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July 31, 2005
Knitting
The highlights from last night:
My brother and sister proclaiming they WILL google the blog. I am expecting visitors any moment now.
A former co-worker of Becky’s announcing she is taking me to the knitting store with her. She thinks it would be a good hobby for me. I AM looking for new hobbies (especially ones that don’t require my body so that if I get hurt I can fill my time) but I just don’t feel the love for knitting. What is cool is that this woman has serious passion for knitting so it is nice to know people can have passion for non-sports things. I just have to find one I do have love for.
Meeting Nanda’s friends. They are super nice and fun and they were outside at a bar by the water last night. It was absolutely gorgeous weather. However, by this time it was the latest I have been out in weeks and I was falling asleep…Sometime around 12:30 AM I was rambling about sororities (a book I am reading), knitting, and dual citizenship.
This morning I got the first swim lesson I have had in about 11 years and it was the BEST swim lesson ever. For starters, I was the only student so I had all of the instructor's attention. At first I was self-conscious b/c I am not good and my friend definitely is but then I figured that was why I was there in the first place. Some quick tips include: don’t spread my fingers out when I swim, my left arm should be closer to the water when I do crawl (to match my right arm which does it correctly), and I should be rotating my body more with each stroke. Also, I am supposed to kick more. My friend and I had a discussion about “triathlon” swimming in which I explained tri swimming has less kicking and he thought that was interesting-but he still wanted to teach me how to swim correctly! I had NO idea that correct swimming uses so much leg strength. The pool was 33.3 yards long and I definitely got a hard workout during the lesson. I am SOO grateful he took the time to teach me b/c even by the end of the one hour lesson my stroke count (number of strokes it takes to go from one end of the pool to the other) had gone from 24 to 21. Before the lesson I was, quite simply, a mess. {PS. I also learned how to do flip turns!}
Later a former co-worker and I are going to see Murderball, a documentary about wheelchair rugby and the people who play it.
Posted by Audrey at 02:26 PM | Comments (6)
July 30, 2005
Run With Stops
I would love to be able to bike or elliptical on some of my off running days but whenever I add that in my knee cries. I decided I wasn’t being smart about it. I can’t just jump in and bike for 30 minutes. I should probably ramp up slowly like with running. I got out of work early and decided I should bike for 15 minutes. So…I took an hour nap. When I woke up there was a huge internal dialogue fight.
-It’s JUST 15 minutes. Put on your clothes and get outside.
-PLEASE, I ALREADY worked out today. CHILL OUT.
-You have to shower and wash your hair before dinner ANYWAY.
-There is no such thing as an “easy” 15 around my house b/c of the hills.
The winner…my OCD side. It was kind of nice weather outside and of course once I was outside I was happy to keep riding. I didn’t though as part of my new slow ramp up plan. I did get my heart rate up though b/c of the hills. Then I did a few sit-ups while I watched tv.
Dinner last night was fun. There was tapas and Sangria. Also, and this is showing my youth here, we decided there were enough sibs present at dinner (3/4) that my parents would pay for dinner. After a few glasses of Sangria we charged dinner to them….and THIS was after I was (nicely) making fun of my undergrad partner for being dependent on others…. but I mean, two of the three of us are in school, I work for free, and I’m the OLDEST. I am hardly a financial caretaker (aka financially successful older sister who can treat for events like that!) I wish I was, but I definitely am not right now.
This morning was super humid. I ran for 45 minutes and included a 2 mile loop around Theodore Roosevelt Island. Most of the loop is trail running. I usually don’t like to stop (when I run, bike, or swim) but today’s run had three stops: One for water at a water fountain. Two b/c for the first time I noticed there was actually a monument in the middle of the island (I usually stick to the periphery running trails but today for some reason I noticed a giant white “something” through the trees) so I stopped for 30 seconds to see it. Then on my way over the Key Bridge I passed a whole bunch of people from my very first running group which I ran with for three years. They are marathon training. One of the now coaches, who used to be a regular runner in my subgroup of the group (people are broken down into color groups by time) turned around and ran with me for a few minutes and then we stopped for about another 30 seconds at a light chatting before I was like…um, ok…I’ve got to keep going (I really do hate stopping-even yesterday I told Becky I didn’t want to interrupt her run. I guess she minds less than me!) We made plans for dinner sometime before I leave so I don’t feel too completely rude. Okay, I still do, but there is not much I can do about it :) He should KNOW I wouldn't want to stop and chat in the middle of my run! It's partially my own fault...when you only run for 45 minutes it matters more :)
I can’t believe I am blogging right now. I practically just got back. I am procrastinating all of the other things I have to do: I have some paying work to take care of, some internship work, picking classes, and some other school stuff.
The sib saga continues tonight with cocktails before I head over to see Becky et al.
Posted by Audrey at 08:21 AM | Comments (1)
July 29, 2005
Return E-mail From Friend
I've been meaning to call you and find out how the race went. I enjoy the opportunity to pass on knowledge and allow someone to further refine their skills and improve their life. In other words, I am still interested and I have the time this weekend, either Saturday or Sunday.
Should be an interesting swim. Yeah!!!
Posted by Audrey at 03:15 PM | Comments (1)
Swim Lesson
My swim this morning was much better. I am kind of frustrated at how hard swimming has been for me so I am taking some measures to combat this. For starters, I didn’t cut my swim short. I have a tendency to stop at 28/29 minutes. I kept going this time. Secondly, I may start doing workouts (by myself) instead of just swimming laps. Thirdly, at the engagement party last Friday night I was talking to a good friend who is a consultant…and…wait for it….wait for it….a swim coach. He teaches everyone from water babies to adults. I feel kind of bad asking a friend for help since it would be time consuming, but I asked if he could just watch me swim for maybe 10 seconds (we had talked about mt. biking followed by laying out poolside) and point out anything glaring. He said he didn’t mind and when he found out my tri was two days away said I should have asked him sooner. So I am going to shoot him a follow-up e-mail and see if I can bribe some swim tips out of him with a promise of lunch or something. I sometimes forgot how talented my friends are. Also, at some point he was saying how bad running is for your knees…and I asked him how his shoulders were feeling. Answer, not perfect. That is a HUGE shame, and one of the reasons I think he left our college team, but running isn’t the only injury prone/overuse sport out there.
On my way home I stopped at the store and as I was pulling into the parking lot Becky ran by. I shouted hi! and she stopped and chatted with me for a few minutes. I miss the girl! I am going to see her again Saturday at a local watering hole to which she and her husband have invited their DC friends…I expect there will be runners galore there.
Tonight I am having dinner with my brother (in town for the weekend), sister, and the brother’s gf. We’re all also going on vacation next weekend with our family. This summer, last weekend, all the weekend road trips so far…this is the most time I have spent with my sibs in years-we finally all live near each other. We need to make sure we don’t overdue it. I’m not kidding…
Posted by Audrey at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)
July 28, 2005
Wetsuit?
It was beautiful out this morning. Even though I was up late working and then reading (I couldn’t sleep b/c I took a short pre-work nap) I knew it was going to be cool this morning and I didn’t want to miss the good running weather. I was not disappointed. I woke up at 6, commuted part-way to work on the bus, and got off the bus at the gym. I ditched my stuff in a locker and headed out for a 35 minute run. I intended to do an out and back along the Potomac and by the Lincoln Memorial, but I realized I was pretty far into a loop I used to do so I ended up running near the Lincoln, over the Memorial Bridge, into Rosslyn, and over the Key Bridge back to the gym in Georgetown. It took a little under 35 minutes so I ran back and forth in front of the gym a few times to get the full 35. I was actually passing people and I felt really zippy. I was pushing myself and breathing hard. I attribute the good run to two things: not having really run that much recently and, most importantly, the COOL weather!!!!!!! I think it was 80 degrees, but comparatively speaking it felt like spring here. It was not sunny (so I ran with sunglasses on TOP of my head) and I didn’t even wear sunscreen except for my face. It was wonderful. Then I stretched, showered, and got back on the bus to continue on to work.
I am still laboriously picking classes which is this huge process since I can take classes at all of the individual schools at my university as well as a bunch of schools in the Boston consortium. So yes, there are some fabulous opportunities-but there are also endless class lists to go through. My partner at work is an undergrad and I was talking to him about picking classes. His response: “I just ask my advisor what I should take and do that.”
