to start a 5K at 9:15 in the damn morning, FREIHOFERS?) Dr. Z was kind enough to drive so I could rest on the way there.

We arrived at 8:30, which was just enough time to get my chip and number, use the bathroom, and warmup. Then it was off to the pens for the start. Expecting a 25:00 finish (or hopefully a bit under), I placed myself between the 25:00 - 27:30 and 21:40-25:00 groups.

When the gun went off I quickly realized that a lot of people were, shall we say, OPTIMISTIC about their finish times and/or pace. I got stuck behind countless women going at 9:00 or so and spent the first mile trying to get with the other 8:00 pace runners.

Unfortunately I spent so much energy weaving my way through the crowd that by the time it opened up I didn't have the cardio to speed up and make up lost time. My final time was 25:39, which was 40 seconds off what I wanted, but not bad considering it was my first race and I'd been laid up for almost a month with my shin splints. Surprisingly enough, although my time was worse than I thought it was, I placed better than I though - top 15% exactly. As Dr. Z said, "2800 women had to line up behind you."

So, not bad at all. And this week I've been able to ease back into a regular running schedule. I haven't even had to ice! Tonight we start getting ready for Sunday's canoe race after a long hiatus. Hope my arm and back muscles can handle it!

Back in the Groove...a bit

Well, the past week has been spent oh-so-slowly getting back into running. I'm really easing myself into it and babying my shin. I've added a warmup to my runs, stretch more afterwards, and do an ice rub and take Advil after every run.

It seems to be working pretty well. Yesterday was the first day my leg started bothering me again. It's mostly my calf muscle that's the issue right now. It was really starting to tighten up during today's light pre-race jog.

So, extra rest until tomorrow at Freihoffer's.

I will be posting plenty of pics and info on the race.

Till then.

Getting Antsy

Tuesday on the treadmill went really well. I was able to run for 2.5 miles at 6.0 and even upped it to 6.5 briefly. Unfortunately I was paying for it yesterday and still a bit today. My shins are acting up a bit. Luckily yesterday was my rest day anyway. I do want to try again today - we'll see how it goes.

Bicycling is going fairly well. I went on Tuesday and am supposed to go today, but with it rainy and 40 degrees, I'm not too sure that's going to happen.

Thank God it's supposed to clear up tomorrow! This week of cold, rainy weather has SUCKED for getting out there and exercising.

Running again...maybe

Well, Sunday was my first foray back into running since I developed shin splints over two weeks ago. Okay, it was a one mile jog on the treadmill at a 12 minute pace, but I was able to do it and it didn't hurt. Dr. Z forced me off with a crowbar before I did anymore. It felt SO GOOD to be running in any form again. I really miss it!

I didn't get to go out bicycling yesterday because of the weather (37, windy, and raining), but got out there today and went even further than before.

Tonight will be another treadmill test, hopefully this time a bit longer. Dr. Z and I have decided that with Freihofer's coming up it's worth skipping the canoe training we would usually do.

Not Much New

Still out of commission as far as running, hiking and karate go. Sensei is back and from what I saw (I went and watched), he's STILL stuck on bunkai even after his trip to Florida. Dr. Z kept saying he was doing a lot of kobudo training while he was there and that would be his new "phase," but only the black belts got to pick up a bo. And that was only the last fifteen or so minutes of class. I'm going to continue "auditing" through my injury, but if this is what we're going back to, I'm looking for a new school the minute I'm better.

Biking is going fairly well. I'm very comfortable on the bike and am just learning when to shift gears. It's not as cardio-intense as running...yet. I'm sure part of it is I have to build up my puny quads.

Canoeing is going okay. Dr. Z and I did the 'Round the Mountain route on Sunday. It did not go as well as planned. Neither of us were in as good shape as we thought. We did two laps around the lake instead of one last night, so that's a good start in building up our endurance. We were 40 seconds off our PR, unfortunately.

Today is my day off. (Unfortunately - it's absolutely GORGEOUS outside.) I'll watch Karate tonight and see if Sensei actually does something BESIDES bunkai.

