At the Gator Bait Memorial Tri in Boerne, TXVish did a Bike-Run Du and I Tri-ed! :)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, July 06, 2009
Captex - My 1st Olympic Triathlon
This race report is looooooooong overdue - it's been almost 40+ days since I did the Captex Triathlon, and I already have my next Tri coming up this weekend! Yikes!! I have been completely swamped though the last few weeks with work, wedding planning, my engagement ceremony, rehearsals for a drama that happened 2 weekends ago, other Asha-related stuff etc etc. I don't think I can remember all the details from that day since it's been a while, but I'll try my best to provide the gist of everything that happened!
Pre-Race:
On the Sunday before the race, I went to check on my bike and wanted to prep to take it to transition for the pre-race dropoff. To my horror, I discovered a FLAT on the bike! I made an SOS call to Amit Bhai, who told me to call down and take the bike to J&A. I did just that. The bike tech there could not find anything wrong with the tube and was a little perplexed on how the flat happened, but nevertheless, he changed it for me and declared the bike to be race-ready! I was more relaxed after that and went to get my race packet and dropped my bike off at Transition. Since I got there pretty early, I was able to get a nice corner spot. I then went to scope out the swim course, and the various transition entrances/exits. The swim -> transition and transition -> bike distances were pretty long I met Amit at the Transition and we discussed the course a bit more. I then went for a drive along the bike course to check it out! Overall, I felt pretty relaxed about the race. My main concern was the weather - it was going to be HOT on Memorial Day and I am just not a fan of the heat at all!
Race Morning:
On race morning, I hitched a ride with Amit Bhai. Amit likes to be at the race site as soon as Transition opens, and I decided I would try that out this time, after the fiasco at Rookie, where Vish and I got to transition 10 minutes before it was going to close due to parking challenges! Going early gave me enough time to set everything up, visit the port-a-pottie, fill up air in my tires. This is definitely something I am going to strive to do in all races! It's amazing what it does to keep you calm pre-race! I then walked over to the swim start and hung out with Amit, Steph and Bradford there till the race started!
The Swim - 1500m
Total Time: 37:40 min
Pace: 2:31/M
The swim was one big loop in Town Lake. I have never swam in TL before, and the closest I have coming to experiencing the TL water is in Barton Springs Pool. Everyone around me was wearing a wet suit, something that I didn't have and didn't use! As I entered the water, I was a little taken aback by the coldness of the water! It felt like it was freezing...I started treading water to warm my body up before the gun went off....As the wave started to leave, I was still feeling a little cold and it me about 200m or so till the first buoy to get semi-comfortable with the water. I wasn't able to swim freestyle at this point at all! After about 400m or, I felt a lot more comfortable and switched to freestyle, and swam steadily parallel to the auditorium shore, switching to breaststroke only if I had navigational issues (which i did a few times!). The rest of the swim went pretty smoothly, and I even managed to enjoy it somewhat. My swim pace was about the same that it always has been, not faster, but not slower either.
T1: 7:13 min
T1 was long for me for 2 reasons - one due to the fact that the actual distances from swim exit to my bike in transition and the run from the transition to the bike start were pretty long, the 2nd due to the fact that I really had to pee and so was stuck in the long port-a-pottie line! It's amazing how long the line was in just T1!
The Bike - 40K
Total Time: 1:45:30
Pace: 14.1 mph
The bike leg was my favourite leg of the race! The 40K distance was made up of 4 10K loops around downtown. Hydration-wise, I was this time prepared with my camelback and it felt awesome to drink water anytime I wanted to w/o stopping or trying to do a balancing act to try to reach down for my water-bottle (sth I'm terrible at!). My folks were sitting at the interesction of 1st and Cesar Chavez and it was fun to wave at them and hear their cheers during each loop! Since the course consisted of loops, I was able to say Hi to Amit Bhai a couple of times as well, until of course he zoomed past me! :) Overall, I had a fun bike ride despite the 2 horrible hills on each loop, and 14.1 is my best bike pace till now!
T2: 5:40 min
T2 should NOT have been remotely close to 5 minutes, and ended up being that because of a stupid stupid mistake! :) I arranged my bike back on the rack, removed my helmet, had a drink of water with a Gu and took off running. When I reach the run exit, I realized that I was still wearing my bike shoes!! :D I don't know how I didn't realize that before because it feels really weird when trying to walk, let alone run, wearing bike shoes! :D I hobbled back to my transition area and changed it to my running shoes. This blunder however cost me a few minutes!
The Run - 10K
Total Time: 1:27:34 h
Pace: 14.06/M
What can I say about the run?? It was hot, hot, hot, and I had a terrible time through the run! Somehow I didn't feel the heat that much when I was on the bike, but on the road, it was torturous. I ended up alternating between jogging and walking while struggling with the usual stitches I get in the heat. Even the salt tablets that helped me during my marathon did not help this time. Another reason for the poor run was also because to be honest, I didn't focus much on my run training at all! I biked a bit and swam a lot, but neglected running - and that really came back to punish me during the race. When I do the Olympic again, I really have to focus on running. In the Sprint distance, I can somehow wing it with the 5K run, but for a 10K run, I definitely need more training!
Overall: 4:03:38 h
Overall, I had a good experience with my 1st ever Olympic Race. I could have had a better time by doing some better prep work and avoiding silly mistakes, but I went home with a lot of lessons learnt and look forward to learning from this experience when doing future longer distance Triathlons!
The remaining Tris for the season included the Couples Triathlon this weekend and the Sweet and Twisted Triathlon with the Tri-oomphers in August - both Sprint distances. I am not going to have the time to train properly for these, but hope to just have fun with my friends doing them. Hopefully, I will be able to incorporate the lessons learnt from the 2 Tris I have done so far this year in those races!
Pre-Race:
On the Sunday before the race, I went to check on my bike and wanted to prep to take it to transition for the pre-race dropoff. To my horror, I discovered a FLAT on the bike! I made an SOS call to Amit Bhai, who told me to call down and take the bike to J&A. I did just that. The bike tech there could not find anything wrong with the tube and was a little perplexed on how the flat happened, but nevertheless, he changed it for me and declared the bike to be race-ready! I was more relaxed after that and went to get my race packet and dropped my bike off at Transition. Since I got there pretty early, I was able to get a nice corner spot. I then went to scope out the swim course, and the various transition entrances/exits. The swim -> transition and transition -> bike distances were pretty long I met Amit at the Transition and we discussed the course a bit more. I then went for a drive along the bike course to check it out! Overall, I felt pretty relaxed about the race. My main concern was the weather - it was going to be HOT on Memorial Day and I am just not a fan of the heat at all!
Race Morning:
On race morning, I hitched a ride with Amit Bhai. Amit likes to be at the race site as soon as Transition opens, and I decided I would try that out this time, after the fiasco at Rookie, where Vish and I got to transition 10 minutes before it was going to close due to parking challenges! Going early gave me enough time to set everything up, visit the port-a-pottie, fill up air in my tires. This is definitely something I am going to strive to do in all races! It's amazing what it does to keep you calm pre-race! I then walked over to the swim start and hung out with Amit, Steph and Bradford there till the race started!
