fresh-picked fitness

If only I could run as fast as my train of thought.

I have a really short attention span. No really. I think it’d be fascinating to study the things I find on the Internet in the course of a day and map out the train of thought that led me to them.

I was doing some prelim research for a story I want to pitch to Outside magazine and somehow ended up at this craft blog Make It and Love It. And found these cute headbands:

I’ve been thinking how I really need to purge my apartment of all the clothes I never wear and stuff I never use. Do I have old T-shirts that would make soft, stretchy headbands to sop up all my sweat on runs? Tons. And this is great because 1. I sweat lots and could use a headband to sop it up, and 2. I have a big head, and most stretchy headbands slip right off it! haha. No really.

In other news, back to my Outside pitch… If you have any brilliant ideas for ways to store athletic/outdoors-y gear, let me know!

Saturday morning, I got in 14 miles in my new Brooks shoes. It’s my first time trying Ghost—I usually get Glycerin, but Ghost was on sale, so figured why not. They felt good. I kind of prefer Mizunos, for how lightweight and snug around my feet that they feel, but it’s pretty great to step into some Brooks after I’m used to Mizunos; it’s like running in a cloud!

I stayed out too late and drank too much Saturday night. Oops. Yuck. So even though I was supposed to get in a long swim Sunday morning, I decided just to make it a rest day. And I felt bad about skipping a swim but hadn’t taken a rest day all week, so I got over it. I was planning to take a rest day today, so I figured I’d just have a hard workout this morning instead.

But then I didn’t want to get out of bed. I kept lying there a lot longer than planned and got up in time to run just 4 easy miles. So I decided that I’m going to run a few more miles tonight and go to the gym for some weights. Doing stupid stuff like running in the morning and then working out again in the evening is easier this time of year, when a lot of my friends are all a-buzz about fall marathons. I spend a good deal of the day reading about running online and fawning over new gear I want to get. A marathon tee from Oiselle is my newest find:

heh heh.

P.S. My birthday is in 12 days… just FYI, if you’re in need of any present suggestions.

Well, luckily, I had a good swim this morning to wipe that memory of the sucky swim on Tuesday from my brain. After a swim-pull-kick warmup, I did intervals of 25 yards hard, 25 easy. Then did 200 yards of pull at steady effort in between to break it up and some kick to cool down. I didn’t go all that long (I think 1,200 yards total), but I felt strong and fast (for me) during it. So it was a confidence booster. I’ll go for a long, steady swim Sunday morning.

Then I went upstairs and ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Did I enjoy this swim-run workout as much as the last time I did it? I did! My legs don’t feel weird at all going from swimming straight to running. And it’s pretty awesome to feel like you basically got two average-days’-worth of workouts out of the way in one morning.

In other news, I would like my gym to ALWAYS run Olympic coverage on the cardio machines! Please? Because did watching those montages on the Today show make me run faster this morning—AND make me not even detest running on the treadmill? Yes, yes it did.

All in all, I feel like I’ve had a pretty solid week of workouts. Which is good, because I did very little while on vacay in South Carolina with my fam last week. We did bike a lot, but it was laid-back. We also played tennis (woo!!! so fun) and kayaked!

That’s me (in the back) with my sis Emmalee.  And here I am, making her give me a piggy-back ride!

SISTER!! I MISS HER!

In the past, before I bit the bullet and signed up for the Lake George Triathlon, I often said that I didn’t think I really wanted to commit to doing a tri—because I already run quite a bit, and adding regular biking and swimming to the schedule seemed like, well, more than I wanted to do. And now that I’m doing it, I can confirm that yes, it is more than I want to do.

haha, okay, no not really. Getting in a variety of good cardio conditioning feels pretty damn good. But before I started, I was doing strength training two or three days a week—and squeezing that in on top of everything isn’t so easy. In short, it hasn’t been happening. So even though I went to the gym to swim yesterday morning, I decided to go back last night to do some lifting. I def didn’t want to, but thoughts of hard-core Olympians persuaded me to stop being a weenie.

Time for a pretty flower tangent! I saw these on the walk to the gym:

I remember first noticing those periwinkle pom-pom flowers at the Union Square Greenmarket last year—love them!

I went home and watched some gymnastics and swimming (because Ryan Lochte is good inspiration for taking my clothes off, I mean, working out). Then went to bed too late and had to pry myself up this morning to run. I warmed up for 2 miles, did a 4-mile tempo (haven’t uploaded the run from my Garmin, but I think around a 7:40 average pace), then cooled down for another 2. It was a decent run, and I felt totally spent on the climb up the stairs to my apartment.