I am also researching Boston multi-sport events. There are two I am considering. One is in the middle of September in New Hampshire and involves an open water swim. The other is around Halloween and is a duathlon…run, bike, run. I might do either or both of those. The open water swim should be…interesting…I want to find somewhere to practice. I e-mailed the race director and he said 50% of the participants wear wetsuits so I could go either way. The water temperature should be around 70 degrees. Since I will hopefully have the same wetsuit for a while, perhaps even the entirety of my life (yes, it seriously temps the weight gods to write something like that…) I might just buy one. (or do they decay at some point? does wetsuit technology change drastically from year to year?) Also, there are some really cool multi-sport events that I found. Some have mountain biking and I have also seen kayaking or canoeing, snow-shoeing, trail running, navigating, and cross-country skiing. I guess at some point you start to enter the realm of “adventure racing.”
Posted by Audrey at 07:24 PM | Comments (2)
July 27, 2005
Random Day
Today was another day that didn’t go as planned. In non-chronological order: I sat outside the Italian Store and people watched, which I never do. I was eating dinner and watching a storm. I was also watching two bikers who got caught in the rain wait out the storm. They were wearing serious road biking clothes, but had small mountain bikes, and right before I left (as the storm was abating) they got PICKED UP by someone in a car! Something was just a little off about the whole thing. One of their friends even showed up randomly and greeted them and asked, “What are you doing under here? Get out on the road!” My swim got cut short after 24 minutes b/c of the lightning and thunderstorm. I have to go to work in 2 hours (oh yes, 9:30-midnight). I left work at 2:30 b/c I was working tonight so I ran some errands and ended up starting the process of picking classes for school (which can take many many hours). All of those things I hadn’t planned on. But hey, nothing tragic (except for my missing 6 minutes of crawl stroke) or really worth blabbing more about.
Posted by Audrey at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2005
Favorite Doctor
I intended to run this morning but woke up and was having anxiety about work so went right in instead. That is usually the best thing for me to do when I am stressing out about my workload-get right to it so I can start crossing things off the to do list.
I left work early to go see my favorite sports doc. As I posted about earlier this year, I am pretty unsatisfied with the sports doc I have been seeing who is in my limited plan at school. My DC doc has always been pretty helpful and has a treatment style more to my liking-aggressive (orthotics, PT, MRIs) rather than the conservative (rest up) treatment my doc in Boston always proscribes. I made this appointment when my Achilles was bothering me a few weeks ago. Earlier this year and more recently it has been bothering me when I get to around 15-18 mpw. Since pain in my Achilles (only slight) was a precursor to my calf strain in April I decided to make an appointment. Well, suffice to say, in the time since I made the appointment and today I cut back on my running to rest for the tri and it feels fine. I kept the appointment though to discuss my chronic knee stuff and how my Achilles has been niggling for a while. I kind of just wanted an opinion from this guy since I have always liked him in the past.
Verdict, I am okay. He thinks I will be fine and should be able to train as much as I would like. He thinks I should work on strengthening my quads more as well as my Achilles. He says this is the perfect time to work on strengthening since I don’t have an acute injury or too much pain in either location. So he proscribed PT-and coincidently his group has a new PT office they just started that they referred me to. I actually don’t think the worst though :) He proscribed PT for me earlier in my running career BEFORE they owned their own PT office. However, my health insurance plan won’t cover PT in DC, and it’s QUITE pricey to pay out of pocket. I know, I should probably take care of myself BEFORE I get hurt, but I just can’t bring myself to spend a whole lot of money (and time) when I feel okay. Even if I went for one visit and they taught me what I should be doing on my own that would be $165-$200. I draw the line on the exercise craziness here. Also, I can’t squat b/c it hurts my knees. I just wanted to check in with the doc and see if that was an indicator of a huge problem or not. He didn’t seem that alarmed by it.
I do value this guy’s optimism though that I will be okay and I don’t appear to have any huge biomechanical issues he picked up. THAT is just nice to hear.
Then I went from his office straight to the gym and ran 5K (29:00) on the treadmill b/c it is 95ish degrees here. See…I don’t need PT!!! I hit up a fourth Washington Sports Club-the one Downtown on M Street. For those keeping track, this one is not as good.
Posted by Audrey at 07:12 PM | Comments (2)
July 25, 2005
More Ramblings
Yes, I am STILL talking about my triathlon. But I am almost over it and will stop soon.
300M Swim: 7:22 (This includes a flip-flopped jog to the transition area post-swim)
20K Bike: 41:27
5K Run: 25:24
T1: 1:50
T2: 0:39
No Penalties!!
Total: 1:16:41
There were about 165 women. My swim was 87th, my bike was 80th, and my run was 31st. So I swam and biked about average and ran above average. Nothing too shocking since I spend a lot more time running than swimming and biking and I think running is a lot of competitors’ most challenging sport. Want to know what I REALLY excel at??? Of the women, I had the second fastest T2 :) Oh yeah. [We’ll ignore the fact that I didn’t have to take off any cycling shoes which all of the fast bikers were wearing. But it makes me wish I had gone three seconds faster so I could have had the fastest T2!]
My Dad called to congratulate me (I only talked to my Mom yesterday while my Dad was driving), but he also managed to slip into the conversation, “Hey, so maybe tris are what you should concentrate on, huh? They don’t seem as hard on the body.” It hurts me to hear that-but he isn’t exactly wrong either. I may give running another go now that I am a little more educated about how to take care of and listen to my body, but another major injury (my knees are still not fabulous) and I may have to take his painful suggestion more seriously. Though I did shoot back, “You know Dad, tris come in different distances too and I just did the baby one. I could totally do an Olympic one.” He thought that the 10K running portion sounded reasonable-as long as I didn’t attempt an Ironman. He also told me Lance is considering doing tris. If Lance enters a tri I am going to enter the same one. How amazing would it be to be Lance’s competitor? Can you even fathom that?
I went to the gym and lifted and did core stuff tonight. I haven’t been too consistent with that the past few weeks and didn’t want to add it back in the week before the tri. Today I am starting to get sore from the race. Honestly, it’s probably from the unfamiliar hard biking rather than actually “racing.”
Thanks for the comments and e-mails!! You all rock.
Posted by Audrey at 09:19 PM | Comments (3)
July 24, 2005
Triathlon Day
I feel like a truck hit me right now. Well, not quite that badly. But I’m tired. The sun, the three sports, the cumulative lack of sleep, and today’s 4 AM wake up have done me in.
I went to bed at 10 AM and dragged myself out of bed at 4 AM. Instead of being nervous and not being able to sleep I was so tired that I passed out as soon as I crawled into bed which was actually kind of nice. At 4 I ate half a bagel and a container of yogurt and got dressed. Then I collected all of my stuff for the race. First I brought my bike downstairs and put it on my car. A lot of people in the hotel were doing the race-there were empty bike racks on cars all over the parking lot. I put most of my numbers on my equipment last night and I was also mostly packed in two bags (items for the race and clothes to change into after the race) so I grabbed those on a second trip. Then I left for the race at about 4:45 AM. I knew I would be early but I was ready to go and thought it would be a better use of time to head to the race than sit in my hotel room.
I was the fourth athlete to arrive-the third woman. One woman had clearly done a lot of tris before and was answering questions for the other woman who was also new. I picked a good spot on my assigned rack (on the end) but I wasn’t sure how to rack my bike since I don’t have handlebars that lend itself to that. The experienced woman showed me how I could rack my bike using my seat. I then set up all the rest of my transition equipment on a towel and went to the body marking area. They used a permanent marker to put my number on my body, including my age on my right calf. I hadn’t realized they included that number so that was interesting. I attached my timing chip to my ankle. Somewhere along the line one of the volunteers (who was also participating in the race) gave me safety pins that she always keeps in her transition bag since I had forgotten them. I guess the race doesn’t provide them since a lot of competitors have a strap they attach their number to. The other people at this race and the race staff were all really nice.
I took some pictures of the transition area before and after it got filled. It was actually cool out temperature-wise at that hour. I made a couple of trips to my car (which was close to the transition area) as I got organized. The other competitors and I also determined we could wear flip-flops, sandals, or whatever other shoe we wanted from the pool to the transition area since the path was a tad rocky so I left my flip-flops outside the pool.
The swim was intense. I definitely let some people pass me at the end of one of the lanes b/c the guy who started behind me was tapping my foot (code for please let me pass at the next wall). I am not really sure how fast I swam but it was definitely over 6 minutes. I was freaking out everyone behind me was going to hate me b/c I was slowing them down but I think “hate” might be too strong of a word and I was not the only one who had to be passed so I have come to peace with it. There was some congestion in the pool overall though just b/c of the nature of the race. I was also having a tough swim b/c of a wardrobe malfunction. I never swam in my sports bra before and, in short, there was definitely some exposure happening. At first I tried to recover myself each time the bra came out of place, but since it KEPT happening I made the game time decision that there was slim to none chance anyone was looking since everyone was super concentrated on their own race and that I should just swim on without worrying about it. After I decided to just go with it I only made one more adjustment-right before I got of the pool to make sure everything was covered. I put on my flip-flops and ran to the transition area where I put on my shorts, shirt, sunglasses, helmet, socks, and sneakers.