The Swim - 1500m
Total Time: 37:40 min
Pace: 2:31/M
The swim was one big loop in Town Lake. I have never swam in TL before, and the closest I have coming to experiencing the TL water is in Barton Springs Pool. Everyone around me was wearing a wet suit, something that I didn't have and didn't use! As I entered the water, I was a little taken aback by the coldness of the water! It felt like it was freezing...I started treading water to warm my body up before the gun went off....As the wave started to leave, I was still feeling a little cold and it me about 200m or so till the first buoy to get semi-comfortable with the water. I wasn't able to swim freestyle at this point at all! After about 400m or, I felt a lot more comfortable and switched to freestyle, and swam steadily parallel to the auditorium shore, switching to breaststroke only if I had navigational issues (which i did a few times!). The rest of the swim went pretty smoothly, and I even managed to enjoy it somewhat. My swim pace was about the same that it always has been, not faster, but not slower either.
T1: 7:13 min
T1 was long for me for 2 reasons - one due to the fact that the actual distances from swim exit to my bike in transition and the run from the transition to the bike start were pretty long, the 2nd due to the fact that I really had to pee and so was stuck in the long port-a-pottie line! It's amazing how long the line was in just T1!
The Bike - 40K
Total Time: 1:45:30
Pace: 14.1 mph
The bike leg was my favourite leg of the race! The 40K distance was made up of 4 10K loops around downtown. Hydration-wise, I was this time prepared with my camelback and it felt awesome to drink water anytime I wanted to w/o stopping or trying to do a balancing act to try to reach down for my water-bottle (sth I'm terrible at!). My folks were sitting at the interesction of 1st and Cesar Chavez and it was fun to wave at them and hear their cheers during each loop! Since the course consisted of loops, I was able to say Hi to Amit Bhai a couple of times as well, until of course he zoomed past me! :) Overall, I had a fun bike ride despite the 2 horrible hills on each loop, and 14.1 is my best bike pace till now!
T2: 5:40 min
T2 should NOT have been remotely close to 5 minutes, and ended up being that because of a stupid stupid mistake! :) I arranged my bike back on the rack, removed my helmet, had a drink of water with a Gu and took off running. When I reach the run exit, I realized that I was still wearing my bike shoes!! :D I don't know how I didn't realize that before because it feels really weird when trying to walk, let alone run, wearing bike shoes! :D I hobbled back to my transition area and changed it to my running shoes. This blunder however cost me a few minutes!
The Run - 10K
Total Time: 1:27:34 h
Pace: 14.06/M
What can I say about the run?? It was hot, hot, hot, and I had a terrible time through the run! Somehow I didn't feel the heat that much when I was on the bike, but on the road, it was torturous. I ended up alternating between jogging and walking while struggling with the usual stitches I get in the heat. Even the salt tablets that helped me during my marathon did not help this time. Another reason for the poor run was also because to be honest, I didn't focus much on my run training at all! I biked a bit and swam a lot, but neglected running - and that really came back to punish me during the race. When I do the Olympic again, I really have to focus on running. In the Sprint distance, I can somehow wing it with the 5K run, but for a 10K run, I definitely need more training!
Overall: 4:03:38 h
Overall, I had a good experience with my 1st ever Olympic Race. I could have had a better time by doing some better prep work and avoiding silly mistakes, but I went home with a lot of lessons learnt and look forward to learning from this experience when doing future longer distance Triathlons!
The remaining Tris for the season included the Couples Triathlon this weekend and the Sweet and Twisted Triathlon with the Tri-oomphers in August - both Sprint distances. I am not going to have the time to train properly for these, but hope to just have fun with my friends doing them. Hopefully, I will be able to incorporate the lessons learnt from the 2 Tris I have done so far this year in those races!
Cheers!
C
7/6/09
Monday, May 11, 2009
Rookie Rundown
The Rookie Tri this past weekend was my 1st Tri for the season. The Rookie Tri back in 2006 was the 1st ever Triathlon that I participated in. Back then, I didn't train much at all, got a bike pretty much 3 days before the Tri, a bike with maybe just 3 gear combinations, and had no clue about really anything - I was a true Rookie. It was not one of my best days in my atheletic history. :) My swim was ok. My bike ride was just hell. AND I lost my chip during my bike ride - and ended up with a DNF on the results board! The run was nothing to speak of either Quite a terrible 1st Tri...
Last year, I went back to the Texas Ski Ranch (TSR) where the Rookie happens each year as well, and while I had a much better overall experience, I still ended up with a messed up result on the scoreboard because for some reason, they marked my age as 13 instead of 26 (no clue how this could have happened!), and my swim leg was a ridiculous 32 minutes for 300m! :)
I considered this course to be jinxed for me!
I went back this year with much trepidation. But I wanted to do it since it would be a perfect trial run for my Olympic in 2 weekends. Also, Vishy wanted to do a Tri, and this was a perfect Tri for a newcomer like him! Here's my race breakdown:
Swim - 300m
My goal for the swim was just to relax and swim freestyle throughout the 300m. I managed to swim freestyle for the most part, using breaststroke just for navigational purposes - so I'm pretty pleased with myself for that. It wasn't the most efficient of freestyles. And the water being extremely muggy and gross attributed a bit to that. It messed up my breathing and sighting a bit. Also, swimming freestyle in a pool is vastly different than swimming one in open water. There are no pool borders/lanes to guide you, and veering off the course is pretty easy in open water. Other than that though, I had a good swim and saw marked improvements in my pace, so was pretty happy.
Time:
2006: 12:01 min
2008: 9:32 min
2009: 8:43 min
Areas of improvement:
Practice more open water swimming!
T1:
My T1 this time was not as efficient as I wanted it to be. Vish and I reached the TSR pretty late that morning and pretty much had 5 minutes to set everything up in Transition and I didn't have much time to place everything I needed the way I wanted to. Defn some room for improvement here!
Time:
2008: 2:47
2009: 3:51
Bike - 11.1 miles
My 1st goal for the bike ride was to work on gear shifting, managing the gears properly so as to achieve the best possible gear combination for where I am in the course, either on a flat road, or hills with varying gradients. My 2nd goal was to hydrate properly, so that I am not dehydrated when I start the run! And my 3rd goal was to just not get stressed with the clips, and take my time getting on and off. I did pretty decently with respect to my 1st and 3rd goals...Because I was a little more familiar with the course as well, I was able to anticipate some of the hills and change gears in advance accordingly. I was also more focused when getting on and off my clips and managed to do both w/o any major mishaps. So that was good. My hydration plan on the bike centered around using the camelback I had purchased a week earlier. I was looking forward to trying it out during the Tri. But in my T1 excitement, I completely forgot about it! I remembered it half way through my ride when I saw someone else carrying it. Lucky for me, the weather was not too hot or humid, 2 things that really dehydrate me easily, and I was able to get through the bike ride without much hydration, and managed to improve my time as well!
