6 x 500 at the pool the other night, sharing a veery wide lane with one speedy dude and another speedster in the lane next door. Aside from the enjoyable view of tanned, toned bodies in the tight trunks under the water (you've got to do something to pass the time, right?), it was fun to try to keep up as much as possible and not get passed too often.
So when I took a break between set 2 and set 3, and the hottie in the next lane called out "Come on! I'm trying to keep up with you!" I felt pretty darn good. My next 500 was the fastest of the lot and it wasn't until at least lap 14 that I started questioning myself, eventually concluding that if it wasn't sarcastic it must have been patronising...
Anyway, on a training update note:
Key runs 1 and 2 of week 14 (to go) went well. #1 was my tempo run on Monday while P du'd. It wasn't quite 5 miles (probably more like 4) as I wanted to be back for him on his bike, but I'm ok with that. P did my speedwork with me on Weds, and all 6 800s were run between 6:55 and about 7:08 pace (slightly under my target of 7:15) (for Ellie- 4:20 and 4:30 min/k). We actually did what I did last time, which was run for 3:40 efforts, and take pace from the 500m markers, so rather than running 800m in 3:27 our fastest rep would actually have been more like 850m in 3:40. However, this approximation plan is the only way I can do my speedwork outside in the morning, and I'd rather be inaccurate outside than accurate on the t/mill at this stage. I may do some work on the t/mill later on, to make sure I'm on target. Key run 3 (a nice slow 12 miles) will probably be on Sunday, as I have my ocean swim on Sat. Soo nervous and excited. Can't believe I've signed up to drink saltwater non-stop for 2800m!
A (talented but not all that obsessive) triathlete friend of ours has decided to run Rotorua. I've recommended FIRST to her, so it'll be interesting to see how she finds it. She lives nearby, so I may be able to stop dragging P out for speedwork. I'm buzzing with that great feeling of inspiring or helping someone. Yay! Am getting the same feeling from talking to my little sis about our family tri in April. R, Mum and I are doing the team event (4k run for me. Sahweet!) and J is doing the whole shebang. Yay! We're actually hoping that J will be able to take on Mum and R and that we will be able to run together. She wants to stay below 5:30min/k for the run leg, and I know she can do it but that the added motivation will help also, I would love to cross the finish line together.
Showing posts with label ocean swim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ocean swim. Show all posts
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Too much splash and one fun dash...
I made it to Splash and Dash! Finally! (seriously- I've been meaning/trying/failing to get to one of these for, oh, two years or something!?) I finished work easily on time (after a pretty productive day) and the weather looked good too.
The race was a bunch of fun. The swim was pretty awful- at one point I thought I was coming dead last (I wasn't..), I was struggling to navigate and the start was much more crowded than my last two races. I splashed around and breathed atrociously for at least the first 500m of the 730m swim! I was pretty disappointed with myself after my swimming on Monday- I really need to learn to chill the f out in race swims! I also need to come to terms with the fact that other women who don't look fast are often better swimmers than I am! .
I stumbled up into T1 to the sea of discarded wetsuits and made a beeline for my shoes. Unfortunately my calves were cramping so badly that I couldn't put my shoes on. I was putting my feet towards the shoes, angling them in and then recoiling in pain. Ow! I could see P looking at me with concern and (maybe) pity (he always looks so shocked when I come out of the water! It's funny, but can be a little disheartening. I think he thinks I am one of the speedy ones, and he gets quite confused when I don't come out with the leaders Confusion turns to concern, then to downright worry "Why's she last????". I have now informed him that although some women who shouldn't be beating me are, the leaders, even in races like this, are NZ AGers, junior champs, Kona AG competitors and even the odd elite)and I decided not to run and to change my entry to a very pathetic swim only. No dash. I was about to climb out of transition when I decided to give the left foot one more go and it went in. Right followed suit and we were off.
It was great to be running, though confusing seeing people going the other way and not being sure just how far they were in front of me (2 lap course). I was also watchless, so had no idea how bad or not-so-bad things were. I felt like I was keeping a good pace, and only super fast guys seemed to be passing, so although I could see plenty of women ahead of me, I just wanted to keep working. I ended up passing a couple of decent bunches, including some men (who had started a minute before us, and on the way back the second time, I realised that some of the people "in front" of me were behind me. I didn't manage to take out Mrs Red Top, which is shocking, as she was in my reach for so long. I should have passed her at the 500m to go mark and let her be the driver on the way back. Instead I delayed, eventually saw the gap growing and couldn't find the kick to beat her. Grr. I think if I had passed and she had passed back my finish sprinter would have come out- next time Mrs Red Top. Next time.