The bike ride was not too bad. About six guys with later starts than me passed me. I passed two women who had earlier starts than me and got passed by two other women with later starts than me. I tried to push it for most of the ride. The course was not too hilly at all. I was in a hurry to get the bike ride over b/c it was a race, and getting that part of the race over faster would mean, simply, I was going faster, but while I was doing it I kind of liked the biking portion. It wasn’t too taxing (which means I wasn’t pushing hard enough?) and I actually used my brain as I tried to guess which gears would be the best choice for each section. The guy who was one number later than me, which means he started ten seconds after me, passed me during the ride. After he passed me in the pool I guess I must have gotten ahead of him in the transition area.
I was SO happy to get to the run area and since I don't have cycling shoes and already had my sneakers on I had a really quick transition. I just felt like it would be "all good” from that point on. I have confidence in that sport, I know I can run 5K on any day of the week at any time, knew how it would feel (unlike the other sports where I am still a complete “newbie”), thought my time would be decent at that sport, and just really like running. Well…it was hot on the course by this point. I passed a few people, including the guy who started just behind me. A couple of guys and one woman did pass me. I definitely wasn’t setting any speed records. At one point I thought, “Oh my god, am I cold?? I am definitely cold!!” That was weird and I know that wasn’t a good sign but I was close to the end so I wasn’t particularly worried. I felt like the time I spent running the 5K passed quickly, but even though I have no idea what my split times are for the individual events I am pretty sure it was a very slow 5K. I don’t care. I still felt the least lost running and it was my favorite sport!
When I finished I wasn’t dead to the world. I had a short kick, which leads me to believe I probably could have pushed a bit harder throughout the race, especially at the run since that is my strongest event. I felt really good afterwards. I took some ibuprofen. I haven’t been taking it recently but I figured I should take it for the knee. I stretched, grabbed some food, and took my stuff back to the car. I preventatively iced my knees with some ice from the coolers the post-race beverages were in. I got a free post-race massage and stayed for the awards ceremony.
I went back to the hotel and showered and packed in under 30 minutes and hit the road. I fielded phone calls from my sister (did I have fun and make my goal times?), my parents (they wanted to know how I placed), and my brother (how did the bike ride go-he bikes himself and we discussed bikes last night-and how is the knee feeling-he has knee issues too) and once I got in my bedroom I passed out for an hour. I could definitely sleep more but I want to be able to sleep tonight so I am forcing myself awake.
My thoughts on it all: While I was waiting this morning I could not believe how many hours of training everyone there had put in for this one hour plus of racing. It takes A LOT (in terms of training, equipment, and logistics) to get ready for a race and race day is only the tip of the iceberg. That’s obvious I guess. But it really hit me this morning how being able to race was the by-product and reward for waking up at 5:30 in the morning to go swimming or running. I really really enjoyed the triathlon. I can’t believe I can swim!! I want to do another one! I think it would be fun to do a race with another competitor I knew. Anyone interested? I also asked my Dad but he thinks the swim would do him in. He just needs to train (and maybe a swimming lesson)! A health girl wants to do one so maybe this fall. Next time I would also definitely buy some appropriate tri clothing so I don’t break the nudity rule. On the way home I also figured out why it seemed like so much work logistically to get to this race-it is the first race I have traveled to in over a year. I mostly race local races or the big races that happen to be local to me (Marine Corps or Cherry Blossom). I guess it wasn’t that much hassle to go to the tri, I just wasn’t used to it. Finally, it was really cool having the experience of doing something new. I was excited to just be there and do a triathlon. There was no pressure to go a certain speed (except for the swim!) so I knew I would pretty much be a happy athlete with a brand new accomplishment at the end of the day. I did want to do well b/c I am a competitive person, but as long as I finished with some semblance of at least average times I knew that would leave me feeling like I was putting my training to use. (As for final time and official placing: 1 hour, 16 minutes, and change: I think I was just barely top 1/2 overall and maybe top 1/3 among women. Official results still to be posted).
It was fun. I am a triathlete. I recommend the experience to anyone. I just need a short break from putting my bike on and off of my car.
And finally, go LANCE!!!!!
Posted by Audrey at 05:45 PM | Comments (9)
July 23, 2005
On top of the world…or the bottom…
At this moment I am beat. It has been a long day of being on the go to get to where I am right now-in my hotel room, trying to relax, waiting for my brother and his girlfriend, both 22, to come meet me for dinner. They should be here in about an hour.
The day started out eventfully. I planned to wake up at 7:30. However, when I got up at 6 to use the bathroom I discovered our house had no water. A quick search of the web showed the water company was performing emergency maintenance in our area and the water should be on by 10 AM. Unfortunately, I had to be in a dress at a hotel meeting at 10 AM. I needed to shower and shave. I decided I would wait an hour or so to see if the water fixed itself, but I really couldn’t go back to sleep in case I needed extra time to go somewhere else to shower. I weighed my options in my head: the gym was free but the pool was further from my house and had a greater chance of not being affected by the water issues. I used the time to put my bike on my car and mentally go over my packing list. I was e-mailing a professor when I heard the toilet start to fill at 8 AM and I immediately hopped in the shower. The water was still a bit cloudy so I let it run for a few minutes but then I was probably the first person in the neighborhood to shower with the fixed water system. Who knows what bacteria I exposed myself to :) I was grossed out enough, however, that I did brush my teeth with leftover water from my nalgene water bottle. I washed the bike grease off my legs and then put on my dress. At THIS moment I felt like “I had my shit together.” I mean, I was this soon-to-be triathlete dealing with my bike and everything and now I was all dressed up about to go to a meeting. When you are 24 (and maybe older?) the moments in which you are completely happy with yourself are few and far between. So much of my life is up in the air, I move all the time, sometimes I'm bored, and when I am actually making money I have a bunch of entry-level jobs and internships. But for one moment I seriously felt like I had a sense of who I was and was proud of everything I was doing today.
When I got to the hotel meeting I brought in all the items I didn’t want to leave in the heat in my car (laptop, bathing suit for the tri, and my backup bathing suit) as well as the clothes I was going to change out of after the meeting. I checked them at the concierge. After the meeting I changed and hit the road again.
There was traffic. I drove for three hours. I picked up my packet and got a lesson as to where all of the numbers go (helmet, bike, and on the front of me somewhere for running). I get my chip (which goes on my ankle with a medical bracelet) tomorrow morning. Then I went to the hotel and checked in. Next up was a visit to the race course. THIS is where the oh my god, I am the opposite of on top of the world started to kick in. It is HOT here. Really hot. Every where I look people have special Tri bikes (not sure if I mentioned but I have a hybrid). These people look serious. They are all wearing triathlon race t-shirts. AND, the swim is indoors and the transition is a short walk away-over rocks and sand. Am I supposed to do that barefoot??? I found where my bike is supposed to be racked and it looks all right to me. I am obsessed with the fact that someone might steal my stuff from the transition area. My sunglasses are expensive and what if someone takes my sneakers with my orthotics inside??? The women who taught my tri class said no ones stuff ever goes missing but I heard of someone getting to the end of a tri and finding his sneakers there (someone else wore them by accident). (I have no idea how the guy without sneakers finished.) Will these things happen to me??? PLUS, I have NO IDEA how long it will take me to bike 12 miles. No idea.
Then I went to the store and bought yogurt and a banana (I brought ½ a bagel from home) for breakfast. I didn’t think the first two items would survive the trip in the heat. I completely see one reason people can’t race every weekend-it’s tiring getting ready!! Triathloning is a high-maintenance sport. You need to keep track of so much stuff and the logistics are intense.
I took an artsy picture of my bike, helmet, bathing suit, and foot with a running sneaker. All of my numbers are on the everything. How symbolic, right? :) I am glad I have company coming so I don’t drive myself crazy.
Posted by Audrey at 05:06 PM | Comments (1)
July 22, 2005
Game Plan
Following Barb's advice, I started my escalator taper a day early. Yesterday I refrained from walking up the Dupont escalator steps. It was slow just standing there and I felt like people were judging me-look at that lazy girl!!! But then I decided anyone looking at me probably did not think exactly that b/c they probably did not think I was a girl.