Last year, I went back to the Texas Ski Ranch (TSR) where the Rookie happens each year as well, and while I had a much better overall experience, I still ended up with a messed up result on the scoreboard because for some reason, they marked my age as 13 instead of 26 (no clue how this could have happened!), and my swim leg was a ridiculous 32 minutes for 300m! :)
I considered this course to be jinxed for me!
I went back this year with much trepidation. But I wanted to do it since it would be a perfect trial run for my Olympic in 2 weekends. Also, Vishy wanted to do a Tri, and this was a perfect Tri for a newcomer like him! Here's my race breakdown:
Swim - 300m
My goal for the swim was just to relax and swim freestyle throughout the 300m. I managed to swim freestyle for the most part, using breaststroke just for navigational purposes - so I'm pretty pleased with myself for that. It wasn't the most efficient of freestyles. And the water being extremely muggy and gross attributed a bit to that. It messed up my breathing and sighting a bit. Also, swimming freestyle in a pool is vastly different than swimming one in open water. There are no pool borders/lanes to guide you, and veering off the course is pretty easy in open water. Other than that though, I had a good swim and saw marked improvements in my pace, so was pretty happy.
Time:
2006: 12:01 min
2008: 9:32 min
2009: 8:43 min
Areas of improvement:
Practice more open water swimming!
T1:
My T1 this time was not as efficient as I wanted it to be. Vish and I reached the TSR pretty late that morning and pretty much had 5 minutes to set everything up in Transition and I didn't have much time to place everything I needed the way I wanted to. Defn some room for improvement here!
Time:
2008: 2:47
2009: 3:51
Bike - 11.1 miles
My 1st goal for the bike ride was to work on gear shifting, managing the gears properly so as to achieve the best possible gear combination for where I am in the course, either on a flat road, or hills with varying gradients. My 2nd goal was to hydrate properly, so that I am not dehydrated when I start the run! And my 3rd goal was to just not get stressed with the clips, and take my time getting on and off. I did pretty decently with respect to my 1st and 3rd goals...Because I was a little more familiar with the course as well, I was able to anticipate some of the hills and change gears in advance accordingly. I was also more focused when getting on and off my clips and managed to do both w/o any major mishaps. So that was good. My hydration plan on the bike centered around using the camelback I had purchased a week earlier. I was looking forward to trying it out during the Tri. But in my T1 excitement, I completely forgot about it! I remembered it half way through my ride when I saw someone else carrying it. Lucky for me, the weather was not too hot or humid, 2 things that really dehydrate me easily, and I was able to get through the bike ride without much hydration, and managed to improve my time as well!
Time:
2008: 57:55, 11.50mph
2009: 51:45, 13mph
Areas of improvement:
More hill workouts, practice hydrating on the bike!
T2:
My T2 was not too bad considering that I had to do a shoe swap (bike shoes -> running shoes), something I didn't have to do before, and I managed to do it w/o any major hurdles. I plan to try out the easy laces for my running shoes next time to see if that helps make the transition quicker!
Time:
2008: 1:10
2009: 2:40
Run - 2 miles
My goal for the run was pretty much to not walk! I did that for the most part despite my legs feeling like bricks right after the bike ride! I walked for about a 100m stretch to hydrate and take a salt tablet for a side stich, but felt much better after that and continued running. This is defn an area I need to work on and improve as I do longer distances though. Need more BRIC practices for sure!
2008: 25:59, 12:59/M
2009: 23:37, 11:49/M
Areas of improvement: More BRIC workouts needed during training!
Total Time:
2008: 1:37:23
2009: 1:30:46
Overall, I am happy with the way the Tri went. I broke the TSR jinx and it was a good warm-up Tri for the season, and helped me identify areas for improvement. I also had fun being with Vish during his first Tri! I still plan to do the Olympic in 2 weeks - I have no time goals, my goal there will be to simply finish, but I hope to incorporate a lot of the lessons learnt during the Rookie to ensure that I finish strong!
Monday, May 04, 2009
Tri Training - Week 10 Schedule
Last week was one hectic week @ wk and otherwise - so much so that I didn't have time to record my training! Vegas was a blast...but I needed a recovery day to get over the trip! :) I managed to get some good workouts in though - a 1600m swim, a 2hr spin class, a 12-mile bike and a 4-mile run + a Bikram session! I wanted to get a much longer bike ride in during the weekend, but my ride was disrupted when I realized that my front gears were not working well. So instead of continuing my ride (which including going up a nasty hill every 3 miles), I took my bike to Jack and Adams for some TLC instead. The good thing is that I was very minimally sore after the bike ride...usually I can feel the soreness a few hours later after a ride of that distance...so the intense spin classes must be doing some good!
The Rookie Tri is coming up this weekend - my first Tri for the season...I feel confident about the swim and the run - but the biking is going to be interesting. It will be my 1st ride using clips in a race atmosphere...and I really need to not freak out, especially when I have issues clipping on and getting on my bike (and I know I will have issues! :) ). I am not going to focus on time at all during this race - it's going to be my trial race, to ensure that I go through the right motions needed in a Tri, and note any mistakes or rooms for improvement I can then correct/incorporate into the Captex Tri.
I am not feeling too good today....healthwise...probably from all the exertion over the weekend and the crazy ever-changing weather...so I am going to take it a little easy the first couple of days this week w.r.t training. Am also going to avoid the pool since it's where I can encounter the most germs! :)
Monday: No workout, recovery
Tuesday AM: LIFT Class (pending how I feel) PM: Spin Class
Wednesday PM: 4-mile Run
Thursday PM: BRIC - Spin Class + Short Tun
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Short BRIC - 3-mile Bike + 1-mile Run
Sunday: Rookie Triathlon - 300m Swim, 12mile Bike, 2-mile Run
Wish me luck! :)Monday, April 20, 2009
Tri Training - Week 8 Schedule
This past week was a pretty successful week in terms of training - I managed to cover most of my planned workouts and also got a bit more comfortable riding with the clipped pedals! Had to miss a swim at BS pool due to the weather though. But I've signed on for a open water swim on Tuesday evening - so hopefully that will help make up for it!
I still have some trouble clipping on and off - and fell twice while riding this past weekend - OUCH! - BUT I have gotten over my fear off falling, and have now braced myself to the possibility of falling in the future - and that in a weird way has made me less fearful of the clips! :)
Amit Bhai aka Coach A conducted a Bike 101 session for Sha and I on Sunday morning - he used his bike and trainer to demo some biking best practices, including efficient ways of getting on and off the bike, riding position, riding cadence, gear shifting, tackling hills, etc. This was defn a very useful session and I learnt a lot of new stuff that I will be trying to apply on all my future rides! One good thing about biking during a race is - I will be biking in a closed course, so don't have to worry about stop signs, traffic lights and what not! I am also purchasing a camelback, because I am still very uncomfortable in reaching down to get my water-bottle while riding, and hydrating during a long ride is crucial - it will especially be the case during my 25-mile ride at Captex!
