First "Race" of 2012

I kind of sort of raced in a 5k in Charleston this weekend. I made the trip with my pals from Baltimore (Falls Road TWSS racing team), Ryan McGrath, Conrad Laskowski, Alyssa Godesky and Ed Aramayo. Ryan and Conrad ran the marathon while Ed, Alyssa and I invaded the 5k. For Ed, it was almost certain he was going to win and he did, easily. I promised to help Alyssa get herself a PR, since I wasn't even close to race form. The plan was to stay with her for at least 2 miles and then break off and finish with a hard last mile or less. By mile 2, we were holding a 6:18 pace steadily and she built a huge lead on the 2nd female, so I felt my job was done. I waved goodbye and sped up, maintaining a 5:00 pace for the last mile and held that for the duration of that mile. Crossed the line in 17:20 for 3mi, I guess around a 17:45 or so 5k equivalent at that pace. It felt really good to drop the hammer like that, even if I didn't really have a race on the line. I still passed about 7-9 guys and stole an AG award for myself, which ended up being a glass, so it was well worth it.

Alyssa won her first running race (and at an odd distance, since she's an ultra runner) and PRed big time, and Conrad and Ryan both came in under 3:04 in the marathon, a PR for Ryan and Conrad did it despite running at least 2 extra miles. Easily an everybody wins weekend, ITU.

So, takeaways. Despite not being in top shape, I was glad I could put in a 5:00 mile in an instant, even with a rather unforgiving headwind for more than half of it (tailwind for the last .2mi or so). But probably the best part of all was that I didn't even think once about my hip after the start. No tightness or weakness. Only during a start/stop cooldown and walking/standing around afterward did it tighten, but some stretching and massage kept it silent. That tells me it's time to start getting back to work and adding more miles and harder workouts to my schedule. I've been patiently allowing my hip to heal, and it seems to have paid off! I'm chomping at the bit to get back to it.

Danish Cookies

They are pretty tasty. Especially since they are sold for cheap in a tin. I like the pretzel cookie covered with those big sugar rectangular prisms.

Friday I just swam. More drills. Some lady in the lane next to me always seems to be at the pool at the same time I am, and she's pretty quick. I get a little competitive as a result, which I need at this point since I'm not racing for another month and a half. That made for a pretty fast 1700y, in about 25:50. When I thought about it about half an hour later, that has to be, without recoveries, a 23min 1500m or so. Not that slow, considering I wasn't even that fast with a wetsuit on in 2010. Some of the swimming was drill/breaststroke too. I wasn't thinking of swimming fast, but apparently my speed is still there to a degree. I still have a ways to go to get the endurance back.

Saturday I met Team CYB mate Alyssa for a ride+run at COLUMBIA. I hadn't been to that course since 2011's race. Whenever I'm there I get really furious... I love that race but I always seem to get angry about past results. I took some rage out on the hills for part of the ride and relaxed in the second half, reminding myself it was meant to be an "easy" ride. I couldn't help but remember the bad thoughts I had last year during the race. Despite probably being out of shape I felt quite good out there. I kept a pretty high cadence on all hills, so my turnover is quick, probably helped by all the high-rpm spins I've had recently. We then hopped out onto part of the run course for a 40min run around the lake and a little more. A test for my hip, I didn't even think about it after a couple minutes of running. It didn't hurt or tighten up afterward either. Alyssa and I then feasted on the DANISH COOKIES from the aluminum tin. I stretched and then rested for the remainder of the day.

Sunday AM I ran with a bunch of Snapple people. I didn't want to run the 12mi that Bart proposed, so I lucked out when several of the girls on the team said they only wanted to run 7mi. That's much more my kind of distance. We ran on the towpath, which seemed to slightly disturb my hip, and it was a little bit tender afterward. I immediately stretched it out and it was fine for a few hours. It got a little tender again in the afternoon, not helped by a walk. But I did some more stretching/strength in the evening and all that went away.

