I did VO2 max testing on the bike this week. My fitness level is not peak, but none the less.
The results were quite amazing.
The heart rate I begin to go anaerobic is at 170 (it will be higher while running). This means prior to this I am burning anywhere between 9.6-11.7 cal/min while burning 54-32% fat!. Once I hit the anaerobic state I burn 14.0 cal/min but only 7% from fat. It is quite a linear line through my zones (which is what you want) until I hit the anaerobic stage.
My VO2 max was stopped at 52 (but more accurately estimated around 56), at my anaerobic threshold it is 47, which means you want these two numbers to be almost the same, meaning I am not at my max shape yet (I'm sure running will help this some). VO2 max is mainly genetic, and luckily I am off the charts for male or female in this area, which means I have great excercise potential! Good to know...lol. Anyway, for example, Lance is said to be at 85, but males are generally 20% higher, so this would be around 65, still higher than my current potential but very close :)
The best part was my heart rate recovery. They want your hr to recover 20 beats after the first minute. Mine recovered 36. After two min 30 is great, mine was 49! One benefit could be my ability to control my heart rate to some extent and I was trying to relax and bring it down at the end of my test! But this means that my heart is strong and recovers fast from excercise, which is good when you go up a big hill and then can recover on the downhill. I am recovered going down while others are still trying to recover after the fact. Pedro and I see this when we run stairs. I recover going down so I don't mind going up, Pedro is still tired when he has to go back up.
Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me to continue my itb recovery!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Update Part II
Alright...
Training.
Oddly enough after a meeting with the running store people, they told me they thought my itb problem and other problems may be due to my orthotics. Which, if you know how many adjustments I have had, isn't too surprising. UGH!
Anyway, they told me to go to Boulder and meet with the people that make orthotics and also Newton shoes. After meeting with them they concurred and decided I don't need orthotics at all!! Now, I originally got orthotics to fix my achilles problems. They said I need to stretch and use a foam roller on my calves to help that, but otherwise the orthotics and the stability shoes were not good for my feet. I have worn the same style of shoes for 8 plus years! Great news! LOL.
Anyway, they got me in some Newton shoes and I bought another pair of neutral running shoes and have begun running. Now get this...pain free. I don't want to jinx it and I am slowly building my running, but seriously???!! I have had some achilles pain but the foam roller on the soleus has been very helpful. The ITB has been great so far.
This week I did my long run, as 65min of running followed by 65 min of stairmaster! It was probably one of my hardest workouts ever!
I have done stairs once and another run of about 45min. Today I did 30min on the tred. It has been going decently well. We will see once the time builds a bit more.
Yesterday I biked for 100 miles, or 5.5 hours. I came home to a great surprise!! Pedro picked up a drink for me at Sonic, it was so good since it was quite hot outside. The other best part of the ride was that I stopped at 711 and filled my bottles with 7up and ice, it was a great treat.
After two hours of being outside, my heat rash on my quad returned. It is the first time this season that this has happened, it is not a pretty thing!
This weekend we have our half ironman race, Pedro has been having his own issues, but hopefully he is ready for the longest run he has ever had!!
Training.
Oddly enough after a meeting with the running store people, they told me they thought my itb problem and other problems may be due to my orthotics. Which, if you know how many adjustments I have had, isn't too surprising. UGH!
Anyway, they told me to go to Boulder and meet with the people that make orthotics and also Newton shoes. After meeting with them they concurred and decided I don't need orthotics at all!! Now, I originally got orthotics to fix my achilles problems. They said I need to stretch and use a foam roller on my calves to help that, but otherwise the orthotics and the stability shoes were not good for my feet. I have worn the same style of shoes for 8 plus years! Great news! LOL.
Anyway, they got me in some Newton shoes and I bought another pair of neutral running shoes and have begun running. Now get this...pain free. I don't want to jinx it and I am slowly building my running, but seriously???!! I have had some achilles pain but the foam roller on the soleus has been very helpful. The ITB has been great so far.
This week I did my long run, as 65min of running followed by 65 min of stairmaster! It was probably one of my hardest workouts ever!
