Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Race report-- JC Stone 50K in Pittsburgh
wow...... yesterday was the perfect weather for running! Race considered success yesterday because I finished with minor injuries (i hope)
Race took place at North Park; consisted of six 5-mile loops around the lake at North Park. Main aid station, start/finish line was well stocked. another water-only aid station at 2.5 mile mark.
Since I tweaked my right knee on thursday night's 9 mile run (dont ask me why i decided to run 9 miles 2 days before a 50k race), I was pretty worried about the race. I was worried that I would be forced to stop and get my official DNF ("did not finish"). I stretched, took tylenol, and kept massaging my knee. Saturday morning, I felt great. I even woke up on time and got to race with plenty of time to get settled in. Of course I overdressed (I dont like being cold), but good thing I brought shorts and changed into them.
Race started at 7:30am, about 40s. It took me about 6ish miles to really warm up. I'm lucky because I asked John (who I met through running group) on thursday if he would join/ pace me for a few miles. Awesome! he stayed with me for about 3 laps. In the meantime, I lost my black running fleece gloves (even though I kept looking for them). My pace was about 9:02min, easy, conversable, and comfortable pace without being too slow. I knew the real race began after he left.
breakfast at 5:45am-- one cup of tea + One Cliff bar 20g protein mint chocolate flavor. I love this bar because it takes like mint chocolate snickers, it was a bit sweet to eat as first thing in morning. I realized over the years that my stomach is very colicky. Too full-- heart burn and side aches and bad run. Too light-- hungry, water in tummy swishing around, unpleasant. I tried eating oat meal once, but it keeps me sorta full and bloated. I tried cliff bar 20g protein 2 wkends ago and it was good. The only thing was, I was hungry by like 7:45am (that meant i got hungry within the first 5 miles of running)
finalized outfit (changed 10mins before race)-- my favorite red shorts (they make me feel skinny) and my UW huskies shirt that Mr. TLRBM bought me and a black wind breaker. Over time, I also realized that I warm up best with anything that keeps wind out. I drench my fleece and other quick wick stuff.
lap one plus 1.1 mile random loop to make the 50k-- went by fast. i was one of the last people. I didn't let that get to me bc i know for ultra races you gotta start slow. You make up time in the last few miles when other people are getting tired and slowing down. Pulled out my Justins Honey Nut butter. Perfect. Filling because its got fat and protein, yummy, and light to carry. I like this because it sits well with my tummy and its got a little bit of consistency. I know im colicky, but i realized that things that require a lot of chewing takes energy out of me like pretzels (dry mouth) and jelly beans. I also like it because it takes me awhile to eat, so its like im grazing, keeps me sort of distracted. Sipped on water bottle, but i knew I wasn't drinking enough. early miles are usually harder on me because i think im just warming up and getting into the rhythm of things.
Lap 2 (mile 5-10) dont remember much, but I think John and I talked a bit about politics (Taiwan vs China). sipped little water. ate my vanilla gu. realized that I lost my black fleece gloves. that was fun bc it was sorta my goal for the next few miles to find it. John decided to go another loop with me, yay! Stopped for bathroom.
Lap 3- (mile 10-15). minimal talking, but sun was out, I still got my windbreaker on. starting to feel a bit tired. still haven't seen it. Saw the first guy who dropped. looks like his hip flexors were hurting him. I thank John for his company. No stops at aid station because i just wanted to keep rhythm going and I still had one chocolate gu and one Justins.
lap 4 (mile 15-20)-- went by fast again. i started looking for checkpoints as count downs. for example, the american flag. i know i'm abt 3 miles away. when i see babcock road, i know im really close
Lap 5 (mile 20-25) sucked. legs were hurting and i was tired. drank a bunch of gatorade, gummy bears, and some gu chomps. they tasted good.
lap 6 (mile 25-31)- thank goodness for Mike! Mike is a great runner and of course, he was out volunteering. I was running by him, and I yelled, "come on, run with me. Im hurting". Mike joins me for last lap. it was awesome. i finished.
my thoughts for this race:
1) my official time was 5:03:00. Abt ten mins slower than last race, but really i tried my best. i see this race as a success. my goal as of friday was to finish with no injuries. both mission accomplished
2) i didnt taper very well this week. I ran 6 on monday, then try to do catch on thursday with a hilly 9 milers. not the smartest idea. will not do this next race.
