Just a quick HELLO type post. I feel bad that I haven't had a chance to post before now, and that this will be short - I want to blab about the race and shit but it's just one of those weeks. So, short style:
1) Completed the race! Was 3 minutes over my goal time, but I'm not too wigged out over that in light of the training lessons learned. More on that when I do actually post a race report!
2) Survived my first lab practical. I studied like a mofo for this - much of the day Saturday, not really at all on Sunday (did get in some study time for psych), and all freaking day on Monday. There was a TON of material to cover so I just dug in. I think it went quite well; there were 36 questions and I was not sure of one of them, and in retrospect, I think I SWAGed the correct answer. Of course I could be completely wrong about how I did but I don't think so.
3) Got back from class yesterday and immediately got an urgent message from sensei - he was held up in a board meeting and could I teach class? I thought I might be better off studying, but agreed to anyway. Put in a few hours study time before I headed over and was so brain dead I was happy for the break.
4) Just got back from a great AM training session with Sensei J; we spent a lot of time sparring and my head is just filled with stuff. I feel like he's taking the restrictor plates off everything I learned previously.
5) Today is yet another heavy duty study day. A&P exam tomorrow plus a psych test that is all about the A&P of the brain. Woo! So no race report likely until Friday.
6) Still not sure what my program is going to look like, training for the trail run. It will involve weights, hills, and trails, but in what order, I don't know.
And my ride to yoga is going to show up any second now, so I'm off!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Half Eve
This time tomorrow - OK, let's be honest, I'll be watching football.
The race is close and starts at 8 am, so I should be done, back, showered and fed before the Igs (qb'd, as I feared, by Mr. Vick) kick off. Went into the city yesterday to pick up my gear and had to practically RUN out of the expo - there was a lot of good stuff there and I could have dropped a couple of hunderd $ in a heartbeat. I especially coveted a bright yellow vest/windbreaker that would be PERFECT for early morning runs, now that it's darker (& cooler) in the morning... It was hard to rein back from that one!
Anyway I have my number and some kind of new timing device that looks a bit like the twist tie from a large, plastic trash bag. (For those who have never run a 10,000 plus entrant race: you are timed by a small transmitter that you wear, usually attached to your shoe, that picks up your signal electronically when you cross mats placed at the start and finish lines, and sometimes at various points in between. That way, you get your exact race time, also called your chip time, as opposed official race start time vs. your finish time. This is helpful because, obviously, not everyone can start at the start line at the same time. They used to give you something called a Champion Chip, which was reusable but had to be removed and turned in at the finish line, which created traffic jams that nobody really appreciated.) The only think I'm not 100% certain about right now is how I'm getting there. I had originally planned to drive, but as it turns out I'd have to park at one of the pay garages in center city, which means I'd have to leave VERY early to have a chance to get in a garage near the event, for which I'd probably pay out the ass. If I didn't get in a close garage, I could have an even further walk than I would from the subway station, so I'm thinking it might be best to cut my losses.
Anyway, the weather looks as if it should be near-perfect, high 50's to around 60 at start time, upper 60's when we're done. I have no thoughts now as to how I'll run the race, i.e., press for time or not. I've been feeling out of sorts for the past few days, I presume from the mini-taper; hopefully that will translate into good energy available for tomorrow.
School stuff: Got an A on my psych test, actually a perfect score. (Woo!) Not a bad way to start the semester. BUT, I have three tests this coming week; an A&P lab practical, an A&P exam, and another psych test. So, it may take me a few days to post a race report. And - I really had better go study now.
The race is close and starts at 8 am, so I should be done, back, showered and fed before the Igs (qb'd, as I feared, by Mr. Vick) kick off. Went into the city yesterday to pick up my gear and had to practically RUN out of the expo - there was a lot of good stuff there and I could have dropped a couple of hunderd $ in a heartbeat. I especially coveted a bright yellow vest/windbreaker that would be PERFECT for early morning runs, now that it's darker (& cooler) in the morning... It was hard to rein back from that one!