This week will be a short workout week - am trying to squeeze in 2 workouts a day as a result. Let's see how that pans out. No T3 clinic this week due to issues @ the swimming pool!
On Friday evening - I leave to VEGAS for a reunion with my Spore buddies! Not much working out there! ;) From next week onwards, I will start focusing a lot on long rides, bricks, and open water swims!
Monday PM: 5-mile Run
Tuesday AM: LIFT Class @ 24hr Fitness Tuesday PM: Pure Austin Splash and Dash (750m Swim, 3K Run)
Wednesday AM: Spin Class @ 24hr Fitness Wednesday PM: 12-mile Bike Ride
Thursday AM: LIFT Class @ 24hr Fitness
My 1st ever Marathon coach, Coach Amy is running Boston today. Here's wishing her a FANTASTIC speedy race!
I still have some trouble clipping on and off - and fell twice while riding this past weekend - OUCH! - BUT I have gotten over my fear off falling, and have now braced myself to the possibility of falling in the future - and that in a weird way has made me less fearful of the clips! :)
Amit Bhai aka Coach A conducted a Bike 101 session for Sha and I on Sunday morning - he used his bike and trainer to demo some biking best practices, including efficient ways of getting on and off the bike, riding position, riding cadence, gear shifting, tackling hills, etc. This was defn a very useful session and I learnt a lot of new stuff that I will be trying to apply on all my future rides! One good thing about biking during a race is - I will be biking in a closed course, so don't have to worry about stop signs, traffic lights and what not! I am also purchasing a camelback, because I am still very uncomfortable in reaching down to get my water-bottle while riding, and hydrating during a long ride is crucial - it will especially be the case during my 25-mile ride at Captex!
This week will be a short workout week - am trying to squeeze in 2 workouts a day as a result. Let's see how that pans out. No T3 clinic this week due to issues @ the swimming pool!
On Friday evening - I leave to VEGAS for a reunion with my Spore buddies! Not much working out there! ;) From next week onwards, I will start focusing a lot on long rides, bricks, and open water swims!
Monday PM: 5-mile Run
Tuesday AM: LIFT Class @ 24hr Fitness Tuesday PM: Pure Austin Splash and Dash (750m Swim, 3K Run)
Wednesday AM: Spin Class @ 24hr Fitness Wednesday PM: 12-mile Bike Ride
Thursday AM: LIFT Class @ 24hr Fitness
My 1st ever Marathon coach, Coach Amy is running Boston today. Here's wishing her a FANTASTIC speedy race!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Tri Training - Week 7 Schedule
Tentative Training Schedule for Week 7:
Monday PM: T3 Swim Clinic
Tuesday AM: LIFT Class @ 24hr Fitness
Tuesday PM: 45-min Run around Duval Neighborhood
Wednesday AM: Spin Class @ 24hr Fitness
Wednesday PM: T3 Clinic
Thursday PM: 7-mile Bike Ride on Shoal Creek
Friday AM/PM: Bikram Yoga session
Saturday AM: Long swim at BS Pool followed by 3-mile Run around Town Lake
Sunday AM: 14 mile Bike Ride @ Shoal Creek followed by 20min Run
Mantra for the Week:
"I love clips...I love clips...I love clips..."
Cheers!
:)
Monday PM: T3 Swim Clinic
Tuesday AM: LIFT Class @ 24hr Fitness
Tuesday PM: 45-min Run around Duval Neighborhood
Wednesday AM: Spin Class @ 24hr Fitness
Wednesday PM: T3 Clinic
Thursday PM: 7-mile Bike Ride on Shoal Creek
Friday AM/PM: Bikram Yoga session
Saturday AM: Long swim at BS Pool followed by 3-mile Run around Town Lake
Sunday AM: 14 mile Bike Ride @ Shoal Creek followed by 20min Run
Mantra for the Week:
"I love clips...I love clips...I love clips..."
Cheers!
:)
Monday, April 06, 2009
Tri Training - Week 6 Schedule
Last week, I had a short week of workout - but all the workout sessions were pretty productive - so I am really happy! I also ran 7 miles on Sat AM instead of my originally planned 4 miles and ended up finally getting on my bike after more than 6 mths! Vish and I went riding at Shoal Creek...it was gorgeous on Sunday morning...sunny and just a little breezy...we were glad to have gone in the morning, since it became really windy later on in the day!
After the bike ride, I went to J&A and got my caged pedals swapped for clipped pedals! I am super excited about trying them out this weekend! I will be taking my biking shoes to spin class as well this week to test them out!
With just 8 weeks to go before my Target Tri, here's my Week 6 schedule! I'm having a cold today - so will be cutting down 1 early week swim workout this week!
Monday PM: Treadmill/Elliptical Hill Workout/Resistance Training @ 24hr Fitness
Tuesday AM: LIFT Class @ 24hr Fitness Tuesday PM: Spin Class @ 24hr Fitness
Wednesday PM: Bikram Yoga Class @ Yoga Groove
Thursday PM: Easy 1.2K Swim @ 24hr Fitness
Friday PM: Rest Day
*Saturday AM: 12-14 mile Bike Ride @ Shoal Creek followed by 20min Run
*Sunday AM: 5-mile Run around Town Lake
(* My Sat and Sun workouts might swap around depending on Vish's cricket schedule, since he's now my biking buddy! :) )A big kudos this week to the ever-fabulous Amit Bhai for completing his first ever half-ironman (70.3 miles --> 1.2mile Swim, 56mile Bike, 13.1mile Run) with a fabulous time of 6:07:08h!! You're truly an inspiration Amit Bhai - I am so psyched for my Olympic distance now! :D
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tri Training - Week 5 Schedule
I was not able to work out from M-W AM this week due to several happenings - but here's my schedule for the rest of the week. Can't wait to get cracking!
Wednesday PM: Spin class @ 24hr Fitness
Thursday AM: Swim @ 24hr Fitness
Friday AM: Boot Camp @ 24hrFitness
Saturday AM: 4-mile Run
Sunday AM: Biking - 10miles @ Shoal Creek
Wednesday PM: Spin class @ 24hr Fitness
Thursday AM: Swim @ 24hr Fitness
Friday AM: Boot Camp @ 24hrFitness
Saturday AM: 4-mile Run
Sunday AM: Biking - 10miles @ Shoal Creek
A 10K to Remember! :)
Last Sunday, I woke up in the morning and got ready to run the Capital of Texas 10K, after a long Saturday filled with drama fun and a late night celebrating the success of the drama. :) I was not prepared for the run at all, and the additional tiredness did not help.
However, this 10K race ended up being one I will remember for the rest of my life! Not because of the timing (it was in fact my worst timing for a 10K) - but for something very special that happened at Mile 5.2.