Right after I started running, the drizzling rain turned into a downpour. Though it stopped just a few minutes later, I was completely drenched. And I stayed that way the entire run, with my T-shirt clinging to my bod for dear life.

By the time I finished the run, it was sunny out, and I must’ve looked like a wet freak. Here’s hoping all the people I passed by then realized it was from rain and didn’t think I was just a sweat demon.

(Let’s be honest, though: There was a lot of sweat involved too.)

After work last night, I went to Paragon Sports near Union Square to try some on tri gear. I initially thought I’d buy a tri suit, despite the fact that it would mean shelling out at least $150-ish for a garment I might wear only once (if I hate the race and vow never to do one again). But I think I’ve decided to get tri shorts and a top instead—so in the event that I do hate the race and vow never to do one again, at least I can wear the pieces again separately for cycling or running.

I tried on a bunch of shorts and decided on a 2xu pair. But I didn’t buy; went home and bought on Amazon instead and saved $25, woo! Still not sure what top I’ll be wearing, though…

After leaving Paragon, I walked through Union Square, where the Greenmarket was packing up for the night.

Honestly, I had no clue vendors set up there on Mondays. But it worked out quite nicely, as I’d been planning to actually cook something decent for dinner. I’d looked to Smitten Kitchen for inspiration and sort combined two ideas. I had some Italian chicken sausage at home and got some fresh beans, tomatoes, and parsley, plus a piece of fabulous focaccia bread from a great Italian bakery in my ‘hood. Altogether, it turned into a remarkably tasty dinner.

This morning I went to the gym to swim. When, halfway there, I discovered that I’d forgotten a bra and undies to change into after my shower, I should’ve known things were off to a bad start. (TMI: I considered going commando all day, but the thought of going bra-less was just too much—so I walked back home to get them.) It was a pretty crappy swim. Mostly because I was too fast for the slow lane but kinda slow for the medium lane and just got frustrated. I hate being such a weak swimmer. I just don’t get why I’m not any faster—even while briefly on my high school swim team, I was always awful. I think my technique is decent, but I’m going to try to get a coach to watch me and give me some tips before the tri.

And also, I’m going to try to swim three times a week. And make them good workouts. Because I need it.

I’m finally gonna give it a tri!

I’ve been really bad about blogging here lately. For one thing, summer is crazy-busy. But mostly, I just haven’t felt like I’ve had anything all that worthwhile to say.

But I’m going to commit to writing more for at least the next month—because a few weeks ago, I threw caution to the wind and signed up for my first triathlon. I’d been thinking of it for a few years, and it finally felt like time to give it a go, since I’ve been swimming on and off and have a bike and am comfortable on it. I’m doing the Lake George Tri, an Olympic-length race, with my friend Anna. It’s on September 1, so no, I didn’t leave myself lots of time to train… but I’ve already been biking a decent amount this spring/summer and have been ramping up my running for fall marathons, so I feel like I’m in a decent position right now.

Anyway, I really want to document what I do for training and how it goes and how my body feels. I just think it might be interesting to look back on—I so wish I’d blogged while training for my first marathon! So here goes…

This morning I did my first real brick workout: I biked 14 miles and then ran about 3. Despite all I’d heard about newbie triathletes saying their legs feel bizarre when running after being on the bike, I didn’t think I’d mind it much. For one thing, I ran 3 miles after a swim a few weeks ago, and it felt awesome! Seriously, during the run I kept thinking, A swim followed by a run is my new favorite workout. (I know how cuckoo that sounds.) But no, I’m here to report that running after biking DID feel bizarre. For the first 1/3 to 1/2 a mile anyway, my legs felt like wobbly rubber. After that I felt fine, though.

With just over a month before race day, I need to figure out my gear ASAP so I can practice in it! Pretty much all I’m sure of so far are my Specialized bike shoes and my Aqua Sphere goggles (which I tried on during a recent late night at the office):

Hot, right? Ahem. Anyway, suggestions for other awesome tri gear welcome!!

Warming up for race season…

So, we’re training now? Apparently! I’m running the Marine Corps Marathon in October, followed by Kiawah Island again in December, and I guess MCM is 16 weeks away. I don’t even have a schedule yet; my friend Bailey is creating one for me. (I am counting on him to help me BQ again this fall. If I don’t, it’s on him! You heard it here first.)

I don’t have a schedule yet, but I’ve been starting to try to ramp up some mileage. I got in a 12-miler this past Sunday and cranked out some hills in the middle of last week’s heat. (And I felt super-out of shape doing it, I’ll be honest.) My mileage isn’t great yet, just around 25 miles a week, but I’m happily surprised at how great my legs and feet have been feeling (knock on wood)—so far, none of that annoying achiness that I felt in my left ankle allllll last year. Woo!