Not sure of time yet. P thinks my swim was 16ish (yuck), and I finished at 6:55 having started at 6:21. So that suggests a good solid 4k run (18ish mins?), but we might be a minute or even more off. Official results won't have splits, but I should be able to figure some better guesstimates out!
Healthy eating went out the window again, when P surprised me with fish and chips on the beach. I could hardly say no, and they were PERFECT! (plus, given the race and the 600 cals I burned at spin this am, I'm ok calorie-wise)
Tomorrow is yoga. We have brand spankin new matching mats. Yay! R&R week has been a little lacking both in R and in R, but I still think it'll be about half last week in terms of time, especially with a cruisy weekend planned, and at much lower intensity so I am not kicking myself too hard yet. I feel awesome. Knock wood.
The race was a bunch of fun. The swim was pretty awful- at one point I thought I was coming dead last (I wasn't..), I was struggling to navigate and the start was much more crowded than my last two races. I splashed around and breathed atrociously for at least the first 500m of the 730m swim! I was pretty disappointed with myself after my swimming on Monday- I really need to learn to chill the f out in race swims! I also need to come to terms with the fact that other women who don't look fast are often better swimmers than I am! .
I stumbled up into T1 to the sea of discarded wetsuits and made a beeline for my shoes. Unfortunately my calves were cramping so badly that I couldn't put my shoes on. I was putting my feet towards the shoes, angling them in and then recoiling in pain. Ow! I could see P looking at me with concern and (maybe) pity (he always looks so shocked when I come out of the water! It's funny, but can be a little disheartening. I think he thinks I am one of the speedy ones, and he gets quite confused when I don't come out with the leaders Confusion turns to concern, then to downright worry "Why's she last????". I have now informed him that although some women who shouldn't be beating me are, the leaders, even in races like this, are NZ AGers, junior champs, Kona AG competitors and even the odd elite)and I decided not to run and to change my entry to a very pathetic swim only. No dash. I was about to climb out of transition when I decided to give the left foot one more go and it went in. Right followed suit and we were off.
It was great to be running, though confusing seeing people going the other way and not being sure just how far they were in front of me (2 lap course). I was also watchless, so had no idea how bad or not-so-bad things were. I felt like I was keeping a good pace, and only super fast guys seemed to be passing, so although I could see plenty of women ahead of me, I just wanted to keep working. I ended up passing a couple of decent bunches, including some men (who had started a minute before us, and on the way back the second time, I realised that some of the people "in front" of me were behind me. I didn't manage to take out Mrs Red Top, which is shocking, as she was in my reach for so long. I should have passed her at the 500m to go mark and let her be the driver on the way back. Instead I delayed, eventually saw the gap growing and couldn't find the kick to beat her. Grr. I think if I had passed and she had passed back my finish sprinter would have come out- next time Mrs Red Top. Next time.
Not sure of time yet. P thinks my swim was 16ish (yuck), and I finished at 6:55 having started at 6:21. So that suggests a good solid 4k run (18ish mins?), but we might be a minute or even more off. Official results won't have splits, but I should be able to figure some better guesstimates out!
Healthy eating went out the window again, when P surprised me with fish and chips on the beach. I could hardly say no, and they were PERFECT! (plus, given the race and the 600 cals I burned at spin this am, I'm ok calorie-wise)
Tomorrow is yoga. We have brand spankin new matching mats. Yay! R&R week has been a little lacking both in R and in R, but I still think it'll be about half last week in terms of time, especially with a cruisy weekend planned, and at much lower intensity so I am not kicking myself too hard yet. I feel awesome. Knock wood.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Oops I did it again
Long ride. Overcast. Cautiously applied sunscreen to shoulders and face...
Not hands. Not legs.
Now that you've stopped laughing, tell me off! I need to learn!
So, as you may have figured out, the weather came through for us on Sunday and we got to ride. Yay! We only did about 45 miles though, and I think our ride taught us that we are not ready for a century (surprise, surprise!) As well as fatigue (not helped by poor nutrition and hydration...), we both struggled with the whole "3 hours on the bike thing" and our butts and arms were so over it by the time we got home. However, there is a lot to celebrate about this ride:
1- My technique? MUCH better. NO mashing on those gears. I cruised up the long hill easily, spinning all the way (without actually dropping too much) and even managed to keep up with P!