I have done stairs once and another run of about 45min. Today I did 30min on the tred. It has been going decently well. We will see once the time builds a bit more.
Yesterday I biked for 100 miles, or 5.5 hours. I came home to a great surprise!! Pedro picked up a drink for me at Sonic, it was so good since it was quite hot outside. The other best part of the ride was that I stopped at 711 and filled my bottles with 7up and ice, it was a great treat.
After two hours of being outside, my heat rash on my quad returned. It is the first time this season that this has happened, it is not a pretty thing!
This weekend we have our half ironman race, Pedro has been having his own issues, but hopefully he is ready for the longest run he has ever had!!
Ooops a bit behind!
Ok, this will be a long entry since I have not been very good updating!!
On Aug 28th, Pedro turned 29!! We celebrated his birthday by going to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Mongolian BBQ. On top of it, his dad was in town and it was the first time my family has met him (yes, in 8.5 years the first meeting!) We decided to not overwhelm him too much, so we just had my parents and K/K and Grey go with us. Here are two picts of our evening. And if you think Pedro and his dad do not look alike you are crazy!
The next day we had a pig roast in celebration of both Pedro's birthday's! The day began with it's own unplanned event. The rotisserie, which was so brilliantly built was not capable of holding the GIGANTIC pig Pedro got at the farm! He claims it was the smallest pig they had! Anyway, while I was sleeping Pedro and roasting friend, Edgar placed the 190lb pig on a bar, that was no bigger than my wrist. Of course the result was a bent bar.
Here is the piggy before being cut:
Here is him being disected!
Pedro being very upset, decided we were going to have to have a pig bbq instead. We had bbq piggy and another style made with olive oil, garlic and wine.
BBQ'd Piggy!!
We had 30 plus people at our house for the party! Surprisingly, it was not too crowded with our house being so tiny! And we only encountered a few minutes of rain, thank goodness!
The main drama happened while the pig was being bbq'd. All the "cooks" left the pig on the charcoal grill (with a gas tank on the bottom) alone. Thank God for Karen, she was standing outback and saw a FIRE!!!! She calmly informed us all that there was a fire! The flames (though I did NOT see this myself, for reasons you will understand in a second) were shooting out the bottom of the grill onto the gas tank! The gas tank was so hot it was squealing trying to release the pressure from the heat! Pedro ran and turned the hose on and they sprayed the grill with the hose for a LONG time, all the while Karen and I were hiding in the washroom, because we were scared it was going to explode! Kory soon ran in and said he was sure it was going to explode! I gave him a fire extinguisher and he told me he wasn't going back out there!!! Way to be a MAN! LOL. Anyway, after they removed the gas tank, which had the hose burned off, it continued to expel gas for the rest of the day. Much prefered to an actual explosion!
Here is the gas tank after the fire:
Here are a few other picts from the party.
Linzy, Janice, Meg and Bren...is Linzy posing for the pict?
Possible mates? My mom always thought Linzy and Kory would make a great couple..maybe their kids will?? LOL!
Kory, because of the swine flu, was deaf..
Pedro and his Police Friends..
Pedro's with their birthday cake!
The only picture of me being at the house that day! Polar and I cleaning house before the party started!
On Aug 28th, Pedro turned 29!! We celebrated his birthday by going to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Mongolian BBQ. On top of it, his dad was in town and it was the first time my family has met him (yes, in 8.5 years the first meeting!) We decided to not overwhelm him too much, so we just had my parents and K/K and Grey go with us. Here are two picts of our evening. And if you think Pedro and his dad do not look alike you are crazy!
The next day we had a pig roast in celebration of both Pedro's birthday's! The day began with it's own unplanned event. The rotisserie, which was so brilliantly built was not capable of holding the GIGANTIC pig Pedro got at the farm! He claims it was the smallest pig they had! Anyway, while I was sleeping Pedro and roasting friend, Edgar placed the 190lb pig on a bar, that was no bigger than my wrist. Of course the result was a bent bar.
Here is the piggy before being cut:
Here is him being disected!
Pedro being very upset, decided we were going to have to have a pig bbq instead. We had bbq piggy and another style made with olive oil, garlic and wine.
