Training Log Archive: cporter

Kickboxing - didn't do the full class today (i.e. no sparring) and took it easy for the marathon. I just needed to get moving a bit.

C • Good luck on Sunday 3

Kickboxing - very track workout-esque like class today. Lots of squats and lunges as usual, but also a lot of traveling exercises that I used to do in track like high knees, skipping for height, etc. The instructor also introduced some new stregnth training exercises that mainly used the body bar. One exercise was literally like rowing a kayak while in a squat - it made me wish I actually were kayaking :( Also did this rather difficult move where you had the body bar in one hand went down into a lunge and then passed the bar under your leg into your other hand. It was not an easy task to do since the body bar is so long (like a meter)that it was rather unwieldy. I kept losing my balance. Good class though and I even did good with my jump roping today.

Core Workout Class - split the class between more traditional core work (i.e. crunches, sit-ups, push-ups) and pilates. We did this really interesting thing with a rolled up yoga mat that we had to lay on top of along our spine so that we were constantly having to stabalize our cores while doing sit-up/crunches. I was OK with it until we had to do crunches across our bodies to the opposite knee...I just couldn't keep my balance for those. Also did resistance work with those stretch bands with handles (don't know the technical name for 'em) on them which actually felt really good doing all the extension. Toward the end of class it just felt like it was never going to end... I kept thinking that each exercise had to be the last one, but no there would be more. I got pretty tired and, of course we did push-ups toward the end, and a we did a lot of them so I was so exhausted, but that still wasn't the end - we did another round of crunches on the stability ball and finally finished with a reverse crunch doing a pike from the plank position on a stability ball (i.e. push up position with shins resting on the ball and then had to bend at the waist and push your butt up in the air.) This was nearly impossible for me to do. I was so tired and so shaky from all the push ups that it was all I could do to keep balanced and not face plant so I cheated and bent my knees in rather than keeping them straight. Needless to say (well I actually did in SO many rambling words above) a tough class!

So I'm a little freaked out at the moment because my shin splints have returned from out of the blue today! The strangest thing about it is that I did a trail run today (I know, courting disaster with rocky/rooty leaf covered trails only days before the marathon, but I wanted a treat) as opposed to the pavement that I've been pounding away on for the majority of my runs. But oh my god did my shins kill me, especially when I stopped running...they were throbbing!!! I'm hoping that it was due to the fact that I really didn't hydrate at all today, besides the water I drank at lunch. I got stuck in the stacks most of the day where drinking/eating anything near the records is considered a mortal sin. Since I was planning to do under an hour and since it was such a cool day I figured I'd be ok. I know still not a smart idea. Here's to hoping my legs start cooperating and fast.

Event: DVOA long champs
 

DVOA Long-O Champs @ Green Lane Park. Not the greatest race despite the fact that the course was on my home turf (not that that counts for much anymore since I haven't lived at home for over 5 years), but I still managed to be the top woman. I guess I wasn't as slow as I thought I was, but I made a couple 1+ mistakes and one 5 min error (that I never should have made.) Controls 8-12 were in the most technical (and trashy) part of the map and I bobbled (or worse) all of them and started getting really hesitant. I redeemed myself on 13, which I spiked and had a perfect leg to 14 and then literally next to the control feature I totally blew it.

I was supposed to find a rootstock, but the woods just didn't look like I expected them to when I got there and I did see a rootstock so this should have been a no-brainer, but for god know's what reason I convinced myself that it was not right. The map is about 10 years old and this rootstock was definitely not so I just assumed this one was unmapped (what I had failed to realize is that the map was just updated this year!) so I ran all around, bailed out twice to a near by powerlines and then finally ran up a trail that circled around and would lead me right into the control and it put me right back where I started so I finally ran around the other side of the rootstock and surprise-surprise there it was hiding in between two (I could only see one from the side I was on) rootstocks. So that was 5 min of error right there. The next leg was a super long (at least 2 km) purely running leg to the other side of the map and I made a really stupid route choice there too. Thought I could cross the stream faster that take a road that ran around a bit to a bridge, but I think with trying to find a shallow enough place to cross, etc I probably wasted more time or at least didn't gain any. Rest of the course went OK, bobbled 16 a bit because I was having a hard time seeing (we were right next to the reservoir and the wind blowing off the water was making my eyes water) and then took a slow route choice to 18. On the up side I had a nice run in to the finish and had the fastest split, until Eddie came in. He only beat me by a second though so that's not too bad.

I also took a pretty bad spill leaving only #2 which hurt a lot and has left a nice scrape and a pretty ugly bruise on my right elbow.

C • Congrats 7