Training Archive: cathi

cycling race (mtn bike) 2:30:00 [5] 24.0 mi (6:15 / mi) +387m 5:57 / mi

Race! SERC at Raccoon

had a good sleep - no pain, no dizziness. yeah! the weather was a bit cooler thankfully. despite yesterdays rain, the trail was dusty & dry. the women's sport field was the very last to start. there were about 12 of us. the start was a .4mile paved section to break us up. man these girls can sprint! i was redlining immediately. i felt everything - legs definitely not zippy or very strong. i tried to hang on most of the first lap - i think i was around middle of the pack.

about 1/3 of the way into the 2nd lap, the leading pro passed me in a not too ideal spot, knocking me over. (going slow luckily.) my chain was messed up, so after fixing that, i got back on. but then the weird heart palpitation thing happened. light headed. vision narrowing... uh oh. i tried to pedal through it, but nopers. barely got off, hung on to a tree to not pass out. had to hang out for a few moments... this has only happened running before, which is a bit easier to recover from (can walk it out; biking requires a bit more finesse). once able to go, i took it easy a bit. about 10 min later i think i was almost back to normal, although took some of the descents easier than before as a precaution.

the rest was uneventful. i finished, but not sure where; never looked :)

i think my 2nd lap was on its way to being better than the first - i was settled into a good pace and while my legs burned at times, it wasn't as drastic as the first. my nutrition and hydration seemed fine. front brake rubbing though on my bike - this should be resolved once i put all the new parts on (after the CO trip!)

C • you'd think the pro would k... 1

C • coming back from having to ... 1

C • I am hoping you are just on... 2

cycling (mtn) 2:06:00 [3] 11.0 mi (11:27 / mi) +193m 10:52 / mi

FINALLY FEELING BETTER!! i didn't take any pain medicine today and voila, minimal dizziness. a bit of aching tonight, but nothing like the last few days. yippeee!!

i went up to raccoon to preride the race course for tomorrow. i rode with 2 women doing the beginners race, so it was a slow and easy lap. we had some rain tonight so the dry & dusty course may look a bit diff tomorrow.

C • i'm so happy to read you ar... 2

Note
(sick) (rest day)

dizzy, tired, achey.
again.

Note
(sick)

i'm guessing here that i won't miraculously feel better today. the dizziness has been pretty much constant. went to the infirmary at work to check my blood pressure - tis fine for me. she suggested that sometimes an upper tooth root canal can affect the sinuses and inner ear - which does make sense. also, maybe not enough iron??

sigh. i'm tired of this.

C • get well soon. i'm pullin ... 1

cycling (mtb) 1:40:00 [3] 14.0 mi (7:09 / mi) +231m 6:48 / mi

raccoon mtn

the first 5 minutes i was doubting whether i should be on the bike or not. i did settle in and kept it slow & easy - last thing i needed was to pick up speed, get dizzy, & crash. it was nice though to go solo & slow - redid a few obstacles i've had problems with and nailed 'em. (some at least!) some areas that i usually clear were a bit problematic. lacked some power. was definitely tired at the end. (and starving!)

cycling (road) 2:04:00 [3] 32.5 mi (3:49 / mi)

red bank loop, modified.

headed out on an easy road ride. no climb, since i was still way under calories and a bit dizzy. no pain medicine today though so my alertness levels way up. felt pretty good and happy to be on the bike!

meanwhile (i'm writing this the next morning), i was woken up last night with terrible pain again. ugh!! not sure what is up. only took some ibprofen so that i didn't get dragged down. we'll see how tomorrow goes.

C • we'll keep our fingers cros... 3

Note
(sick) (rest day)

today started with... a root canal!!
it went ok, but i was just wiped out after. left work and came home and slept for 5 freakin hours. weird.

am hoping my head feels normalized enough to start back doing things tomorrow. it's not severe pain anymore, but just dull aches (which might be worse!). and i can't eat real food yet either. that's probably contributing to my lack of energy and lightheadedness.

C • good thing you got it fixed... 1

Note
(sick) (rest day)

toothache had me sidelined again.

8am dentist appt. i guess i'm looking forward to that.