BBQ'd Piggy!!
We had 30 plus people at our house for the party! Surprisingly, it was not too crowded with our house being so tiny! And we only encountered a few minutes of rain, thank goodness!
The main drama happened while the pig was being bbq'd. All the "cooks" left the pig on the charcoal grill (with a gas tank on the bottom) alone. Thank God for Karen, she was standing outback and saw a FIRE!!!! She calmly informed us all that there was a fire! The flames (though I did NOT see this myself, for reasons you will understand in a second) were shooting out the bottom of the grill onto the gas tank! The gas tank was so hot it was squealing trying to release the pressure from the heat! Pedro ran and turned the hose on and they sprayed the grill with the hose for a LONG time, all the while Karen and I were hiding in the washroom, because we were scared it was going to explode! Kory soon ran in and said he was sure it was going to explode! I gave him a fire extinguisher and he told me he wasn't going back out there!!! Way to be a MAN! LOL. Anyway, after they removed the gas tank, which had the hose burned off, it continued to expel gas for the rest of the day. Much prefered to an actual explosion!
Here is the gas tank after the fire:
Here are a few other picts from the party.
Linzy, Janice, Meg and Bren...is Linzy posing for the pict?
Possible mates? My mom always thought Linzy and Kory would make a great couple..maybe their kids will?? LOL!
Kory, because of the swine flu, was deaf..
Pedro and his Police Friends..
Pedro's with their birthday cake!
The only picture of me being at the house that day! Polar and I cleaning house before the party started!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Out and About...
This week was a recovery week for me in training. With the leg injury and no running it was even more so. I was thinking that this whole week, starting last Saturday we have done the following. Walked the mall in Boulder, went to lunch in Boulder, my race, watched three movies at home (my best friends girl, obsessed, the haunting in ct), had pt for my knee, went for mexican food, Marc's 30th bday party and finally, the zoo.
I am not so sure I have ever had such a laid back week!
Here is a picture from Marc's bday party (which I was frequently reminded that my bday isn't far away)
Today we choose a great day for the zoo! I haven't been to the zoo since I was in middle school so it was a different thing to do. The only issue is that there didn't seem to be as many animals as I remember. There was only one polar bear, a few giraffes, one rhino, two elephants and few gorillas. Now, there were a lot of birds. I even saw a vulture like the one I saw while riding my bike last year.
Anyway, here are a few pictures of our day at the zoo.
This Rhino came over and took a flood of a pee, then proceeded to drink from the water in the spot the pee had foamed up...mmmmm! (Kory, I am sure you are thinking that is a good way to get nutrients!)
A few race photos:
Training is back on track for this next week. I am not sure I will be able to run, but we will see. Wish me luck! Tomorrow is a 4hr ride, assuming the weather cooperates.
I am not so sure I have ever had such a laid back week!
Here is a picture from Marc's bday party (which I was frequently reminded that my bday isn't far away)
Today we choose a great day for the zoo! I haven't been to the zoo since I was in middle school so it was a different thing to do. The only issue is that there didn't seem to be as many animals as I remember. There was only one polar bear, a few giraffes, one rhino, two elephants and few gorillas. Now, there were a lot of birds. I even saw a vulture like the one I saw while riding my bike last year.
Anyway, here are a few pictures of our day at the zoo.
This Rhino came over and took a flood of a pee, then proceeded to drink from the water in the spot the pee had foamed up...mmmmm! (Kory, I am sure you are thinking that is a good way to get nutrients!)
A few race photos:
Training is back on track for this next week. I am not sure I will be able to run, but we will see. Wish me luck! Tomorrow is a 4hr ride, assuming the weather cooperates.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Learning to ride again...
After this weeks race I decided I really needed to have Shamu checked out. I figured it was either me that has been so horrible or Shamu. Thank goodness, after a brief inspection we discovered it was him!
A few months ago I got a new seat on Shamu. Back then I decided that it wouldn't be too hard to fit the sit onto the bike and make some adjustments to make it a good fit. I thought, who needs to see a bike fitter for a seat change?? Well, apparently that was a mistake.