I'll let the following pictures explain what happened! :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/charanya0907/A_10K_to_Remember?authkey=Gv1sRgCIHF0JbN2uP2gAE#
ME.
However, this 10K race ended up being one I will remember for the rest of my life! Not because of the timing (it was in fact my worst timing for a 10K) - but for something very special that happened at Mile 5.2.
I'll let the following pictures explain what happened! :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/charanya0907/A_10K_to_Remember?authkey=Gv1sRgCIHF0JbN2uP2gAE#
The Captex 10K organizers defn have 2 confirmed registrants for their race every year for the next many many years! :)
Still Smiling....ME.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tri Training - Week 4 Schedule
So Week 3 of training went ok. I managed to follow the plan for the most part. I still haven't had a chance to take the bike out yet. My cage is also broken. I am defn taking it to the bike store this week to get inspected and all readied up and I should start from next week onwards! The plan is to go for weekend rides with Pooja and Sha!
I signed up for a Stroke Technique Efficiency clinic with T3 (which Amit swears is the BEST tri training program ever.) It's a 6-week program and should hopefully improve my swimming pretty significantly. Check it out: http://www.austint3.com/t3/clinics.htm It will also ensure that I am swimming regularly twice a week!
This weekend, I am running the CapTex 10K. It's supposed to be a fun race, and I have not had a chance to run it the past few years! So I'm pretty excited! The drama gp that I am part of is also staging a show this Saturday - so I'll be bogged down all this week with rehearsals - so am going to try to get most of my workouts in in the AM.
Here's my schedule for this week! It's going to be a pretty light one!
Monday AM: Nothing PM: Swim+Spin @ 24hr fitness
Tuesday AM: 5:30am LIFT PM: Nothing
Wednesday AM: 5:30am SPIN PM: If there is time - run.
Thursday AM: 5:30am LIFT PM: If there is time - run.
Friday AM: 5:30am Swim PM: Nothing
Saturday: Nothing
Sunday: Captex 6.1 mile Run
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tri Training - Week 3 Schedule
So Week 2 of Tri Training had some ups and downs. The major downer was the weather...a massive cold front ("massive" of course is in relation to TX weather! :p) hit Austin along with strong rains as well. This prevented me from attending 2 BC sessions. However, I did take the BC fit test and saw some significant improvements in my 1-mile Run and Plank timings, and also managed to do more leg lifts and push ups/minute than I could 8 weeks ago! So yay for that!
The weather also prevented my from getting a bike workout in. It was too cold, windy and rainy to venture out! So I had to go for a spin class instead. I also could not take my bike to J&A. I am out of town this coming weekend and the following weekend, I am running the CapTex 10K! It's also the weekend of my drama (more on that after this) - so this means I'll have to skip 2 long rides in the weekends. Looks like April is when I will be able to start my long bike rides! Meanwhile, I will try to get in shorter outdoor bike rides in the weekdays!
The strategy now is to try to go for AM workouts when possible, so that I have no excuses after work! Now that BC is over, this is more feasible as well!
The plus points were successful swim workouts, including a great coaching session with Amit, and run workouts! Amit taught a new swim drill - that aims to focus on where my hands and head should be while swimming freestlye in order to swim more efficiently! You can read more about it on Sha's blog - http://triscapades.blogspot.com/.
This week's workout schedule:
Monday AM: Nothing PM: 7pm Swim @ 24hr fitness
Tuesday AM: Nothing PM: Run @ Location TBD (probably my own neighborhood)
Wednesday AM: 5:30am Spin @ 24hr fitness PM: Nothing
Thursday AM: 5:30am Lift @ 24hr fitness PM: Outdoor Bike Ride - 7 miles
Friday AM: Swim @ 24hr fitness PM: Nothing
Saturday: No workout. Trip to Houston.
Sunday AM: 4-mile AM Run
The weather also prevented my from getting a bike workout in. It was too cold, windy and rainy to venture out! So I had to go for a spin class instead. I also could not take my bike to J&A. I am out of town this coming weekend and the following weekend, I am running the CapTex 10K! It's also the weekend of my drama (more on that after this) - so this means I'll have to skip 2 long rides in the weekends. Looks like April is when I will be able to start my long bike rides! Meanwhile, I will try to get in shorter outdoor bike rides in the weekdays!
The strategy now is to try to go for AM workouts when possible, so that I have no excuses after work! Now that BC is over, this is more feasible as well!
The plus points were successful swim workouts, including a great coaching session with Amit, and run workouts! Amit taught a new swim drill - that aims to focus on where my hands and head should be while swimming freestlye in order to swim more efficiently! You can read more about it on Sha's blog - http://triscapades.blogspot.com/.
This week's workout schedule:
Monday AM: Nothing PM: 7pm Swim @ 24hr fitness
Tuesday AM: Nothing PM: Run @ Location TBD (probably my own neighborhood)
Wednesday AM: 5:30am Spin @ 24hr fitness PM: Nothing
Thursday AM: 5:30am Lift @ 24hr fitness PM: Outdoor Bike Ride - 7 miles
Friday AM: Swim @ 24hr fitness PM: Nothing
Saturday: No workout. Trip to Houston.
Sunday AM: 4-mile AM Run
Monday, March 09, 2009
Tri Training - Week 2 Schedule
Week 1 of Tri Training went pretty well! Workouts that I had to skip were 1 weekday spin and the weekend bike ride! :( Vish and I went to Jack & Adams though and found a bike for him! He will be doing his first Tri - the Rookie Tri in May, so we're pretty excited! I am taking my bike back to J&A this weekend for a tune-up and to get my caged pedals swapped with clipped pedals! I'm excited but a little nervous about it. There's a learning curve to the clipped pedals and I am sure I will fall multiple times - but I can't wait to try 'em out!
Monday - AM: Bootcamp PM: 2-mile Run or Break
Tuesday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Swim Session @ 24 hour fitness pool
Wednesday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Break
Thursday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Spin Class @ 24 hour fitness followed by a 4-lap run around 24 hour track.
Friday - AM: Swim Session @ 24 hour fitness pool PM: Break
Saturday - AM: 4-mile Run @ Town Lake
Sunday - AM: 9.5 mile Bike Ride @ Shoal Creek OR Spin Class (if I don't get my bike back in time), followed by a 1-2 mile run.
Monday - AM: Bootcamp PM: 2-mile Run or Break
Tuesday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Swim Session @ 24 hour fitness pool
Wednesday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Break
Thursday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Spin Class @ 24 hour fitness followed by a 4-lap run around 24 hour track.
Friday - AM: Swim Session @ 24 hour fitness pool PM: Break
Saturday - AM: 4-mile Run @ Town Lake
Sunday - AM: 9.5 mile Bike Ride @ Shoal Creek OR Spin Class (if I don't get my bike back in time), followed by a 1-2 mile run.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Tri Training 2009 begins!
It's March...practically Spring...and time for Tri season!! :D
I signed up last week for my 1st ever Olympic Distance Triathlon - the CAPITAL OF TEXAS TRIATHLON - http://www.captextri.com/!
