Training Log Archive: runninghils

Strength: Snatch Balance - EMOTM 15
Worked up to 75 lb. For some reason, I had zero trouble with 70, but got stuck at 75 because I couldn't quite drop under it fast enough to get my butt to the bottom of the squat. I'm strong enough to do more than this. I'll blame it on the morning again :)

Workout: Partner WOD
6 rounds, one partner working at a time of
50 air squats
50 double unders
I was having an awesome double under day today and missed only one in the first four rounds. Then, round 5, I was struggling with 5-2-2-3 (and such) Round 6 was a little better

Skill: wheelbarrow walk
Holy core workout! 6x15m walk with the partner from workout. This was actually quite killer!

Ran a warm up around town before getting to the track.
10 x 400m at moderately hard pace 1 min recovery jog in between
Held each one to about 1:48-1:50
10 x 200m with 200m recovery jog in between
First 5 were about 0:50 each, but didn't have enough light to catch my time on the last 5. I assume it was the same.
Run home for cool-down

You know, I kind of enjoy track workouts here and there. I feel like that sounds strange coming from someone whose favorite race is 24-30 hours, but it's true.

So, was scheduled to do 4 hill climbs, but I got out of work late and couldn't face driving an hour to start the workout at close to 8:00... and then having to drive another hour back at 9:30. Instead, I just set up the trainer and did a warm-up and 4 x high resistance intervals alternating at 1:00 at about 70 rpm, and 0:30 at the hardest gear. Continue this for 7 minutes, recovered for 3 minutes. Repeated 4x and then just rode for the rest of the time.

I set Big Bang Theory on auto play on my computer. Thanks for Phil to suggesting the show! It was entertaining for the recovery/warm up/cool down sections.

C • Big Bang Theory is hilarious. 2

Back Squat 3 x 5 rounds every 2 min
95*115*115*125*135

Workout:Tabata
Box Jumps (21" box) - 56
Row - 46 calories
Back Squats (75 lb) - 50

Skill - HSPU (2 boards+ ab mat)
7 rounds, untimed
1x strict
3x kipping

Chilson SMOC Meet. Everything seemed to go pretty smoothly except for thinking that the "vegetation boundary" lines were trails and taking a meandering line to 2 assuming I was goign to hit a trail that would make the trip through the green easier. Umn, it wasn't even that dark of green. I should have stayed on course.
The only other problem I had was that I hit a trail junction on my way to 15 and apparently decided to skip 15 and go straight to 16... which I then ran right past and hit the trail on the other side. That's when I realized I was going after the wrong point. Oops! Ran back, grabbed 15, got 16 from the right attack point, and moved on.
I was clumsy today! First several points, I was having a hard time staying upright and not tripping on EVERYTHING! Got it together eventually. Overall, though, other than the one big mistake, I was happy with how I did.

Warm-up
Then: 3 x 10 second sprints with 3-5 min recovery in between
5 x 3 minutes hard with 3 minutes rest in between
3 x 10 second sprints with 3-5 min recovery in between
Rode remainder back at a Z2 effort after recovering. Went into the wind on the way out, and it was nice to see the speed much higher on the way back.

I think I need to get new shoe covers for my road shoes because I had a hard time getting into my pedals - the cover got under the front of the cleat and blocked it from clicking in. Or maybe I just need real winter riding shoes... though they would definitely be mtn bike shoes rather than road shoes.

Really, I don't like riding my bike when it's cold. Running, great. XC skiing, even better. Biking, meh. Maybe if I got a fat bike and only rode trails?

C • Don't limit yourself to tra... 2

C • You need these 7

I was supposed to do this yesterday, but I felt like crap so I left work early and went to bed early. Then, I slept for 11 hours. Guess I needed it.

Ran at Pine Haven on the trails. No foot pod, so estimated distance from phone. 10 minute warm-up. Then, ran the hill loop twice with the second two hills an extra time. First hill was SLIPPERY anyway! I couldn't even run it fast because I kept slipping back. Ran it back and hit the hills fast on the way back to the car. Calves were really feeling it today by the end for some reason. Maybe because I was trying to shorten the stride and increase cadence??

8 minute row for warm-up plus some other things

Strength - Push press 4 every 2 min, 5 rounds
65*65*75*75*80

Workout: 3 partners 12 minutes AMRAP
Person 1 - run 200m (set the pace)
Person 2 - lunges (15/round)
Person 3 - Russian KB swings (55 lb) (17/round)

I think we did 6 rounds. Oh, 5:30 am class... hard to think sometimes

Skill: Tabata Double unders. First round was pretty good - got 20+ in a row, subsequent rounds I was getting 6-8 at a time only

I did NOT feel like doing this workout today. at 3:30, it was hailing/raining in Midland and I knew by the time I got to West Branch it was going to be dark and 38 degrees with a 30 percent chance of rain.