3) considering my time at the 26th mile was 4:11, i don't know if a 3:40 marathon goal is really possible. but it could also be due to the 50k from 2 wks ago?
4) need to eat more breakfast 2 hrs prior to race. Justins butter worked well, gummy bears good, and maybe alternate Nuun and water as electrolyte replacement
today was a forced rest day, because i really wanted to go out and run in the sunshine. instead, i went walking around walnut street and picked up some goodies like grounded chia seeds and goji berries.
4th lap (mile 15-20)-- I felt fair/good, no aches yet, but i knew I was getting tired.
Race took place at North Park; consisted of six 5-mile loops around the lake at North Park. Main aid station, start/finish line was well stocked. another water-only aid station at 2.5 mile mark.
Since I tweaked my right knee on thursday night's 9 mile run (dont ask me why i decided to run 9 miles 2 days before a 50k race), I was pretty worried about the race. I was worried that I would be forced to stop and get my official DNF ("did not finish"). I stretched, took tylenol, and kept massaging my knee. Saturday morning, I felt great. I even woke up on time and got to race with plenty of time to get settled in. Of course I overdressed (I dont like being cold), but good thing I brought shorts and changed into them.
Race started at 7:30am, about 40s. It took me about 6ish miles to really warm up. I'm lucky because I asked John (who I met through running group) on thursday if he would join/ pace me for a few miles. Awesome! he stayed with me for about 3 laps. In the meantime, I lost my black running fleece gloves (even though I kept looking for them). My pace was about 9:02min, easy, conversable, and comfortable pace without being too slow. I knew the real race began after he left.
breakfast at 5:45am-- one cup of tea + One Cliff bar 20g protein mint chocolate flavor. I love this bar because it takes like mint chocolate snickers, it was a bit sweet to eat as first thing in morning. I realized over the years that my stomach is very colicky. Too full-- heart burn and side aches and bad run. Too light-- hungry, water in tummy swishing around, unpleasant. I tried eating oat meal once, but it keeps me sorta full and bloated. I tried cliff bar 20g protein 2 wkends ago and it was good. The only thing was, I was hungry by like 7:45am (that meant i got hungry within the first 5 miles of running)
finalized outfit (changed 10mins before race)-- my favorite red shorts (they make me feel skinny) and my UW huskies shirt that Mr. TLRBM bought me and a black wind breaker. Over time, I also realized that I warm up best with anything that keeps wind out. I drench my fleece and other quick wick stuff.
lap one plus 1.1 mile random loop to make the 50k-- went by fast. i was one of the last people. I didn't let that get to me bc i know for ultra races you gotta start slow. You make up time in the last few miles when other people are getting tired and slowing down. Pulled out my Justins Honey Nut butter. Perfect. Filling because its got fat and protein, yummy, and light to carry. I like this because it sits well with my tummy and its got a little bit of consistency. I know im colicky, but i realized that things that require a lot of chewing takes energy out of me like pretzels (dry mouth) and jelly beans. I also like it because it takes me awhile to eat, so its like im grazing, keeps me sort of distracted. Sipped on water bottle, but i knew I wasn't drinking enough. early miles are usually harder on me because i think im just warming up and getting into the rhythm of things.
Lap 2 (mile 5-10) dont remember much, but I think John and I talked a bit about politics (Taiwan vs China). sipped little water. ate my vanilla gu. realized that I lost my black fleece gloves. that was fun bc it was sorta my goal for the next few miles to find it. John decided to go another loop with me, yay! Stopped for bathroom.