Injured. Again. Sigh.

Well, after last week's awesomeness, there has been nothing but heartache in the world of sports.

Saturday's race did not go as planned. We did beat out a good many rec canoes, but came in third (last) in our class. In addition our time was TWO MINUTES OVER last year's, and that's with a lot of upgrades to the boats. Dr. Z and I consoled ourselves with the fact that even the boys college team only had an 11-minute-mile pace. Must have been the conditions.

That was followed by an absolute breakdown of my leg during Monday's run. The weather was perfect and I was in the middle of a breakthrough, so I was on a a PR-busting pace when I noticed that my lower right leg was bothering me even more than usual. I could feel that calf muscle really tightening up, either from the pain or trying to compensate. I was trying to run through it when at mile 3.5 my calf muscle SPASMED and wouldn't unclench. I had to limp the rest of the way home.

Needless to say, I haven't been running or doing Karate since. I have an appointment at Sports Medicine today to see why I have that sore spot on my tibia that caused the muscle spasm to begin with. I'm really afraid it's a stress fracture. In addition, although I was amazingly lucky to get in a mere two days after calling (their usual wait time is 2 MONTHS) it's with a doctor that screwed up Dr. Z's treatment when he injured his back. I'm now afraid this guy isn't going to be any help. We'll see.

Then on Tuesday we had a terrible wind on our canoe route and posted a nearly season-worst time.

Talk about one of those weeks that makes you just want to become a couch potato.

ZOOOOOOOM!

BROKE 25 IN MY 5K TODAY!

I am so, SO happy. I had been banging my head against the wall at an 8:07-8:08 pace no matter whether I ran 3.1 miles or 4. Today the weather was perfect - cool and sunny - and I shattered my previous PR by 33 seconds, with a time of 24:42.

I also registered for The Mountaineer's 3.2 mile fun run today. I'm definitely not ready for the alternate 11 mile up a mountain and back down race that's the main event. It filled up in under two hours anyway.

In other news, we should be getting the Cajun back after she's been in the shop since Sunday getting repaired and upgraded. Hopefully we'll be able to test her out tonight and work out the kinks before Saturday's race.

In Karate, I FINALLY got a stripe on Monday. Took six damn months. AND we sparred. AND last night we WORKED BO FOR AN HOUR. And there's been NO self-defense.

So, happy happy happy in the world of sports.

Slightly Out of Commission

Good New:

Little River Ramble was on Sunday. Dr. Z and I not only placed second, beating out a college team with a lighter canoe, but took nearly three minutes of last year's time. We came in at 19:14, whereas last year's time was 22:23. Nice!

Twisted my ankle during Monday's four mile run, but still beat Friday's time by a lot, coming in at 32:30. That night we had sparring, where I kept ahead of one of the twins and IronDad and got my ass handed to me by Dr. Z and Sensei SixPack, putting me about where I should be as a brown belt.

Tuesday's 5K wasn't at a much faster pace, unfortunately, with a time of 25:15. I was disappointed, but a lot of it was having trouble breathing. I think that although I don't have allergies, the extremely high pollen count is giving my airways mechanical irration. On a positive note, Dr. Z and I did our first canoe training on Mirror Lake for the year. I also saw that The Mountaineer is putting on a race that includes a 3.2 mile event. YAY! Registration isn't until May, but I can't wait.

Yesterday my ankle REALLY started hurting and I put the pieces together with Monday's run. I took the day off completely, even skipping Karate. I want to be 100% for Freihofers. On a positive note, I mailed in my registration for Freihofer's. VeggieSis can't compete with me, unfortunately, but she said she'd come to cheer me on. YAY!

Today is supposed to be running, but I'm taking an extra day off to let things heal. Dr. Z and I might canoe instead. I'm itching for exercise of SOME sort!

New 4 Mile Route!

I've been wanting a slightly longer tempo route ever since I broke 30:00 on my 3.6 mile one. Last night, that wish came true.