Decided to leave the rain jacket and just wear my xc ski jacket since I could see the stars at the start of the ride. That's a pretty good sign that rain is not immediately imminent. Rode out to the Fairview hill, but this time started the intervals at the base of the preceding hill to try to make them longer. Total time from the base to the top is about 7-8 minutes with maybe 40 seconds of flat/downhill in the middle (depends on where I decide the start and finish are.) So, while it's not really the best, it's my only option to climb a little longer. Did 4 climbs and rode back. It wasn't as bad as I was dreading, but I did get cold on some of the descents and the ride back.

Just before climb 3, there was a truck parked next to the road where I was riding. It creeped me out a bit. I need to really start pushing to try to get someone to come ride these with me now that it's dark.

C • You be careful out there. 6

Easy warm-up for 16 minutes then did:
6x800m with 2 min jog in between
Then 8x200m with a 200m jog back in between. Cooled down back home.
All distances are approximate because I used a known, measured route, but it's not exact like the track. Stupid football game was going on so I couldn't get onto the track like I'd planned. I was feeling still sore from yesterday's crossfit workout, and I never really felt like I loosened up on this. Also felt really phlegmy. Yuck.
However, Jerica is back in town and doing massages at Crossfit Glory! SO, I got an awesome sports massage right after the run. She said my hamstrings were so tight they were like rocks. I told her that they were my trouble today! Massage was just what I needed.

Night ride with the group. First 30 minutes was actually a smaller group in the daylight and we started riding the two-tracks and they were killing me - especially on the hills. There were a ton of leaves down on the loose gravel and I just wasn't wanting to hit the downhills that hard, which meant I had to bust up all the hills.

Once we picked up the rest of the group and got on the single track, it was back to more the typical "group ride" with mixed abilities. It was a comfortable pace for me, but I wasn't bored. We did have lots of stops for random things (waiting for one person, trying to move an enormous tree off the trail, mechanicals...) Some quality stuff in there, but mostly just fun. Glad to have both my lights. Some people were just running one and one guy just rode in the middle and used others' lights. I don't know how he didn't fall. I hit a hidden root and fell once. It didn't seem like a big deal, but my knee was a bit hurting after we stopped. I think it's already starting to feel better so no big deal.

10-min warm-up for "snatch day"

15 minutes to work on snatch balance at about 2 lifts/minute. Worked up to 75 lb. Having a hard time with the balance at 5:30 am.

Workout: 10 minutes
30 snatches at 43 lb
30 snatches at 63 lb
Would have continued to add weight, but ran out of time. Was debating going up to 75 for second round, but decided to be more cautious and not aggravate my shoulder.

Nice hike around City Forest. I went on some trails that I never really check out at other times and even did a little off-trail walking. What a perfect fall day. Most of the leaves were down, but there was still color here and there. It was sunny and smelled like dry leaves. I really enjoyed just being out there, looking at things, letting my mind wander, reflecting on the past few months, smiling, etc.

Distance is estimated.

C • Beautiful Day 4

Very easy ride, but WINDY!!! sometimes to stay easy, I had to even go 10-11 mph. Other times, I had the wind at my back and it was an easy 19 mph. Nice day for a ride other than the wind. The wind is our hills in this area.

C • Windhills 2

Strength:
5 front squats every 2 min 5 rounds - just did 95 lbs because I was feeling tired and that felt like enough

Workout:
3 min squat cleans - 23 at 65 lbs
Run 800 meters, rest for remainder of 6 minutes allotted
3 min burpees - 34
Run 800 meters, rest for remainder of 6 minutes allotted
3 min chest to bar pull ups - 33 with blue band
The run part of this workout gave the good runners lots of rest. One guy noted that I seem to be over striding and need to pick up my cadence. Maybe I should get a running metronome.

Skill
11 rounds of 0:20 on 0:10 off hollow rock. Hollow rock is a killer for me! Man!

Major recovery week this week. Just an easy spin on the rail trail. Beautiful fall colors. Totally bike ninjaed the last 20 minutes because I forgot my helmet battery was fully dead. Oops. Well, if you've got to bike ninja somewhere the rail trail is the place to do it.

Muscles feel good but definitely have some built up fatigue from doing 30 hour races on consecutive weekends.