2- My mojo? Back! I got down the steep hill without wanting to cry. I practiced drinking. Baby steps...
3- My relationship with P? No longer jeopardised every time I clip in :-) I am finally learning to ride with him- we even practiced drafting! He's so patient- a saint!
So we celebrated all that (and replenished some of the 2000 odd calories I'd burned) by getting "brunch" (OK, it was 4pm) at a place in town renowned for massive brunches. I had the big vege fry up (I'm not a bacon fan so usually just have eggs or pancakes) with potatoes, kumara (sweetpotato), pumpkin, carrot, onion (YUM!) and spinach. It really hit the spot! I headed to the pool and did some sluggish drills- was so ready for R&R week come yesterday morning.
Yesterday we had another cracker day! (BTW Wes- the weather in NZ is weird at the best of times. It tends to rain a lot most summers, especially over New Years, and it never really gets REALLY hot, especially not in Wellington..But, as the saying goes, "there's nothing better than Welly on a good day.") I finished work on time and met my friend for a sea swim. She was running late, so I did some 150m laps of the first buoy, and was pleased to consistent times around 2:45- not great, but not bad. We did a 750ish m loop around the fountain (it's the route for my splash and dash tomorrow). She's been off training for awhile, so we went slooow and stopped a lot. Kind of a nice feeling, in an immature way. But I'm feeling really good about how things are going, and although the thought of spending nearly/at least/over an hour in waves and salt water seems mental, I can't wait til Jan 27th (especially if, knock wood, it's like yesterday!)
Today has been uneventful. My "healthy eating" plan has not gone so well so far- the idea is to eat healthy as much as possible in the lead up to Xmas, so that I can indulge when indulgence beckons. That means no more useless junk at work! Vege nights at home are going well. Apart from the tofu, we haven't done vegan yet, but we have had some really yummy meals (a mexican salad with quinoa and refried beans, orzo and roast veges, vege frittata...) If nothing else, it's encouraging me to add variety to our diets!
Oh- and one more for Wes... "Knackered" means exhausted/shattered/stuffed/zonked.
And, because I have just uploaded heaps of pics, here's some I like!
Echidna cake for my sister's bday...
Pretty sunset!
Not hands. Not legs.
Now that you've stopped laughing, tell me off! I need to learn!
So, as you may have figured out, the weather came through for us on Sunday and we got to ride. Yay! We only did about 45 miles though, and I think our ride taught us that we are not ready for a century (surprise, surprise!) As well as fatigue (not helped by poor nutrition and hydration...), we both struggled with the whole "3 hours on the bike thing" and our butts and arms were so over it by the time we got home. However, there is a lot to celebrate about this ride:
1- My technique? MUCH better. NO mashing on those gears. I cruised up the long hill easily, spinning all the way (without actually dropping too much) and even managed to keep up with P!
2- My mojo? Back! I got down the steep hill without wanting to cry. I practiced drinking. Baby steps...
3- My relationship with P? No longer jeopardised every time I clip in :-) I am finally learning to ride with him- we even practiced drafting! He's so patient- a saint!
So we celebrated all that (and replenished some of the 2000 odd calories I'd burned) by getting "brunch" (OK, it was 4pm) at a place in town renowned for massive brunches. I had the big vege fry up (I'm not a bacon fan so usually just have eggs or pancakes) with potatoes, kumara (sweetpotato), pumpkin, carrot, onion (YUM!) and spinach. It really hit the spot! I headed to the pool and did some sluggish drills- was so ready for R&R week come yesterday morning.
Yesterday we had another cracker day! (BTW Wes- the weather in NZ is weird at the best of times. It tends to rain a lot most summers, especially over New Years, and it never really gets REALLY hot, especially not in Wellington..But, as the saying goes, "there's nothing better than Welly on a good day.") I finished work on time and met my friend for a sea swim. She was running late, so I did some 150m laps of the first buoy, and was pleased to consistent times around 2:45- not great, but not bad. We did a 750ish m loop around the fountain (it's the route for my splash and dash tomorrow). She's been off training for awhile, so we went slooow and stopped a lot. Kind of a nice feeling, in an immature way. But I'm feeling really good about how things are going, and although the thought of spending nearly/at least/over an hour in waves and salt water seems mental, I can't wait til Jan 27th (especially if, knock wood, it's like yesterday!)