Lap 3- (mile 10-15). minimal talking, but sun was out, I still got my windbreaker on. starting to feel a bit tired. still haven't seen it. Saw the first guy who dropped. looks like his hip flexors were hurting him. I thank John for his company. No stops at aid station because i just wanted to keep rhythm going and I still had one chocolate gu and one Justins.
lap 4 (mile 15-20)-- went by fast again. i started looking for checkpoints as count downs. for example, the american flag. i know i'm abt 3 miles away. when i see babcock road, i know im really close
Lap 5 (mile 20-25) sucked. legs were hurting and i was tired. drank a bunch of gatorade, gummy bears, and some gu chomps. they tasted good.
lap 6 (mile 25-31)- thank goodness for Mike! Mike is a great runner and of course, he was out volunteering. I was running by him, and I yelled, "come on, run with me. Im hurting". Mike joins me for last lap. it was awesome. i finished.
my thoughts for this race:
1) my official time was 5:03:00. Abt ten mins slower than last race, but really i tried my best. i see this race as a success. my goal as of friday was to finish with no injuries. both mission accomplished
2) i didnt taper very well this week. I ran 6 on monday, then try to do catch on thursday with a hilly 9 milers. not the smartest idea. will not do this next race.
3) considering my time at the 26th mile was 4:11, i don't know if a 3:40 marathon goal is really possible. but it could also be due to the 50k from 2 wks ago?
4) need to eat more breakfast 2 hrs prior to race. Justins butter worked well, gummy bears good, and maybe alternate Nuun and water as electrolyte replacement
today was a forced rest day, because i really wanted to go out and run in the sunshine. instead, i went walking around walnut street and picked up some goodies like grounded chia seeds and goji berries.
4th lap (mile 15-20)-- I felt fair/good, no aches yet, but i knew I was getting tired.
Monday, March 15, 2010
sowwie
sorry guys, sort of forgot to update my blogs. I'll have to admit, once in a while, i'll doubt myself in terms of all this blogging stuff. I dont know how many ppl read this, but i have to keep reminding myself that I'm sharing my life on this blog just to share. Its not a popularity contest, its not to see how many comments i get, but its for my pure intention of sharing.
Tonight, i had the opportunity to sit in one of the most amazing seminars. There's about 9 more to go, but i'm pretty excited! One of the things that our "coach" challenged us to promise is that we will go through some pretty tough emotions (maybe anger, sadness, nervous, anxiety), as we try to work out way through this seminar series. We'll have breakthroughs but also break downs. He used the example, "we'll be on a rollercoaster ride. we'll go up and go down, just make sure you dont unstrap yourself from this ride. let yoruself feel what you're feeling at the time and work through it. THe seminar topic is about "inventing your life your design".
I'm pretty relieved to hear that I don't really know who I am. I'm not really who I think I am, so who am I? I dont know, thats what i'm going to create. We are also asked to disrupt our habitual, automatic patterns of being. When I get upset at TLVBM, I tend to throw tantrums and also "threaten" to end our engagement. I dont really mean to say that, but I subconsciously say it to elicit a certain response from him. Anyhoo, really excited to be a part of this!
As for running, I have another road 50K coming this saturday. My goal for the next few days is to encourage some friends to join/pace me through this run. I ran 6 miles hard on treadmill, will run with running grp for another 6 tmr, crosstrain wed, run 6 easy on thursday(or rest depending on how I feel), and rest on Friday.
see you guys tomorrow!
Tonight, i had the opportunity to sit in one of the most amazing seminars. There's about 9 more to go, but i'm pretty excited! One of the things that our "coach" challenged us to promise is that we will go through some pretty tough emotions (maybe anger, sadness, nervous, anxiety), as we try to work out way through this seminar series. We'll have breakthroughs but also break downs. He used the example, "we'll be on a rollercoaster ride. we'll go up and go down, just make sure you dont unstrap yourself from this ride. let yoruself feel what you're feeling at the time and work through it. THe seminar topic is about "inventing your life your design".
I'm pretty relieved to hear that I don't really know who I am. I'm not really who I think I am, so who am I? I dont know, thats what i'm going to create. We are also asked to disrupt our habitual, automatic patterns of being. When I get upset at TLVBM, I tend to throw tantrums and also "threaten" to end our engagement. I dont really mean to say that, but I subconsciously say it to elicit a certain response from him. Anyhoo, really excited to be a part of this!