Event: Checkpoint Tracker Nationals
 

Started on the bike going after 9 bike points up on the ATV trails. Holy cow, the maps did NOT do justice to the hills here. When it looked like you were following a contour on the map, it just meant that the difference of the small climbs was not big enough to register as a contour. We realized that this was taking a LOT longer than anticipated. The trails were hard and at times unrideable due to extreme steepness or, you know, ledges to go up. Did lots of bushwhacking in the bike gear. One time, dropped my chain and it got stuck between my cassette and my spokes. I was having a hard time getting it out when some ATVers stopped to help. The guy grabbed my rear derailleur, and was cranking on it pretty hard for leverage by the time I realized what he was doing. Fortunately, no damage was done. Unfortunately, I had dropped my sunglasses and they had driven over them. No more glasses the rest of the race.  We decided to continue going after points on “A” because we were already up at the top and they were a bit easier along the ridge. The plan was to ditch more on “B” and move along to have time for easier points later in the race. CP1 was missing, and we spent at least a half hour looking for it.

Rode back to the TA and Brenda did the shooting while I transferred the data onto the maps for the 2 O-points. We rode down to get those and then set out to get a few points on B. It was 2.5 hours in by the time we got both CPs 10 and 11, so we decided to head back without any points on foot. Brenda had fallen on A after hitting some slick rocks, and I bit it on B. So, we were even. Took it a bit more cautiously on some of these trails at night. Brenda is a beast climbing, though. Wow, I can do the short climbs ok, but the long ones, she was killing me. Maybe I need to join her for the spring Blue Ridge Parkway trip. Going out to 10 and 11, there were quite a few steep/sketchy sections that we walked. Brenda was suffering some bad chafing, but at least I had some hydropel to help her out.

We got back to the TA after spending 5 hours on 2 CPs in B. That was a bad decision at a rate of only 1 cp per 2.5 hours. We then had to bike to the canoe put-in via roads. We were able to ride with 2 solos and eventually Checkpoint Zero to the paddle put-in. This was a weird leg that involved riding on the freeway. I have never done that before. Lots of times, we said “it’s a good thing it’s the middle of the night.”

When we got to the paddle (after 17 straight hours on our bikes), the fog was extremely thick. We had to turn our headlamps off and paddle by compass only and try to use a shoreline to guide us. It didn’t work. I had to keep checking the compass and correcting course, so I paddled very little at night. When we did get to shore, it came up so quickly we almost ran right into it. We hit what I thought was the far east point where the river turns south, but it wasn’t. I had accidentally navved us to the other side of the water, and we started following the shore south back toward where we came. Ugh. So, the plan was to go to the northeast because I figured we hadn’t gone as far as we thought. Soon the sun came up and I found out that was true. We saw Wedali and paddled with them for quite a while until I started falling asleep and lily dipping in the front. I had to take a whole bunch of Foosh, but the thing that really helped was getting out and running to get 3 foot points around a small lake. We were super happy to run, and it felt great. One hour of running in a 30-hour race. Crazy. After this, we got back in the boats and skipped all the rest of the points including the cave to be sure to make it to the finish on time. Heard it wasn’t that cool anyway… Wow were my abs tired at the end of the paddle.

We took out and walked to Outdoor Knoxville where one guy tried to get us to go on the shuttle to the finish, but someone knew and gave us the instructions. We walked through the crazy drainage tunnel and somehow found our way to the finish tent with 12 minutes to spare.

It was a tough race. We ended up being the first place female team, but they lumped us into the “2-person open” and we got 3rd in that one. Not too bad. It was very fun racing with Brenda. She is a very strong mountain biker and even our unconventional paddle set-up seemed to work well. The one hour we ran went well, too. I think we had a strong race, though the strategy could have probably been a bit better. Today, I’m still very tired, but not overly sore muscularly.

C • Wow, way to stay tough after a missing CP 2

C • Congrats! 13

Planned to take the MTB out, but the shoes were still drying from being washed, so I took the road bike. Easy high cadence recovery ride. Felt good! Yeah, I can do this again Friday.

C • Good Luck 3

Event: USARA Nationals
 

1-mile prologue trail run
Decided not to kill ourselves on this - just got into the pack and ran a steady pace. We could have gone faster, but it was comfortable and set us up to be ready to hammer the bike.

15.5-mile marked trail ride
Awesome, fun single track. We passed some teams on the road leading to the single track. Once we were on it, we had to pass a few teams, but everyone was great and it wasn't the mess we thought it would be. At one point, we passed a team and opened it up on a downhill section. It was super fun, and they were GONE behind us when we finally looked back. After the single track, there were 4 bike points, which we got with only one minor issue where we didn't end up taking a very efficient route - our only nav issue of the race. I was happy to see that I was keeping up on the hills, which has always been an issue for me. When I was climbing, I would think about all those hill repeats and how the hill in front of me was shorter than Fairview Hill. That helped me a lot mentally. There was no water provided by the race, so we stopped at a bait store and bought two gallons just before the TA. At this point, we were somewhere around 15th, I think.