The seat ended up being a HUGE 4cm (which may not sound like a lot but it is a HUGE difference) way to far forward and 1cm to low. It never dawned on me when I changed the seat that I may need to adjust the tri bars, instead I just moved the seat forward. Brilliant!! This mess up has cost me a significant amount of power and speed.
I can't imagine what a difference it may have made in my florida 70.3 race, my training and even the last race. To give you an example, after my adjustment this week my average speed on the trainer went from 17mph to 19mph with less effort.
I am looking forward to learning to ride again and getting some of that strength and power back!
On a bad note, my it band is still not good. I did not have any soreness at all from the race this week, but have definitely had itb pain. I saw a pt that basically said there is no real reason for my pain because my itb is not really tight. I am assuming (which we know what they say about assuming) that the pain began because of the HUGE knot I had in my quad after my florida race. That caused my itb to be inflammed and it has yet to get rid of the inflammation. I was told I can bike, ellip and even stairs...so we will see if it get's better soon.
On Sept 12th Pedro and I are going to do a half ironman as a relay. I am going to do the swim and bike and he is going to do the 13.1 mile run. Since he hasn't run much it is, in my mind, pretty brave to think that the run will be fine. But he wanted to do it as a relay and I thought it would be fun. Our team name is the Speedy Gorilla's. I'll keep you updated on his progress...right now I am "speedy" and he is "gorilla!" Hopefully, by race time we will both be speedy! I told him we better do well!
A few months ago I got a new seat on Shamu. Back then I decided that it wouldn't be too hard to fit the sit onto the bike and make some adjustments to make it a good fit. I thought, who needs to see a bike fitter for a seat change?? Well, apparently that was a mistake.
The seat ended up being a HUGE 4cm (which may not sound like a lot but it is a HUGE difference) way to far forward and 1cm to low. It never dawned on me when I changed the seat that I may need to adjust the tri bars, instead I just moved the seat forward. Brilliant!! This mess up has cost me a significant amount of power and speed.
I can't imagine what a difference it may have made in my florida 70.3 race, my training and even the last race. To give you an example, after my adjustment this week my average speed on the trainer went from 17mph to 19mph with less effort.
I am looking forward to learning to ride again and getting some of that strength and power back!
On a bad note, my it band is still not good. I did not have any soreness at all from the race this week, but have definitely had itb pain. I saw a pt that basically said there is no real reason for my pain because my itb is not really tight. I am assuming (which we know what they say about assuming) that the pain began because of the HUGE knot I had in my quad after my florida race. That caused my itb to be inflammed and it has yet to get rid of the inflammation. I was told I can bike, ellip and even stairs...so we will see if it get's better soon.
On Sept 12th Pedro and I are going to do a half ironman as a relay. I am going to do the swim and bike and he is going to do the 13.1 mile run. Since he hasn't run much it is, in my mind, pretty brave to think that the run will be fine. But he wanted to do it as a relay and I thought it would be fun. Our team name is the Speedy Gorilla's. I'll keep you updated on his progress...right now I am "speedy" and he is "gorilla!" Hopefully, by race time we will both be speedy! I told him we better do well!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Boulder Race Report.
Today I had the Boulder half iron race. I decided to use it more as a training day then as a full race, since I am not in top shape and because of my knee.
The day went like this..
The swim went ok. On the way out the sun that was hiding behind the clouds appeared as my wave started. I could not see any of the buoys on the way out, I just followed the people swimming. I got bumped and my goggles strap moved up on my cap(though I didn't know this) and so my left goggle kept filling with water, even after I would stop and let out the water and then push the goggle back on. Once I hit the turn I could easily spot the buoys but still had the goggle issue. I had to stop a few times (3 or 4) and fix my goggles, really quite annoying. On a good note it is my fastest (I think) time for a 1.2 mile swim at 36 min, which included running to transition.