These are the distances I will be training for for this Tri:
Swim: 1500 m
Bike: 40 KM
Run: 10 KM
This is definitely going to be one challenging experience, but I can't wait! There is a lot to be done. I need to improve my swimming and stroke efficiency and become MUCH more comfortable with freestyle. I need to graduate to clipped pedals! 10K run might not sound that bad after a 42K marathon, but a 10K run AFTER a 40K bike ride will surely be something! So definitely more brick training needed!
I start my training this week and this is what my tentative schedule looks like:
Monday - AM: Bootcamp PM: 45 min Swim Session @ 24 hour fitness pool
Tuesday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Spin class @ 24 hour fitness
Wednesday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Break
Thursday - AM: Bootcamp PM: 2 mile Run @ Canyon Creek Middle School track
Friday - AM: Swim Session @ 24 hour fitenss pool PM: Break
Saturday - AM: 10K Bike Ride @ TBD.
Sunday - AM: 5K Run @ Town Lake
I'll make all you folks - my readers- keep me accountable for this!! :D
I signed up last week for my 1st ever Olympic Distance Triathlon - the CAPITAL OF TEXAS TRIATHLON - http://www.captextri.com/!
These are the distances I will be training for for this Tri:
Swim: 1500 m
Bike: 40 KM
Run: 10 KM
This is definitely going to be one challenging experience, but I can't wait! There is a lot to be done. I need to improve my swimming and stroke efficiency and become MUCH more comfortable with freestyle. I need to graduate to clipped pedals! 10K run might not sound that bad after a 42K marathon, but a 10K run AFTER a 40K bike ride will surely be something! So definitely more brick training needed!
I start my training this week and this is what my tentative schedule looks like:
Monday - AM: Bootcamp PM: 45 min Swim Session @ 24 hour fitness pool
Tuesday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Spin class @ 24 hour fitness
Wednesday - AM: Bootcamp PM: Break
Thursday - AM: Bootcamp PM: 2 mile Run @ Canyon Creek Middle School track
Friday - AM: Swim Session @ 24 hour fitenss pool PM: Break
Saturday - AM: 10K Bike Ride @ TBD.
Sunday - AM: 5K Run @ Town Lake
I'll make all you folks - my readers- keep me accountable for this!! :D
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Mardi Gras Marathon - Race Report
I've been meaning to write this report for about a week now, but work has been crazy and I had yet another busy weekend last weekend including a trip to cheer on some Team Asha buddies running their 1st ever 50-miler in Huntsville TX (more on that next time)!The race weekend started off with a 9 hour drive from Austin, TX to New Orleans, Louisiana, via Houston, TX. We had planned for the 500-mile ride to take a shorter but ended up having a little adventure in the middle! The drive started at 7:30am with some yummalicious Eintein Bagels (Green Chile Bagel with Jalapeno Salsa...mmmm)...We drove the 2.30 hrs to Houston comfortably, listening to music and jabbering about everything under the sun...From Houston, we drove, what seemed like an endless distance, to the border of TX and Louisiana! New Orleans (aka NOLA) is about an additional 200+ miles from the TX-LA border. About 100 miles from NOLA, we hit a terrible traffic jam; the traffic was literally standstill. We were lucky enough to have stopped close to a freeway exit and took the exit. We talked to a local store owner who gave us an alternate route via some farm roads and dirt roads! I was hesitant as first because we were driving my little Corolla, but the prospect of being stuck in traffic for 2-3 hours was even less appealing! So off we went through the dirt roads...my poor car bouncing along...I felt like I was on a mini roller-coaster ride! It was especially "exciting" when a much larger truck would pass us and we both had to make way for each other! :) We finally got through the 9-miles of dirt road...and another 9 miles took us to a highway running parallel to I-10 and also headed to Nola! We finally reached NOLA around 4pm, went to our hotel, collected the race packets and then got an early dinner in at an awesome pizzeria in the French Quarter! When we got back to the hotel, I got all my race gear ready and then went to bed! I needed as much zzzzs as possible for the next day!
I got up the next morning around 5am - feeling all nervous, but excited at the same time. We showered, ate, got dressed and walked the mile or so distance to the race start at the Superdome. The weather was pretty lovely - cool with a slight breeze blowing. LA is infamous for its humidity, but at that time, I could not feel a thing. I felt great! We checked in our race bags and headed to the race start. I love race starts! There's something very thrilling about standing among a large group runners (or triathletes), who have come from near and far, to do the best that they can! I had trained as much as I could given my busy schedule and was ready for the race to start!
Miles 0-8: This was probably my favorite part of the course. We ran through the French Quarter for about 2 miles, including Bourbon St and Royal St, famous (or infamous), for their jazz clubs, bars, live music and lots of other entertainment! From the French Quarter, we entered Nola's Garden District. We ran a 4 mile distance on the historic St' Charles Avenue, which was lined with rustic NOLA buildings, charming cafes, and spectacular mansions. While we were running up the road, we got to see the elite leaders returning from the loop on the other side of the road. It was pretty exciting to see them - typically, because of the way race courses are designed, it's practically impossible to get a sighting of the race leaders - so this was definitely a treat! Miles 7-8 were around the gorgeous Audubon Park, which also housed a lovely golf course. I was feeling great at this point. I had been running about 10-11 min miles, which in hindsight, was probably a little faster than I should have gone, but I was feeling absolutely great!
Miles 9-13.1: From Mile 9-12, we ran on the other side of St' Charles Ave, back to NOLA downtown. At about Mile 10, the 5:00 hr pace group passed me. This was when I kind of realized that I was probably going a little too fast, and decided to slow it down a little! I was still feeling pretty good though....the sun had come out...but there was no real heat or humidity yet. I had been taking salt tablets - 1 every half hr and eating my Cliff Shot Blocks! I was enjoying the crowds and cheers and generally having a good time. At Mile 13, the 1/2 marathoners split from the full-marathoners! I could hear roaring crowds at the 1/2 marathon finish line. I myself reached my 1/2 marathon point at about exactly 2:30h (~11:27 pace). This is my personal best time for a half-marathon, so I was feeling pretty happy! In order to finish the marathon in 5:30h, I had to run the remaining distance at about a 13:45 pace. I felt that was a pace that I could maintain pretty well! Little did I know what was in store for me!
