Training to Live

clip on, clip off, breathe in through the nose, out the mouth.

this weekend, i took my bike out for it’s first sunshine spin of 2009. for my birthday (around christmas time), my boyfriend got me a set of clipless pedals + cleats. i’ve been practicing the getting in and out on my trainer all winter, but it doesn’t compare to doing it on the road. it was an extremely humbling experience. i fell off my bike twice, skinned a knee and wound up with a bruise on my hip. i forced myself to get right back on and keep trying because i knew if i gave up then, that would be it. jon was extremely patient with me. after a second day of practice on my own around the baseball diamond near my house (so if i fell, it would just be on soft grass), i’m feeling a lot more comfortable. clipless pedals make me feel so much more pro on the bike! i’m not just a girl with a bike, i’m like a for real cyclist. i have a few actual cycling jerseys too! logistics pending, i am also going to sign up for a bike race that is semi-off road (farm lanes, trails and gravel roads). i have a cyclocross bike, which is pretty ideal for this type of terrain (it’s road bike like, but designed for off roading. but not like mountain bike off roading), so i’m excited! (i’ll only be doing the 35 km ride, while the boy will do the 60 km one. i wish we could do it together but this is an important training race for him and there’s no way i can handle 60 km!)

in other weekend news, we did a major cook once, cook big. jon buys the cans of campbell’s soup. the last time we were at the grocery store because he was out, i saw that they’ve gone up to almost $2 a can, and they are really not at all tasty. he is on a tight grad student budget and he does love soup, so i volunteered to make him some delicious soup, all from scratch, to keep in the freezer. i fell back on my two old favorites, the minestrone and the chicken chowder. the stock came from 3 chickens that i skinned and butchered up myself! he helped me, and together we were the most organized team ever! everything was prepped and ready to go. we had three simultaneous pots on the stove AND we managed to keep the kitchen pretty clean the entire time.
this was the result

20 meals worth of yummy, healthy, low sodium soup for probably less than 50 cents each! i snagged the 3 small portions for lunch this week.

today was my first day of running speed work. i’m not gonna lie, i was a little anxious about it all day. 12 repeats of 400m at a pretty fast pace with 90 seconds in between. it went so well! i felt awesome the whole time (well. i didn’t FEEL awesome but i felt awesome about what i was doing and how fast i was going). i ended up being an average of 8 seconds faster than my plan said, but my 12 times were fairly consistent, and i think that is what is important. i hope this sets the tone for the rest of my interval work! i ran about 4.5 miles in 36 minutes of actual running time, which is insane for me – i’m more of a 9 – 10 minute/mile person. and i burned over 500 calories. woohoo. i know i’ll be in pain tomorrow though. yoga to the rescue! (after our bike ride this weekend, jon did yoga for cyclists with me. i think he really liked it! yay. maybe another convert)

i’ve got another crazy week at work. have a good one. don’t forget to breathe! very important.

as promised, i have fleshed out the first part of my training plan for this season, which will take me to race #1. the plan i am planning to follow this year is from runners world. it is called the FIRST training program from this book (which i highly recommend if you are into running!). it is a 3plus2 plan, where you run intensely 3 days a week and do 2 “plus two” days of cross training. my cross training will be primarily on the bike (they also recommend swimming).

it seems like a good plan for busy people. each workout has a specific purpose – there aren’t a lot of “junk miles” and you only run every other day or so to allow your body to recover on the days in between. recommended cross training are less joint-intensive impact activites, like swimming and biking. rowing is also an option. i plan to incorporate lots of yoga and i hope to also continue to do some strength training on my cross train days.

i am going for a 2:07 half marathon run on may 23 so this is what i have come up with. the key issue with my season is that i have an 18 week plan but my season is 8 weeks till the 1st race, 16 weeks between the 1st and 2nd, and 4 weeks between the 2nd and 3rd. i’m working on the wiggling. i’ll post the next section when i’ve got it done.

i work in metric units, so i had to do some calculations to switch from miles to km. it’s 1.6 km to the mile.

