I like to move it-move it

Well, two days in a row I got in some nice quality one-foot-forward movement. Went on a 45 min run on Monday (approx 5 miles?) and a nice run/walk on Tuesday (some nasty looking blister on my right heel kept me from wanting to run and push it too hard, but it's nearly healed now).

Back 'home' now (seriously, do I even have a home?!?!?!) and will hopefully get some quality pool time in.

CaveWoman

I caved. I caved and bought an online training program for Ironman. Brad and I went half-sies on it so it is cheap, and maybe if I motivate myself enough I will actually follow it.

I'm down in Bloomington for a while, so training should be easier. It's weird, this feels like home. It's the strangest feeling ever. Wonderful at the same time, too. Wow.

Night Runner

All runs will be conducted at night. This has been decided because even after sleeping for 11-14 hours a night for 5 consecutive nights, I still can't get up before 10am to save my life.

Night runs, here we come!

Home, Home on the Range

I moved back into my parents' basement on Saturday and have spent the last few days unpacking and procrastinating further unpacking. Seriously, is there anything more frustrating than knowing you just graduated from college and have no where to go but your parents' basement? Oh well, c'est la vie. Time to man-up and make enough money so I can get outta here the second I get a big-girl-job.

In the meantime, it's time to train. Chooo choooo! It's nice being back home where it is exactly one mile around our block. Running at night is much more peaceful. This town has no crime (or so little that you'd never know), so running when it's dark out is soothing, not scary like it was at school. I can go out around my block and crank out 5-6-7 laps without wondering "Gee, I wonder how far I've gone?" Just count how many times I pass my house and whammy, I'm set for mileage.

Heather mentioned that when it comes to biking, I need to learn how to spin faster. I have the muscles for big gears and heavy turning, but with the wind the way it's been in Central Illinois, I'm getting nowhere. Time to work on spinning faster. Too bad I left my bike back at school (in a safe location), so I can only work on spinning faster when I go down there.

I'm volunteering at a Girls on the Run event on Kalamazoo, MI next Thursday, so that should be fun. My sponsorship with Goody (Team StayPut) asks that we volunteer at at least one GOTR event, and I chose this one because it's the closest to Chicago that doesn't fall on a date that I already have a race. Plus I can drive farther into Michigan and visit a good friend, too. Maybe she and I will go for a run like the good ol' days...

There's a 100mile bike ride on May 24th leaving Hudson, IL early in the morning. Hopefully I can make it back there for that ride. I'd like to start logging some longer miles right about now.

Well, for now I guess it's just running and waiting for the pool to open for swimming. WOWS (Wednesday Open Water Swims) would work, as long as I can make it to Bloomington for those, and the TNTT (Tuesday night time trials) will be fun as long as I can get down there for that, too. I'm starting to wish that I had rented an apartment for the summer down there. It'd probably be cheaper than the gas money I'm about to spend...

For Shame

It's true..I've been pretty bad about keeping forward motion with training. When I was in Florida for a week, I took advantage of open water swimming nearly every day. Seriously, some of those waves were INSANE. My mom was worried that I would drown so she walked along the shore while I swam. Other than that 3 weeks ago, I've done one Tuesday Night Time Trial (TNTT) (Thanks, Andy, for putting those together!!), gone on a few runs, and done a whole lot of nothing.

That has to change. Tonight I run. Meredith's Manditory Monday Run restarts today.

Check out Andy!

Check out Andy's blog (actually Heather and I are writing it!) as he rides 520 miles in the Heart of the South 500 this weekend.

www.boyandhisbike.bloggerspot.com

Can you dig?

Altered Training

Well, I was right. What started as a small cold quickly became bronchitis. (Personally, I blame all those dumb freshman for making out with one another then having the nerve not to cover their mouths in one of my two classes this semester.) Regardless of how I became sick, the doctor said I have to take 2-3 weeks off.

I've never been one to listen to the doctor. When the doc said I needed to stay off my knee back in 2006, I laughed and competed in Collegiate Nationals. When they said, "Seriously, Meredith, no more" I chuckled, completed a sprint tri, flew out to California, ran a marathon the next day, then hiked up a mountain the following day. What happened? My knee cured itself. Something I doubt would have happened had I bonded with my couch cushion.