As for running, I have another road 50K coming this saturday. My goal for the next few days is to encourage some friends to join/pace me through this run. I ran 6 miles hard on treadmill, will run with running grp for another 6 tmr, crosstrain wed, run 6 easy on thursday(or rest depending on how I feel), and rest on Friday.
see you guys tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Ruby Tuesday(as my best friend Angie calls it)
I will spare you guys the details but from the hours of my last post and right now, I went through a mini breakdown. Anyhoo, all is well and what I gathered from my mom (after calling her past midnight, hysterically crying, thinking that TLVBM and I are no longer together), why is it that I have all the patience in the world with strangers like my kiddo patients at work, I have the least patience with the people I love and also take them for granted? I will be working on forgiveness and grace for myself and the people I love. It will take awhile, but I am not just going to say that i'm gonna do it. I am ready for this change. What this entails is I will think 3 times before I say something when I'm mad, i will learn to let go of anger, I will learn to say sorry and mean it.
Anyways, all is well. I came home early from work today. Took a nap (sleep deprived from my drama night), and managed to meet with my running grp for a fast 6 miler (avg 7:45 pace) and hop over to my yoga studio for 1-hr power yoga. I think I pulled my right calf, so I'm going to take it easy tmr and cross train instead. I signed up for another road 50k coming up next wkend..... the JC Stone 50K in pittsburgh. Race report to follow.
My tummy is filled with yummy kale from whole foods and a bowl of hot noodles I made. hope everyone had a Ruby Tuesday!
Anyways, all is well. I came home early from work today. Took a nap (sleep deprived from my drama night), and managed to meet with my running grp for a fast 6 miler (avg 7:45 pace) and hop over to my yoga studio for 1-hr power yoga. I think I pulled my right calf, so I'm going to take it easy tmr and cross train instead. I signed up for another road 50k coming up next wkend..... the JC Stone 50K in pittsburgh. Race report to follow.
My tummy is filled with yummy kale from whole foods and a bowl of hot noodles I made. hope everyone had a Ruby Tuesday!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Happy Monday (esp after my tea and chocolate ice cream)
I read this quote from Sonja's blog and just love it!
My TLVBM is definitely a great example of this, and I love it!! ( pic from Sun Mountain 50k/25k in Washington)
“The difference between great people and everyone elseAs my Landmark Education mentor, Jan, would say. Get off the stand and play the game! You can't take any actions being in the stand, you can't change the game to win or lose. But you can do anything if you play!
is that great people create their lives actively,
while everyone else is created by their lives,
passively waiting to see where life takes them next.
The difference between the two
is the difference between living fully and just existing.”
Michael E. Gerber
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Green Jewel 50K 3/6/2010 Race Report
Hi everyone!
I did it! I officially completed my very first ultra race! The Green Jewel 50K is a spectacular and beginner friendly course. I say it's beginner friendly for many reasons: 1) its a low key race with lots of support and aid stations every 5 miles! 2) the entire course is on all purpose trails (so it's really a paved trail) 3) great markers, just follow the green lines! no worries about getting lost
Mr. TLRBM and I met up on friday night in Brecksville, Ohio. It's about 20-30mins away from Cleveland, abt a 3 min drive from our hotel (Holiday Inn Express)
The course started in Scenic Park in Rocky River, OH and ended at Oak Grove in Brecksville, OH. The weather couldn't even be more perfect!
0- 4.9 miles--> 40mins. I felt good, wanted to run faster but didn't want to go out too fast. Saw some guy running barefoot. I had hat, gloves, wind breaker jacket plus 2 layers of long sleeves with tights. Didn't stop at aid station. water? checked. gu? i had 2 packets in my pocket. checked.
5-10miles--> 1:23. It went by fast. I just sipped on water the whole way. Didn't see that many Honey Buckets, so I laid low on the agua. No stops at aid station. gu? checked. water? checked. By now, I have removed my gloves and hat. Ate one gu, had one more left in pocket. **note to self: frozen gu hard to squeeze out with frozen fingers.
10-15 miles--> no official time. i think it was like 2 hrs. I got hungry and ate Justin's Almond butter. Totally thought i bought peanut butter but was happy with the taste of almond butter. I think i just nibbled at it for a good 3-5 miles.