Note
(sick) (rest day)

a freak toothache came about last night. didn't sleep until 5:30am. needless to say, the cherohala challenge did not happen. not happy about that.

in pain all day. the painkillers didn't help all that much either. :(

yoga (at home) 20:00 [1]

cycling (road) 54:00 [2] 14.0 mi (3:51 / mi)

easy road ride

yoga (yoga + stretching) 20:00 [1]
(rest day)

sloooow & easy. more or less a rest day.

yoga (yoga + stretching) 12:00 [1]

cycling (mtn bike) 1:55:00 [3] 14.0 mi (8:13 / mi)

raccoon. guess on distance.

good ride with lisa. solid pace. trail quite dusty. slid out on a root and ate it hard; ok though!

cycling (road) 2:21:00 [3] 40.0 mi (3:31 / mi) +187m 3:28 / mi

had a pretty good ride. started with some folks but took it sort of easy/moderate. then i broke off to add on a bit (towards back valley). i skipped the climb, but got in extra distance (i need to map out a few other add on options...) my legs sort of wanted a little break from a bit climb - hope that was ok! :)

yoga (yoga + stretching) 15:00 [1]

cycling hills (hill repeats) 53:00 [5] 8.75 mi (6:03 / mi) +303m 5:28 / mi

foltz circle.
OUCH! i could tell my legs were a bit sore on the first, but i did push it. stood up till my quads wouldn't support me, then sat and pedaled until that hurt, then switched it up again.

C • awesome! 1

strength (core) 26:30 [2]

ATW for 35
25:00

then a few other crunches...

yoga (at home) 22:00 [1]

running (trail) 1:15:00 [3] 6.0 mi (12:30 / mi) +239m 11:07 / mi
shoes: Velocity 1

lookout mtn
ruby falls - rifle pitts-sunset-gum-back

unfortunately my friends suck and even though i asked to do a certain blue hole run a week ago, they decided to go on another. (it was much longer and more technical than i needed). so, i was forced to go on one of the 2 "safe trail runs" that i alternate between. (ie, they aren't in BFE.) i was not a happy camper.

the run was ok. hot. legs felt ok on the flats/rolling areas, but as soon as it got steep & rocky, they felt like bricks. after a few trips, i decided to hike these areas. the trails were a mess due to the storms this past week - littered with all kinds of debris.

in general, my body feels pretty good after yesterday's long ride. not overly sore or stiff. yeah!

cycling long (mtn bifke) 7:02:00 [3] 41.6 mi (10:09 / mi) +1538m 9:06 / mi

location: chilhowee mtn
ride time: just over 7h
total time from car to car: 8hrs

so i didn't find any takers for the death march, but had someone willing to go long at chilhowee, so i'll take what i can get. the minus: only half the distance and elevation. the plus: probably 88% singletrack & doubletrack, so i worked hard and exposed myself to a lot of new terrain which usually makes me a bit apprehensive. (good since most of leadville will be new to me, so confidence in new places is a positive thing).

i put a new saddle on for this ride and the difference was amazing! felt solid, no hip issues. i've had this saddle on my road bike so i was a bit used to it, although after 5 hrs, it was causing a bit of discomfort. (i ordered a new one tonight, so we'll see how that ones goes too)

in general, it was a fantastic ride. my legs felt good and body good. we lucked out with the weather (the storms didn't hit us; just some intermittent sprinkle session); however it was incredibly humid and hot. nutrition & hydration right now. the pain in my neck happened around 5.5hr, but after a break (followed by a long downhill), it went away and didn't come back.

C • great job! this was exciti... 1

cycling (commute) 22:00 [2] 6.3 mi (3:30 / mi) +97m 3:20 / mi
(rest day)

commute to work.

cycling (commute) 22:00 [2] 6.0 mi (3:40 / mi) +97m 3:29 / mi

commute to festival
volunteered as a bike valet. we parked close to 100 bikes! 'course, when 100k people were expected, it's not a lot.... but it was the biggest night in 2 years. good to see folks riding that aren't your typical athlete type.