So when the doctor says, "Meredith, 2-3 weeks off, and I mean it this time" I will only half-listen. I won't go hard. I won't swim (I'll leave the spreading of sickness to the underclassmen). I won't run in terribly cold weather that might upset my lungs. But that won't mean that I'll lose all my winter training. Tomorrow will be a day of lifting and one LONG walk. Nice weather and the safety of being in my hometown with my parents allows me that comfort.

Ironman Wisconsin training isn't postponed, it's just temporarily altered. Can you dig?

Sickly Workout

Well, tonight is Tuesday Trainer workout and Andy picked a Spinerval DVD that had an intensity rating of 9.5/10. Sick. It was all about uphill climbing. Though only 45 minutes long, my muscles cried out and I even let a "BUGGERS!" slip as my anger towards Coach Troy rose because he said "Stand again!".

I feel a cold coming on. It came on pretty quick. Super achy, cough, overall 'blah' feeling. Nothing a hot shower and some Nyquil can't take care of. (Note: I generally steer clear of medicine, but I have a LOT coming up on my schedule and I don't want to take any chances.)

Feelin Good

As promised, I went grocery shopping today. My fridge is overflowing with healthy food--whoopie!

It's going to be a full day. My Mandatory Monday Meredith Run had to be pushed back to around 9pm, which is quite a bit later than I usually like seeing as Tues/Thurs I need to be up for work at 4:45am.

Before heading out on my run, I took a nap. Or some might refer to it as an extended form of hibernation: 3 hours. I need that sleep considering the fact that I run my body down and I need to recharge it whenever the opportunity arises. Immediately following my nap, I ate an orange, drank a few glasses of water, stretched, then headed out on my run.

Tonight's run went well: the air was VERY cold and the wind was enough that it made me question that the temps read "Wind Chil 13". 13? Seriously? That was COLD! My feet were warm the whole time, but my hands were painfully numb even with my trusted Asics gloves that have carried me through much colder temperatures.

Running on the streets seems safer, so I stuck to medium-traffic roads. Keeping a moderate pace of about 9 minute miles, I moved through ISU's campus and around areas that I usually run during the day. Certain areas make me slightly more nervous running at night, but that just increases my motivation to keep moving forward.

Tonight, I decided, is the night to finish my audio book. I uploaded the files on to my iPod and listened to probably the most monotone voice ever reading me "What Should I Do With My Life?". Time management, folks, time management. I'm graduating in May and am taking advice from all areas...even books on tape. Don't judge.

Training Summary: Tonight felt great. My knees ached when I ran, but I attribute that to the cold weather. I ran for 40 minutes keeping my 9 minute-mile pace (or so I believe). The course was flat for the most part with one short downhill and one continuous uphill for about a quarter of a mile.

Fresh Air Does A Body Good

Please keep in mind that temperatures have been wicked cold lately. It's not uncommon to wake up in the morning before work (at a lovely 4:45am) and see the wind chill reading -19. That's cold. Going to work this morning was cold, but not nearly as bitter as a week or so ago, temperatures were actually in positive digits. Hurray!

As a matter of fact, temps reached into the 50's today. There is a beautiful breeze streaming through all windows in my dingy apartment. With every deep breath, I feel better. It is almost as though I'm smelling freshness for the first time again. College kids were outside playing bags, starting pickup games of street hockey, walking in shorts and t-shirts, and of course there were the ones sitting along the side of the road with the sign "You honk; we drink!". Needless to say that my post-work nap had a soundtrack of various pitches of horns in the background of it.

I feel so much better now. Healthy foods, drinking more water, and breathing fresh air is making me feel alive. You know how a dog sticks his head out a car window and just looks like he's in heaven breathing in the air? Well, minus the shedding, I'm like that today. Every few seconds or so, I pull myself away from my laptop where I'm finalizing a study guide for my midterm tomorrow morning (and writing this as procrastination, of course), and fill my lungs until they are at full capacity. Too bad there isn't an invention where I can store up all the fresh air so that tomorrow morning when the next snowstorm hits, I can revert back to feeling alive again.

Basically, thank you to global warming, or El Nino, or Mother Nature, or whoever is responsible for today because this temporary escape from winter weather was exactly what I needed. My body thanks you!

Coach Troy made the entire week PAINFUL!