I should explain. I am supposed to dress down for work so that our clients feel comfortable working with us. But I can't wear any of my regular shorts b/c they are too short for work. So I bought bigger shorts. They are almost like jams. Does anyone remember those? They are kind of baggy. And then I wear a Gap-like t-shirt or a couple of ribbed tank tops (they go by a different, politically incorrect name that I am not going to use in my blog)...And since I am in the sun for a lot of the day I often wear a visor from my college or a Red Sox hat. I look SOOO good at work. I really should get fun skirts or something. This isn't a problem on the weekends but I guess I just don't have enough really casual clothes that are conservative enough to wear to work and I didn't feel like buying new ones for the 12 weeks I am working. I honestly look awful though. [Plus, I am wearing shorts so I can wear sneakers instead of flip-flops since I do a lot of walking.] Anyway, enough with the clothes.
I ran this morning for 27 minutes. I felt a bit better than earlier in the week. I feel warm and fuzzy b/c everyone has been wishing me good luck. My mom (who I told over IM on Wednesday night that I could not bear to talk another minute about my dress for my friend's wedding, did i have shoes yet?, or engagement present etiquette-which is what she is interested in) e-mailed me this emphatic e-mail wishing me good luck in my race-and sports are not her thing really-which was super thoughtful of her to remember I HAD a race coming up. She is not a blog reader-I don’t think :)
I am going to an engagement party tonight at 7 PM-I was instructed to bring nice wine (or good rum) for the happy couple and no other gifts and my Mom doesn't think that could possibly be accurate-but I plan to leave by 9:30 PM so I am home by 9:45. I have to be at a work thing on Saturday morning from 10 AM until Noon and then I am immediately headed out of town, going right to packet pick-up (I think there may be a bike inspection I need my bike for), and then heading to the hotel. Then I want to go see the course since I don’t know what a transition area actually looks like. My brother lives an hour from the race and he and his girlfriend are going to drive in and have dinner with me on Saturday night. Then I will probably head back to the hotel and surf the web, read, or watch tv. (I called the hotel and they have free internet. No, I don't NEED internet!! I just wanted to know if I should bring my computer to amuse myself while I relaxed). The race is 7 AM Sunday morning. I hope I don't unknowingly break any rules since I haven't read the tri manual (it's long). The cool thing is that even though it’s a Sprint tri in a pool I still get body markings. How fun is that?? (Then I will look REALLY good at work on Monday with numbers all over my body). That's the general game plan. We’ll so how far real life deviates from it. Enjoy your weekends!
Posted by Audrey at 09:46 AM | Comments (1)
July 21, 2005
Fatigue
I’m exhausted. This week has been filled with ridiculous exhaustion. It reminds me of a run in Boston where I changed my shoes afterwards and ran a few minutes with different shoes on to see if my new sneakers were particularly heavy. (They weren’t.) My swim Tuesday was really slow (15 seconds slower than my fastest 300 m time from last week), I described how tired I was yesterday, and I swam SOO slowly this morning (30 seconds slower than the my fastest 300 m from last week). I am also having trouble getting up in the morning even though I am usually an early riser.
I just feel so weird that after my swim this morning I was trying to play detective. I don’t think it’s an iron thing since I had red meat this week and I have been trying to take my vitamins. Plus I don’t have any bruises. I haven’t been missing too much sleep. I am not really taxed from last week or this week. I think I am hydrated. I have been eating enough. I just have no idea what the deal is. It’s kind of a weird feeling not to know what is going on with your body. My only thought is my non-working out hours are more challenging than when I had a desk job or was a student. I run a lot of errands for work so I go up and down the stairs maybe 30 times a day. Out of habit I also walk up the escalators in subways, one of which is the 4th largest escalator in the US or something (Rosslyn or Dupont, I can’t remember which-but I walk up both all the time). So maybe that is making me tired? It’s my only idea. No, that's not true. After reading Chelle's post (July 14), I wondered if maybe it is a "cycle" thing. That doesn't usually bother me though so I don't know if that is it either.
Hmm…well, nothing I can do about it. After my “heavy shoe” run in Boston I obviously got better so I am sure I will this time too. I have a few days until Sunday so I am optimistic it will sort itself out before then.
I am working late tonight so am headed into work late. It’s not too bad a deal. Have a good day!
Posted by Audrey at 08:42 AM | Comments (8)
July 20, 2005
Excited for Tri
This was my first run this morning in a while where i was really out there just logging miles. (When you run as low mileage as I do I tend to think most of what I do is quality and that I am nowhere near where the law of diminshing returns would significantly come into play.) I wouldn't call today's run quality b/c I ran so slowly. I ran for 30 minutes. I was trying to take it easy but I was NOT trying to have an unquality run. I just feel like that's how it turned out. The hills are monstrous and I was seriously mad at them this morning. Where I live in MA is so flat that I am going to be in such good shape and am going to kick it's butt (yes, the state's butt) when I get back there. I decided I am going to run on the treadmill Friday so I can really take it easy (by avoiding the hills) b/c my legs are still tired for some reason. I tend to do much better when I seriously undertrain (my 1/2 marathon PR immediately follows a few weeks of not running due to injury) and I also ran a marathon PR with a few weeks off due to injury smack in the middle of my training. So I will continue to run ridiculous low mileage this week.
I am going to see the Nationals tonight. It's my first time seeing them play. Yeah! I also need to take some time at some point to get organized for this weekend. I have to go to a work thing Saturday morning and leave right from there to go out of town to the tri (which is Sunday morning). Friday night is an engagement party for my friends and I might have to work late Thursday night so I really am running out of time to get squared away and packed. But race details are newly up on the website and I am getting more excited!
PS. I think I found the shorts I am wearing. I gave my mom some shorts a few years ago which she doesn't wear b/c they are "too short." They are in general "too long" for me, but okay for biking and weren't bad for running this morning. That is the one useful thing about today's run :)
Posted by Audrey at 12:30 PM | Comments (3)
July 19, 2005
Moody Day
It’s amazing how the day can change really quickly.
My workout this morning was good and I was thinking to myself-wow, it’s really easy to workout when you aren’t injured. For example, this morning I went swimming and post-workout did not have to worry about putting Neosporin and bandages (really big band-aids) on my heels to cover my blisters. That involves taking a shower, carefully drying my feet, and trying to keep the heels sterile and dry until I can put on my bandages-which is not an easy feat (no pun intended) in a communal locker room. But when you are healed, like I was today, it is a breeze to get ready-especially since I have taken to not drying my hair with a hair dryer. The whole process is so fast. And when you are not injured there is no elaborate icing procedure involved…it’s just so much easier.
Then I went to work which was pretty bad. I was in a BAD mood as I was leaving work. When I get in a bad mood all I really want to do is go running or something, which I couldn’t b/c that messes with the rest week and the knee. My friend asked me to drop off some CD’s at his house and I agreed. Once at his house there were a bunch of people there and we all decided to go out to dinner. It was fun. We went to a nice place and it was a really good time. I just got home. My night definitely picked up in an unexpected way after my yucky day. It’s at times like that that I really feel lucky to be surrounded by such good people.
Of note is that I really need to dress better. It’s funny b/c earlier in the day I was thinking how gross I looked-but how I really could care less b/c I was having such a bad day. For example, in the tri I really care more about how I do than about what I look like. And I don’t care I only have 4.5 toenails (my doctor and mom thought I would be upset) just b/c my foot works. (That’s why sports are so good for young girls!) And at work today I was wearing really yucky clothing and my glasses-but I did not care at all b/c I had a lot to do and the emphasis was really on what I was producing, not what I looked like. I really was dressed badly but did care AT ALL. But then I ended up out at a nice restaurant in my disgusting clothes [blondie would have been so disappointed with me!] and I felt underdressed. I was so unprepared…so I don’t know where I stand on the dressing nicely bit. My mom would say I need to dress better, but I don’t usually care, but I guess I do sometimes…
So my moving friend (mentioned in my first DC post-he helped me move in) has agreed to run on the sketchy trail with me sometime. I am glad he will-but I am still bitter I can’t go on my own…
Posted by Audrey at 11:15 PM | Comments (1)
July 18, 2005
Tri Clothing
In preparation for the tri on Sunday I am going to take it easy this week. While I was watching the end of War of the Worlds with Nanda (we got back in for free since we only saw the first half on Saturday) I decided to do cardio five times between Monday and Friday, but all very easy. I probably made the decision when yet more people were getting blown-up, vaporized, or their blood sucked. My proposed schedule was: run (M) - swim (T) -run (W) -swim (Th) -run (F) -off (Sat) -tri (Sun). Once I was home, however, I decided REALLY should ride my bike again before the tri. I think it's too late to do any sort of training, but it is probably a good idea to make sure my seat is at the right height and the clothes I want to wear are suitable. Since I am kind of running out of time before the tri I decided at 11 PM last night that I should do a brick workout Monday morning. Bike 30 minutes then run 30 minutes.
