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November 30, 2005
Missed planned workout. The earth continued rotating.
The plan was to swim today. Then I had to work until 9 instead of 5. The pool is closed now. I don’t really care. I feel like I spent my time doing something worthwhile and there was no way to plan for it. Plus, today was swimming. I can easily do without.
I had to bike in the rain today though. It was pouring. I was soaked by the time I got to work. I really should wear waterproof pants (not that I have any) and then change b/c it’s really uncomfortable to sit in wet clothes for a few hours. In other news, the bike cage at school is pretty luxurious. My bike is out of the rain and they have better places to lock your bike in there (you can get the lock through the front tire and frame all in one swoop). That is all.
Posted by Audrey at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2005
I blame....me
How not to prepare for a presentation: start the night before, watch an episode of Lost, spend 5 hours picking a topic, take a 1.5 hour nap, and have to stay up until 3:30 AM. Presentations are a special challenge b/c unlike a paper where you will only embarrass yourself in front of a professor, there is the possibility of looking like a fool in front of many other people you may work with someday. However, my mission was accomplished: the presentation was prepared and given, the professor nodded his head and smiled at me when I was finished (I remember being surprised at the smile-he is very serious), and I didn’t hear my group in the class (for a group paper) muttering things like “deadweight” on their way out the door. The only problem with this is that I was tired today and I don’t function well when I am tired. I didn’t realize this until after college when I finally started getting enough sleep for the first time in 8 years. Oh well, I sucked it up-b/c honestly, the whole thing was my fault. Fortunately, I finished season 1 of Lost so I can resume my normal life.
I came home from school at 3:30 and ran in shorts and short sleeves (exposing my sexy turf burned knees and red ankles to the world) for 34:09 around some sort of reservoir near me. It’s a cool run. I was super fatigued from soccer but it felt good to actually run at a normal pace for the first time in a week (not sprinting like pre-soccer, not racing in the Turkey Trot, and not jogging unhurried laps on a track). I was thinking earlier today that I want to race sometime either during or immediately after soccer season b/c I think playing will make me faster. Anyway, back to class. Then early to bed. I can't wait.
Posted by Audrey at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)
November 28, 2005
Itchy Ankles
I didn’t work out today. I’m busy and I decided that post-soccer is probably a good day to take off. I am sore. Not as bad as last week, but I definitely could feel it in my legs when I went up stairs and such.
In lieu of more interesting news I will describe my newest freak running injury. I have swollen ankle skin. Right above my socks and right below where my running tights go to there is exposed skin on my ankles. Last winter this happened as well (of note is this never happened when I lived in Virginia!) and I think it’s due to wind burn. I guess this episode is from last week’s Turkey Trot. It is SOOO itchy. The skin is all swollen and red and did I mention itchy? I finally stopped scratching it and I put some steroid cream on it. Yes, I self treated myself. I don’t care! My ankles itch! I think this will work. As for prevention-my mom just kind of looked at me and was like, “I can’t believe you suffered through this all last winter. Can I suggest higher socks?” Brilliance.
Posted by Audrey at 06:21 PM | Comments (5)
It was brisk
I have some turf burn but other than that I survived my game tonight. There were only three women and with two on the field at a time we all played a lot. That’s fun, but I am really tired. It probably would have been better for the team if we had 4 women instead of 3. However, I am pretty sure that isn’t what cost us the game. The other team was great. We lost about 11-4 tonight. We will hopefully get one of the early games in the playoffs next week (there is no question about our seeding) and then we plan to retire to the bar.
Before the game I went on a two mile sprint. I ran with a different teammate than last week and we were running well under 8 min/miles. I don’t know the exact pace but I was trying to describe my thanksgiving and I was panting. Then I got a cramp which I never do when I train. I kept going though. This guy ran a sub 3 marathon a few weeks ago so for him I am pretty sure this was a legitimate slow warm-up. I just had too much pride to ask him to slow down…yeah, I’m a moron. This was about my race pace. I was describing the run to another teammate afterwards and the guy I ran with overheard me say “it was pretty brisk” and he did say, “You should have told me!” I really am a moron.
It was nice to play though. I am stressing work and school for the next 2 days and I completely forgot all about it during the game which was great.
Posted by Audrey at 12:11 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2005
Soccer friend as match maker
Today found me swimming at the local community pool. My workout roughly looked like this:
300 yard easy
6x50 sprint (60s, 65s, or 70s depending on how tired I was)
100 yard easy
6x25 sprint (45s)
Then swimming more freestyle laps at a moderate pace until I hit 30 minutes.
My flip turns are much better which is exciting. Well, in the grand scheme of my life or the world that’s not too exciting at all but I guess it makes the “news” for this workout.
I met a woman in the pool who I love. I asked her why she was pool running-was she injured? So she thought I was a physical therapist. (That was kind of fun. I sometimes forget that I am old enough to have a real career. I really do need to get a job.) I explained that no, I run and I know that a lot of injured runners pool run. Then we discovered that her son and my brother are the same age. I said my brother just finished his freshman year of x-country (as a way of seeing if she or her son possibly knew him) and she said, “Oh, your whole family runs then.” I said, “Not really. I played soccer in HS and didn’t start running until college when I gained weight.” She looked at me (I did have regular clothes on at this point) and said, “You don’t look like you gained any weight.” I gave an emphatic “Thank you!!” and noted that the running must have been successful. So yes, I love this woman. She is rehabbing from a replaced hip (at her very young age) and I wish her lots of luck. She seems extremely motivated.