Dr. Z brought his bike and used its computer to figure out a 4 mile route for me. This one goes down Sentinel Road/Rt 73 instead of up Main Street to the lake, but I really like it. For one thing, it's something different. Literally all of my other routes go the other way. Secondly, it's mostly FLAT. As opposed to running up to the lake. I saw "mostly" because at the halfway point there's a bitch of a long hill. Basically I run down it, then turn around and run UP it.

Anyway, I did it in 32:43 which I'm pretty happy about considering that 1.) I'd never done the route before and 2.) I've never run four miles without stopping before. I think have Dr. Z behind me helped to push me along and resist the temptation to take a walking break.

Tonight is still up in the air - hopefully running while Dr. Z roaddogs.

Running? Yay! Karate? Boo!

Ended up not running on Tuesday - Dr. Z never had a chance to get back to me about whether he was going to roaddog or not and when he got here he was way too tired. (It ended up being too cold anyway.) I did get a good amount of walking in though, which felt good on the sore legs.

However, the extra day off must have done my legs some good, because yesterday I blew away my season PR for the 5K by almost a full MINUTE. Last week? 26:40. Wednesday? 25:41. Oh yes my friends - only 25 seconds or so off my PR of ANYTIME.

I did play hooky from Karate last night though. My job has been uberstressful and the last thing I needed was the address stress from my issues with the school and the general stress of being a brown belt. I got some desperately needed "me time."

I used part of the evening to fill out forms for two footraces - Freihofer's Run for Women and the Adirondack Marathon. (I'd be doing the HALF marathon, thank you.) Unfortunately Dr. Z pointed out that the date of the half-marathon would conflict with his annual trip to Colorado. That took the wind out of my sails a bit, but he promised to help me find another one. I haven't sent out the Freihofer's one yet because I'm still waiting to hear from VeggieSis if she's still up for doing together under the "sisters" category. Bitch isn't answering her e-mail so I'll have to call her ass tonight.

After my run with Dr. Z roaddogging, of course.

Running Outside...Finally

Saturday was my last day of treadmill work. (At least, that's what I *think*.) I ran 3 miles at 7.2 mph and then did an extra .75 miles at 7.3.

Sunday ended up being a rest day after an abortive attempt at Owl's Head. Believe it or not, this little bump of a hill would have required crampons. The path was sheer ice!

Yesterday I ran my 3.6 mile route in under 30 for the first time. Go me! 29:35, for the record. Also had Karate, but not much happened there. I was tired and cranky and ended up having to teach the entire time. Blech.

Today - more running! With Dr. Z roaddogging! Yay!

Outdoor Running...Finally.

Well, this week I've finally been able to get some outdoor training in. It's about damn time.

On Sunday, JewishMom, Dr. Z and I snowshoed up Whiteface Highway. The views were spectacular and as for the weather, I actually got a sunburned face.

My calves were burning on Monday from Sunday's workout, so I took the day off and only went to Karate. It was a low-key class working forms, which is exactly what I needed. Plus, Sensei Six-Pack worked with me on Kusanku-Sho. Finally.

Tuesday, Dr. Z Road-dogged as I ran my first outdoor 5K in a very long time. I finished it in 26:40, which made me very happy. I'm literally minutes ahead of where I was last year.

Wednesday was Karate again. (Once again, I was too sore from the workout of the day before to do anything else.) We had SPARRING! Followed by BO. AWESOME.

And today I ran my 3.6 route for the first time since last summer. (Seriously, my logbook starts in early September and I have no 3.6 times in it.) Time? 30:04. Kills me that I didn't shave those four seconds off to be under thirty. That would have absolutely rocked for my first try. I'm still very happy with that result though.

Tomorrow will be my 5K route (in what looks to be a 40 degree rain...sigh)and maybe a private Karate class with Dr. Z, which we haven't done in months.

Undecided

It's supposed to be near fifty and sunny today, but I can't decide whether to run outside or not. It usually wouldn't even be a question, but I enjoy having Dr. Z riding his bike next to me while I use his treadmill. (Unfortunately it's still too cold for bicycling outside.)