The shorts I wore were not good. I was wearing guys running shorts. I thought they would be long enough for the bike ride and not too long that they would be annoying for the run. I was wrong in both counts. I guess this means I will be experimenting with other shorts on my two other runs this week. I also practiced biking and running in the bathing suit I want to wear in the tri. Well..."bathing suit" might be an exaggeration. I am going to wear ½ of a bathing suit.
Specifically, I am going to pair bikini bottoms with a sports bra to swim. Since I am not buying official tri clothes, and my swim is in a pool, I was going to wear a bathing suit. But I also need to wear a sports bra. Apparently some triathletes wear a sports bra under their bathing suit-but I just bought a new one piece speedo bathing suit that I don’t particularly want to stretch out by wearing a sports bra under it for 6 minutes of swimming. I decided to forgo the entire bathing suit and just wear bottoms-except the only 2 piece bathing suits I have are bikinis. The bottoms have these little decorative tie things that I am going to have to tie somehow and don’t exactly look tough or portray an "I am going to kick your butt so be scared" feeling. I am seriously going to look ridiculous while I am waiting to swim. The good news is the bikini bottom I am going to wear was functionally great on the bike AND run.
On to the actual working out: I decided I miss my bike!!! I had fun on my bike ride this morning. My legs were tired during my run but it was nice to be outside (disgusting, but nice). During my run I think it was 78 degrees with 85% humidity so I guess it wasn’t AS disgusting as it’s been.
Posted by Audrey at 06:55 PM | Comments (5)
July 17, 2005
Nanda, Leilani, R., and I went to dinner and the movies last night. We saw War of the Worlds. The most noteworthy part of our night was during a dramatic moment in the movie involving an electrical storm when the power cut out due to the real life storm outside our theater. Once we emerged from the theater, guided by emergency lighting from a generator, emergency vehicles with lights and sirens were all rushing off somewhere and the surrounding area was all dark. It was eerie.
This morning I went to Mt. Vernon with some of my health classmates who are also interning here in DC. The website doesn’t do it justice. I can’t actually post pictures b/c a crucial part of my camera/computer link is in Boston. However, this was my second time to the estate and the land remains one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life.
I was then giving a mini-tour to my friends on the car ride back home. Here is Old Town, here is the Mt. Vernon path I run and bike on, oh look, there is Iwo Jima and Arlington Cemetery is around the corner. We’re driving through Georgetown right now-aren’t those homes gorgeous? Monuments and interesting stuff just APPEARS all over the place every few feet. I am falling in love a lot with the DC area (there is more to this place than just DC!!!) and I think I am definitely going to try and finagle my way down here after I graduate but we shall see.
I might do some abs and/or knee stuff later. Or not. I actually have some work/school stuff to take care of before perhaps seeing War of the Worlds Part II (the latter half!).
Posted by Audrey at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2005
Water Babies
This has been a long morning. I woke up at 7 and was out running by 7:30. There is a trail near my house I heard about a while ago and have wanted to run on for years. However, I didn’t know its exact location until I got back to DC this summer. After running by the entrance to it a few times I finally noticed it. Unfortunately, a bazillion people have told me over the years that it’s a “sketchy” trail and I shouldn’t run on it alone. But I ALWAYS run alone. So this morning I went running and I decided I would just check it out and see what it looked like. I was on the trail for maybe 1 minute before turning around and heading back to the street. I probably would have stayed if I hadn’t gotten so many warnings from people. However, the warnings coupled with the fact that the trail was definitely secluded (even though we were right near civilization once you were off of the actual trail) spooked me. I HATE bad people!! I feel like I should be able to run wherever I want!!!
I ran for a total of 49:00 minutes. I ended up heading downhill to run along the Potomac on another path that someone warned me years ago not to run on alone but is actually totally fine and then ran back uphill home. My legs were tired from Thursday. It was hot and humid. The uphill home was killer. I was moving slowly. All of that doesn’t really bother me too much today for some reason. It’s the first summer I have been able to run in a couple of years b/c of the toe surgeries that usually mark the start of summer for me :)
Then I ate an orange and some pretzels. I wasn’t really hungry since I felt so disgusting from the heat and humidity but I drank a LOT of water and was worried about drinking too much without having anything else. Then I procrastinated for a few minutes before heading to the pool to do the swimming I was supposed to do yesterday. I just swam pretty casually for 30ish minutes. I practiced some flip turns. Those were not too good at all. I missed the wall once. I got bored and did some backstroke for fun. (I usually only do crawl b/c I can’t do breaststroke b/c of my knee). I was kind of just playing in the water. I was circle swimming with 2 other people and it was disastrous. I have never had it go so badly before. We were all different speeds so the guy kept passing me every few laps. I was trying to pass the other woman but that was hard to do w/ the guy in the other lane and the woman was not really cooperating and letting me pass her. Then the guy was doing intervals so I was never sure if he was resting or about to jump back in. I think we all annoyed each other quite honestly.
There was also a water babies class going on at the pool that was taking up most of the lanes. There were babies and kids ALL OVER the pool and locker room. I will admit they were cute and it’s great their parents are introducing them to an active lifestyle…but they needed SO much attention from their parents at every single moment. They didn’t want to shower, they didn’t want to use soap, they didn’t want to get dressed, they wanted to know why girls and boys looked different (there were young boys in the women’s locker room b/c they were with their mothers). I had to laugh at the last question but I was ready to get out of there!
Posted by Audrey at 12:22 PM | Comments (1)
July 15, 2005
Sister Plus Coffee Kiosk
This morning I had swimming on my schedule but I was up until almost one AM doing various things so I didn’t expect I would feel like swimming at 6 AM. I was correct. I reset the alarm for 7 AM and started my day then. I have a chunk of free time tomorrow morning so I am going to swim then instead in addition to my planned run. I got ready for work and then had some time to kill so I did my knee exercises and knee stretches for about 25 minutes solely so I could cross them off of my giant typed to-do list. Then, and this is priceless, I went to the coffee kiosk where my sister and her boyfriend work. They had put aside a chocolate chip muffin for me they swore I had to try, plus I think they wanted me to see where they work. It was the most expensive muffin I ever had (they didn’t charge me but isn’t the unwritten rule that you’ve got to tip generously when your friends/relatives are the servers?!?) but watching my sister A) work and B) in a service industry in which she had to be pleasant to people early in the morning (we are a moody family)…was priceless. She is all grown up!! I am definitely going back next Friday morning to take pictures of her working. She will be completely mortified.
That’s kind of it. Work was good. Some friends are gathering for dinner and a movie at a friend's house. This should be a busy and fun weekend with some workstuff thrown in. I also have to decide what to wear to the tri which is NEXT weekend. I am buying nothing (else) new for it so I have some ideas on how to combine bathing suits/sports bras/shorts, but it is not going to be pretty.
Posted by Audrey at 06:51 PM | Comments (1)
July 14, 2005
Progress
1) My new sneakers are fabulous. The first time I wore them was tonight. I quizzed the guy who sold them to me (from Fleet Feet in Adams Morgan in the District) as to if I could wear them for the first time in a race. I told him I had no other options. He said that the people who ask that question typically don’t have other options! He also said, “The sin of new shoes is not as bad as the sin of old shoes.” Since I really didn’t have a choice I wore them tonight and they were SPLENDID. The guy from Fleet Feet really knew what he was talking about and we even talked about how we both sometimes cut our sneakers. I specifically went to this store this time b/c I KNOW he is good from previous experience. (I should have gone there in the first place…) Also, my new sneakers are NARROW (Not WIDE like the Pegasus were. Those were just such a disaster.)
2) There was running progress. These are my four mile races over the past month:
June 21, Time: 30:29 (Course was short), First mile: 6:48, No Pace Since Course Was Short
July 4, Time: 31:38 First mile: 7:00, Pace: 7:55
July 14, Time: 30:24 First mile: 7:22, Pace: 7:36
So my first mile was the slowest today, providing the fastest overall time. AND, I wasn’t hurting at all. I didn’t really consider walking at any point and I felt fine afterwards. I also managed to drop two women I was running near at the end of the race. At the 3 mile mark I was just behind two women (we were running in a line) and I moved up next to the woman who was leading the three of us. She saw me coming and kept up pace with me and we sped up and dropped the third woman. With 400 meters left the other woman and I both picked up the pace and ran next to each other. With 200 meters left I kicked it home and put a pretty fair distance between the two of us. I am not sure how much distance b/c the final results aren’t up. I was super excited to be running near those other women though b/c they absolutely pushed me to run faster than I would have without them there. Plus, it was kind of exciting to actually have a mini race within a race since I am not usually near the front of races and rarely get to jockey for any sort of position :) But the two of us were definitely fighting each other and I totally felt like I was racing someone else and that I had to use racing strategy (ie. not kick too far from the finish) so that was kind of cool.