I don't think I made anything worse, but it was a pretty active weekend, so I need to control that a little better. At least I know the stretching works. In fact, I noticed last night after strength that my hamstring flexibility has vastly improved! I am much closer to touching my toes than I've ever been before. I'm probably about 75% down my shins, just above my ankles. I've never really bettered 50% of my shins. PROGRESS. I'm very self-conscious about my hamstring flexiblity. Maybe soon I can come out of my shell and proudly show off my hamstrings.

By the way, my fury at Columbia can be accurately depicted by Ken Shamrock's typical WWF ring entrances back in the late 90's. This guy was the MAN. The most DANGEROUS man.

No pain, lots of gain

Yesterday's run marked the first time since October 2011 that I can remember having no tightness or pain in either my achilles or hip. Sunday's run was good, no achilles ache but still a small amount of hip tightness. A few more days of productive stretching and strength work later and I felt 100% healthy on my run. Usually the tightness bothers me at the beginning and 5min after the run, but this time there was no pain during OR after the run! Not even any tightness. In addition, I felt a lot of bounce and strength in each step. I can finally say I feel healthy and unrestricted during a run. Will keep up with the PT for 1-2 more visits and definitely keep the stretching/strength going, but this is huge for me. I'm really looking forward to the Spring races now and getting some speed back in the legs eventually.

Aside from that, I've been doing good drill work in the water, still have yet to exceed 2000y in a single practice, but I'd rather do a little bit less of higher-quality than a lot of poor swimming. On the bike, just keeping with the easy spins. I did take ZeroZeroNine out for a ride on Saturday... first time I've ridden it outside. It was a warmish but very windy day, so I wasn't able to pick up much speed, but the bike felt wonderful under me, a perfect fit. I'll hit Columbia this weekend, although I'm still not in the best bike shape that is a very fun route to ride... and perhaps it'll get me more excited about racing again.

2011/2012

It was a fine year, more ups than downs, which makes it positive. I am happy with the way I ran for the first half and happy with the way I swam and cycled in the second half. So that means I wasn't happy with both the way I ran in the second half and my cycling in the first half. Swimming was good all year round, but I really hit my stride in the last handful of races.

Best races were the trio of running PRs (15:37 @ Shamrock, 54:22 @ Cherry Blossom, 32:16 @ Pike's Peak) and the Luray Triathlon. To be perfectly honest I did not see those running PRs coming at all... I might have expected PRs by a few seconds, not up to several minutes in each. Luray was my best triathlon performance in regard to how I placed among the competition and my splits, particularly a good bike ride. I was only moderately pleased with Columbia since my bike was so horrible. My cycling races were all pretty decent. However all my races after the Race for the Cure 5k were disappointing. Just a combination of not very smart training on my part and the resultant overtraining/burning out by the end of the year.

I'd say I left a lot on the table in 2011. I just have to think that if I wasn't so tired by race day I would have done a lot better (Columbia/USATF XC Clubs). I will train smarter for 2012 so I can last the entire season and not be peaked and burned out by June. It's already been quite different from last year, when I was exceeding 125,000 yards in the pool in November/December/January and already cranking out interval work on the bike. That was too much. Past few weeks I've just been doing shorter workouts centered around drills in the pool and a handful of spins or aerobic rides each week. No hard work quite yet. I'm also adding in more strength and stretching work each week. That should allow my body to stay strong and hopefully injury free for the duration of 2012.

So, some goals for 2012:

-- 15:30 @ Shamrock 5k

-- 53:50 @ Cherry Blossom 10mi

-- 32:00 @ Pike's Peak 10k

-- 2:05 or top 25 @ Columbia Tri

-- Qualify for 70.3 Worlds at Eagleman 70.3

-- Podium at Luray

-- Don't embarrass myself at USATF XC Club Nationals

-- Train hard but smart and be healthy

Okay Hip, Let's See What You Can Do

Thanks to my hip flexor issue, I chose not to run for about two weeks since XC Clubs. And even with a short weekend run, I'm still not going to run again until New Year's Day, just to be sure I'm giving my body ample time to recover. But Saturday's run was a big step in the right direction.