Today has been uneventful. My "healthy eating" plan has not gone so well so far- the idea is to eat healthy as much as possible in the lead up to Xmas, so that I can indulge when indulgence beckons. That means no more useless junk at work! Vege nights at home are going well. Apart from the tofu, we haven't done vegan yet, but we have had some really yummy meals (a mexican salad with quinoa and refried beans, orzo and roast veges, vege frittata...) If nothing else, it's encouraging me to add variety to our diets!
Oh- and one more for Wes... "Knackered" means exhausted/shattered/stuffed/zonked.
And, because I have just uploaded heaps of pics, here's some I like!
Echidna cake for my sister's bday...
Pretty sunset!
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Like a fish.
My next "A" event is a 2.8k swim in the Wellington Harbour. I'm fully registered and paid up (though where that training cap they promised me is, I do not know) and I started my "official" training for it on Monday. So far it's going well. I'm not swimming like a fish at all, and I have noticed my technique slipping since my lessons finished, but I am finding it easier and easier to knock off the distance. A 1.5k swim was one quite an effort- now 2k is easy, and 2.8 is fine. I'm also really loving it! I did a 1k time trial last night- took it easy, with a few harder efforts towards the end. My time (21:45) isn't exactly great (though I was quite happy to do it so easily), but it gives me some idea of where I'm at now, and I'm looking forward to watching it go down (below 20!) as I go through my training. Next trial will probably be in 3 weeks or so.
P and I still have not made up our minds about the Round the Mountain ride. It's on January 2, which is rather soon all of a sudden and we simply have not been riding long, in groups or outdoors enough! Something always seems to come up. Yesterday we spent 2 hours on our trainers watching James Bond in The Living Daylights because the showers and freezing southrlies started as soon as we got out the door! Hopefully we will get out today- last chance to enter before late fees. It looks ok at the moment, anyway and I'm sure we can get at least 50 miles in. However, doing just under a century in 3 weeks still sounds a bit chancy, however fun the ride looks!
This week has been a relatively big training week, Kate-wise. Luckily work was incredibly relaxed (too relaxed, almost) and I was able to do pretty much everything I wanted, when I wanted. I'm feeling great, though I was knackered on Thursday and my weights workout turned into stretching and ITB massage (partly because the bus was late and I didn't get to the gym until nearly 7). Monday I did 2.8k in the pool, Tuesday was weights and track (w/up, some drills and stride outs, 1k reps- 4:19, 4:25; 4:23- badly needing improvement there!), Weds was a 2k swim in the am and 90 minutes on the bike (about 15 outside before it got dark and the other 75 on the trainer in front of the telly..) in the evening, Thurs was the aborted weights workout and Friday was a well-earned rest! Yesterday, as I said, was a trainer ride and run-off, and the 1k time trial. Today we will hopefully get out for a ride, and I have 1800 of drills tonight, which hopefully my swimming buddy will join me for!
Good luck to Jodi, Lana, Wes and anyone else racing this weekend!
P and I still have not made up our minds about the Round the Mountain ride. It's on January 2, which is rather soon all of a sudden and we simply have not been riding long, in groups or outdoors enough! Something always seems to come up. Yesterday we spent 2 hours on our trainers watching James Bond in The Living Daylights because the showers and freezing southrlies started as soon as we got out the door! Hopefully we will get out today- last chance to enter before late fees. It looks ok at the moment, anyway and I'm sure we can get at least 50 miles in. However, doing just under a century in 3 weeks still sounds a bit chancy, however fun the ride looks!
This week has been a relatively big training week, Kate-wise. Luckily work was incredibly relaxed (too relaxed, almost) and I was able to do pretty much everything I wanted, when I wanted. I'm feeling great, though I was knackered on Thursday and my weights workout turned into stretching and ITB massage (partly because the bus was late and I didn't get to the gym until nearly 7). Monday I did 2.8k in the pool, Tuesday was weights and track (w/up, some drills and stride outs, 1k reps- 4:19, 4:25; 4:23- badly needing improvement there!), Weds was a 2k swim in the am and 90 minutes on the bike (about 15 outside before it got dark and the other 75 on the trainer in front of the telly..) in the evening, Thurs was the aborted weights workout and Friday was a well-earned rest! Yesterday, as I said, was a trainer ride and run-off, and the 1k time trial. Today we will hopefully get out for a ride, and I have 1800 of drills tonight, which hopefully my swimming buddy will join me for!
Good luck to Jodi, Lana, Wes and anyone else racing this weekend!
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