So I am happy. I have also learned my lesson about starting too fast. The 7:22 felt like just the right speed (though the overall pace would suggest I probably STILL should have started slower-or else maybe I should have run the rest of the race faster…). I guess the experimenting continues.
Posted by Audrey at 09:43 PM | Comments (6)
Older and Sober?
A good (and bad) thing happened tonight. I didn’t drink-but I did fall back in with my drinking friends. These are actually some of the smartest and most interesting people I know. They are my colleagues from my first job after college. However, in addition to working together, we also partied together. A lot. There was a goodbye happy hour for one girl who is headed back to school that one of my former co-workers invited me to and then…voila…everyone was there even though only 2 of the maybe 7 or so people still work for the company we all worked for. It was everyone back together-and we now have future plans to hang out. I am going to have to watch myself since I like to think I am a changed person from my immediate post-college happy hour days. I am more low key now-and truthfully I think they may be too. We are older and healthier as a group. We shall see but I am going to make a supreme effort to try and be good! Also, we are almost ALL still fabulously single. I personally find it hard to believe that not ONE of us has met anyone of note in the 2 years since I’ve been gone from that job. Fortunately, I am not worried.
I have a 4 mile race tonight. Wish me luck. I am NOT going to run the first mile any faster than 7:45 min/mile and we shall see if that makes a difference….I plan on biking to the race (downhill 2 miles) so that is kind of fun. I also have a new pair of sneakers that I hope don't shred my feet (like the pair with 12 miles on them that I am going to sell on E-bay). No shoes have EVER bothered me as much as those. My feet and Nike Pegasus (Size 9 Wide) are not soulmates.
Posted by Audrey at 12:17 AM | Comments (4)
July 13, 2005
Soothing Post
I went swimming this morning. Nothing too eventful. I wore my new bathing suit. I am really tired of buying stuff. It is actually really annoying to buy stuff not just b/c of the money but b/c of the time it takes. I am on a huge exercise buying streak right now (tri, hotel room for tri, bathing suit, sneakers, pool use for summer, swim cap, etc.). I don't think I have spent this much money on workout stuff in such a short time period since I bought plane tickets to Austin to run in a race in 2004. I am hoping once I get squared away it will level off.
I went sub 6 minutes again swimming so I felt confident enough to change my predicted swim time for the tri to 5:45 (from 6:40 when I registered). It's important to have an accurate predicted swim time so the pool doesn't get clogged with swimmers trying to pass each other. I sent an e-mail to a random person whose e-mail was hidden somewhere on the race website so we shall see if the change is actually made. There may need to be some definite follow-up on that. The race has reached its cap (400 people) but I am a confirmed participant. My age group has only a few participants in it (20-24 women) but I am (obviously) competing against the whole lot of females, which is significantly more people. Looking at the registration list, there are a LOT of women in their 30s and 40s competing. I guess people tend to get into tris when they are older. [I think the same goes for recreational running. I am the only one in my age group for the summer racing series. 25-29 women is much more competitive than my age group.]
B/c I am bored I am going to Au Bon Pain for 1/2 price muffins and sweets in 8 minutes. (The special is 4 PM-6 PM). Yeah special. See how calm my posts are when I don't have a workout disaster to share? The lack of excitement is kind of soothing though :) I can definitely stand a few days of this.
Posted by Audrey at 03:58 PM | Comments (2)
July 12, 2005
PAIPB
Today I ran past the US Marine Corps War Memorial (aka Iwo Jima). It is right next to Fort Myer. I am glad I wore a shirt b/c I ran past about 200 marines (almost exclusively male) setting up for some event at the memorial!
Usually at some point in every race I question whether or not I should walk-I haven't yet-but the thought does usually cross my mind. However, I never feel that way on training runs. I did today though. I was thinking, "Oh wow, I am in horrible shape. This is ridiculous. This is hard. I am slow. I need to walk." But I didn't. I sucked it up. At the car the cause of the problem occurred to me. I was hot. At 6 AM it was 86 degrees, feeling like 89. It was humid. It was disgusting out. And I don't run my best in the heat. I am pretty sure that was the problem. But I ran by Iwo Jima, past Arlington National Cemetery, and along the Potomac. It was pretty (the scenery, not my running). I ran for 38:33 minutes. I HAVE to do something about the blisters though. They are NOT good.
Other than that I was just thinking about what I would like my running goals to be. I don't really have any right now. I have almost achieved one-recover from my calf strain and recover from my knee pain. (I just need to find good running shoes and I am all set). I have the tri coming up but I have to admit I am not as motivated by that as by running. (As can be seen by the lack of biking in my training). Maybe after I do the tri that will change but it's hard to say right now.
I wrote paragraphs and paragraphs about some goal ideas which included specific time goals, speculations on what I thought my chances of achieving each goal were, and in which I introduced new temporary acronyms (such as PAIPB-Post April Injury Personal Best). I decided to scrap the paragraphs until they start to make some sort of sense. After about half an hour of writing I just stopped being interested in all the numbers. I figure that a goal will just hit me when I hear about a good opportunity or race that I am excited about. Why force it?
So I am not going to worry about goals for a few more weeks (though there are some ideas floating around in my head-as a sneak peek, I am thinking Austin marathon in February!-though I am open to other winter marathons). I am honestly happy just to be running. I don’t need a goal for right now. I am in a summer racing series (next race on Thursday night) so that kind of keeps me doing some faster running. Other than that I am just going to hang out until after the tri on July 24th. Yeah running!
Posted by Audrey at 08:20 PM | Comments (2)
July 11, 2005
Did I melt my bathing suit?
This is NOT a rhetorical question. If anyone knows what happened to it please let me know. I put it on today and it was BAGGY. (Which is not a very flattering look I have to say.) But I figured, hey, this no junk food thing (which no, I am not adhering to so far) must be working. (Don’t ask me how I legitimately thought that logic of mine was accurate, but I did). When I got out of the pool, however, the suit was literally hanging off of me. In the locker room I asked another girl, “Have you ever seen a suit do this?” She said, “No, it just looks really big.” It did not fit like this on Friday. I have no idea what happened to it. I haven’t washed it since then. The only thing I can fathom is that it melted in my car today when it was most likely in 100+ degree temperatures for almost 8 hours. Is that possible?? It is about 2 years old. I wear the same one every time I swim.
Other than that I had a fabulous workout day. Check out these stats:
40:00 Minutes run pain free (I have a blister from my new sneakers but PLEASE compared to the last few months that is nothing).
3:00 Minutes I spent lying on the grass in the shade with my eyes closed on the National Mall following stretching following my run. It was the best three minutes of my day.
5:58 A sub 6 minute 300 meters swum for the first time.
17 Miles last week in 4 days of running (the number of days I am going to aim for for a while. It seems to work for me.)
I ran in the morning and had a good breakfast at 8:30 but then was stuck in court (not my trial!) for seven hours. The judge didn’t exactly give a lunch break as she tried to power through some stuff. The attorney and my partner and I were all dying. I was snacking on raisins and a balance bar but the other two declined my snack offers. I don’t know why they wouldn’t eat. I was so light headed. It was pretty weird how the trial kept going and going. After we were finally released and could eat I scarfed down some yogurt before heading to the pool. Needless to say I was starving by dinner which leads me to another fun part of my day (in addition to my exercise stats!). I found a new café in Arlington…with great food….parking…and free wireless internet access. It’s perfect for me!! I am blogging from there. I may be relaxed and rejuvenated now? I guess I bounce back okay :)
Posted by Audrey at 07:29 PM | Comments (8)
July 10, 2005
Neither Relaxed nor Rejuvenated
This weekend was too short for all that was packed into it. There was the family situation, 12 hours of driving in two days, and so much traffic. Really, though, how much can I complain when I am for the most part insulated from the bulk of responsibilities right now? My grandma and the generation right above me (my aunts, uncles, and parents) are really involved and play a much larger role than me in all of the goings on with my grandfather right now. I have no right to stressed. I will say, however, that I am very sad.