Skipped Karate last night - realized I had an important assigment I had to get in at work right before class. None of the Senseis were there anyway, so it shouldn't ding my brown belt reputation too much.

Still Snowshoeing

Went snowshoeing yesterday for the first time in months. JewishMother, Meg, Dr.Z and I went up Mount Van Hoevenberg, which was about 2.5 miles each way. The weather was great - forties and sunny, but the snow was heavy and clumpy, giving me an extra workout. (I had about two pounds of snow on each shoe most of the time.)

Friday's treadmill run was pretty damn awesome - started off at 7.0 and ended up having to crank it up to 7.2 on the second mile when I realized I had been easily chatting with Dr. Z the entire time. My cardio is really coming along nicely.

Tonight is Karate, although lately I'm really starting to wonder if this is the right school for me. Sensei sent an e-mail over the weekend forbidding us from sparring when he's not around AND has said that he's purposefully holding back promotions of people who seem overeager to get their next rank. (Supposedly it's a test of spirit.) I just really don't even want to go. Sigh.

Treadmilltastic

Ran 4.25 miles yesterday at a good pace - 6.9 the first mile, 7.0 for the rest. Felt a little "heavy" thanks to a big greasy lunch at the local diner, but otherwise it was a great run.

I was hoping to run outside today, but it is SNOWING, believe it or not, so back on the treadmill I go. I'm hoping to stay at 7.0 for the entire time. We'll see. I just can't wait until I can run outside.

Sparring!

With Sensei gone for a month, we were actually allowed to spar last night. It felt great since my legs were itching for a workout after not running much this week.

Unfortunately my rust showed. Both Dr. Z and Duncely got in way more shots than they usually do. It wasn't until my final match that I finally got in the groove. I told Dr. Z that I definitely want to go back to working on sparring on Fridays.

It's warm enough to run outside again, but I want to get some distance in so I'm going to use the treadmill. I don't have enough muscle yet to do more than 5K of my hilly route. Can't wait!

More Food than Running

Didn't get any exercise for three days straight, believe it or not. My life was just insane Saturday through Monday and included eating way too much on Sunday.

Managed to run outside for the first time in almost two weeks today. I did my 5K route in 27:40. Considering that I hadn't run since Friday AND barely ran outside I was very happy. To put it in perspective, I didn't even break 30 minutes until May 29th last season. I'm way ahead from where I was this time last year. Yay!

She's a Little Runaway

I wonder how many more running puns I can come up with considering it's an in-between-season time of year and running on the treadmill is pretty much all I can do. (Aside from Karate, which is only 2 or 3 times a week.)

Ran 3.5 miles yesterday. I did a 6.7/6.8/6.9/7.0 routine but didn't make it the full four mile minimum I like to hit. I guess I've hit my speed wall for now and am going to work on getting back up to four miles before increasing the speed again.

I was hoping to do my usual outdoor Friday run, but despite being late March it's windy and 13 degrees out so it's back to the treadmill once more. I'm also hoping to work on Kata with Dr. Z tonight. We'll see.

Still Snowing

First day of Spring and we have snow. Sigh. Ironic that the Speedskating Oval's been closed for the season. If they had waited out the rain yesterday they could have been open at least another week, looking at the forecast.

Karate was pretty good last night. We got to work on bo, which is alway fun. I love weapons. Gets me thinking I need to get out my sai again - I haven't so much as held them in months. The test never happened - Sensei simply forgot. (He's a bit scatterbrained like that.) I guess having five more days to prepare isn't necessarily a bad thing.

FakeDaughter brought in the design she wants on her black belt. First of all, it wasn't until yesterday that I noticed she had received a FOURTH stripe at some point. (They're not exactly easy to see on brown belts and hers are all really close together.) Secondly, I've never heard of designing your own black belt. At Tae Kwon Do they were all the same - you just got to dictate how your name was printed (i.e. middle initials or not).

Anyway, today is running on the treadmill yet again and maybe some weight training down in the basement, although I'm still feeling Tuesday's weight workout.

I hate March

Ugh...so sick of SNOW. (And yes, we just got some more snow. Despite the fact that tomorrow is the FIRST DAY OF SPRING.)