I also broke out my freshman year HS yearbook which I never thought I would look at again. This morning I got an e-mail from the girl I ran with yesterday. She wants to set me up with a friend of her older brother who lives in Boston. Her brother and his friend were seniors in HS when I was a freshman. One of my first questions was, “Is he sporty?” The girl I ran with yesterday is a complete soccer/workout nutso like me and everyone reading this (though admittedly some of you take the craziness to new levels!) so I knew she would understand. (And she thinks he is. I trust my soccer friend. She wouldn’t set me up with someone that would glaringly be a bad match). So we’ll see how that pans out. The yearbook photo (from 10 years ago) looked okay :)
Posted by Audrey at 05:32 PM | Comments (2)
November 25, 2005
Throw-back to my childhood
I headed to my HS alumni soccer game today. It’s held every year the Friday after thanksgiving. If the weather is nice there is usually a good turnout, especially from 80s graduates who give their kids to their spectating husbands and then proceed to kick the younger players’ butts. We usually play 80s vs. 90s and in the past few years have reshuffled to 80s and early 90s vs. late 90s and 00s. The 80s had some great players who are all still playing in local leagues throughout NJ and they tend to dominate the alumni game. My theory about why this is is that fewer girls played sports and soccer then-so only the really good and tough people stuck with it even in the face of social pressures and lack of opportunity. My friend offered a second theory-those girls grew up playing with guys and ended up better b/c of that. We’re not really sure why those girls, now women, are so great. Anyway, it didn’t matter today since for the first time, and despite brisk, good weather, we didn’t have enough people to play a game.
Six people showed up (myself included) ready to play. I knew two of them-a woman two years older than me who I played with when I was a sophomore and a woman two years younger than me who I played with when I was a senior. Two 00 girls showed up who were injured but wanted to say hi (I did the injured show-up myself last year). Two 80s girls were there but couldn’t play b/c one had just had a kid and another was recovering from a third knee surgery. As usual there were some kids running around the track as their moms caught up with everyone. My coach was there of course. He has coached all of us and to my knowledge has been my school’s only girls’ soccer coach. He’s fabulous.
I was feeling serious nostalgia today. When I got in my car to drive over there I had flashbacks of the day I got my license. The first place I ever drove was soccer practice-I was late b/c I had been taking my driving test. I have no idea why that memory hit me today as I have driven to soccer (and the alumni game) a million other times. I felt like a dork for wearing my warm-up pants from HS to the game but they are what I wear even in Boston so on they went-and other people were wearing their HS stuff too.
Since we couldn’t play, we gabbed. Between myself and the two girls I knew at the game there are 12 kids in our three families. All of us are around the same age and/or our siblings are around the same age and we all went to the local public school. All of our parents know each other from years of spectating the 12 of us playing sports. It’s so crazy to be back in a place where people I see know my family. That hasn’t really happened since HS. I feel really connected to the school and the town in a way I don’t really anywhere else. It took a few years to realize I felt that way about my hometown (aren’t most people excited to get away the first few years?) but now that I am a bit older I can really see why people settle in an area and build long-term connections, etc.
After we gabbed everyone picked up and left. My friend two years older than myself suggested a run and we changed into sneakers and jogged 3 miles around the track (surrounding the brand new turf we would have played on today) in 27:16. I love what they have done to the place since I left!! It looks great there!!
Anyway, it was a nice day to be outside. I love people who love soccer and I love people who are active. It was nice to be around people (especially women about my age) with passion for the sport. A lot of them still play and it’s nice to know that playing soccer doesn’t have to suddenly end after HS or college (some of them played in college-not me). Finally, as we are an injured bunch, it is nice to be reminded (again) that getting hurt is part of the game and part of an active lifestyle. Injuries don’t necessarily mean you are doing anything wrong. They often just come from getting your butt out there and playing hard.
Posted by Audrey at 03:20 PM | Comments (1)
November 24, 2005
The Drama
Today’s characters in order of age:
K, 14 year old male
S, 23 years old male
Audrey, 25 year old female
D (for Dad), 52 year old male
There was snow on the ground. It was about 36 degrees F as we wandered around the race site. It felt very cold. After checking in we spent almost an hour in the car pinning numbers on, putting on timing chips (it was K and S’s first races with timing chips), deciding what to wear, and just killing time. From inside the heated car we sized up the competition and decided who would beat us. Our list included a 9 year old girl doing drills and anyone in shorts and/or short sleeves. We almost had a family team shirt as the three of them all wore different variations of the same college shirt. I bucked the trend and was wearing a bona fide wicking long-sleeve running shirt. The overall plan was for all of us to run separately with our expected finishing order looking like this: K, Audrey, S, D.
K started out by the 6 mile pace card. He was planning on trying for a 6:30 first mile and then slowing down all race.
Myself, D, and S started somewhere a little further back by the 8 min/mile group, though the masses were all disregarding the pace cards anyway. There were about 2,000 people there and it was packed at the start.
K started off pretty quickly and was in the lead. Myself, D, and S ran together for about half a mile. It felt pretty slow to me so I picked up my pace a little and silently pulled ahead of us. I have no idea what my mile split was as none of us were sure where the official starting line was so we didn’t know when to start our watches. D and S ran together for a bit more before S pulled ahead of our Dad. Up ahead, I was passing people and still running comfortable. I decided racing feels pretty great when you are not going all out. I felt fabulous. I was finally warm and it was perfect running weather once you got going.
At the 2 ¼ mile mark my Dad came upon my brother S who he didn’t recognize at first. S was struggling. He was very hot and he had taken off his top shirt, gloves, and had lost his hat at some point. My Dad was in his groove and pulled ahead of S.
Up ahead, at about the 2 ½ mile mark I came upon my brother K. He had obviously slowed from his starting pace, but he looked like he was holding it together well. I patted him on the back and said, “Hey, almost done. Nice job.” He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Hey, there is NO WAY you are beating me,” and he picked up the pace. I jogged next to him for a few meters and then dropped back. My thought was that it wasn’t worth messing with my leg just to race him. Look how mature I was being! So I tucked in behind him and followed a few meters behind. I got close to him again and he picked up the pace again. He asked me where the finish was and I told him I had no idea. I decided I couldn’t stand leap frogging with him like this for the remainder of the race. I considered “hiding” behind him so he didn’t know I was there and wouldn’t speed up and then just sprinting past him at the end. I decided that was lame of me and I couldn’t do that to my brother. I also decided that since he wanted to beat me there was no problem with me blowing by him. And what great event was I “saving” my leg for anyway?? I felt fine. So off I went. I solidly picked up the pace for the last .2 miles. I usually have a strong kick anyway and I wasn’t fatigued from earlier in the race so it worked out well.