I met with Klim by the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda for a 45min Capital Crescent run. I quickly skimmed through a book on the WWII Pacific Theater, studying mostly some pictures I hadn't seen before of CV-2 USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier that was attacked and sunk during Battle of Coral Sea (the prequel to Midway), a somewhat under-reported sea battle that has always intrigued me. Anyway, I was hoping I wouldn't suffer a similar (or a simile?) fate as Lady Lex while testing out my legs. It felt a little odd to be running again as 13 days off will give the legs some pop back but the running just felt weird. The good thing is that I felt really no hip ache during the run! It was indeed a little weak and tight but that should be expected. I did my stretches afterward and then the Red Fox and I scurried into the Dunkin' Donuts for some gross but essential breakfast sandwiches.

So that was good. I passed the first test. The hip did tighten up more as Klim warned later in the day, but still none of the persistent dull ache I had before. Nor did it feel like it was going to pop whenever I coughed.

Sunday AM I clambered onto the new TT bike for a 90min trainer spin, decked out in my brand new SIDI T2 triathlon shoes. Those silver-scaley ones I linked to in the last post... my main Christmas present. They fit perfect and feel wonderful on my feet. The ride was fun, I tucked into aero position for most of the ride, which is good because that means I'm getting used to my fit. No power meter, just going by time and cadence, which I kept between 92 and 100 rpm. It was also fun because I cycled to one of my now-favorite stages in the Tour de France, 2009's stage 18, the last individual time trial, which Contador won triumphantly (and sealing his 2nd overall Tour win!). I like the guy. I'm glad he punished the Schlecks and Cancellara. But more than Contador, I enjoyed watching Bradley Wiggins crank, his form is so flawless and smooth. Lance was also in this one, but wasn't very impressive in the ITT... guess he was getting old or something.

Here's a very short version of what I watched:

(Slow) & Steady As She Goes

I returned to "regular" training this week. Nothing intense, it's still too early for hard rides or swims... I'm really going to try to stick to the easy start, stronger finish strategy. These were pretty easy workouts, and I still haven't run for almost 2 weeks, but will go for 30min on Xmas morning and then another 5 days off before the next run. Then the training begins to pick up after next week and I get to run more.

Swam 1500y on Monday with a mix of 200s and 400s and some drills. Very simple, just to get back in the water and get some sort of feel back. I was actually surprised how good I felt. Clearly I have some... ok, a lot of muscular endurance to get back. At least I remembered how to flipturn.

Started my new strength regimen Tuesday AM, which consists of all body-weight exercises... no dumbbells. Will gradually work medicine balls and extra weight to my exercises but for now I need to get the muscles ready for the work ahead. In the afternoon I got back on the bike (wow, it's been 7 weeks!) and just spun easy for 55min while watching the final ITT of 2009 TdF, which was a really good one. Nothing really to report on the ride, it was just a small chain-ring, high-RPM ride.

Wednesday I swam again, only 1600y but again a mix of drill and swim. I felt a little better than I did Monday.

Thursday was another AM strength routine. I was a little sore from Tuesday since that was the first strength work I had attempted since the Spring. I'm going to have to keep it consistent in 2012. In the PM I had another spin, this time on the TT bike. I'll need to get used to TT position again, as this ride felt just wee-bit harder than Tuesday's. But I'm not worrying about power or anything now... just getting the legs turning in circles.

I swam this AM and went around 1900y, so I'm slowly bringing the distance back up. I did more pull/swim this time and some extra kicking. My legs actually responded a lot better to kicking now than they ever did earlier in the year, and I think that's due to all the stretching I've been doing. Really have been focusing on getting my hamstrings, calves and hips loose.

So for Christmas, I'm getting these from my family:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Cycling_footwear/Sidi_T2_Silver_Snake_1985.html

Pretty sweet.

USATF XC Club Nationals: Well, at least I wasn't last place

The title sort of gives this one away. XC Clubs didn't go so well. The past 2 weeks leading up to the race raised several red flags -- sickness and several little injuries -- that I felt I would be able to totally fight through. But by race day, I still had a pretty heavy cough and my hip flexor rang with ache every time I coughed or took a long stride. But I would do what I could to get through the race and somehow finish around PMurph or Shredder.