15-20---> found park bathroom and relieved myself. ate another gu. praying that I dont get hungry before the next aid stations. ** note to self, bring 2 packets of nut butter instead of just 1
20-25--> so this was the aid station i was going to stop. according to hal higdon's training schedule, i'm really suppose to run just 9 miles on sat and 12 miles on sun. I felt good so I decided to keep running. I picked up Hammer Head rasberry gel. Met Athena, young chic who had a ton of energy! we ran together for a bit and she was just chatting away! great positive energy and i knew she wanted to go faster, so i told her to go ahead. I didn't see her until the end of the race. legs were tired and hip flexors were tight. Stopped a few times to stretch.
25-31--> oh man..... took me a lot longer to finish this last section. Thank goodness for that hammer gel. I was hungry and tired, but still moving along quite well. this part of the course was all on roads, not my favorite, but glad that it was the last part. I was so excited to see the sign "Brecksville Reservation", because I knew I was about a mile away from the finish. All downhill, killed my quads.Crossed finish line at 4:51:04!!
Jason gave me a big hug and kept apologizing bc he thought it was take me a lot longer. woohoo! i'm proud of myself!
Race goal: to finish with no injuries; or DNF at 3 aid station
race goal accomplished with great time!!
After race, I was sore and tight and sleepy!! I managed to stay awake and checked out 2 places: 1) Vertical Runner, a running store. Awesome service and great selection. anyone in the Hudson, Cleveland, OH area must visit! I"ve been to many many running stores and was very surprised by their expertise! 2) Great Lakes Brewing Co-- awesome eatery and beer! I got the Eliot Ness Amber Lager, which was good. It was a bit light for Jason, but just perfect for me with perfect hopiness. Jason got the IPA and Stout. We loved the beer so much we brought back a case of different Great lakes beer selection.
This was a great weekend! Any questions about Green Jewel please send them my way!
I did it! I officially completed my very first ultra race! The Green Jewel 50K is a spectacular and beginner friendly course. I say it's beginner friendly for many reasons: 1) its a low key race with lots of support and aid stations every 5 miles! 2) the entire course is on all purpose trails (so it's really a paved trail) 3) great markers, just follow the green lines! no worries about getting lost
Mr. TLRBM and I met up on friday night in Brecksville, Ohio. It's about 20-30mins away from Cleveland, abt a 3 min drive from our hotel (Holiday Inn Express)
The course started in Scenic Park in Rocky River, OH and ended at Oak Grove in Brecksville, OH. The weather couldn't even be more perfect!
0- 4.9 miles--> 40mins. I felt good, wanted to run faster but didn't want to go out too fast. Saw some guy running barefoot. I had hat, gloves, wind breaker jacket plus 2 layers of long sleeves with tights. Didn't stop at aid station. water? checked. gu? i had 2 packets in my pocket. checked.
5-10miles--> 1:23. It went by fast. I just sipped on water the whole way. Didn't see that many Honey Buckets, so I laid low on the agua. No stops at aid station. gu? checked. water? checked. By now, I have removed my gloves and hat. Ate one gu, had one more left in pocket. **note to self: frozen gu hard to squeeze out with frozen fingers.
10-15 miles--> no official time. i think it was like 2 hrs. I got hungry and ate Justin's Almond butter. Totally thought i bought peanut butter but was happy with the taste of almond butter. I think i just nibbled at it for a good 3-5 miles.
15-20---> found park bathroom and relieved myself. ate another gu. praying that I dont get hungry before the next aid stations. ** note to self, bring 2 packets of nut butter instead of just 1
20-25--> so this was the aid station i was going to stop. according to hal higdon's training schedule, i'm really suppose to run just 9 miles on sat and 12 miles on sun. I felt good so I decided to keep running. I picked up Hammer Head rasberry gel. Met Athena, young chic who had a ton of energy! we ran together for a bit and she was just chatting away! great positive energy and i knew she wanted to go faster, so i told her to go ahead. I didn't see her until the end of the race. legs were tired and hip flexors were tight. Stopped a few times to stretch.