I crossed the finish line and turned around to wait for him. We high-fived, I removed my chip and then his, and we waited went to the side of the finish line to wait for the rest of our team. My Dad maintained his lead and finished next, followed by my brother S.
Final results
Audrey: 23:47ish
K: 24:00ish
D: 26:30ish
S: 27:00ish (Having only run up to 2 miles in training and with a pulled stomach muscle from running that required he spend the last week resting from training).
Overall thoughts: I love racing with my family. I think we should do it again! They all had fun too and I would really like to see everyone come back next year and beat their times. I bet we could even get more runners in the future as everyone's significant others would probably participate too. (S and my sis J have serious significants (both active) that will probably be around next year).
Thoughts about me: I feel fit! I love that I can run that pace comfortably. I know I have leg issues, but I feel like a healthy person overall.
Anywhoo, again, happy holidays people! No joke-I hear them talking about the race downstairs and I probably shouldn't be on the computer all alone while I'm home!
Posted by Audrey at 12:50 PM | Comments (8)
November 23, 2005
Chariot Madness
Thx to my elite move renting status I decided I would bring home some free movies to my family. I was walking through the drama section (with my eyeballs 4 inches from the movies b/c I forgot my glasses) and Chariots of Fire randomly caught my eye. I haven’t seen it in so long and I really wanted to watch it. However, my family isn’t crazy like me and I figured they would appreciate something a little more…well, a little bit more not about running. But maybe they would want to get psyched up before our race? Okay, that is a really dorky thought and it’s just INVITING them to make fun of me for bringing Chariots of Fire in the door and asking them to watch it with me. I decided that whatever decision I made regarding the movie I had to get out of the video store immediately b/c it was late and I had to do things like pack. The outcome: My family already knows I am a dork and they make fun of me anyway, so why not go down watching a movie I want to watch.
13 hours later I walked in the door in NJ and laughingly told my dad, “Hey, I brought Chariots of Fire for us!”
“Funny, so did you brother. He wants to watch it before the race.”
Gotta go, we're watching it now. Good luck Turkey Trotters!!
Posted by Audrey at 02:34 PM | Comments (1)
November 22, 2005
Tailoring School to My Interests
Today’s weather was not good. I had the pleasure of biking to work in the pouring rain. My raincoat worked 100% but my jeans got soaked. I considered changing into my running shorts (I figured that was better than my running tights-I had both with me) but I decided both were inappropriate for the office setting. Not to worry, my pants dried completely over the next 2 hours. Then I went back out in the rain and biked to school. I got soaked again. My feet were soaking wet too this time. I changed out of my “walking shoes” into my front line running shoes b/c they were dry. My classmate said it looked like I had 4 feet b/c I had all these sneakers and socks on the floor and they were all the same kind. I guess non-runners don’t have a zillion pairs of the exact same sneaker.
I am pretty sure my nutrition class thinks I am recovering from or had an eating disorder. During class I mention athletes a lot and today we were talking about calcium and bone density and I had lots to say about it and the consequences of being underweight, eating disorders, etc. Then my prof asked if anyone in the class has had their bone density tested. I am one of the youngest in the class, where ages range up to 50 years old. You’re not supposed to get tested until you are much older than me (50s? older? Never unless you are high-risk?) I don’t really know the guidelines but I do know it’s rare for a 25 year-old. I had my bone density tested in April as part of a research study I was in that compared the bone density of runners with rowers. So I shared my experiences with that without sharing the detail that I was in a research study. Then after class I changed into my running clothes, headed past all of my nutrition classmates who were mingling in the lobby, and started running outside. This follows my announcement the first day of class when we all had to share what our nutrition interest was. I said that I was particularly interested in learning about athletes, their special nutritional needs, eating disorders, and the female athlete triad. I have no idea what my classmates think, its just interesting b/c a lot of what I have said (especially the bone density test) makes it look a specific way. I will say that I do have a personal interest in the female athlete triad. I eat enough (so I don’t have that arm of the triad), but I do miss a few periods a year (so I have amenorrhea, the second arm of the triad) and I have concerns about osteoporosis (the third arm of the triad) b/c of my personal risk factors (family history, small frame/thin, Caucasian). So yes, I do like to stay abreast of research in that field for both personal and public health reasons.
My family has started e-mailing about the Turkey Trot. My 23 year-old brother needed race info…and by the way…how fast were we all planning on running on Thursday? My Dad ran a 25:xx 5K this past weekend. The 23 year-old has a pulled stomach muscle but assuming he feels better on Thursday he would like to try for a 24 minute race. I told them I was hoping to come in around 25 minutes but I wasn’t picky b/c I was just getting better myself. At this point my Dad chimed in and suggested it sounded like my broken brother and I should be the ones in the Master’s division, not him. We have no idea what the 14 year-old is planning on running. We never include him in e-mails for anything b/c he insists on using a really complicated e-mail address with letters and 6 numbers that no one can remember.
I also realized that I have recently started included lots of information in my blog about how much activity I get while commuting and running errands. That’s pretty detailed, kind of boring, and definitely a new thing I started keeping track of. I realized I started doing that about the same time I started working on a new school project: The Built Environment: Increas1ng Phy5ical Activity in a Rebuilt N3w Or13ns.* (We're pretending we have control of the Federal money). It’s all about how to reduce barriers to inactivity in people’s daily lives through changing physical structures (speed bumps for cars, bike lanes, wide sidewalks, streetlights, putting destinations closer together, making routes aesthetically pleasing, having amenities for bikers and walkers (showers and bike racks!), safe routes to school, etc). I love the project and it’s definitely made me more conscious of my own daily physical activity.