Anyway I have my number and some kind of new timing device that looks a bit like the twist tie from a large, plastic trash bag. (For those who have never run a 10,000 plus entrant race: you are timed by a small transmitter that you wear, usually attached to your shoe, that picks up your signal electronically when you cross mats placed at the start and finish lines, and sometimes at various points in between. That way, you get your exact race time, also called your chip time, as opposed official race start time vs. your finish time. This is helpful because, obviously, not everyone can start at the start line at the same time. They used to give you something called a Champion Chip, which was reusable but had to be removed and turned in at the finish line, which created traffic jams that nobody really appreciated.) The only think I'm not 100% certain about right now is how I'm getting there. I had originally planned to drive, but as it turns out I'd have to park at one of the pay garages in center city, which means I'd have to leave VERY early to have a chance to get in a garage near the event, for which I'd probably pay out the ass. If I didn't get in a close garage, I could have an even further walk than I would from the subway station, so I'm thinking it might be best to cut my losses.
Anyway, the weather looks as if it should be near-perfect, high 50's to around 60 at start time, upper 60's when we're done. I have no thoughts now as to how I'll run the race, i.e., press for time or not. I've been feeling out of sorts for the past few days, I presume from the mini-taper; hopefully that will translate into good energy available for tomorrow.
School stuff: Got an A on my psych test, actually a perfect score. (Woo!) Not a bad way to start the semester. BUT, I have three tests this coming week; an A&P lab practical, an A&P exam, and another psych test. So, it may take me a few days to post a race report. And - I really had better go study now.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The speed hack strikes again
Over the past week or so, I've been doing a lot of "lasts" in prep for the half. Last Wednesday was my last 1/4 mile repeats, Thursday - last run/lift double, Saturday - last pace run, Sunday - last long run, etc. Today was my last tempo run. As I've mentioned before, I have utterly no sense of pace, and now that the weather is cooler, runs feel about 8 zillion times easier, and I've been running a bit faster. It's one of those things I figured would happen when the weather cooled off, but even knowing that, after a summer of slower than I really expected running, I was beginning to wonder if I hadn't lost a step somewhere along the line.
Well, maybe not. I put what felt like a normal effort into my tempo run this morning, and finished in what for me was a relatively blistering pace (low 8 minute miles). So that was kinda cool. Also had a great karate class last night; got to spar with sensei for the first time in a while, and I could tell he was having fun. We really got on a roll there. Also had a good session with sensei J this morning. Nice when things are going on all cylinders!
I'm still a bit up in the air about Insanity. I've told sensei I'm not committing to doing the whole program; the timing is just wrong. But, I AM free to take any of the classes any time, so I might just do it when/if I feel like it and catch a full rotation some other time, when it's scheduled more to my taste. I really do want to give it a go, but this just isn't the way I personally would care to do it. So my plan for now is to take a recovery-ish week after the race, go easy until I feel antsy (which may only take a couple of days, but whatever), and in that time sort of figure out how I want to prep for the trail race. I'm thinking 1) hills and 2) offroad, and since my offroad/trail runs around here are pretty much flat, I might have to find someplace else to do a few runs. I'd like to do weights 2 - 3 times a week, and I'll probably continue with the FBB workouts with a few minor mods (sub in harder ab work - swiss ball crunches? srsly? - sub back hypers for cobra, make the giant sets, super sets, because they'd otherwise be too hard to set up at my gym). I have to think some on how much running I think I'll need/want and decide from there how many weight workouts. Not something I'm going to do today.
Had my first test yesterday, in Psych. Think I did pretty well! And now I have to bolt. Maybe more later, maybe not!
Well, maybe not. I put what felt like a normal effort into my tempo run this morning, and finished in what for me was a relatively blistering pace (low 8 minute miles). So that was kinda cool. Also had a great karate class last night; got to spar with sensei for the first time in a while, and I could tell he was having fun. We really got on a roll there. Also had a good session with sensei J this morning. Nice when things are going on all cylinders!