I saw my grandpa again today and he was great. I don’t understand the mind at all. In some ways his responses to the environment are really slow-and then he will say something really witty in which he demonstrates he quite clearly knows what is going on. I really wonder what he thinks about his illness. I didn’t ask him about it because who wants to talk about that (a really serious conversation) in a roomful of people? I said good-bye to him and then for the first half hour in the car I was trying not to cry. My sister and I didn’t really say anything to each other at first and then we talked.
I was also thinking about the advances in medicine that have occurred. Without modern day medicine all four of my grandparents, my great aunt who was there this weekend, and possibly my parents, would already be dead. I’ve been on a lot of antibiotics throughout my life for various things so without those I might be dead too or grossly scarred from infected cuts. I would hardly be able to walk because I wouldn’t have had foot surgery to remove a bone growing through my big toenail, my arm would be gimpy b/c it wouldn’t have been set right after a HS accident, and I wouldn’t be able to see much without my glasses/contacts. My brother, who tore his ACL, wouldn’t have had surgery, and would also be gimpy. Etc. etc. So in many ways I guess we are lucky to have had so much (ungimpy) time with each other already.
Also, after my mom has told me that SHE wasn’t responsible for giving me my bunion (which is genetic) I found out my great aunt and lots of other relatives have them so it was an AHAH moment.
That’s kind of it. Today is a rest day from exercise. I wish I could run or bike sice I am so stressed out (yes, I am stressed even though I said I shouldn't be) but that wouldn’t be good for the knee. I am off to do some work and/or clean my room so I can start the week with a clean and organized slate. Have a good one.
Posted by Audrey at 07:14 PM | Comments (3)
July 09, 2005
Family Times
I'm tired. My grandma is asleep; my great aunt is asleep. My sister is on her computer in the living room (my grandparents have wireless internet) and I am on my grandparents' computer. My grandfather is at the nursing home/skilled nursing facility. I can't remember exactly what type of place it is but it is something to that affect. I hope he is asleep as it is late. We went to see him today. He is okay. It's all really sad but apparently my sister and I saw him at a really good time (as measured by his lucidity). He recognized us and wanted to know all about our jobs and he even asked about the DC Nationals. Unfortunately, he apparently wasn't doing so hot earlier this morning.
To state the obvious, the whole situation is hardest on him and my grandmother. The bond the two of them share has never been as evident to me as right now. They have been married for over 50 years. He confides in her in a way he doesn't in anyone else, and she spent a lot of the day talking about him and times they have spent together and wishing he was out at lunch and, later, dinner with us. There were other older couples around that I think were hard for her to watch. My grandpa has been sick for a while but he only recently became acutely sick. She really hopes he gets better, but I think we both know that may not happen. It breaks my heart.
The cute thing about this trip is that I am hanging out with a lot of women-all sisters. My grandma and her sister are with me and my sister. The older two (and my sis of course) are both really fun.
Before my sister and I left DC I ran a long run of 46:25 today. :) It is MY longest run since the beginning of April. It felt really nice to be out early on a Saturday morning again and I literally ran into a few different runners I know on the trail. I was worried the trails would be packed with people training for the marathon (I ran along the Potomac River) but it was completely fine. I also got my sister to drive the first shift so I could ice and eat. I just did my knee exercises and the other women didn't think I was weird at all.
I am off to bed. Good night.
Posted by Audrey at 11:12 PM | Comments (2)
July 08, 2005
All Over the Place
Today ended up entirely different that I planned on. The day was supposed to go something like this: get up, swim, go to work, leave work, go to drinks with my friend, and go home. I expected to spend perhaps $15 today, which includes transportation, lunch, and a drink or two. Instead, the day involved me spending hundreds of dollars, quadrupling my make-up collection, and discovering two broken parts on my car the day before a 5 hour road trip to Chapel Hill, NC. FUN TIMES.
I packed up my stuff to go swimming and walked out to my car at 6:15 AM. I knew immediately my driver’s side rearview mirror was broken. This is 100% the fault of one of my housemates. (We are constantly jockeying cars around here b/c our 6 cars are parked 3 and 3. Yeah, that parking arrangement is as fun as it sounds.) Hey, accidents happen, but someone should have TOLD me they hit my car on something. I am VERY mad. I kind of pushed the mirror back into place (I was trying to do this in the rain) and got in my car. As I am driving to the pool I notice an indicator light that won’t go off. It is a super odd shape that I can’t identify so I pull over and pull out the owner’s manual. It is the MLI light which has something to do with emissions. Okay, I decide the car definitely needs to serviced before my road trip tomorrow. So I turn around, head home, pack a second bag of work clothes and head back out to my crippled car.
I then head out to the pool again. I swam for 30 minutes, showered, dressed for work, drove out to Virginia, dropped my car off, took the dealer’s shuttle to the subway, and took the subway to work. The dealer fixed my car (I needed “service” not a “part” for whatever the indicator light was indicating-so it wasn’t under warranty-and there was no charge for the mirror) and after work I reversed the transportation process (walking, subway, shuttle) and went to pick up my car.
Unfortunately, the dealer is near the mall. I hate shopping. I need a dress for a wedding and I am sick of always looking all awkward b/c I am wearing something that isn't quite right (b/c I am a dork and never seem to buy the right thing). I decided to just power through it. I happened to walk in by the make-up counter. Before going into the mall my make-up “collection” consisted of Maybelline liquid stuff (concealer?) that I put on blemishes and similar flesh colored powder I put on top of that. I went to the counter to buy the lip gloss I ran out of about 5 months ago. I walked away from the counter with the lip gloss, eyeshadow, stuff that goes under eye shadow (I never knew this existed before today), eye liner, blush, eye makeup remover, face powder, and new blemish concealer. Then I bought a dress for the wedding. I got a good deal on the dress but now I feel super old b/c I have a Macy’s card. MY MOM has a Macy’s card. Then I came home and ate cold cereal for dinner b/c, hey, that totally makes up for spending that much money, right? I can't buy anything. Ever. Again.
My sis and I are headed to Chapel Hill tomorrow. It’s a trip with good and bad parts to it. It’s hard to visit down south when I live in Boston so I haven’t been in a year and I really want to see my grandparents (and my grandma has been asking me to come). Unfortunately, my grandpa is very sick and it is a really hard time for my family. I can’t help but think this may be the last time I see him. I also am nervous for what I will see when I am there b/c I know his health has deteriorated mentally and physically in the last year. The mental deterioration is what scares me the most.
PS. Wearing a swimming cap (blue) and goggles (green) makes me look like a bug.
PSS. I am going for the least popular blogger award: I don’t like animals.
PSSS. My eyes look really good right now but now I have to go figure out how to use eye makeup remover.
Posted by Audrey at 09:14 PM | Comments (6)
July 07, 2005
Inappropriate to Blog?
I went running this morning. In an air-conditioned gym. I was seeking somewhere flat to appease the Achilles gods and somewhere where I could test out my new sneakers and still return them if they were not good. It was so easy to run (average 9 min/miles). I started out slower than that and ended quicker but hit 4 miles at exactly 36 minutes. Because of the lack of hills and cool temps it felt like cheating to run in those conditions. My Achilles feels fine today. I think it was the shoes.
Running indoors also gave me the chance to watch the news while I ran and I watched the London happenings unfold. Then, after showering and changing, I got on the bus for work. DC has upped its security on public transportation but everything was still running.
I don’t have the words to describe how horrified I was. I kept thinking back to how horrible 9/11 was for Americans (and others) and trying to understand what the London/European community was feeling. I was also thinking about what it all means for the global community. It’s a lot to take in and I was glad to be running within sight and sound of news feeds this morning.
Posted by Audrey at 04:16 PM | Comments (2)
July 06, 2005
Advanced Sneaker Surgery
I went to the pool this morning and swam for 30 minutes. It was fine. I was sharing a lane with this pretty cute guy who was obviously in shape and had all these pull buoys and things for your hands to create more drag. He was doing some complicated really hard workout. I, however, was slow and had hair in my face :) Awesome. My hair was also gross during the day so during one of my errands for work I was finally motivated to stop and buy a swimming cap and some special chlorine-detoxifying shampoo. I had no idea what I was doing but the saleslady talked me through the swimming cap purchase.
Last night I also performed more sneaker surgery, but this time it was a complete disaster. My sneaker has been bothering the back of my heel for a while, just kind of irritating it, and I think it is contributing to Achilles achiness. I decided, since my bunion sneaker surgery was super successful a couple of months ago, I should try and just cut away the annoying part of my shoe. Um, no. First of all, it took a couple of hours b/c the material I was cutting, using a knife and scissors, was really hard. Secondly, the shoe slides on my ankle now since there is a giant hole cut out of the inside of the back of the heel. So I destroyed my shoes (which thankfully were “only” $46) and had to go buy new shoes this afternoon.