My final nutrition project: Is body weight a good indicator of overall health? I think it’s one of those questions where the answer can go either way. I will keep you posted on my opinion.
**I had to change the words a bit b/c I don't want my blog popping up when people (like my groupmates!) search for info on the topic.
Posted by Audrey at 08:56 PM | Comments (5)
November 21, 2005
Lots of Soccer
I went to my game early so that I could do a warm-up mile and one of my teammates who is also in my running group joined me (following my e-mail inviting everyone). We basically spent the whole run patting ourselves on the back for being so smart and warming up while the rest of our team rolled out of their cars straight onto the field. The guy running with me has been lifting a lot and only running a few times a week so we are both running really low mileage right now. As a testament to how little we run, when we finished the mile in the dark, in the brisk winter air, we were so pumped we were high-fiving and saying how awesome we felt. Um, I think that means I need to run more if I could get so excited about a mile! Also, this is the first time I have run with anyone in sooo long. It really does fly by when you have company (or when you only run 9 minutes). Next week we are meeting earlier and running 2 miles together pre-game. Look at us go!
The game was fun. We lost. Again. The joke is that we are consistent. I played okay. It was so great to be back. I had one of our two goals (the other team had about 9) which is always nice but not that big of a deal. It’s what happens when you play up front. There were many (many) opportunities I did not capitalize on.
I can also play with this team indoor next season (the new season starts in a few weeks and we are moving down a competitive level-thank god). I also got invited to play on a spring outdoor coed team. They need women. Soooo….I need to decide if I want to do that. It’s so nice to be playing again-but I miss running and I was so bummed when I got hurt playing soccer a few weeks ago. But then again, I get hurt running too…sigh…well, there is no way I can train for a marathon and play soccer so I will have to make a choice. But I DON’t have to decide about spring soccer for a few months so I am not going to worry about it right now.
Today: No exercise. I was busy working and with school and with meetings. I had to bike 5 miles in annoying 1 mile segments b/c my schedule had me going back and forth between places. It was torture. It will probably help with soreness tomorrow, but it was pretty painful today. My lower body is sore from soccer and my upper body is sore from swimming. Owww! I can't wait to go home to suburbia where I can DRIVE around :) I need to rest!
PS. A car tried to run me off the road while I was biking during rush hour. The car sped up and turned sharply right and someone in the car yelled out the window, "Watch out for people turning!" The driver was crazy and mean. People on the street were staring b/c it was so shocking. I was a little freaked out. I hate people.
Posted by Audrey at 09:02 PM | Comments (1)
November 20, 2005
Pretty dry entry about training for the week and non-obese tv watching
I attempted my first swim workout today. It was supposed to be 2100 yards as follows:
Warm-up: 300
Freestyle:
6x50 on :60
6x100 on 1:30
1x300
6x25 on :40
1x150
1x150
6x25 on :45
Swim-down: 100
I did the warm-up and then the 6x50s. I managed to do 5 of them at :60 but one of them in the middle I did at :65. This is when things started going downhill. I think I was more tired than I was supposed to be doing the 6x50s b/c if you swim at my speed (taking 50-55 seconds to swim 50 yards), you don’t get very much rest before the next interval. For the most part, however, I managed to hold on. However, this set me up to be tired for the rest of the workout. When I got to the 6x100 on 1:30 I had to reread that. I can’t even swim that 100 yards in 1:30 once! I found this workout on the internet and printed it out b/c it all happened to be freestyle which I like. I obviously didn’t read it close enough.
At this point I realized I would have to alter the workout. I had already been swimming for a while and I realized doing the whole workout would have me swimming further (and with more intensity) than I usually do and I figured it wasn’t a brilliant idea to increase both of those at once. (I don’t want tendonitis in my arms in addition to my leg!).
What I (think) I ended up doing was this:
Warm-up: 300
Freestyle:
6x50 on :60 (well, once was at :65)
2x100
1x300
6x25 on :40
1x150
1x150
2x25 on :45
So I think I ended up with around 1600 yards in about 35 minutes. Then I made this a mini-brick workout by biking to the movie store, my landlord’s office, and the running store to get new sneakers. I am just wearing sweatpants (which got caught in my chain as I was riding and are now shredded) and I long-sleeve t-shirt. We’re having incredible weather today.
Today is supposedly a running day but I am just going to warm up and cool down for a mile each before my soccer game. I figured I shouldn’t do too much running all in one day.
I am not a big training planner and except for my running (which I have penciled in on my calendar for the next month so that I can slowly ramp up to a normal schedule) I usually pick my workout the night before or the day of. However, I usually plan out my week when I am racing (this Thursday) or have other things that are set in stone (this week, two soccer games). I basically put the set in stone things on my calendar, fill in my training runs, and then insert cross-training in a way that doesn’t mess with the rest of the schedule by overworking my lower body. Since I am not really racing (it’s just a set in stone thing this week) I don’t have to worry about being tired. I just had to make sure it was a “run” day since I am not running every day.
This is my tentative schedule for the rest of the week:
Today: 1 mile warm-up, soccer game, 1 mile cool-down
Monday: lifting? Spin class? TBD based on how the quad is feeling and how early I manage to get up. Tomorrow is a full day with the rest of my life.
Tuesday: run 35 minutes
Wednesday: nothing lower body, maybe swimming or lifting depending on when I get in to NJ
Thursday: 5K Turkey Trot
Friday: HS alumni soccer game
Saturday: Rest or bike with my dad
Sunday: Run 35-40 minutes
There is some bonus stuff like core and knee exercises but I don’t have to plan that at all since it can be done while I watch tv. (By the way, there is evidence that the amount of tv children watch is directly related to their likelihood of being obese. I decided that I am not obese even though I watch a huge amount of tv/movies.) I am also not a kid so I guess the study doesn't apply to me, but if that wasn't the case my habits are in complete constrast to the study's findings.
