Training Log

7:30 am. - Rode from my house to the start of the Cycle the Greenway Ride, then rode their 50-mile route back to my house, so the ride resulted in a little over 50 miles total.  Very warm morning; overall a nice day for a ride.  Nap in the afternoon.

5:30 pm - 7.27 mile loop after work before taking Carbon to agility.

6:30 pm - run/bike/run - 3.1/13.38/3.1  - Weather was very warm and windy.  Felt good on the run but the bike time is still slow - have not done enough bike training this year yet!  I'm hoping to do a duathlon later in June.  The Jack Russell terrier was out there again on the second run and chased me for a while, but I yelled at it and finally it stopped.  Modified my route slightly on the way back so I wouldn't pass his house.  He almost caught me this time!

4 months to St George marathon.  I need a little help with the training plan.  What is a good plan for increasing my mileage between now and then?

7 pm - felt very sluggish, probably from the run/bike/run last night.  Ran an easy pace and finally felt better the last 2.5 miles or so.

Very tired, plus homework to do after work.

Still feel very tired.  Had to stay a little late at work, then had promised to go to the movies with Jacob right after work.  Saw the new Panda movie - very cute.

7 a.m. - rode 35.83 miles on the triathlon bike.  Then had a lot of family stuff and housework to do all day.  4 pm - ran 7.27 miles - felt better than the past few days.

Worked in the yard, clearing out some very tall weeds.  Bathed and clipped 2 of the dogs - it is hot now and they are starting to get fleas.  Worked on homework for the course I am taking this summer - I don't remember relational algebra being quite so hard in my undergrad days!  Lots of distractions however.  Jacob's birthday party in the afternoon which went late.  Just no time to run today.  Still feeling a little tired as well.

8:40 pm - 7.45 miles.

Got out of work late so missed the 6 pm bike shop ride.  7 pm - easy 13.61 mile ride on triathlon bike, then moderate to easy 6.2 run.  Felt a little tired on the run.

8:30 pm - got started a little late waiting for Jacob to get here to have birthday cake for his birthday.  Felt pretty sluggish (maybe from that pure sugar tiny slice of birthday cake I ate just before the run) and had to walk/run the first .3 to .4 mile or so because of what felt like a strain in the right groin, possibly from the bike/run last night.  Left inner calf also feels tight and a little sore - not sure what that is all about.  By the second half of the run, I finally felt pretty good and managed 7 miles, not including the walk. 

Another 8:30 pm night.  8 miles.  Felt a lot better than last night.  No cake before the run this tiime, and no soreness.  : )

7 pm - Gibson Guitar 5K in downtown Memphis.  I had never done this race before.  It benefits the St. Patrick Learning Center that works with inner-city kids.  The race is bigger than I would have imagined - 1400 runners.  It was a little difficult to achieve a fast time - I got there close to start time (it was a spontaneous decision to race), and was pretty far back at the start. It is not chip timed, so where you are in relation to the starting line factors into your final time.  The start was on Beale Street, and there was a lot of good music to be heard while running down Beale.  The route runs past the Civil Rights Museum then turns down Riverside Drive along the Mississippi River.  It was a warm, humid night, and the view was beautiful.  Then you turn back onto Beale and run up a steep hill, then turn the corner at the 3-mile mark back to the Gibson museum and guitar factory.  There was a nice post-race party on the roof of the Gibson.  Fun evening.  2nd in my age group, 23rd female overall, a little disappointed with my time.  Waiting for the "official" time to be posted., which is 24:27. 

6 pm - 12.6 miles - over to the fitness center and back.  Felt pretty good.  Stretched afterward.

1 pm to 4 pm - Triathlon Clinic at the fitness center with Clark Campbell who was a professional triathlete during the late 80s and early 90s, and who is now the head women's swim coach at University of Kansas.  Great information on technique and motivation.  The team got to practice swimming and running techniques.  Very fun!  I actually felt good (and fast) on the swims.  I didn't keep track of the exact swim yardage, but we must have done at least 300 in 25-yard increments.  Practiced running without heel-striking, landing instead on the ball of the foot, or mid-foot, with a 3-degree forward lean.  It felt a lot different for me, since I am a heel-striker. 