Didn't quite work out that way though. By 2.5mi into the race, my hip started hurting quite a bit and more importantly started feeling weak, like I was running on one good leg. I came through the first 5k in 16:50, but knew that I wouldn't sustain. At that point it was a matter of just finishing somewhat respectably, but it became quickly apparent that I would have to be content with simply finishing. 6k in people started passing left and right and I found it very difficult to keep a high cadence and pull my right leg from the goopy sections of the course. I finally got myself through the finish in around 35:30, placing 234th out of around 300 (damn, that's a fast race). OUCH (referring to the hip and the time). That's a good 90sec slower than I thought I would finish and an 18:40 second 5k. Slowest 10k I've run in over 2 years. That was a pretty miserable experience. I limped to the team area and stretched it out. Fortunately the pain went down a bit in the last 2km so I was able to slowly jog a cooldown but it was very tight still. I indulged in a good evening of beer drinking and that took my mind off the misery.

Ow.

Photo courtesy of Michael Scott

The next morning a group of us went for a 5mi run through some of Seattle, finishing with donuts. Hip was stiff but not too painful. It was not until the plane ride home that it really hit me... not the pain, but how upset I was about the race. It was something I had trained hard for but unfortunately fell apart just before the big day. I got pretty frustrated and angry about the whole thing and continued feeling that way for a few more days. It was a pretty depressing time for me!

Then I thought about what led up to the race that caused my body to collapse in on itself so. At the time I didn't think I had overtrained or anything of the sort, and I may not have, but after talking to Dirk about the race and training, I realized that I just simply had not been training like I should have. What I refer to is the fact that I had a very successful Spring this year, with all 3 races being big PRs. And what led to that spring was indeed triathlon training, but also very little track work, as opposed to what I did for 2 months leading to XC, when I hit the track every week (for 8+ weeks!). I only started track work 2 weeks before my first race in March and even after that I ran the workouts controlled and not as hard as I could. I didn't really think much of it in the Spring or after, but it was the tempos and hills and strength/endurance building I did during my training that made me strong and ready to run well and healthy. I did none of that leading to XC (I did a couple tempo-y workouts, but they were short and too fast). Also, bringing up my mileage from 20 to 35 to 45 to 50 to 60 was probably way to quick of a jump. Doing that with no recent tempo/strength meant it was only a matter of time before my legs gave up.

Lesson? I should train the way I know helped me succeed in the past. Rattling off 2:20 800s at track workouts are bullets I should be keeping in the chamber for race day... and anyway, that's not the kind of speed I'll be using in a 10k! That's not to say the training was incorrect... it was just not the right training paces for me. Too fast for 10k training for me. Do more tempos and longer tempos at that... that's what increases the endurance and strength at the same time, which are essential together at distances longer than 5k.

I'll also keep the mileage much higher during triathlon season... whereas I ran 30 at most during the tri season, I will regularly hold 40-50 this year... I'll be much better prepared therefore when I eventually just focus on running later in the year, and it will help keep my endurance high for Eagleman in June.

In addition, I have a new respect for the training I did earlier this year. I aim to really nail my workouts this coming Spring, now knowing how effective they are when done correctly. Once I realized this, the passion and excitement that I usually felt when racing (that I did NOT feel the past few races) came back quickly... I am really motivated and psyched to get back into my training. And I hope to apply the same methods for when I train for XC Clubs next year as well (this will include ending triathlon season a few weeks earlier), as I want to make the race more of a priority in 2012.

I took this past week completely off from exercise to allow my body to heal. I have been starting a new stretching regimen to help ward off future joint injuries. This coming week I only have 3 swims, 3 rides and 3 strength sessions, and an optional Xmas day run. Will keep the focus on recovery but also getting my feel again for the water and the bike. At this point last year I was crushing my body in the water and on the saddle after very little/no recovery period from the previous season... I aim to be more conservative at the start of my training so I can hit the important workouts effectively and also have a lot more energy left to burn by the end of the year. Hope it works!