I honestly have tried EVERY shoe there is. Nike, New Balance, Asics, Adidas, Brooks, Pearl Izumi, Puma... I really feel like I have tried them all, or as many as a typical running store carries. No shoe has been as nice to my feet as saucony shoes have.
So after not qualifying for the Trials like I had hoped (and truthfully not running an all-out half or full marathon once in 2011), I was very nervous that I wouldn't make the team again. At CIM (California International Marathon), I met SOOOOOO many female Hurricanes. All of them except for one actually finished the race....and that would be me. I know I made the right choice pulling out of the race as I'd rather be hurt mentally than physically, but I second guessed my decision many times when thinking that I might not make the team again.
Luckily for me, the decision makers knew that neither Milwaukee nor CIM showed what I was truly capable of with racing in 2011. So this year, I'm going to show them my gratitude with some awesome races:)
FEBRUARY REVIEW:
2/1-2/7: I was in Vegas for work. 14miles on the treadmill about killed me. So did the less-than-5-hours-of-sleep-each-night. I was glad to be home.
2/8-2/11: this time was spent regrouping and really getting back into biking since, GET THIS, the hotel in Vegas charged $20 a day if you weren't a Hilton Honors Silver member. And, it was those crappy stationary bikes too. So I said screw it, and decided I'd just be biking every single day that I got home. 2/11 I ran 16miles with friends as our FOOD TASTING was that day!
Sunday, 2/12: bike test. ROCKED IT.
Monday, 2/13: early morning 5mile (flight to Pittsburgh for work)
Tuesday, 2/14: nothing like a failed Valentine's Day workout... supposed to do 6x1mile at 10k pace. see recap below
Wednesday, 2/15: 8miles morning, 4miles evening plus 30min bike
Thursday, 2/16: BRICK 5min run @10k pace, 10min bike, 5min run@10k, 5min jog x3
Friday, 2/17: 2hour bike, 5mile run
Saturday, 2/18: 16mile run with 6x3min at 1/2marathon pace
Sunday, 2/19: 8mile run, 1.5hour bike
Monday, 2/20: planned BRICK consisting of 2k run @10k pace, 12min bike, 1k run@5k pace x3
Well, Tuesday's failed workout failed for multiple reasons. First, I had no idea what my 10k pace was. When I was really in shape near the end of training last year, it was 6minute pace. However, the 10k that I actually ran in October of last year, my hamstring cramped up for and I ran 6:15pace. So, not really thinking about that, I decided 6minute pace was my 10k pace again.
WRONG.
I called Cari after this disaster and she said we should start at 6:15 pace--even though I wasn't 100% for that race, that is the effort I put into it. I went 6:00, 6:00, 6:15 and texted Ryan that I suck at running. He called me and reminded me that I CRUSHED my bike test (see recap below), ran 5miles at 4:30am before my flight, and worked 15hours the day before. OF COURSE I should be tired and those paces should be hard. Bottom line, I need to figure out where I'm at so that I don't screw up my pacing and ruin a workout.
BIKE TEST
On January 7th, Ryan had me do my first bike test of the year. Basically, it works like this:
10min warmup
2x1min fast spin with 1min recov
calibrate the computrainer
4min easy
5min ALL OUT
10min recovery spin
20min ALL OUT
cooldown
When I did this test in January, I didn't know you could shift the gears...so my 5min all out was 161 watts averaged and my 20min all out was 181 watts averaged. Whoops.
I did this again on February 12th.... I told Ryan while I was doing the 20min that if I averaged over 190watts, he owed me gummy bears (yes, candy motivates me; I'm a terrible influence). Well, that was 6min in.... I ended up averaging 200 watts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CRAZY!!!
The bike test on the computrainer then adjusts your workouts on the computrainer to basically get you better on the bike. This is a HUGE step for me, so I'm hoping that it translates to me qualifying for DUATHLON WORLDS!
The only other thing to post is that this brick workout today is completely simulating what Powerman Alabama will be like. The race is a 10k run, 40k bike, 5k run (different from years past when it was 10k/60k/10k). So, I've divided the race by 5ths and will be doing those distances at the same intensity to see how I do. I'll recap it next week.....
....off to do some wedding planning before the Brick, which falls on the perfect day as Ryan and I are going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to eat dinner in celebration of our 4 year anniversary!
1 comment:
How do you apply to become a Saucony Hurricane? That is such an amazing opportunity!
Post a Comment