6:45 a.m. - 7.27 mile loop.  Nice morning - going to be a hot day!

8 pm - 8 miles out to Winchester and back.  Felt ok, not too tired.

7:00 pm - About 5-6 miles on the mountain bike through the neighborhood to warm up.  Then 7 miles out and back to Poplar Ave. - felt pretty tired and sluggish tonight - not sure why, just tired, I guess.

5:30 pm - 4 mile loop before book club. 

5 pm - The usual 7.27 mile loop, however when I got out to Byhalia Rd (4 mile point), I could not cross because it is rush hour, and there is no break in the traffic, so I ran back the other way and "discovered" a nice downhill stretch (although not a very long one) to include for training for St. George, and it's on the second half of one of my usual running routes.

7 am - 40.7 bike ride on the road bike with my co-worker Mike.  We will being doing the MS 150 bike tour in September, and he hasn't gotten in much training for it yet, either.  Nice morning for riding - a little overcast and we were out there early enough to avoid the heat.

7:35 am. - - ran out Wolf River Blvd, from Collierville to Germantown (Cameron Brown Park), looped through the park and then back the same way.  Lot of cyclists out this morning.  A few runners also.

8 pm - 5.49 miles - Did the Peterson Lake 4-mile loop and then another 1/4 of the loop.  Felt a little tired at first, but better the second half of the run.

Worked on homework most of the evening after work, then 8:30 pm - 6.6 mile loop.  Felt a little tired at first but better toward end of run.

8 pm - 7.27 mile loop - second half felt very good, and picked up the pace for the last 1.5 to 2 miles.

Got out of work late and had to hurry to a triathlon committee meeting - got home a little too late to run.

6:35 am - 7.27 mile loop.  Really wanted to do this yesterday since I will probably be racing a 10k tomorrow morning.  Didn't push very hard - felt good, not tired.

The race did not work out as far as the morning schedule went.  Was able to ride later in the morning - 30 miles, felt very good on the ride.  Then went out right away to run the 7.27 mile loop, which also felt pretty good.

6:55 am - 15.2 miles - Ouch! What else can I say?  Out and back route, Collierville to Germantown (Kimbrough), which is 7.6 miles from my house.  Also did a loop down into Cameron Brown Park on the way back to get a drink from the water fountain, so probably added another .2 mile, which I didn't count in the mileage total.

Summary - Felt good on the way out, and also starting back - stretched IT band and hamstrings at the turnaound point for about a minute or two.  At about 8th mile, ran down into C.B. Park for water and took a gel and two e-caps.  Still felt pretty good until mile 11, when I started to feel really thirsty and planned to stop at Walgreens for a drink but it wasn't open yet. Left quad started to cramp.  By mile 12, I felt extremely thirsty and was looking for an opportunity to get water from somewhere along the route. By mile 13, I started to feel dazed and a little dizzy, then felt like I would throw up.  It was also getting pretty warm, and I was running in the sun.  When I finally came to some trees, I stopped in the shade for about 2-3 minutes to try to clear up the dazed and dizzy feeling.  Started running again and was fortunate enough to stop at a church, where the greeters directed me to the water fountain.  That seemed to get rid of the dazed/dizzy feeling, and continued the last 2 miles pretty slowly.  Stopped in the shade at mile 15 and rested a few minutes before running the last .2 down my street.  Stretched and soaked in a cool bath afterward, drank gatorade and took 2 more e-caps, then for the next hour or so, my feet cramped on and off so badly it was hard to walk.  On the next long run (next Sunday), I plan to put 2 bottles of gatorade along the couse so I don't get dehydrated so badly again.  Kind of disappointed that I had such a hard time with this distance.

Rode the road bike to work in the morning and then home in the evening.  Nice day to ride but a little humid.  Didn't get home until 7 pm since I stayed late to work on homework.  Trying to finish an assignment tonight so I can start midterms.