Posted by Audrey at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2005
Romanticizing the Bike
There is going to be no real directed exercise today. I just don’t feel in the mood to swim or do any real bike training and it’s a day off from running. I just got back from part I of my errand jaunt. I had to walk b/c I needed to carry things (and there is no parking) so I walked about three miles. Part of this trip was to investigate how to get access to the bike cages at my school. Use of the cages is free and I think if I just show up to the security office on Monday I can get an access card. It’s annoying to have to add another layer of security to my bike, but it’s probably for the best. It’s cool b/c the two bike cages have roofs on them so the bikes are protected from the elements (since it rains ALL the time here!!)
I did make it to the gym to lift last night. There was a football team or something in there which was weird b/c I belong to an adult gym, not a school gym. The players looked like they were in college. Two of them were standing RIGHT next to wear I was benching and were talking/disagreeing which was annoying b/c they were definitely in my personal space. I heard one of them say, “That’s the right way to do it. Most people do it wrong.” The other one replied, “She’s only doing it that way b/c she has less weight.” I had no idea they were talking about me but then one of them blatantly said, “We’re talking about you.” “Um, excuse me?” “When most people bench they bounce the bar off of their chest which uses the wrong muscles. By not bringing it all the way down you’re using the right muscles. You must take the lifting class or something?" The truth of the matter is that two random guys in their 50s showed me how to bench two years ago in the small gym in my VA apartment complex. (Which I am still super appreciative of b/c I still bench two years later and prior to them teaching me I had always wanted to learn. I love that they took the time to teach me). So apparently this big burly football dude thinks I lift better than his big burly friends. Rock on.
Then I went right to dinner with my friend. I left my bike in the bike room of his apartment complex but he was ready to go so instead of dropping my backpack off in his apartment I gamely said, “Oh no, I’m totally ready.” Off we went to dinner with my backpack and bike helmet. Then we went to the pool hall with my backpack and bike helmet. I felt REALLY cool. BUT at 11 PM I was very grateful to be able to be able to ride the 1.5 miles home rather than taking the T or walking. I think this marks the first time I have actually used my bike to go out at night. This is also the first year I have ridden my bike in the dark so much. I used to think it’s not safe so I tried to avoid it-but it’s ALWAYS dark here. I CANNOT believe how early it gets dark….and I can’t believe I spent so much time walking around last year. I am super attached to my bike right now.
Posted by Audrey at 01:05 PM | Comments (1)
November 18, 2005
Put DOWN the DVD
Whatever the clocks and sun are doing right now is agreeing with me. I was asleep by 11 and up by 6:15 AM. It felt great to get enough sleep AND be up early. I love getting up early. If this had been the summer I would have gone running. However, it was freezing out! Instead I made good use of my time and got some things accomplished before getting to work at 8 (the building doesn’t unlock before then and as an intern I don’t have a key). I put in a good 4 hours at work and then came home and went running for ½ an hour. I was dressed for winter during my run but it was not too cold at all and was another beautiful, sunny day to run. I did my usual pond loop b/c it is the perfect length for a 30 minute run. It was a hard workout. I think the problem was two-fold: 1) I’m out of shape and 2) I didn’t eat enough in the morning. I don’t usually run at lunch (I was injured when the clocks switched so I am still used to running in the morning) so I wasn’t eating enough in the morning. I usually eat breakfast and a light snack-which is enough energy to make it to lunch, where I eat again. But I guess it’s not enough energy to make it to another run, especially when I eat breakfast at 6:30 and don’t run until 12:15.
It was nice to feel like I accomplished things today b/c I have been pretty lazy in general recently. They know me at the video store b/c I am the one who calls/stops by almost every day to get the sequential Lost DVDs. I am halfway through disc 3. That one was VERY hard to get my hands on. Thanks to Caitlin’s comment about it being cheaper to buy the set than rent it all I decided it would be a lot cheaper to join my store’s movie rental club than to keep renting at my current pace. There’s a set fee each month for unlimited rentals. I am loving it already. I really love movies. That is definitely another hobby of mine. (I will have to remember that the next time I bemoan being bored and having no hobbies except for sports.) So thanks Caitlin!
I have dinner plans tonight at 7 that are right next to my gym. So, depending on motivation, I may head over an hour early and lift and foam roll. Maybe. That would be cool b/c I could shower and stuff at the gym. As my friend (another grad student) noted, if we use the shampoo and soap there we don’t have to pay for it at home :)
I should pick up dry cleaning, drop off a package at UPS, and do some reading for school. Just one more episode of Lost first...
Posted by Audrey at 03:22 PM | Comments (1)
November 17, 2005
Biking and Swimming
More on the bike theft saga: I ran into the woman whose bike was stolen. When she reported the incident to our school police she found out that the police had her broken lock. Someone had reported the bike theft as a “crime in progress” and when the police showed up they found her lock. The woman I spoke with also ran into a second woman at the police station all decked out bicycling gear-her bike had been stolen the same place, day, and time (around noon). The woman I saw is going to send out an e-mail to the student body regarding the theft and I also e-mailed some of my fellow bikers.
Also related to biking, I am in the school computer lab right now and a few moments ago I was reading blogs. I read some tri blogs. Today one had pictures. Big ones. Of bikes. One guy was apparently reading over my shoulder and asked, “Do you bike?” [My reply, “Um…yes?” I mean, this random guy doesn’t want to hear the whole saga of how I mostly run but get hurt and I use my bike to commute but I don’t really train with it like anyone who asks ‘Do you bike?' certainly trains.] He does. He does triathlons. [At this point I said, “Me too. Oh, well not really. I mean, I did one. But I want to do more.] I feel like you can’t really define my workout habits. I do more than run, but I am hardly a triathlete. Anyway, this guy has a road bike. He had an older second bike but then his friend borrowed it and threw it off of a balcony when he got drunk. Really.