I'm still a bit up in the air about Insanity. I've told sensei I'm not committing to doing the whole program; the timing is just wrong. But, I AM free to take any of the classes any time, so I might just do it when/if I feel like it and catch a full rotation some other time, when it's scheduled more to my taste. I really do want to give it a go, but this just isn't the way I personally would care to do it. So my plan for now is to take a recovery-ish week after the race, go easy until I feel antsy (which may only take a couple of days, but whatever), and in that time sort of figure out how I want to prep for the trail race. I'm thinking 1) hills and 2) offroad, and since my offroad/trail runs around here are pretty much flat, I might have to find someplace else to do a few runs. I'd like to do weights 2 - 3 times a week, and I'll probably continue with the FBB workouts with a few minor mods (sub in harder ab work - swiss ball crunches? srsly? - sub back hypers for cobra, make the giant sets, super sets, because they'd otherwise be too hard to set up at my gym). I have to think some on how much running I think I'll need/want and decide from there how many weight workouts. Not something I'm going to do today.
Had my first test yesterday, in Psych. Think I did pretty well! And now I have to bolt. Maybe more later, maybe not!
Monday, September 13, 2010
So, perhaps no Insanity
Jeezy creezy. I've mentioned before that we're going to be running Insanity out of the dojo (or more specifically, a Beachbody "coach" - BB-ish for "salesperson" - friend of Sensei's will be running the program); it's free to karate school members, costs $ for non-members. I'm not really sure who's doing it, specifically - as far as I know, I'm the only person from the dojo, aside from sensei, who is interested - and I've had no input on when it's to start, when the classes would be held, etc. Seriously, would YOU start this thing the day after you do a road race you've trained for for months? I'd rather take an easy week, thank you, but whatever. The time has fluctuated, but the latest I'd heard was it would be held M, W, F at 7:30, T and TH after karate - which is late for me, probably wouldn't start before 9, but I offered to come in and run the program at 4:30, before classes as an alternative, and Saturdays at around 10.
Got the final schedule yesterday and it's just a clusterfuck. Whomever is setting the final schedule wants to do it at 8:30 on weeknights and not at all on the weekends (um, but it's a six day a week program, no? How is that going to work out?). To which I say, pffft. I'm sure you night owls are saying, 8:30? So what? But I'm a morning person, always have been, and am usually shut down or well on my way there by 9, so this doesn't fly for me.
So much has fluctuated since this idea was originally presented that for all I know, it'll change again, but if not - maybe I'll catch it next time. Plan B is to go back to lifting three days a week and running three days a week, with the focus on prepping for the trail run (for which my only goal is to finish). Which is probably the better plan, anyway... So, we'll see what happens.
Yesterday was pretty much a suck-ass sports day for me. US Open Men's Final - rained out. They play today, but I was looking forward to it and it would have been a nice diversion from the truly SUCKY Eagles game. I was yelling at Andy Reid (the coach) before the first quarter was over, the new starting QB was out with a concussion before the first half was over, and our replacement was none other than the infamous Michael Vick, with whom I have a loathe/detest relationship, and also whom I can't forget is one talented bastard I would have gladly had on my team before - well, before. Which in a way, ALSO bothers me because I wonder to what extent it's a double standard. I know he's not the only person in football - in sports, for that matter - who has done despicable things, but I hate on him especially because I know about them? And yet, how do you turn a blind eye to what he did? So, yes, my feelings toward Vick are incredibly mixed, and I've been wishing he'd just go away because if he's not in Eagle's green, I'm under no obligation to deal with him. Now, based on the play calling before Kolb (the new starting QB) went down and the fact that Kolb has a concussion, meaning who knows when he'll be back, I wonder if Vick will be the starting QB, and for how long?
And oh yeah, I watched a good chunk of the night game, and the Redskins have this new QB - #5? - who looked solid, if unspectacular. Mc-something or other.