I apologized several times to the 2 (yes, 2) salespeople that were helping me. They were in consultation with each other. “I’m really sorry I have so many feet issues and have tried on every pair of shoes. I really appreciate you taking so much time with me.” I need so much attention!
Then I had an hour to kill before meeting my friend for dinner so I went to the Georgetown location of the Washington Sports Club. This location of the gym is newly opened and is absolutely gorgeous. I LOVE it there. This was the third DC location I have tried and this one is the best so far, though the Gallery Place location is pretty darn great too. I did my core stuff and some stretching. Now I am tying up some lose ends and preparing to repeat the work/free-time cycle once more.
Posted by Audrey at 09:04 PM | Comments (1)
July 05, 2005
Ticket for Not Running
I discovered the fail-proof way to get out of bed for a run in the morning. If you don’t run, you get a ticket and/or your car gets towed.
Last night’s fourth of july barbeque and firework viewing necessitated leaving my car almost exactly a mile from my house because I had a few drinks to celebrate America. I walked home, but my car was parked on the street and I had to go move it before 7 AM. I left my house at 6:50 AM and jogged over, drove my car home, and then continued running for a total of 38:33 minutes of running. It was quite an effective way to get me awake and out of bed. [Also, my legs were a little bit tired, but I’m not sore and my run was fine. I think that means I could/should have run harder yesterday! At the very least, I find it encouraging I am not dying today.]
Then I ate a whole lot of junk food. JUST KIDDING. You guys are all so sweet. I promise I am not being obsessive. I really do eat a lot of junk food though and it’s probably a very good thing if I eat less. Though my less junk food promise has started today instead of yesterday since there was the bbq :) I really appreciate all of the comments.
I’m also really grateful for everyone’s tips for training and racing. As a comparatively inexperienced runner I continually learn so much from all of your blogs. And you’re all SO NICE! Anyway, enough mushiness…:) Night!
Posted by Audrey at 05:10 PM | Comments (2)
July 04, 2005
Age-Handicapped
How is 12:30 already? I woke up at 6:30 AM and the day has already flown by without me doing all of the things I planned on using my almost complete day off for. The nerve of time passing!
Yesterday was my last day in the Outer Banks and I went swimming at the community pool. Alone. No one else was there. I tried to wait until other people showed up to get in the water but no one came for 15 minutes so I decided to just go ahead with my workout. It was stupid, and I know better. My concession to the workout safety gods was not to practice flip-turns which would be the most likely cause of injury during my workout. I swam for 30 minutes and it was awesome to swim outside. I also played tennis: My dad and myself vs. my sis and B. My Dad and I were victorious 6-1, but it was also exciting b/c this was the first time I was cutting from side to side and my knee felt fine.
I ran in a 4 mile race this morning. It was pretty cool b/c the race was age-handicapped, meaning people start at different times based on gender and age. The idea is that once everyone has started at their different times, the race is “even” and everyone has an equal shot to cross the finish line first. It was fun to be in the race and know you were supposed to be passing (and holding off getting passed) by both men and women.
BUT, for someone in the age group with one of the later starts (and the last female start), I lost all advantage that comes with youth! I was put face to face with my abilities as I saw women who routinely beat me get to start ahead of me (b/c they are older). This race was a very humbling moment. Honestly, there are many men and women in this area who are not just fast for their age group, but fast RUNNERS, and this race really showcased their abilities.
As for my race, I am disappointed. I ran 31:38. I had hoped to run faster. The course was almost completely flat and the weather was not too bad for DC at 8 in the morning. I think it is slightly (maybe 10 seconds or so) slower than the 4 mile race I ran two weeks ago once you take into account the other race course was short. In addition, the other race course was much harder than today’s course.
The good news is I did not feel as horrible during this race as two weeks ago. Oh yes, it was a pleasant way to start the day and I got to run somewhere new. But that’s it. That’s all the good news.
From a previous four miler I know I can run faster than that. Things I need to do: run more miles and do speedwork and/or tempo runs (like I was doing when I was running faster.) I am calling an end to my recovery period and I am going to start either building a long run and/or running faster during my shorter runs. I kind of want to do both, but I know I can’t at the same time, so I may try and brainstorm a way to do a combination of both (so neither all out). I am also going to stop eating junk food. I may eat it one day a week or something, but I need to figure out a new system where I eat less of it. AND, I need to start out slower. Today’s first mile: 7:00 min.
Happy holidays to you all!
Posted by Audrey at 12:29 PM | Comments (10)
July 02, 2005
Chainsaw
I woke up at 6:10 and was on my bike and on the road by 6:27. I biked for 33 minutes (8 miles) and even though I was supposed to pop quickly into the house to see who was up and ready to go running (my Dad and sis’ bf expressed interest last night) my Dad was waiting for me outside as I pulled into the driveway at 7:00 sharp. I ditched my bike in the garage, ran into the house, confirmed B’s door was still closed, traded my gym shorts for running shorts (didn’t even take off my sneakers!), and ran back outside. I am guessing it took under two minutes to do all that. I fixed my hair (going from low ponytail for my bike helmet to a high running ponytail to keep the hair off of my face) as we jogged out of the driveway.
My Dad and I ran for 32 minutes and I think (based purely on how I was feeling since we have no mile markers) we ranged from 9 minute miles at the beginning to 10 minute miles at the end. I am pretty sure we ran approximately 3.2 miles because it is a course we have measured before. My legs were tired for the first minute but then I felt normal. After my Dad stopped running at home I ran another 4 minutes 30 seconds at a faster pace because I wanted to run harder for a short bit before calling it a day. My legs got tired as soon as I picked up the pace. During the last 4:30 I could definitely feel the fatigue.
Then I stretched. Then I did my knee exercises. Then I stretched my legs again. I still have to do my core exercises but after my knee exercises I looked at the clock and it was 8:05 and I had been exercising since 6:27. I know that is not THAT long, but I figured it was a good amount of time so I decided to take a rest and will do them later if the mood strikes!
Of note is that I was thrilled to run with my Dad since the first thing I noticed when I saw him yesterday was his chainsaw injury. Last week he was doing yard work and cut himself with the chainsaw and didn’t realize it until a few moments later. He looked down and saw blood on his pants. In my opinion he could have gone right through his leg. The gash is on his left leg. It is two inches below his knee to the left of the bone. If it was further towards the middle of his body (more to the right) he would have hit bone. If it was two inches up he would have hit his knee (necessitating surgery). If it was deeper-he might have lost his leg. As it is, it is just a really nasty looking soft tissue wound.
He is pretty blasé about the whole thing and claims he is just mad he had to stop working on the yard and that he ruined his pants. But I am having images of him having to run with a prosthetic leg.
Anyway, I was glad for the company and am especially glad he is still in tact.
Posted by Audrey at 10:12 AM | Comments (1)
July 01, 2005
Sleep Victorious Over Workout
In my ideal world I would have gotten up at 4:45 AM, packed my car, put my bike rack on my car, put my bike on my car, gotten to the pool by 5:20, swam from 5:30-6:00, showered, picked up my sis and her bf at 6:30, and then driven to the Outer Banks. However, I went to bed at midnight and I know from experience it is a BAD idea to drive tired, so instead I opted to set the alarm for 5:45. I figured if I had one of my freakishly early wake up mornings I could go swimming-otherwise I had to sleep. I woke up on my own at 5:40 AM. I managed to pick up the other two by 6:30ish and we were on our way.
It was a six hour drive and I drove the whole way b/c I had some sleeping, Dramamine needing companions! This means it was a good idea I slept more last night. My parents are down here as well and it is gorgeous here-especially in the dark, sitting on the deck, with a gentle breeze. The temperature is perfect. My dad and my sis’ boyfriend have those keychains that help you find wireless internet so they helped me find the only place in the house that has some spotty service.
After we got here we did some supermarket shopping, some beach sitting, and some dinner (with red meat-yeah iron!). I am very well fed and fueled for my brick workout tomorrow morning. I may have some company for part two of the workout. More details to follow so I have something to blog about tomorrow! I switched around my schedule so my rest day is today instead of Sunday.
Happy fourth! And if B. (sis’ bf) finds this (I think he may go blog searching since I wouldn’t tell them the exact address!) hello and post a hello back so I know you found it!
Final note: My sister just brought me (to the deck as I blog) two different flavors of Mike’s Hard Lemonade to taste (we enthusiastically bought a large multi-flavored pack earlier). Life is good.
Posted by Audrey at 09:39 PM | Comments (0)