after a glorious weekend filled with fun, it’s back to work for me! luckily i came home to a nice big box on my doorstep full of the running and biking wear i ordered from mountain equipment coop. i was able to score a ton of stuff on sale (including some arm warmers and seamless undies!). all but one shirt are made in canada and everything is either mostly or completely made from organic and recycled fibres! awesome. you’ll be seeing them on me in the near future. i think that looking cute makes me faster

i went for my first (and second!) outdoor runs this weekend. i cannot tell you how fabulous it felt getting back out on the road after a winter of riding my bike indoors. the bike has definitely made me stronger because even though i haven’t run in 4 months, i still felt really strong. i don’t officially start my training (next post) until next week – 9 weeks before my first race – so this week is a gradual easing back in to running. the weather looks like it is going to cooperate, and i have a ton of awesome stuff to wear! (today i was out in capri tights and a long-sleeved freeride jersey. no layers or gloves, headband, neckwarmer or anything. how fantastic) last year i was down on spring but right now i am lovin’ it!

the weekend was full of fun. i went to the bike show, like i mentioned. getting there was an adventure in itself. i don’t take ttc enough, it seems. i got on the wrong streetcar trying to get to exhibition place and somehow ended up on the streetcar heading uptown. it was a lovely ride through the city – kensington and china town, and i was afforded lots of interesting people watching.

the bike show itself was great. i scored some excellent new louis garneau bike shorts, the chamois of which is super padded! i also picked up a half priced camelbak because i’ve been wanting one for ages but didn’t want to pay $60 for it. i can’t wait to take it out on a long bike ride or hike. i also got a pair of fingerless riding gloves for cheap, so i can protect my hands and have better grip without overheating.

i took some excellent video at the bmx stunt course and the 4 cross races, and my first ever video is in the works. i’ll be sure to post it here for your enjoyment when i’m done! imovie rocks.

medieval times was quite underwhelming, though i had no expectations. the highlight was when i caught one of the horses pooping in the arena. this plus eating dinner without any utensils doesn’t really make for a great dining experience.

i’ll leave you with a picture of me, rocking our friend’s new downhill helmet. those things are super padded on the inside!

so as i may have mentioned, i’m a runner. i’ve been running since at least 1998 when I was on my high school cross country team, seriously since 2003, when i started training for my first 10km. i’ve come a long way since those 4km cross country races that seemed so long!
although my training over the last two years became markedly more serious (with real goals rather than just running for fun), i feel like this is the first time i am putting more than just my whole heart into it.

i’m not much of a winter person. it gets pretty cold here in toronto – temperatures in january average around -10 – -15°C with tons of snow and ice. these aren’t great running conditions! in the past, i’ve taken winter as a “vegging out” season. not this year. as you’ve seen from my pictures, i’ve not only been keeping active outside, through snowshoes, hikes and skating, but i have also been biking on my trainer at least 3-4 days a week for an hour combined with 10 minutes of strength training per session.

knowing that i’m staying in shape and getting stronger is awesome and fuels my desire to do more, positive feedback loop style. i can already see nice definition in my calves and have noticed that my quads are much more toned. i’ve been working extra hard on my core strength because that helps you run faster! i strongly believe that this exercise, combined with my healthy eating and other good living habits have contributed to my not getting sick during the height of cold/flu season.

one of my latest and greatest discoveries has been yoga. although i have been to a few classes in the past, i have never enjoyed yoga. i always found it too slow and too painful. until now. i found that if i download 20 minute audio classes from yogadownload that I can do at my level and convenience, it is far more enjoyable! i hook my computer up to the tv, put the pose guide on the screen and run the audio through the tv sound system so I can follow along. I’m still at a fairly beginner level (i tried a level 3 class yesterday and it was really challenging!), but I am loving it. I highly recommend checking out yogadownload, even if you think you’re not into that. you might surprise yourself!

i mentioned in my new year’s resolution post that one of my goals for this year was to run a half marathon in under 2 hours. i’m still formulating a training plan and scheduling the 3 races I will run this summer/fall. I’ll share it when it’s finished along with some other training tools i’m using. I found a really excellent book at the library for this called: Runner’s World Run Less, Run Faster that i am using as a guide. if you are a runner and you need a plan, check this method out! it’s a lot more reasonable than many other training plans (only 3 days per week of running, plus 2 days of cross training) which makes it easier to stick to. Quality over quantity. Every workout has a purpose and because you never run on back to back days, you can put the effort into getting faster (through tempo runs, intervals, and long runs done at close to goal pace).

Running isn’t just exercise. it’s me time, something i don’t get too much of these busy days. i look forward to the early morning summer runs, when it’s just me, my music and the trees. the view of the lake isn’t half bad either.