The bike. Well, true to my training the bike did not go so well. I really think there is something wrong with my bike. Even when I down shift it still feels like I am having to work harder than I should be..it doesn't seem smooth. I am going to have this checked out. The course was not bad, it was a gradual hill for about the first 10 miles of each loop. This was followed by some good down hills. However, the flats with wind in my face seemed worse than the hills. Again, it was weird I just felt like I had to push/pull more than I should in certain gears. I had to stop to go to the bathroom on the bike. I had drank so much water I couldn't wait. Then I stopped in transition as well, I had a headache on the bike so I was trying to drink more, apparently I had too much!
The run. The run was probably the best part of the course. It was a nice run on all dirt. There were three big hills, but at least three down hills. There was a nice breeze on part of the run to help keep you cool. The first lap went well with some knee pain but nothing significant. So, I decided that I would run the second loop. Well, bad news, at about mile 9 my knee started hurting. Crap. Four miles to go...but it didn't seem like it was that long to go. I wasn't physically tired at all, which was quite shocking since I have had so little run time. However, I felt like I had to drag my leg behind me...ugh.
So, the bad news is that my knee hurts. I will probably go see a doctor if I can get into see one soon. My leg muscles and everything else seem pretty good right now. I didn't try and push myself and race too much, but I still ran about the same pace as Florida...where I was in much better shape. However, there was heat and humidity there and I wasn't prepared for that type of weather.
I finished in 5:42. Not horrible, but not great either. I was 24th in my age and the 110 female. I think once I figure out what is going on with my bike I will be on a better path. The knee, let's hope my itband problem can be fixed quickly...ugh.
The day went like this..
The swim went ok. On the way out the sun that was hiding behind the clouds appeared as my wave started. I could not see any of the buoys on the way out, I just followed the people swimming. I got bumped and my goggles strap moved up on my cap(though I didn't know this) and so my left goggle kept filling with water, even after I would stop and let out the water and then push the goggle back on. Once I hit the turn I could easily spot the buoys but still had the goggle issue. I had to stop a few times (3 or 4) and fix my goggles, really quite annoying. On a good note it is my fastest (I think) time for a 1.2 mile swim at 36 min, which included running to transition.
The bike. Well, true to my training the bike did not go so well. I really think there is something wrong with my bike. Even when I down shift it still feels like I am having to work harder than I should be..it doesn't seem smooth. I am going to have this checked out. The course was not bad, it was a gradual hill for about the first 10 miles of each loop. This was followed by some good down hills. However, the flats with wind in my face seemed worse than the hills. Again, it was weird I just felt like I had to push/pull more than I should in certain gears. I had to stop to go to the bathroom on the bike. I had drank so much water I couldn't wait. Then I stopped in transition as well, I had a headache on the bike so I was trying to drink more, apparently I had too much!
The run. The run was probably the best part of the course. It was a nice run on all dirt. There were three big hills, but at least three down hills. There was a nice breeze on part of the run to help keep you cool. The first lap went well with some knee pain but nothing significant. So, I decided that I would run the second loop. Well, bad news, at about mile 9 my knee started hurting. Crap. Four miles to go...but it didn't seem like it was that long to go. I wasn't physically tired at all, which was quite shocking since I have had so little run time. However, I felt like I had to drag my leg behind me...ugh.
So, the bad news is that my knee hurts. I will probably go see a doctor if I can get into see one soon. My leg muscles and everything else seem pretty good right now. I didn't try and push myself and race too much, but I still ran about the same pace as Florida...where I was in much better shape. However, there was heat and humidity there and I wasn't prepared for that type of weather.
I finished in 5:42. Not horrible, but not great either. I was 24th in my age and the 110 female. I think once I figure out what is going on with my bike I will be on a better path. The knee, let's hope my itband problem can be fixed quickly...ugh.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Unhappy training...
I am only on week three of IM training (16 week program). I am not very happy with my current status. I don't know what is exactly wrong is the problem. Swimming has been going pretty well. If I did the math correctly I swam 3,800m the other day in 1hr 15min. Which would be an all time record for me, so I am thinking I must not have been correct. I did however swim normal one lap and fast the next lap on every set of my swim...so maybe??