I went swimming today. My workout completely died at the end. I was laughing to myself how badly it went from 22-28 minutes. I swam crawl for 18 minutes and practiced flip turning which went okay. Then I did some 50 yard sprints for four minutes. Then it died. I got tired of sprinting so I started doing regular laps again. I stopped to do some stretches. I swam a couple of laps. My goggles hurt. I stretched some more. I don’t usually stop when I swim (that’s probably bad, but I don’t usually do workouts, just laps) but I was completely stopping. I let my watch run while I was stretching. It was just ridiculous. I finally got out of the pool and went to school. I figured out (from my pool punch card-I have pre-purchased swims) that I have been swimming 11 times since September 1. That stat doesn’t mean anything in particular to me. I just think it’s cool I can keep track. My goal was to finish the card by the end of year which means 6 more swims before i leave town around dec 23ish. I am so on track for that.
Posted by Audrey at 05:06 PM | Comments (2)
November 16, 2005
Turkey Reality Check
It was sunny for 40 minutes today. I did a 29:39 run during that time. It was BRILLIANT out-I was hot while I was running-and it rained immediately before and after my mid-day run. I still feel severely out of running shape but I am hopeful that will go away soon. At least at this point I should be able to finish the turkey trot (5K). I am definitely not racing. Maybe I will try and run briskly to justify paying the entry fee. Maybe 8 minute miles (if I can) for a sub-25? This will probably prove to be my slowest timed 5K ever (the current slowest being 24:14 around 1994). I don’t know. Maybe my dad will want a pacer or something. I am not good at going at a specific speed but perhaps my company will be motivational. That would be fun if he ran fast-though with him running hard and me not, I may not be able to keep up with him! I will be a useless pacer from behind. I have no idea. It’s kind of cool that racing is all about “who brings what” on race day. It’s also cool that I will have no anxiety before the race and it shouldn’t hurt at all. What is decidedly NOT COOL is that my younger brothers will probably beat me. Oh the AGONY!!!!
Posted by Audrey at 06:49 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2005
Surprise Biking
I just got home and I still have to study for tomorrow. There really is zero time to work out on Tuesdays since I am usually up late on Monday nights. When I woke up this morning at 8 AM (1/2 an hour after morning swim ends at my pool) I didn’t think it was going to happen. However, I was pleasantly surprised to bike about ten miles today. Between regular commuting and a 5 mile round trip to the dentist I managed to get in some exercise which was nice. There was even a particularly challenging 2.5 mile uphill stretch where I stopped at a traffic light and took off two jackets, my gloves, and had a swig of water. Despite the falling temps as 4:30 dusk approached, I was HOT. I finished that segment of biking in dress pants and a t-shirt. Today I biked in daylight, dusk, darkness, only a t-shirt, with two jackets, in clear weather, and in the rain. You’ve got to love New England weather.
As I stood at the massive bike rack at school unlocking my bike, I noticed a woman a few years older than me slowly pacing back and forth in front of the rack. The situation did not look promising. “Um, are you missing something?” “Yeah, my bike was RIGHT here (pointing about three bike rack spots down from my bike) this morning.” Her bike is about two years old, she was using the same Kryptonite lock as me, and she said, “You know, I am feeling kind of sad about it.” I can imagine!! I would feel very sad if my bike got stolen. She doesn’t have apartment/house insurance either, so she is out the money. Ugh. I am so mad at people!! One of my professors also had his bike stolen from the rack a few years ago as well. That combined with this new theft makes me kind of nervous. People suck.
Posted by Audrey at 10:15 PM | Comments (1)
November 14, 2005
There’s a gap in your leg muscle-it’s like something’s missing
Over the past week I irritated (again) my right inner thigh muscle which was causing some light pain down the medial side of my knee. This is kind of a chronic thing over the past year and I always seem to get this no matter what other injury I get. I guess my right leg bothers me b/c I am compensating for each injury somehow, or perhaps vigorous cross-training bothers it when I can’t run. Basically, it just feels tight, it’s causing my knee to hurt, and I know I have a problem with my body there.
I got a sports massage today in the hopes of working out the tightness/breaking up some scar tissue. Mid-massage I asked the therapist if my right thigh felt normal.
“Not really. There is muscle here and here-but a gap in between. It’s like you’re missing a muscle.”
“Huh. That’s disgusting.” (I’m slightly alarmed, but not really surprised or shocked b/c I already knew there was something pretty wrong with my leg). “Does my other leg feel the same?”
“Yeah, I’m going to check that…No, your left leg feels completely normal. On your right leg I can push into the gap and practically touch bone. The muscle on your right leg also feels ‘crunchy.’ That’s happens when you get inflammation and then it goes away and then you get inflammation again, etc. The crunchiness is all of the metabolic waste and scar tissue. It’s not inflamed now though.” [At this point I find it hard to believe I can run, let alone walk around, with my damaged and missing muscle.]
“Why do you think there is a gap in my muscle?”
“I have no idea" [especially since I couldn’t think of a specific trauma except for a really bad HS soccer injury seven years ago when I got kneed in the right quad and was on crutches b/c of the swelling in my leg-but I have put in MANY miles since then-could that still be it??] "Sometimes the muscle can stick together after an injury so maybe that’s what is going on-all of the muscle in that part of your leg is stuck together for some reason.”
Basically, my right inner thigh is SCREWED UP. The therapist worked on it and then said it felt better to her than before I got there. The whole thing was mildly painful but not too bad. I don’t know. We’ll have to see how it goes.
I also prioritized my running in a serious way today. It was 60 degrees out and gorgeous. Instead of heading to work after school I came home and changed into shorts and a t-shirt and went running for 24 minutes. This was 2.5 hours after my massage. My leg felt better. I went to work after that. I am going to have to work on Friday now but it was worth it. It’s already cold again.