Got the final schedule yesterday and it's just a clusterfuck. Whomever is setting the final schedule wants to do it at 8:30 on weeknights and not at all on the weekends (um, but it's a six day a week program, no? How is that going to work out?). To which I say, pffft. I'm sure you night owls are saying, 8:30? So what? But I'm a morning person, always have been, and am usually shut down or well on my way there by 9, so this doesn't fly for me.
So much has fluctuated since this idea was originally presented that for all I know, it'll change again, but if not - maybe I'll catch it next time. Plan B is to go back to lifting three days a week and running three days a week, with the focus on prepping for the trail run (for which my only goal is to finish). Which is probably the better plan, anyway... So, we'll see what happens.
Yesterday was pretty much a suck-ass sports day for me. US Open Men's Final - rained out. They play today, but I was looking forward to it and it would have been a nice diversion from the truly SUCKY Eagles game. I was yelling at Andy Reid (the coach) before the first quarter was over, the new starting QB was out with a concussion before the first half was over, and our replacement was none other than the infamous Michael Vick, with whom I have a loathe/detest relationship, and also whom I can't forget is one talented bastard I would have gladly had on my team before - well, before. Which in a way, ALSO bothers me because I wonder to what extent it's a double standard. I know he's not the only person in football - in sports, for that matter - who has done despicable things, but I hate on him especially because I know about them? And yet, how do you turn a blind eye to what he did? So, yes, my feelings toward Vick are incredibly mixed, and I've been wishing he'd just go away because if he's not in Eagle's green, I'm under no obligation to deal with him. Now, based on the play calling before Kolb (the new starting QB) went down and the fact that Kolb has a concussion, meaning who knows when he'll be back, I wonder if Vick will be the starting QB, and for how long?
And oh yeah, I watched a good chunk of the night game, and the Redskins have this new QB - #5? - who looked solid, if unspectacular. Mc-something or other.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Study Break!
I have my very first test on Tuesday, in Psychology. I've also been scrambling like a nut to get up to speed in A&P; we started with a HUGE reading load (because so much of the material in the first chapters was review of bio and chem - never mind that I last had bio and chem in the 80's and not last semester, as it's presumed one did, so I was really scraping rust of the brain). I am basically up to date with that now, and hopefully things will be a bit more sane from here on out. I'm still pretty excited about school and tend to babble at anyone who asks me about it, and since I just unloaded on my sister (who also went back to school, for a masters), you're spared any further talk for the day.
Training stuff has pretty much gone apace, although I missed karate this past Thursday because I was just mentally and physically dead by class time. Generally I find I can get through a class if I'm either mentally present or physically present - one will carry the other along until it picks up - but if both are shot, I'm more likely to do something stupid like walk into a kick or a punch that isn't even aimed at me, so it's best not to go. That was my last double workout (run + weights) day of half training, so I don't figure that will be a problem in future. And, yes, all of the runs and lifts have gone down as prescribed, including today's long run. Which was a damp one. I have to say, as much as I really don't MIND running in the rain, I find it hard to get myself out the door when it's raining before I even start. But I finished feeling really strong and good, and in the end it was the kind of run that just feels good to the core. I really do love these moderate distances, stuff in the 8 - 15 mile range. Also, my time for this run, which I was trying to do at an easy pace, was really pretty good, and suggests I might actually meet my time goal, although I have managed to divorce myself from it to some extent.
It's been interesting. First, I've wondered why I've been so hung up on what amounts to a more or less arbitrarily picked number. Which isn't really rocket science - I figure it's a combination of pride and a sense of personal expectation, which I don't actually consider bad things. BUT, I'm not sure I picked a training program that was necessarily setting me up for success. And I don't mean that as a cop-out; I don't expect to be far off goal unless the weather is utter crap - but I don't have any good training predictors of race performance, so I don't know if I've done all I should have to reach goal or not. My timed training runs were done to the best of my ability and at what I thought was a good pace; but what the f do I know? Anyway, done is done, I'm sure you're about as sick of reading about this as I am of writing about this, and as far as I'm concerned - I do my best next week and take the lesson learned. Which is: NEVER set a time goal for a race I haven't done before.