Anyway, I did run on the treadmill last night, doing 6.6/6.7/6.8/6.9. I really felt it though - I think I'm reaching the point where progress on my speed is going to start slowing down. I'd really love to be able to run four miles at a 7.0 pace though.

I also used my new weight bench for the first time yesterday. It is so nice to be able to just go down to the basement and work out.

Well, tonight is my Karate test supposedly. Update to follow tomorrow.

Yet Another Week Passes

Not sure what's up with these Tuesday posts all week, but all I can say is that my personal life has been too topsy-turvy crazy to update regularly.

Anyway, I've been really focusing on running lately. Unfortunately mid-March in the Adirondacks means that I'm still doing almost all of it on treadmills. The weather has cooperated enough for me to do outdoors runs the past few Fridays, but that's it. My outdoor 5K is 29:11 as of last Friday, which is miles (or minutes, as the case were) ahead of where I was last week. It's almost four minutes off my PR, so of course I'm still not happy with it. Perfectionist much?

My treadmill work has been slowly but steadily increasing. Since last Tuesday I've gone from a M1 - 6.3 M2 - 6.4 M3 - 6.5 M4 - 7 M 4.25 7.5 workout to a M1 6.5 M2 - 6.6 M3 - 6.7 M4 - 7 M 4.25 - 7.5 workout. Tonight will be another treadmill workout. I'm planning on doing the first two miles at 6.6 MPH with the rest the same and seeing how I feel.

Not much new has happened in Karate, although I did find out that my second brown belt test will be tomorrow. I've been working my upper katas and am feeling pretty good about them. Last Wednesday we actually had sparring, which rocked. (It was because Sensei was gone. Not so much into the sparring, Sensei is.)

That's all for now. Tomorrow: the test!

Another Week Flies By

Spent pretty much all of last week trying to catch up at work after being gone for so long.

Not much new - the weather has been terrible so I've only run outside once the past week. Otherwise it's been TreadmillsVille, Population: PipTook. My running is progressing nicely though. Tonight is gym night, so we'll see how much I can do. I'm very well-rested after taking yesterday off (aside from Karate, of course).

Karate was pretty cool last night. FakeDaughter and I got kata training from Sensei, which I was really happy about. We went over PURPLE BELT kata though after I told him I needed work on my brown belt kata. Oh well. I also found out that I'm going to be taking my SECOND brown belt test tomorrow or Monday. For those keeping track, I just took the first brown belt test last week. Damn. In addition, Dr. Z told me that Sensei wants to promote me. (To what, we have no idea.)

I'm not complaining - after all, I haven't been tested or promoted since October, but - DAMN! It's all happening at once.

No Good Title Today

Just a quick blurb. I did indeed test yesterday. No stripes as of yet though, which is extremely frustrating. Sensei said I passed, so I'm not quite sure what to make of that. I am getting frustrated with this. I haven't received as much as a stripe in almost five months now. Grrr.

Gym tonight, which is good since the weather is unfit for running - we have an ice storm that's starting today and really picking up tomorrow.

Over and out.

Back from Buffalo

97 miles in 4.5 days of paddling. Wow. It rocked. We got back Saturday night and I've spent every moment since trying to get everything back in order after being gone for ten days.

I have, however, found time to go for a 5K run yesterday and today. Yesterday was 28:56, giving me hope on being way ahead of where I was at this time last season. However, I was quickly brought down a notch by today's run, which was a surprising 29:22. I say surprising because I felt pretty good (if a little sore) and the weather was even better. Oh well. Better luck tomorrow!

Tonight is Karate. I could very well be testing tonight, although I'm actually hoping Sensei waits until Wednesday so I have more time for review. That's one thing I just haven't had time for yet. We shall see!

Tomorrow: Gym. I think.

Off to Arkansas

We actually got to spar in Karate yesterday, which was AWESOME. Man was I out of practice. Best class we've had in months.