But it was the GOOD kind of painful. Sort of. :-) We did a Spinverival DVD that wasn't necessarily LONG, but HARD. The description given at the beginning of the workout was very accurate: your legs will be shaking by the end of it. (Next time, I'll put chocolate milk in a small water bottle and rest it on my legs, because between the shaking legs and the cold from the garage, I bet a delicious milkshake could come out of it, and trust me, after that workout, you DESERVE a treat!!) Hard gears pushing hard, followed by getting off the bike for squats, then repeat. Ugh! Deliciously painful.

The next day, sore sore sore sore sore! Muscles I believe haven't been used since I used to work on that orange farm using my knees as the orange juice press were being whipped back into shape. (Wonder if that farm is hiring again, I bet my production level is getting higher now).

The next day after that? SORE SORE SORE SORE SORE. I may have had issues walking. Just a little bit. Oh well. Still totally worth it.

The recovery ride we all did one week later seemed like a joke. Looks like it was supposed to be done the day AFTER the hard spin. Oops. Learned for next time!

Would I do it again? You'll know a few weeks when that DVD gets through the rotation, but odds are, yes. Yes, I will do that over and over again.


Oh and as far as diet is concerned, March 1st is the kickoff date for nutrition boot camp (aka me kicking my own butt for not eating properly). Why? March 1st seems like a solid day. It's 6 months from Ironman Wisconsin, my milk expires 2 days after that, so clearly I have to go grocery shopping for more milk, might as well get some veggies and fruits while I'm there, and I get paid the following Monday, so at least I'll be happy in one aspect of my life considering my stomach will miss its best friend: ice cream.

What a LOVEly day for a run!

Wowzer, the weather finally took a minor break from it's 9 day straight cloud-fest. No seriously, Central Illinois was sporting a gray look that, quite frankly, was getting rather depressing. No fear, though, because the sun has been out for two days, and on Thursday (Valentine's Day) the temps almost hit 40!
After a nice Valentine's Day dinner with someone, I headed home, changed into some spandex (mmmm spandex!) and went on a run with my friend Heather. She said she had to run 7 miles, but would be content running for an hour. So we took off. What a difference it makes running WITH someone! We kept a nice quick pace, but not too quick since we LOVE to talk! We ran for 50 minutes, and once I got back to my apartment, I went on to mapmyrun.com and according to it's calculations, we ran 7 miles! So if all of that is accurate, we did a VERY nice Valentine's day workout!
Though my quads are uber sore now, it's a good feeling. When I get back from Chicago, I will do some mapping out of where I need to be in regards to training. After all, I want to do this right. No more pony league, I'm ready to actually race this season.

Ready to Sweat

Tonight's trainer workout with our beloved Coach Troy was 2 hours of pain. It kept the 6 of us at a high cadence, but with enough room to make cracks at one another during the glorious 15 seconds rest between sets.

What's getting to me is the fact that everyone else is sweating like it's their jobs, but I'm not. My heart is racing and my heartrate is right in there with everyone else (sometimes higher), my legs BURN throughout the workout, they feel like jello afterwards, but beneath my bike, there is no puddle. I'm ready to sweat like all the big kids in my group.

I rode on my new Adamo saddle tonight. It felt strange at first, and I have been told that my 'sit bones' will be feeling it for a while, but I think the lasting effects from the saddle will be absolutely amazing.

Training Day One

Today was just like any other day: One class, studied, looked for a post-graduation career. After a career semiar about how to interview at job fairs, I sloshed (literally) through the melting 8-10 inches of snow we got last Friday. Everything's melting and puddles are impossible to avoid through campus. My trusted Columbia boots carried me over to McCormick Pool where I swam for the first time in over 3 months. I really need to work on my technique. The last time I swam, I taught myself how to breath out of my left side (as opposed to my right side, which has been the only was I knew how to before that!). So tonight, I worked on getting my rhythm down. Thirty-five minutes of that seemed like enough, so I picked up my stuff and headed outside where it was POURING. I waited a few minutes for it to slow down, then as I walked back through the Quad, quickly realized that I should have left my suit, goggles, and cap on because the water was so deep in some areas swimming might have been faster! We got a serious flash flood tonight causing all the snow to melt and the drains couldn't keep up. I got some extra exercise as I helped a girl push her car UPHILL through our street that had severely flooded.