And starting immediately after that is Insanity. I know almost nothing about this program other than it's some kind of twist on interval training plus bodyweight exercise (I think), plus people who have done it say it's the hardest thing they've ever done. Which just sounds like a challenge to me, so I jumped on the chance to do it in a group. Since I don't really know what it's about, I don't have any specific goals for it; I plan to keep lifting twice a week through it and if I can, to fit in some runs here and there, and I'd like to maintain my weight, which remains in a good place. I may take some before/after photos for grins and giggles.
Oh, and I finally saw The Expendables. Had a bit more "plot" than it needed, but was otherwise the expected fights and explosions action guy romp. I don't know why Wendy gave up Jason Stratham, though. Damn!
Training stuff has pretty much gone apace, although I missed karate this past Thursday because I was just mentally and physically dead by class time. Generally I find I can get through a class if I'm either mentally present or physically present - one will carry the other along until it picks up - but if both are shot, I'm more likely to do something stupid like walk into a kick or a punch that isn't even aimed at me, so it's best not to go. That was my last double workout (run + weights) day of half training, so I don't figure that will be a problem in future. And, yes, all of the runs and lifts have gone down as prescribed, including today's long run. Which was a damp one. I have to say, as much as I really don't MIND running in the rain, I find it hard to get myself out the door when it's raining before I even start. But I finished feeling really strong and good, and in the end it was the kind of run that just feels good to the core. I really do love these moderate distances, stuff in the 8 - 15 mile range. Also, my time for this run, which I was trying to do at an easy pace, was really pretty good, and suggests I might actually meet my time goal, although I have managed to divorce myself from it to some extent.
It's been interesting. First, I've wondered why I've been so hung up on what amounts to a more or less arbitrarily picked number. Which isn't really rocket science - I figure it's a combination of pride and a sense of personal expectation, which I don't actually consider bad things. BUT, I'm not sure I picked a training program that was necessarily setting me up for success. And I don't mean that as a cop-out; I don't expect to be far off goal unless the weather is utter crap - but I don't have any good training predictors of race performance, so I don't know if I've done all I should have to reach goal or not. My timed training runs were done to the best of my ability and at what I thought was a good pace; but what the f do I know? Anyway, done is done, I'm sure you're about as sick of reading about this as I am of writing about this, and as far as I'm concerned - I do my best next week and take the lesson learned. Which is: NEVER set a time goal for a race I haven't done before.
And starting immediately after that is Insanity. I know almost nothing about this program other than it's some kind of twist on interval training plus bodyweight exercise (I think), plus people who have done it say it's the hardest thing they've ever done. Which just sounds like a challenge to me, so I jumped on the chance to do it in a group. Since I don't really know what it's about, I don't have any specific goals for it; I plan to keep lifting twice a week through it and if I can, to fit in some runs here and there, and I'd like to maintain my weight, which remains in a good place. I may take some before/after photos for grins and giggles.
Oh, and I finally saw The Expendables. Had a bit more "plot" than it needed, but was otherwise the expected fights and explosions action guy romp. I don't know why Wendy gave up Jason Stratham, though. Damn!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Ugh. Shopping.
I finally did it - I killed my blender. Crapolita. I am a fairly frequent protein shake flier, usually having one a day after my hardest workout of the day because I do believe in post workout refuelling and I really can't face solid food when I'm hot and sweaty. Dunno why, but I've always been like that so I go with what works. (I'm even more fussy about eating before a workout. It's all about avoiding nausea, but it's a PITA.) I like my shakes fairly thick - approaching Wendy's Frostee thick - so the milk/pp to frozen fruit ratio tends to favor that outcome, which can be hard on a table top blender's engine. I used the Magic Bullet for a while, but the teeth in the base broke off. Tried a fairly cheap smoothie maker, and that worked fairly well - until the jar cracked. Finally invested in a "real" blender, a Cuisinart, and the thin lasted me - eh, I'm guessing three years? Which probably isn't bad, all things considered, and given the price (I think I spent about $60).