I was going to go speedskating today, but unfortunately I have to run to the dentist instead to get my permanent crown on before my trip. (No, I do NOT want to be in the wilderness with a temporary crown held on with light cement.)

Well, I'm spazzing out with stress wrapping up everything, but as of 7:00 tomorrow morning I'm off to canoe the Buffalo River for five days. With two days of driving on each side, that means I will see you suckers on Monday the third.

I'm outtie!

Nasty Ice

Running didn't go that great last night. I'm still eeking out a ten-minute mile for a 5K distance. I think what got me was having McDonald's for lunch. Evidently I haven't learned from The Great Post-Race Popcorn Hurl of 2007.

Went skating this morning. The ice was terrible. All pebbly and no glide whatsoever. It's been worse, but what gets me is that on cold days like this, all they have to do to fix it is flood the Oval and it's fixed in an hour. The reason ORDA didn't do it? The guys where too busy TEARING UP THE BASKETBALL COURT FLOOR. What the fuck EVER.

Anyhoodle, I have Karate tonight. Anyone want to bet that Sensei WON'T spend 90% of the class on bunkai? Yeah, didn't think so.

I was hoping to skate tomorrow, but found out they'll be closed in the morning and am not sure that I'll be able to make the 4-6 timeslot. We'll see.

Okay, I'm done bitching now. Man, I DO need to go on vacation.

Time Flies

Didn't realize it had been almost a week since my last post. I went to Karate on Wednesday - we spent the entire class reviewing the bunkai to the first four or so moves to Nahanchi Shodan. And that includes the set. Talk about mind-numbing.

Thursday and Friday were speed-skating, which went really well. I did my usual "2 pace laps one rest lap" for an hour. Friday also included a kata review at the dojo with Dr. Z.

Saturday I spent time with my family, so that became my de facto rest day.

Sunday I went to the gym, where I amazed myself with my distinct lack of any cardio fitness right now. Dr. Z says to not worry about it - I'll get it back in time for the running season.

Yesterday was Karate, where we continued to work bunkai on Nahanchi Shodan. Once again, SNOOZE. The one item of interest is that Sensei plans on testing me when I get back from vacation. Don't know how many stripes I would be up for - we'll see.

I also went for a walk of my 5K route, figuring that because it was 50 and rainy the Oval would be closed. Silly me. There were speedskaters out there when I passed by at the end of my walk. Oh well.

Tonight is the gym. Hopefully my run will go a bit better than Sunday. Like Karate, I have to get serious about running when I get back. It WILL be March, after all.

Tae-Bo Time

Monday was extremely cold, making speedskating impossible and I missed Karate class due to not feeling well and taking care of Dr. Z. Luckily I had done Tae-Bo that morning so I got SOME exercise in.

Yesterday the Oval was closed (as usual) and Dr. Z still wasn't up to the gym, so I put the Tae-Bo tape back in the VCR. I am REALLY hoping to get back into running soon - I'm scared of how much cardio I've lost.

Tonight is Karate class, assuming it's not cancelled due to the storm. (Sensei already sent out a warning note yesterday saying he might cancel.)

I'll be hitting the Oval as well for the first time in a while. (Hopefully THEY'RE not closed because of the weather.)

Karate Klass

After two days in a row of running, I decided to take yesterday off from it. I went to Karate instead. We did a lot of kata review, which is exactly what I needed. I actually felt like I had snap, which was nice. It's funny - there's a new student who, like me, studied Tae Kwon Do for years and he's having all the same style issues that I had when I first started - too much bouncing and jumping and telegraphing kicks.

Tonight I'm planning on doing some light speedskating at the behest of Dr. Z. (I was originally planning on giving myself the day off because my legs are sore.)

Run Run Run Run Run Run Run Away...

...Psychokiller, qu'est que c'est?

Sorry...anyway, the past two days have actually been warm enough for the rare February run. I ran 5k in 3:44 yesterday. A terrible time, but the sidewalks were covered in a half inch of ice the first 3K AND I hadn't run outside in a month. I decided to not go to Karate as I didn't want to overdue it with being sick last week. I am planning on going tomorrow though.