The bike is the real issue. The bike is traditionally my strong suit. However, I am not feeling GREAT on the bike. Right now a 3hr40min ride seems really long. Which is not a long ride in the bigger picture of things. Yes, I will build up to my 7hr ride, which will be my long ride before my IM, but still feeling long at a ride of that length worries me. Could it be the ten days off in July without biking or running? Is it the impact of a slow build up to running that is impacting my biking fitness? Maybe it is that my longest ride since my last 7 hour ride (which was at about this time last year) has been only 4.5hrs. Which was back in April.
Whatever the issue, I am hoping it resolves itself, or my fitness level returns.
Running has been "going". Going is better than not going. I still feel my knee when I run, but it has yet to progress to full out pain, like it was before. However, I worry everytime a run that today will be the day the "whole" pain may come back, great mentality right? ugh! Right now my long run has been about 8.5 miles. Which is not good, but ok since I have only been running again for three weeks (and yes this has been a gradual build so not to injure my leg further).
This weekend I have a half ironman. If I had't already paid for it I am not sure I would be doing it...but it is probably a good thing to do. They say races push your fitness level up. I am not "sandbagging" it, but my expectations are not very high. I am not sure if I will run the whole run, but who knows...if my knee doesn't hurt I will do the whole run. I will use this day for a long training day, with hopes of pushing me up a bit more. Next week is a recovery week, so it is a good day, schedule wise for a race.
The only other funny thing is that in my first 27 years of life I was only stung by a bee twice. Once on my thumb in the front yard and once while I was in college out on a trail run. Last year I was stung, I believe 3 times while out biking, twice I believe on the butt. Sunday, I was out with Pedro biking and I got stung in the stomach! I was even riding aero! I can't imagine that the bees are attracted to my scent while biking, if you have ever been out riding in 90 degree weather in bike shorts and a tight top, you know how NOT good you are smelling! lol.
On a separate note, Pedro and I visited Linzy again today. She was much more lucid and was up walking around. Chyler was doing good, though I wanted to see her legs so I unwrapped her blankets and she screamed at me until I wrapped her legs back up!
The bike is the real issue. The bike is traditionally my strong suit. However, I am not feeling GREAT on the bike. Right now a 3hr40min ride seems really long. Which is not a long ride in the bigger picture of things. Yes, I will build up to my 7hr ride, which will be my long ride before my IM, but still feeling long at a ride of that length worries me. Could it be the ten days off in July without biking or running? Is it the impact of a slow build up to running that is impacting my biking fitness? Maybe it is that my longest ride since my last 7 hour ride (which was at about this time last year) has been only 4.5hrs. Which was back in April.
Whatever the issue, I am hoping it resolves itself, or my fitness level returns.
Running has been "going". Going is better than not going. I still feel my knee when I run, but it has yet to progress to full out pain, like it was before. However, I worry everytime a run that today will be the day the "whole" pain may come back, great mentality right? ugh! Right now my long run has been about 8.5 miles. Which is not good, but ok since I have only been running again for three weeks (and yes this has been a gradual build so not to injure my leg further).
This weekend I have a half ironman. If I had't already paid for it I am not sure I would be doing it...but it is probably a good thing to do. They say races push your fitness level up. I am not "sandbagging" it, but my expectations are not very high. I am not sure if I will run the whole run, but who knows...if my knee doesn't hurt I will do the whole run. I will use this day for a long training day, with hopes of pushing me up a bit more. Next week is a recovery week, so it is a good day, schedule wise for a race.
The only other funny thing is that in my first 27 years of life I was only stung by a bee twice. Once on my thumb in the front yard and once while I was in college out on a trail run. Last year I was stung, I believe 3 times while out biking, twice I believe on the butt. Sunday, I was out with Pedro biking and I got stung in the stomach! I was even riding aero! I can't imagine that the bees are attracted to my scent while biking, if you have ever been out riding in 90 degree weather in bike shorts and a tight top, you know how NOT good you are smelling! lol.
On a separate note, Pedro and I visited Linzy again today. She was much more lucid and was up walking around. Chyler was doing good, though I wanted to see her legs so I unwrapped her blankets and she screamed at me until I wrapped her legs back up!
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