Paddle
Going for a hike with a canoe for several miles is really my favorite thing. When we passed over the river just before the TA, I couldn't believe that was really where we were going to paddle. It was like a series of long puddles in a river bed. In and out of the boat countless times. We finally got into some deep water and had two CPs to get that were off the lake. I liked getting to go out and do some actual orienteering on the paddle section. I had to take my shoes off and rinse the gravel/sand out of them so I wouldn't ruin my feet for the rest of the trekking we had ahead of us. We were in a huge group of teams at this point. We were the second boat dropped at CP9, and when we came out (after nailing it) there were 9 other boats sitting there. I think we came out of the paddle around 12th. At CP10, two people had to pick up the raft, paddle across the lake to CP11, drop the canoe, and raft back to CP10/TA2. The third person had to take the map and get two orienteering points. I was the only woman to do the orienteering. I heard that it was taking longer than the paddle so I knew I had to run it. I got out there, grabbed the points with no trouble, and ran back on the road to the TA. I didn't see anyone else until I was on my way back to the TA. Nobody passed me! Woo!

Trek
We decided to take the "fast walk" method on this trek to be sure we had something left for the multiple O sections later. On our way out, we stopped at a house and asked to use their hose. We filled our water stores and were on our way. We were super accurate in this section - walked right up to almost every point. The key, of course, was always keeping contact with the map. One thing I love about our team is the ability to hand off the map to anyone. It usually goes like this - "can you hold the map while I get something out of my pack?" and that person seamlessly just takes over orienteering to the next point or three. Despite our not running, we were constantly leapfrogging with other teams who WERE running this section because we navved so well - we totally "pulled a Cooper" on them. There were some parts where we definitely could have run without sacrificing nav, but that's a point of improvement for the future. Still, a very solid section.

Bike 2
We had a short (<1 hour) bike to the next Orienteering course. It was all on roads - a mix of paved and dirt. Pretty uneventful with some fun rollers.

Orienteering 1
There were 7 "sets" of CPs, but you only needed to get 4 sets. They had letters and numbers. The twos were North of the TA, and the ones were south of the TA. We got T, U, P, and N (1 and 2) So, whichever ones you got on the North, you had to get on the south. I took this section, and it went really smoothly. Also, it was a real orienteering map! Cool! There was a fair amount of climbing out on this. The nice thing about orienteering where there are big features is that they're pretty easy to identify.

Bike 3
Bike back to the Abe Martin Lodge. We spent most of this bike going back and forth with Checkpoint Zero. We weren't trying to ride together, but we just couldn't shake each other. It probably benefitted both teams because it forced us all to move faster - we were dragging a bit, so the motivation was good. Just as we got into Nashville, it started raining. It was bad timing since we had to get two points on the singletrack before heading in to the last TA. It was pretty slick on the trail, so we took it a bit cautiously here. We were all happy to be done with the bike since rain really takes away from the fun.

Orienteering 2
We refilled our water at the Abe Martin Lodge and headed out for the last orienteering section. Unfortunately, Mike's feet were in really bad shape heading into this section, so we were pretty limited on how fast we could go. He was a champ and suffered through not just the blisters, but some very odd chafing that looked nasty. My feet were hurting as well, but it was soreness/hotspots. After the race, we saw Mike's feet and his trench foot looked like the worst you see at expedition races. Anyway, we took off at 6 am on this section and got the first 2 points (the closest ones) in the dark. The second was just as the sun was rising, which was good because it was super foggy and we had a LONG distance to travel to the second and needed to be able to see the terrain to keep track of where we were. Phil navved this whole section and did awesome on it. We always knew where we were and hit them all right on. We went a bit out of the way to stay on trails to try to minimize Mike's suffering, but it did make a few of our attack points easier/more obvious. The last point was a lookout tower, and I kept thinking I was seeing it. I don't care that it wasn't there - I saw it and it looked surprisingly similar to trees. The actual tower did not look like trees. Odyssey passed us on the last piece of road to the finish, but we just couldn't run it to race them to the finish, though we did manage to run the last kilometer despite foot and chafing issues.

We took 15th overall (Including masters) and 13th in the coed division. This is for sure our best showing at Nationals. We have all been training hard and putting in the effort, and it shows. It's very motivating to see that you're capable of more than you previously knew... and to think of where you can be with continued training! Very happy!

C • Nationals 8

C • Mike's feet 2

Ran with the "Run Midland" group at City Forest. Always a nice casual pace. Didn't get in all the planned 30-second pick-ups, but figure that's not the end of the world. Last workout before nationals! Distance was estimated.

No HR data. Easy light spin, high cadence on the rail trail. Hard to let people pass me, but had to keep in mind the purpose of the ride. Very nice day, beautiful trees. Feeling good. Ready to race Friday!!!!