C • Good for you! that sounds l... 2

cycling (mtn bike) 4:00:00 [4] 35.0 mi (6:51 / mi) +1082m 6:15 / mi

waiting for details on distance and elevation...

location: tellico plains
made for a long day with getting there, but totally worth it! started with a 2.5hr climb that took us from around 1100' to 5000'. we were awarded with a beautiful grassy bald filled with wildflowers and an amazing view! we backtracked slightly then hit some singletrack. it was pretty rough - not ridden much for sure. overgrown in places. rocks everywhere. had to get off a fair amount; zeke & carey say it's much easier the 2nd time around (they did this for the first time a few weeks ago). still, i was happy with my riding through here, esp after yesterday's rain made it slick. no crashes :)

definitely will be back...

shortly after starting, my knees & hips felt off. i adjusted the height of my saddle which helped a bit, but then my hips again just ached. i may have found the culprit... my saddle is worn out! i was amazed at the amount of give the center has. it's like i'm sitting in a big hole/dip. from then on i tried to scoot back a bit and it helped a LOT. there's a sale on the saddle i want saturday and i will promptly order it!

cycling (commute) 23:00 [2] 6.0 mi (3:50 / mi) +97m 3:39 / mi

commute to festival.
dodged lighting. not fun to be surrounded by metal bike stands in an electrical storm.

yoga (yoga at home) 18:00 [1]

my good morning routine....

Note

so this ended up being a bit of a rest day. not on purpose though. had a meeting at work that lasted an hour longer than anticipated so it ate into my running time... then i had to make these energy cookies for zeke for tomorrow as promised (a special sugar-free edition) and had to be at bike valet tonight. and pack for tomorrow since i had to leave before the crack of dawn. i was super stressed! so the run got bumped. :(

cycling (road) 1:40:00 [3] 26.0 mi (3:51 / mi)

(not sure on distance or elevation yet)

bad day at work.
bad day on the bike.
hopefully tomorrow i'll wake up on the right side of the bed.

(first real ride on the new bike; started with a flat. chain rubbed after i put the wheel back on and i couldn't get it tweaked right. felt something else rubbing too; must dial in before cherohala. legs felt flat and lifeless. left hip a bit tight. didn't do yoga this morn. hmmm....)

yoga (at home) 50:00 [1]

swim/row (OWS) 25:00 [2] 0.6 mi (41:39 / mi)

stopped by lightning. thought the storm had passed enough - freak afternoon one popped up with hail, high winds. crazy stuff! the swim felt good though! a million times better than the pool. plus the water was warm. took me 5 min or so to get in the groove, then i seemed to just cruise (albeit slowly)

cycling hills (road) 24:00 [4] 4.5 mi (5:20 / mi) +156m 4:49 / mi

foltz.

i was surprised how tired my legs felt.. from the swimming? (i went right after). anyways, this was my inaugural ride on the final new bike! glad that saga is almost over. anyways, it felt good - can't really tell a difference (although technically it won't be quite as stiff on the climbs, and should be more plush on long distances).

cycling (road) 2:14:00 [2] 34.75 mi (3:51 / mi) +221m 3:47 / mi

red bank, varied route
kept it easy. 10 minutes of 1-leg drills. hard to figure out if i'm getting better or not... left leg still needs work.

C • just doing the drill will g... 1

cycling (mtn bike) 2:38:00 [3] 18.0 mi (8:47 / mi) +332m 8:18 / mi

raccoon mtn
(guess distance)
full loop, + one way, intestines, 6flags, then the new trail.

ended up being a bit short on time, but the heat index was in the upper 90s and i was melting. the ride was good though. a few pickups, conquered a few technical areas. my legs felt surprisingly good for having been worked over yesterday.

swim/row (river paddle) 1:00:00 [2] 4.0 mi (15:00 / mi)

impromptu paddle. felt nice on the water.

cycling (commuting) 22:00 [2] 6.3 mi (3:30 / mi) +97m 3:20 / mi

commute to work.
caught so many lights not sure of the exact time. but it might be even quicker than the car! but sooo sweaty. my friend says i need to learn how to cyle diff when commuting. like slow waaay down. hmmm...

to work: 9ish minutes, 41 meters
to home: 13ish minutes, 56 meters

yoga (at home) 15:00 [1]

my new morning routine of stretching out the legs and hips. i do think it's loosening up.

strength (ATW) 24:00 [2]

can't remember my time! this is approximate...

set of 35!!