Something that I think has helped with the ankle sitch is a series of ankle rolls and moving calf stretches that I do before every every single run. I first heard about the magic of the dynamic warm-up during at lecture at lululemon a few years ago. It was led by Rebekah Rotstein, a Pilates expert and creator of Pilates for Buff Bones. Rebekah is fantastic—I loved her approach to fitness and injury prevention so much that I’ve kept in touch with her. I asked her to answer some questions about how a dynamic warm-up can help a running routine; here are her answers.

What is a dynamic warm-up?
It’s an active way of increasing circulation throughout the body to prepare it for exercise.

Why is warming up important for runners?
It reduces the risk of injury. Imagine driving a car in cold weather and not allowing the engine to run a few minutes first—you’d be placing a huge demand on that engine. The same is true with the body: It needs the input both mechanically and neurologically to prepare it for the activity you’re about to engage in.

Doesn’t the jogging itself warm up the muscles enough?
Jogging alone isn’t sufficient for a number of reasons. You need to lubricate and align your joints before you stress them with the high impact of running. This will help with longevity for your body too—you want it to last! Running may seem like a linear activity, but the biomechanics involve sideways (lateral) and rotational motions and forces. So you want to prepare your body for such demands. Because running involves a variety of muscles that provide stability as well as movement, these muscles should be activated before your run to wake them up and prepare them for their upcoming job. And don’t forget about the connective tissue known as fascia: It provides structural integrity but is usually the cause of stiffness. Movement from a warm-up can release adhesions in the fascia and loosen you up to improve your stride.

My calves are always really tight; why is stretching them before I run a bad idea?
A deep calf stretch wouldn’t be advised before a run because a static stretch like that informs the muscles that they can rest; meanwhile, you’re about to rely heavily on them, so you want them to be able to activate and support you. That said, you could move through a range of motion for the ankles to warm them up, like lifting your heels, lowering them, bending your knees, straightening your knees, again lifting your heels, and so on.

If a person is going to incorporate just one or two dynamic warm-up moves, what should they be?
I recommend lunges forward and back, as well as side lunges. These kick in your glutes,
hamstrings, adductors (inner thighs) and quads, but they also work your core. Runners are notorious for weakness in their glutes, in part because the hip flexors can become so short and tight that they inhibit the essential gluteal stabilizers. So get them firing from the start!

(For more info, visit Rebekah’s website and check out her Pilates for Buff Bones® DVD.)

Long time, no blog

It’s National Running Day, so I figured this deserves a post (even though I neglected to write a single one after the spectacular-ness that was the Cape Cod Ragnar, and after the Brooklyn Half Marathon, AND after last weekend’s crazy-intense four-hour bike ride to the hellish hills of Palisades Park in Jerz).

This morning, I celebrated the day with a 6-mile run along the Hudson. It was lovely out, and I waved to a guy who stops traffic by Chelsea Piers—he’s always so smiley! I threw in some sprints throughout because, um, I haven’t done any speed work in ages and figured that was maybe a good first step. I listened to Kelly Clarkson and DMX and Tupac. I am really, strangely into Tupac lately. Or excuse me, Pam: PAC!

It’s hard to believe that distance was the same distance as just the first of my three legs during Ragnar. Six miles by itself it’s totally manageable. Six miles on only three hours of sleep, followed by 6 miles a few hours later, followed by another 4 a few hours later (after one measly hour of sleep in a van) was a little rough. But so. much. fun.

It was also really interesting to see how my body reacted to three runs in 24 hours. I expected to slow down with each leg, and I did. But not as much as anticipated—my pace for the first run was about 7:30/mile, then 7:40/mile for the second, and 7:45/mile for the third. Funny, though: I felt like I was working as hard for each, my legs were just getting heavier and heavier and refused to move as fast.

I was in the first (of two) vans, and we finished our section early Saturday morning, right along a gorgeous, scenic beach.

It was THE perfect place to finish. Then we got to go shower while van 2 finished their legs and met up with them at the official finish line partay!

Love these folks. I feel lucky to have such good friends who are so into running (several have been writing about National Running Day on Facebook already). We had such a blast with Ragnar—seriously was like a strong, summer-camp-bonding experience—and I think it’s safe to say that no one on the team wants to wait a year before we tackle another relay. If only Hood to Coast registration weren’t closed (and determined by lottery anyway), I’d make us all sign up to go to Oregon in August…