25-31--> oh man..... took me a lot longer to finish this last section. Thank goodness for that hammer gel. I was hungry and tired, but still moving along quite well. this part of the course was all on roads, not my favorite, but glad that it was the last part. I was so excited to see the sign "Brecksville Reservation", because I knew I was about a mile away from the finish. All downhill, killed my quads.Crossed finish line at 4:51:04!!
Jason gave me a big hug and kept apologizing bc he thought it was take me a lot longer. woohoo! i'm proud of myself!
Race goal: to finish with no injuries; or DNF at 3 aid station
race goal accomplished with great time!!
After race, I was sore and tight and sleepy!! I managed to stay awake and checked out 2 places: 1) Vertical Runner, a running store. Awesome service and great selection. anyone in the Hudson, Cleveland, OH area must visit! I"ve been to many many running stores and was very surprised by their expertise! 2) Great Lakes Brewing Co-- awesome eatery and beer! I got the Eliot Ness Amber Lager, which was good. It was a bit light for Jason, but just perfect for me with perfect hopiness. Jason got the IPA and Stout. We loved the beer so much we brought back a case of different Great lakes beer selection.
This was a great weekend! Any questions about Green Jewel please send them my way!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
two for tuesdays!
Tonight I successfully did my 2 for tuesdays! I've been wanting to do 2 workouts a day for awhile but today, finally........
I ran 6.07 miles in 47:54 (ave pace 7:58!) with the tuesday night running group. Instead of staying for food, I went to yoga. Yoga was short but I was glad bc i was getting tired and a bit hungry.
Did I tell you Mr. TLVBM and I signed up for Green Jewel 50K this wkend? I have no plans of finishing, I just want to run about 20ish miles. But I'm not going to lie, if I'm feeling good, I will attempt to finish it. Cleveland (where is race sorta around) is about half way btw me and tlvbm. these 4.5 hr drives to ann arbor is tiring. SO I suggested that we do this race and we only have to drive half the time! On Hal Higdon's marathon intermediate plan i'm suppose to run 9 on sat and 12 on sun. I modified my wk day training to a lighter schedule. Absolute rest day on friday with 3ish mile run on thursday. I might just do some cross training on wed. anyhoo, i'm excited for the wkend!
I'm going to rant abt tlvbm so ear muffs please if you want to avoid listening to a whiny girl whining about how her "fiance" is too busy for her. Here it goes.....
on days he's on hospital call, it sucks. because I dont get to talk to him all day. Last week he was on call 3 days and i think i talked to him about 3-4 times last week. 3-4 times (abt 20mins) in one week?!
same thing happens this week. except now he's also working on his research paper when he's not on call. I'm just frustrated because his work precedes everything.................. is this someone who I really can spend the rest of my life with?
I ran 6.07 miles in 47:54 (ave pace 7:58!) with the tuesday night running group. Instead of staying for food, I went to yoga. Yoga was short but I was glad bc i was getting tired and a bit hungry.
Did I tell you Mr. TLVBM and I signed up for Green Jewel 50K this wkend? I have no plans of finishing, I just want to run about 20ish miles. But I'm not going to lie, if I'm feeling good, I will attempt to finish it. Cleveland (where is race sorta around) is about half way btw me and tlvbm. these 4.5 hr drives to ann arbor is tiring. SO I suggested that we do this race and we only have to drive half the time! On Hal Higdon's marathon intermediate plan i'm suppose to run 9 on sat and 12 on sun. I modified my wk day training to a lighter schedule. Absolute rest day on friday with 3ish mile run on thursday. I might just do some cross training on wed. anyhoo, i'm excited for the wkend!
I'm going to rant abt tlvbm so ear muffs please if you want to avoid listening to a whiny girl whining about how her "fiance" is too busy for her. Here it goes.....
on days he's on hospital call, it sucks. because I dont get to talk to him all day. Last week he was on call 3 days and i think i talked to him about 3-4 times last week. 3-4 times (abt 20mins) in one week?!
same thing happens this week. except now he's also working on his research paper when he's not on call. I'm just frustrated because his work precedes everything.................. is this someone who I really can spend the rest of my life with?
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