Poor thing had a really hard time of things this morning. Even using the ice crush feature, it had a hard time breaking things down, and when I went into regular blend mode... the noise was not good. After about a minute smoke started coming out of the base, which I also figured was Not Good, so I unplugged the thing and enjoyed a chunkier than usual shake. The base "works," in that the motor turns, but it sounds ill, and I doubt it could crush an overripe tomato. Soooo, I need a new blender. I'd love to buy a fancy Vita-Mix or Blendtec, but for upwards of $400, that's not in the cards right now. I'm probably going to wind up with a Kitchenaid model for less than a quarter of that, so here's hoping their blenders are even half as good as their stand mixers.
Also coming out of the budget, all of a sudden - for whatever reason, I decided to try on my jeans yesterday. Holy flaming shit, they don't even nearly fit. I don't think I weigh that much less than when I bought them, but I guess I've done some serious body restructuring because I SWIM in them - they would look stupid even with a belt, and that is by my decidedly questionable fashion standards. So, shit. Now I need jeans, and what's worse I need to refigure out my size. Which means, I can't just order online, and let the jeans appear at my door, as is my preferred way to shop.
Crap.
Poor thing had a really hard time of things this morning. Even using the ice crush feature, it had a hard time breaking things down, and when I went into regular blend mode... the noise was not good. After about a minute smoke started coming out of the base, which I also figured was Not Good, so I unplugged the thing and enjoyed a chunkier than usual shake. The base "works," in that the motor turns, but it sounds ill, and I doubt it could crush an overripe tomato. Soooo, I need a new blender. I'd love to buy a fancy Vita-Mix or Blendtec, but for upwards of $400, that's not in the cards right now. I'm probably going to wind up with a Kitchenaid model for less than a quarter of that, so here's hoping their blenders are even half as good as their stand mixers.
Also coming out of the budget, all of a sudden - for whatever reason, I decided to try on my jeans yesterday. Holy flaming shit, they don't even nearly fit. I don't think I weigh that much less than when I bought them, but I guess I've done some serious body restructuring because I SWIM in them - they would look stupid even with a belt, and that is by my decidedly questionable fashion standards. So, shit. Now I need jeans, and what's worse I need to refigure out my size. Which means, I can't just order online, and let the jeans appear at my door, as is my preferred way to shop.
Crap.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Woo hoo!
Made it through my pet sitting gig with all four kittehs alive and well. Yay! I'm so relieved I didn't have to deal with the passing of the older two, who are both holding strong. Whew.
Had a very warm but good run this morning; I incorporated a bunch of hills into the run and was overall satisfied with the time. Tomorrow should be another warm one, and then the weather is supposed to change for the much cooler ( :D ) after Friday. I'm really interested in seeing how the weekend runs will feel, given how crappy the past two Sundays have been.
And tomorrow, dun dun DUN - I start school. I have so much nervous energy, I'm not sure how I'm going to sleep tonight. I'm planning to haul all of my books over tomorrow, hopefully for the only time - although truthfully the heaviest book is my A&P text, so if I can leave that home hereafter, I'll be happy. Wow, here we go, for real. Hopefully, the first step toward a new career.
Had a very warm but good run this morning; I incorporated a bunch of hills into the run and was overall satisfied with the time. Tomorrow should be another warm one, and then the weather is supposed to change for the much cooler ( :D ) after Friday. I'm really interested in seeing how the weekend runs will feel, given how crappy the past two Sundays have been.
And tomorrow, dun dun DUN - I start school. I have so much nervous energy, I'm not sure how I'm going to sleep tonight. I'm planning to haul all of my books over tomorrow, hopefully for the only time - although truthfully the heaviest book is my A&P text, so if I can leave that home hereafter, I'll be happy. Wow, here we go, for real. Hopefully, the first step toward a new career.
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