C • 35s! 2

strength (xfit barbara) 26:00 [2]

ok, looking at the schedule, it didn't quite hit me that i was doing ATW AND barbara. whoa! that's like a ton of pushups! no wonder you said i might be cursing your name...

barbara came after the bike (atw were before biking). i didn't get to the gym, so i subsituted overhead presses with some hand weights for the pullups. (i considered doing them tomorrow, but figured there was a reason you wanted me to suffer today...)

20 presses
30 pushups
40 situps
40 squats (still doing a lower number until the IT band tightness doesn't happen)
rest 3 minutes, repeat 3x.

cycling hills (hill repeats) 55:00 [4] 8.4 mi (6:33 / mi) +347m 5:48 / mi

headed over to foltz. 3 time up entire length, plus n & s crestwood.

HOT out. 94, with a heat index of 97. and that was at 6:30pm!

yoga (at home) 20:00 [1]
(rest day)

misc poses to loosen up legs & hips

running (trail) 1:02:00 [3] 6.0 mi (10:20 / mi) +98m 9:50 / mi
shoes: Velocity 1

guessed at mileage...

nice run at raccoon, although solo (where was everyone?). east overlook, lower chunky, hit the side of the intestines, then the switchyard back.
legs took a sec to warm up, but they actually felt pretty good. even if it was in the mid 90s. ugh!

C • Question: where was everyon... 3

cycling (mtn bike) 1:08:00 [4] 10.0 mi (6:48 / mi) +112m 6:34 / mi

raccoon: east overlook, intestines, back.

legs actually pretty tired. effort was a 3.5 - 4 - i tried to push it as much as i could, but after the run and last night's ride (which really was a race pace effort for me), my legs didn't have as much as i needed. i ended up starting to run out of daylight, so it was cut a tad short.

yoga (at home) 20:00 [1]

misc poses for hips

cycling (road) 1:57:00 [4] 36.0 mi (3:15 / mi) +500m 3:07 / mi

tues night ride, full loop.

got stuck behind the wrong group so my hopes of riding with the pack vanished quickly. just couldn't catch them once i realized my mistake. then i hooked up with a group of guys and still had a very solid ride. while we took it a bit easy on the mtn climb, we were pushing it thru the rollers. totally exhausted at the end. i'm so not ready for this heat!

yoga (at home) 20:00 [1]

emailed poses...

strength (xfit barbara) 25:00 [3]

slightly modified...
20 pullups
30 pushups (2/3 full/ the rest on knees)
40 situps
40 squats (i was so sore last week, i need to build these up)

i think i forgot about the 3 min rest inbetween - i had maybe 1 min.

cycling (road) 1:15:00 [2] 16.5 mi (4:33 / mi) +125m 4:26 / mi

reallly easy ride.

i was trying to get inside your head matt since i didn't have monday's schedule yet. normally it would be a rest day, but i didn't get the time or intensity this weekend that was planned... so i used today to jump back into the strength and get in a good spin. hopefully you'll give me a thumbs up with my thinking :)

C • i love it! pretty much spo... 1

cycling (road) 1:33:00 [2] 23.3 mi (3:59 / mi)

woke up to a terrible storm. thunder, lightning, buckets of rain. damn, no epic ride at chilhowee mtn.
it stormed for hours and hours. i wasn't sure what to do. yesterday's short race wasn't the 5hr long ride, so i was planning to just switch days. well that plan obviously wouldn't happen. we tried to hit the road in the afternoon but wave #2 of storms came. finally around 5pm the lightning was definitely gone so i snuck out for a ride (although i got started late trying to find a tube to change my flat). i got in a good ride - kept it flat since it was pretty slick out there.

strength (core) 28:00 [1]

ATW for 33
time: 24.40

plus some more crunches.

followed by hip/butt work on the foam roller. (did not count on time.)