Today the sidewalks were still icy, but I managed 30:05 and that was WITH stopping to chat with a neighbor. A definite improvement over yesterday.

Tomorrow looks like it MIGHT be warm enough, but I'm going to go speedskating again, followed by Karate.

Sick

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, but I've been sick with the nasty virus that's going around town. It hangs on for two weeks with fatigue, aches, coughs and lack of appetite (and in my case bouts of outright nausea.)

Aside from a Karate class on Wednesday that nearly wiped me out completely (and that was with taking two breaks to sit down on the bench), I just have not been well enough to exercise. Argh.

Hopefully I'll be back to my old active self soon.

Busy Weekend

This weekend was full of activity!

Friday night Dr. Z and I spent an hour reviewing kata at the dojo. I've lost my pop but I'll get there.

Saturday I went snowshoeing with JewishMom and two other women. We were original going to climb Algonquin, but one of the women wasn't in quite the physical condition she thought she was, so we turned around at the intersection of the Wright and Algonquin trails. It was less than a mile short, so we didn't mind turning around. Considering my soreness on Sunday, it's a good thing we did. It was still a 6.2 mile snowshoe.

Sunday morning I met Dr. Z at the gym. I kept it light since I hadn't run since my muscle pull two weeks ago. I did a light, leisurely three miles and called it a day.

Today should be warm enough to run. Of course, fitting that AND speedskating AND Karate should be challenging, to say the least.

Quiet Week

Not much new here. Thanks to stuff going on in my personal life, I haven't gotten in nearly as much training as normal. (I feel it too...bleh.)

I did make up with Sensei last night and assisted him in teaching the kid's class. I worked with a boy who's new but eager to learn and very focused. He was a pleasure to teach. Sensei didn't have time to give me any training afterwards, unfortunately, but at least things have been patched up with him.

Not sure what today's workout will be, but tomorrow is a long snowshoe up Algonquin. Yay!

Zoom!

It was even colder on the Oval today thanks to a strong breeze, starting out at a windchill of -15 when I got there. Even now Weather.com lists a windchill of -4. Once again, I sacrificed speed for endurance and bundled up in my ski gear. Even today I ended up having to take my ski parka off.

The upside of it is that with all this supercold weather, the ice is AMAZING. I had John Dimon sharpen my blades yesterday and...DAMN. ZOOM.

I followed yesterday's workout and did another hour of 2 pace/1 rest laps. I didn't want to expand yet since yesterday was my first real workout in a while and I'm adding Karate tonight. (Which I haven't been to in weeks.)

Speaking of which, I need to go off and write a note of apology to Sensei so I can patch things up with him before showing my face tonight.

Tomorrow is the gym, assuming Dr. Z is feeling well enough to go. I must admit that it will be nice to have a warm indoor workout after the past couple days of cold.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Brrr...windchill of -4 at the Oval today. It was surprisingly warm once I got going though. Having the sun out definitely helped! There was a nasty wind coming down the "front" of the Oval, but otherwise the ice was hard and fast with great glide. At least, for those of us who DIDN'T have to drop off their skates for sharpening afterwards. I was skidding all over the place!

Olympic Mike complemented my crossovers, which, well, when he gives you a complement or hell, even constructive criticism, you take it. In any case, I was stoked. I managed almost an hour of 2 pace/1 rest lap training. Considering how out of shape I am right now I am very happy with that.

Well, off to watch the playoffs. Speedskating and Karate tomorrow!

Changing Tracks

You may have noticed an...err...slight change to the look of my blog. Very subtle, I know. If you're not looking, you'll miss it.

Okay, sarcasm aside I have decided to change the focus of this blog from general ramblings of my personal life (which I've decided for several reasons to keep off the Internet) to my training in various sports. I thought that also updating the look would be fun.

So, enjoy the new focus and hopefully I'll have an update later on today's workout.

The Beat Goes On...

Not much new. Had another intense discussion with Dr. Z that didn't feel like it accomplished anything. Argh. I know he's in a very uncertain place right now and therefore can't make any guarantees, but it's still frustrating as hell. I just don't want us right back where we were before we broke up.