Miles 13.1-16: This part of the course veered through the north part of downtown and led up to the State Park. From Miles 14-16, we ran on a gravel path and on a quite a bumpy road. My feet took a little bit of pounding during that time, but I tried to keep running. Cheer support had dwindled by then and the runner crowd had also shrunk down significantly since the half-marathoners were no longer there! This is one major advantage of running a race that has both half-marathoners and full-marathoners. After the split from the half-marathoners, you suddenly feel like you are all alone. And this is when the mind really start playing games with you! :)
Miles 16 - 22: Miles 16-22 took me through a loop around the New Orleans City Park. This is one of the hugest parks I have ever seen - it had everything from tennis courts, basketball courts, playgrounds, swimming pools and even a golf course! The loop was pretty enough - but the weather gods decided to not be so nice anymore....the clouds opened up and the sun came out...bringing with some strong heat....the humidity level suddenly seemed to have gone up notches as well! I took a potty break at Mile 16, and then continued running till Mile 17. The heat and humidity really got to me by then and I had to slow down my pace considerably, alternating between running and walking! I took a gu, more salt tablets and kept munching on them cliff blocks (I love them btw! They are my new fave race snacks, except they are cumbersome to carry around! :( ) The water-stops at the race were located every 2 miles, and some of them were themed which was pretty fun! My favourite was one which was vampire-themed and volunteers were dressed as vampires, with the fangs and capes and everything! It was awesome! They even hung up bats on the trees next to the water-stop and offered "blood" - red gatorade! :p I tried to get through the run 2 miles at a time, looking forward to each water-stop!
Miles 22-26:Mile 22 brought me back to the end of the park loop and the remaining 4 miles essentially followed the same roads back to the Race Start. I was pretty energyless by then and close to hitting the wall! I just do very badly in heat and humidity, and it's something I am really going to have to work on when I decide to train for a marathon again! Just when I was feeling really burnt out, at Mile 24, I had a pleasant surprise! I saw my running buddy Vish, who had completed his half-marathon earlier (and set a killer PR may I add!). This instantly cheered me up! It's always nice to see familiar faces show up during a tough race! I picked up my pace a little during Mile 24, and told Vish to not let me walk even a bit from Mile 25 to the race finish! And he did just that! With some renewed energy and Vish's support, I finished the last 2 miles, and even managed to sprint the last 100m to the finish! I love finish lines as much as start lines! You always feel like a rockstar running through the finisher's chute whether you had a great race or a not-so-great race! I crossed the finish line, got my medal (which is uber cool by the way!!) and went to get some drinks and met up with the other runners!
One of my main goals during this race was to beat 5:30h - I did not manage to do that, but I did beat my previous PR time (5:53) by a whole 11 mins, for which, I am happy. I could have definitely done better! I'd like to blame the heat and humidity, but the truth is, I could have also trained harder, been more consistent with my shorter runs and Quality Workouts, and tried to get more long runs in. Given that, I'll take my 5:42!
Of course this also means that, I'm gonna have to do another marathon sometime to try another attempt at beating 5:30! :) But no marathon training for me anytime soon though! My goals from now on are to work on speed and running efficiency! I will focus on running some faster 10Ks and Half-Marathons before I attempt another Full! I'm also psyched up for Tri season coming up in a couple of months - and my plan is to focus more energy on getting more fit and toned for that!
The Final Numbers:
1st 13.1 Miles: 2:30h (11.26min/mile)
2nd 13.1 Miles: 3:12h (14:38min/mile)
26.2 Miles: 5:42h (13.02min/mile)
Previous Best: 5:53h (13.28min/mile)
As always, a big big thanks to all my family and friends and Team Asha for their fantastic support!! I could never run a 26.2 JLT without you guys! :)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
3M Relay - Race Report
I ran the 3M Half-Marathon relay this past weekend with another Team Asha runner Vishwas. It was the 2nd time that I was participating in a relay race – the 1st being the Silicon Labs Relay Marathon last year with G31 and G32. Relay races have a different dynamic to them – as a relay team member, you are not just focused on how you personally run, and how well you do, but also on how your relay portion contributes to the team’s success, and how your team members do. Vishy had been complaining about a knee pain the previous evening, but I knew that despite that pain, he would still run a great race – and I was determined to do my part in helping to acquire an overall good time!
I was running the 1st leg of the race – and started off slowly, letting the crowds pass me. I saw the Asha cheersquad at the start waving our brand new posters – which made me smile. The weather was cold that morning, but that worked for me since I LOVE running in the cold. I took off my jacket after the 1st mile and settled into a comfortable pace. I was carrying my own Gatorade, and did not need to stop at any of the water-stops. By Mile 2, I was doing sub 11-min miles, which for me is pretty good! I was excited at Mile 3 to see that I was maintaining that and started to pick up my speed a little.. I ran past a few familiar faces along the way – and cheered on a couple of Asha runners as well. I was feeling great. We ran through the lovely Spicewood neighborhood and finally hit Mopac. I crossed the 5 mile marker right after the Mopac intersection and really picked up my pace. I had just a mile left and figured I might as well give it my all. Praveen – another enthusiastic Asha volunteer was cheering so loudly it really got me all motivated to keep up my speed! Before I knew it, I had crossed the 10K marker and reached the relay point shortly after. I had completed 6.4 miles in 1:07 h – which is a personal record for me! I was thrilled and gave a Hi-Five to Vish after taking his sweater and waved him off. I then rode the shuttle bus to the finish point.
Vishy reached the finish just 54 mins after the relay exchange – which is quite incredible! We had an overall time of 2:03h! Vishy’s knee was hurting a little but we were both excited about how the race had gone and stayed at the finish to cheer on the rest of the Asha runners and our friends who were running the race.
Here are Vish’s thoughts on how the race went!
Vishwas:
My race season has finally started - three races in a span of four weeks! Up first was the 3M Half Marathon Relay. I was running the relay with Charanya. Both she and I have our big races coming up next weekend and hence decided that doing the relay was the best option. I for one didn’t want to get a freakish injury and jeopardize my target race. The 3M course is famous for being a fast one. Being mostly downhill, the course offers good prospects of setting personal records. The relay is split up such that the first runner runs 6.4 miles and the second runner runs 6.7 miles. The plan was for Charanya to start us off and for me to finish the race.
The pre-race events were good. I got to see the start of the race, I saw the elite runners jet by and then the ASHA runners followed. I then was dropped off to the relay exchange point by ASHA volunteers- Murali, Gaurav and Bharat. It was a bitterly cold morning; I managed to stay warm by constantly moving and stretching. As I waited I cheered on the runners who were passing the relay exchange. I struck a conversation or two with some of the other folks who were also waiting for the racing partner to get to the exchange point. Around 8.20 or so Charanya appeared from the turn, and this was my cue to take my layers off and get ready. She gave me Hi-Five, I gave her my hoodie and off I went.
It took a long time for my body to warm up. My toes felt numb, my gloves didn’t help much but my brand spanking new shoes felt great! I had been battling some left knee issues, but it felt okay at that point. I was zooming past people, partly because I had just started the race and they were more than half way through it. I was running 7.5 min/mile pace for the first two miles, at which point I decided to slow down a bit in order to conserve some energy for the finale. This was about the time that my knee pain kicked in. This knee pain is a strange one, it happens on the inside bone on my left foot and no stretching/exercise makes it go away. I decided to suck it up and keep going. I passed the 10 mile marker and before I knew it, my pain was increasing. I decided to totally change my running form; I changed the way my foot landed - but it still didn’t help. So I decided to run by just straightening one leg- the right one. I somehow managed to keep the pace up in spite of a strange running step. Once I got to the 12 marker I forgot about the pain and dashed to the finish line.