Sometimes feel like I am the only gimp. However, when I was spectating at my soccer game last night we all realized something just happens to your body after high school. My whole team is in their 20s and early 30s. In addition to my tendonitis, someone is out with a back injury, one guy has a hernia in his leg, and four people have chronic and/or acute ankle injuries. We are a mess. We feel so injury prone.
PS. All of the places I go to on a daily basis (school, work, gym, pool) are all various one mile and two mile distances away from each other. Sometimes I make multiple trips. As I biked home tonight I was thinking how much time biking saves me over walking (a 5 minute trip instead of a 20 minute one for example). For the first time ever I was thinking about how thankful I am that my Dad taught me how to ride a two-wheeler when I was either 5 or 6. That’s a pretty big deal. I can still remember the day he taught me-without a helmet! It was the 80s and no one wore them then. I can also remember the day he got my brother and I helmets circa 1990. We hated them b/c we didn’t grow up with them when we were little and it was considered very uncool to wear one. Today though, there are very few occasions when I would dare ride my bike without one. (I am fairly sure I am going to get hit by a car one of these days). How times change.
Posted by Audrey at 07:20 PM | Comments (5)
November 13, 2005
I Love Gum
I’m back and no worse for wear. I’ve slept a lot, am rapidly working my way through the Lost DVDs, and have been chewing large quantities of gum. (Retainer=done). I’m a new person. Here is the workout summary:
Su: 4:30 min run/1:30 walk/4:30 run, 2 miles walking
M: 3 miles of walking
T: 15 min run, crawl 22 minutes, approx. 8 minutes of 50 yrd sprints (65s), two miles walking,
W: elliptical 30 minutes, 6 miles of biking (in 1-2 mile segments throughout day)
Th: 19 minute run, 3 miles walking
F: 1 mile walking, abs, knee exercises
Sa: 24 minute run, lifting, foam rolling (X2)
Su: 25 minutes of crawl, approx. 5 minutes of 50 yard sprints (65s), 3 miles of biking, foam rolling
(I actually hate walking just to walk. I commute via foot.)
I am running again. I can’t believe how out of running shape I got in 2 weeks. My first three runs felt awful. My tendonitis feels fine. I have some minor aches and pains that I am getting as I start up again that are of course causing me extreme anxiety, but overall things are okay.
I’m also trying to eat more fruits and vegetables (and less chocolate). My nutrition class motivated me. I am such a psycho about my health, fitness, and body (think vitamins-in case they work, Listerine and floss, skin cream for my face, sunscreen, all the exercise, etc) that it is absurd not to pay attention to what I am consuming. Except for smoking (which I don't do) not watching what I am eating is one of the stupidest things I could do for my health. Down with trans fats!!! (Um, this is embarrassing, but I just got back from the ice cream store with my friend. So…it’s obviously not banished. Consumption is just being reduced.)
I’m off to my soccer game where I am spectating once again this week.
Do the pro triathletes/swimmers have this problem? I was circle swimming in an end lane and was scraping my (manicured) nails against the side of the wall. I was worried about my nails. I felt like such a loser for worrying about my nails while I was working out. I think that is basically the opposite of hard core/athletic.
Posted by Audrey at 08:04 PM | Comments (5)
November 05, 2005
SCREECHING HALT…and I’m probably out $65
I am not amused by that-at all-but it’s due to my own stupidity. [I am working on how to reclaim my money and will let you know how that goes.] I suggested to one of my friends that she run with me and somehow the two of us came to the realization that our other friend from college is getting married the day before the race-in Long Island, NY. If it was even possible, it would be a huge hassle to fly to Burlington, VT, from Long Island, NY, late at night and run a marathon the next morning and then have no car to get home to Boston. So….my new plan, the week before the Vermont marathon, and two or three days after my last final:
The inaugural Car-a-Mile marathon in NJ.
The race is close to my parents’ house which is where I grew up. We start at the fields where I used to play soccer and softball. It would be really nice to go home-and I would have somewhere free to stay. It also has an associated 15K (that my Dad and I usually run) and 5K (that my little brother could run this year). So it would be fun if they all went-to run in their races and to cheer me on :) I wrote a while back about how hard the course is. However, while the course is still challenging, they recently changed the course to a different part of town that isn’t quite as deadly. [Though I still take issue with the website’s claim that this is an “excellent” Boston Qualifier]. Also, then I could stay in NJ that week and head right to Long Island from there for the wedding the next weekend. I think this race might be the one. PLUS, at this race I could win one of 26 cars they are giving away. HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE?? I will WAIT to sign up though b/c I know there is NO WAY this race will fill and I have learned from my experience with the Vermont Marathon that I should perhaps mull for a few days. I completely spaced about the wedding….
Also, tomorrow is day 1 of a seven day break from blogging. I’m taking a mini-vacation blogging break, back next Sunday.
Posted by Audrey at 01:03 PM | Comments (5)
November 04, 2005
The really dumb thing I am about to do
Inspired by Beth’s enthusiasm, I spent a couple of hours this afternoon trying to find a tri training schedule for the Olympic Distance. That was completely unsuccessful. I am also torn b/c I know my friend wants to do a Sprint Distance tri (she can’t run b/c of a knee issue so that’s the best distance for her). I guess the answer is that I will just fit both of them in. But as I was web surfing someone from my running club e-mailed a link advertising the Vermont marathon at the end of May 2006. That’s 6 months from now-two weeks after my last final and one week before we “walk” for graduation. What a way to celebrate!!!! I am pretty sure I am going to sign up tonight. It’s rash and I haven’t exactly researched other marathon options. But that’s how I ended up doing my first marathon-on a whim. This marathon is close by which is cool. It could be my last New England sports scene hurrah. Also, sometimes I get so sick of researching and planning and just want to move forward with some sort of decision.