Other than that it was a pretty normal Monday. I skipped Karate once again, which was moot since Sensei never even showed up and Dr. Z ended up running class. Oh well. My leg needed another day of healing anyway. I'm going to walk 5K today and if that goes well I'm speedskating tomorrow. I'll also go to Karate if I can get up the stones to apologize to Sensei.

Have my dental cleaning in a couple hours...fun. God I hate the dentist.

Misery

Ugh. Didn't do much this weekend at all. Spent a lot of time with Dr. Z, who spent the entire weekend pretending everything was back to normal, which was very aggravating. I'm starting to wonder whether it's even worth it since he seems to have no interest in making changes.

Pulled a muscle or something running on the treadmill after work on Friday. That means although the skating oval is back in commission after being closed all week due to unseasonably warm weather, I won't be able to speedskate. Combined with my not being ready to deal with Sensei yet, I'm looking at another week stuck in the fucking house. I am going to walk so I get some fresh air.

Can I exchange this life for what's behind Door #2?

Thank GOD It's Friday

...seriously. I spent pretty much all yesterday afternoon continuing to hash things out with Dr. Z. It was exhausting and we still have more discussions to go.

Then last night I found out that there are some major changes going on with the account I support at work so now I'm trying to sort all THAT out.

I can NOT wait for the weekend, even if I have nothing planned.

Wednesday Blues

God do I hate Wednesdays. Mondays and Tuesdays you're still fresh from the weekend, and Thursdays and Fridays you can see the weekend in sight, but Wednesdays are kind of in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't help that Wednesdays are my big meeting days.

To be more upbeat, I had a hell of a run today. It was tough and I felt like I was sucking wind the entire time, but I managed a 27:09 5K despite wind gusts of 30-40 miles an hour. I didn't feel like running because I've been super-depressed since Monday, but I forced myself to go because it's the last day of our Indian summer before we go back down to the 20's and now I'm glad I went.

Yesterday the handyman came and fixed the basement door, making it less drafty without purchasing a storm door. (Although I do eventually want storm doors on both doors, I'm more than happy to save that money right now.) He also looked at the crack in the basement ceiling and said that it didn't look like water damage to him, so I should be fine to patch it.

Well, that's it for now. There's a whole thing with Karate but I just don't feel like getting into it. Maybe tomorrow.

A GOOD Monday?

Well, it's a damn productive one so far, anyway. Friday was so good that I was already ahead on some of my Monday work. In addition, I took advantage of the Indian summer (46 degrees, but rainy) and went for a morning run. 5K in 28:10. A horrid time for summer, but okay for off-season, I guess. (She said grudgingly.) I would have broke the 28:00 mark if the sidewalks hadn't been so damn icy. (Also, I'm just realizing I haven't run since last Tuesday and that was on a treadmill, so I guess not bad after all.)

Called the village and it turns out that they do NOT do Christmas tree pickups, so I will have to Chainsaw Massacre my tree (currently sitting in the backyard) until it fits into my car and take it to the dump. Joy.

I also have to call ORDA and find out if the skating oval will be open. It *IS* refrigerated, but you never know.

Yay! Weekend!

Went skating last night for the first time in over week. It felt good, but I could definitely tell I had lost some of my leg muscle. A middle-aged woman introduced herself to me telling me that someone had told her about me. I can't believe I'm already a name at the rink.

Dr. Z arrived at the rink earlier than expected. I saw him watching and promptly did a faceplant on the ice. I am Teh Suave and Sexy. I did a few more laps so he could watch and then packed it up so we could go to dinner. We ate at Pasta la Vista, and I finally got to use my gift certificate. The prices on the bill were much higher than on the menu, which was weird. If I hadn't had the certificate I would have raised a stink, but I let it go.

Dr. Z and I had yet another tough discussion. Well, it was mainly me laying some ugly truths on him, but yeah. Anyway, we'll see what happens.

In other news, today is going to be ten degrees higher than yesterday. And the next four days or so are going to be even warmer - yay!