I definitely don’t have time to build the necessary base if I want to attack a BQ time. However, I just this moment decided I don’t want trying to qualify for Boston to hang over my head any more. What I want MORE than qualifying is to run another marathon. Soon. It’s been since October 2002. It’s time. If I have to take a few days off of scheduled training each month b/c I feel strains or any of my other ailments coming on-so be it. I may not smash a speed barrier, but I will hopefully make it to the starting line. In fact, I think my goal will be to break 4 hours. I will "run" it rather than "race" it. It would be very cool to see a 3 in the hours column. Sooo, to start off my marathon training, I plan to run for 8 minutes on Sunday.
Today’s Exercise, Swimming: 25 minutes of crawl. I alternated a few minutes with the pull buoy and a few minutes without the pull buoy. Then I did 5:30 of 50 yard sprints with 10-15 seconds of rest in between. It felt awesome to get my heart rate up. I also stopped by the gym-solely to use the bathroom and get my parking validated.
[Update, I just called my Dad to check-in and see if he is doing a marathon in 2006. If he was, he and I should probably coordinate that. His answer, “No, I’m pretty sure I’m not. That seems like a lot of work…So, is this going to destroy your body?” My response, “Well, you only live once, right?” My Dad, “Okay, well good luck. I am still debating whether or not I want to do a short triathlon next year. I am going to the pool this weekend to try out the goggles you got me [for his b-day in October].” Me, “Oh great! I totally think you should!” Dad, “I know YOU think I should. I’ll let you know how the swimming goes.” Me, “We’ll have to go swimming at x-mas.” Dad, “Great, we can do synchronized swimming.”]
So…I am signing off to sign up right now for Vermont. This is so dumb. I can’t even run right now. This is really dumb. I don’t care though. Sometimes you just have to move forward. And if this fails b/c I get hurt-then I will commit myself to shorter distances and triathlons for a few years. There, it's in writing.
Posted by Audrey at 04:19 PM | Comments (4)
November 03, 2005
Nutrition 101
I’m in a nutrition class. My classmates are a mix of people who study society and health (like me), epidemiologists (people who study disease patterns), and people with extensive biochem/chem backgrounds, including one nutritionist and a gastrointestinal doctor. It’s a nice group of people. Today was our second class and I realized just how heated the debate can get about food. Today’s question, “What is a healthy diet? Do all foods fit into a healthy diet (moderation and variety) OR are some food healthier than others and is telling people it’s okay to eat certain “bad” foods just tipping our hat to the food industry and other political players?”
Most people advocated moderation of all foods but some of my classmates felt that not all foods can fit into a healthy diet. They said, “If it’s bad for you, it’s bad for you.” My thoughts are that any food is bad for you if you eat too much of it-especially if you eat too much of it to the exclusion of other foods. I support the moderation theory. I won’t repeat the entire debate here (and this is definitely not my area of expertise) but it was very interesting. It is also interesting how complicated creating a healthy diet can get-alcohol may help my risk of heart disease-but it may raise my risk of cancer. (And what about my liver?) The fat in fish is good for me-but what about the mercury in fish? It can be really complicated. One girl in the class (a lawyer, so not the nutritionist :) thinks fruit is bad for you because of the sugar. It’s interesting, but hard to know what to do with all of the information and which information is the right information for scientists and all of the communicators (nutritionists, governments, schools, health educators, etc.) to share with the public.
Other interesting news-as part of the learning process I have to fill out a food frequency questionnaire and keep a food diary for myself for three days. 1) I think that will be very hard. 2) My diet doesn’t “suck”-but it’s not great. I don’t want to come face to face with it-and I don’t want to show it to my professor! Maybe that’s a wake up call I should be eating better…
I was going to swim today-but I would have had to go to a pool halfway across town (b/c mind was closed) which would have taken 2.5-3 hours out of my day so I opted out. Sigh…I miss running…
Posted by Audrey at 06:14 PM | Comments (3)
November 02, 2005
Put It Out of My Reach!!!
In my own little Audrey world, I wish the Boston Qualifying Time was much lower for women so it would be ridiculously out of my reach and I could stop obsessing. If I knew there was no chance I could ever qualify I would be much more at peace! I refer you to Alison’s blog (the previous stop for most readers anyway) for the larger arguments about how this affects the greater running community.
I ellipticalled for 30 minutes. I HATE my pool’s hours. It’s never open at a good time for me. I am pretty sure I am going to run before my doctor’s ordered 2 weeks of rest are up. I feel fine. I will give it a few more days though.
Posted by Audrey at 09:27 PM | Comments (1)
November 01, 2005
My aching body is healing
I can tell I am healing. I worked out pretty hard on the elliptical for 40 minutes and then I did some balance exercises, some foam rolling, core exercises, and some stretching. I also biked to school and the gym today. There was no pain in any body parts. When I was stretching I noticed the time off is healing parts of my body that weren’t even part of this specific injury. For example, since about June whenever I stretched my left quad (by bending my leg at the knee and pulling my foot toward my butt) I couldn’t move it too far back b/c there was some pain. I had much less flexibility on that side of my body than my right leg. At first I was alarmed. Then, once I saw I wasn’t getting worse, I thought, “Hey, I can still run. I don’t really care if I can’t bend it that well.” Then I got used to it and just knew I couldn’t move that leg certain ways. I automatically compensated for it when I got out of cars and such (climbing out of a 2 door from the back) and had to put a lot of weight on it when it was in a weird position. I also haven’t been able to squat since this summer but I don’t really want to try that that since I don’t want to aggravate my knees. I always sit on the floor or kneel if I have to get something out of my locker or need to be eye to eye with someone who is sitting. Maybe just for fun I will try later this week. Well, all is now good at least in the flexibility department and I can stretch the left leg just as well as the right and it doesn’t hurt anymore. That is kind of exciting.
Posted by Audrey at 05:35 PM | Comments (1)