All in all, it was a satisfying race. The course was easier than some of the other routes I have run in Austin. I managed to run a sub 50 min 10K, which is a PR for me. Mentally it puts me in good shape for my target race ahead. But the same cannot be said about my left knee. I have been icing/rehabbing it constantly for the past 4 days. It feels better, but I will not know for sure till race day Sunday!
Overall, Vish and I had a really great race and truly enjoyed ourselves! We are both extremely grateful to the awesome Asha volunteers for cheering us on at the various points of the course – despite the cold, and boy was it cold!! We are both now looking forward eagerly to our target races this weekend in New Orleans! Hope we have a good time there as well!
It took a long time for my body to warm up. My toes felt numb, my gloves didn’t help much but my brand spanking new shoes felt great! I had been battling some left knee issues, but it felt okay at that point. I was zooming past people, partly because I had just started the race and they were more than half way through it. I was running 7.5 min/mile pace for the first two miles, at which point I decided to slow down a bit in order to conserve some energy for the finale. This was about the time that my knee pain kicked in. This knee pain is a strange one, it happens on the inside bone on my left foot and no stretching/exercise makes it go away. I decided to suck it up and keep going. I passed the 10 mile marker and before I knew it, my pain was increasing. I decided to totally change my running form; I changed the way my foot landed - but it still didn’t help. So I decided to run by just straightening one leg- the right one. I somehow managed to keep the pace up in spite of a strange running step. Once I got to the 12 marker I forgot about the pain and dashed to the finish line.
All in all, it was a satisfying race. The course was easier than some of the other routes I have run in Austin. I managed to run a sub 50 min 10K, which is a PR for me. Mentally it puts me in good shape for my target race ahead. But the same cannot be said about my left knee. I have been icing/rehabbing it constantly for the past 4 days. It feels better, but I will not know for sure till race day Sunday!
Overall, Vish and I had a really great race and truly enjoyed ourselves! We are both extremely grateful to the awesome Asha volunteers for cheering us on at the various points of the course – despite the cold, and boy was it cold!! We are both now looking forward eagerly to our target races this weekend in New Orleans! Hope we have a good time there as well!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Why do you run?
I can't stop watching running videos on youtube! :) Here's another neat one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eXqAWjJ_dE
Love the last reason...
Why do I run?
Because when I do there is always the chance to be extraordinary!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eXqAWjJ_dE
Love the last reason...
Why do I run?
Because when I do there is always the chance to be extraordinary!
Are you going to finish strong?
Here are 2 pretty awesome videos that I watched this past week - both inspirational in very different ways!
1. Amit Bhai posted this video. It's about an hour long but totally worth the time! Like Amit said "Forget those stupid motivational self-improvement books and workshops.....just watch this video!!" :)
http://www.hulu.com/ford-ironman-world-championship
Oh..and by the way, I have a huge crush on Chrissie Wellington now - my new heroine!!! :)
http://www.chrissiewellington.org/pages/index.asp
2. This one was fwded to me by a work colleague and moved me to tears! It makes me really appreciate the fact that I am able to do crazy things like run 26.2 miles and take part in Tris - and will defn be something I will look back on when I have a bad training day and all I feel like doing is whining!
http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html
4 days to the New Orleans 26.2! Can't wait! :)
1. Amit Bhai posted this video. It's about an hour long but totally worth the time! Like Amit said "Forget those stupid motivational self-improvement books and workshops.....just watch this video!!" :)
http://www.hulu.com/ford-ironman-world-championship
Oh..and by the way, I have a huge crush on Chrissie Wellington now - my new heroine!!! :)
http://www.chrissiewellington.org/pages/index.asp
2. This one was fwded to me by a work colleague and moved me to tears! It makes me really appreciate the fact that I am able to do crazy things like run 26.2 miles and take part in Tris - and will defn be something I will look back on when I have a bad training day and all I feel like doing is whining!
http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html
4 days to the New Orleans 26.2! Can't wait! :)
Monday, January 19, 2009
A fabulous 20!!
It's amazing how the body can cooperate once that mind sets itself to do something! And its amazing how a simple change in weather can make an amazing difference to a training session! I had to run 20 miles last Saturday, and was nervous all of last week about it! I had not been training consistently, I had not run the 20 miles I was supposed to the previous weekend, I'd been sick early last week, the weather has been fluctuating like crazy all week, and my target race was just in 2 weeks - the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon! The longest I have run this season is 18 miles and I had a miserable time running it! Given that, I was not feeling good at all about running the 20 this weekend!
The run started slowly...we ran up Rio Grande from 4th St to 28th St, and when I say, ran up, I literally mean it, it was a constant upward gradient. The first 3 miles were painful and the weather was humid...and I was already dreading the remaining 17! I met Coach Peri at the 1st water-stop at about 3.5 miles and she told me I looked great! I know coaches HAVE to say that, but it's still somehow uplifting to hear someone say that, especially when you feel crabby! I drank 2 cups of water and headed off....the next few miles took me to Bull Creek and then on to Shoal Creek...I am not a big fan of running on Bull Creek...but the weather had become better and there was a cool breeze along the route....so I just kind of zoned off and ran till I hit Shoal Creek...I love love running on Shoal Creek...it's a very pretty road, and has a nice wide bike/run path...met Coach Geezer at about Mile 7....drank 2 more cups of water and swallowed a salt tablet....continued on Great Northern and then past Northcross Mall....by now, I had settled on a good momentum and was also enjoying the cool weather!! The humidty had also kinda disappeared!
The run then went onto El Arroyo St, another long Road and then towards North Loop....I took a Gu at the Mile 11 water-stop....I literally sucked parts of it and washed it down with Gatorade...and barely tasted any of it...and then took off...I was at mile 13 now....I had been avoiding looking at my watch all this while...but was curious to know what my half-marathon time was...I was clocking about 2h 46 min....about a 12:40 pace...I was pretty happy with that since I was running sub-13 mins....it made me a lot more excited to get the next 7 miles in!! The next few miles involved a relatively downward descent on Duval Road...another road I quite enjoy running on...For those of you who are running 3M, you will spend at least 3-4 miles on this road, and it's where you will really pick up speed!! I reached the end of Duval and was feeling pretty good when I got to the last water-stop....I looked at the map then and saw that we were going to run left on San Jacinto...and then right on Dean Keaton, and do a loop around campus, Dean Keaton - Guadalupe - MLK and then back to San Jac....Deak Keaton is a horribly uphill road - with a steep gradient...I decided to skip it, since I didnt want to risk doing anything to my knees just 2 weeks before the race....and decided to make it up by running a couple of smaller loops in the downtown area...which is relatively flat.....
I ran continuously without stopping for the remaining 3 miles...and reached the Rogue Store with quite a strong finish....I felt great....I could have run more....which I was happy about since on race day, I would have 6 more miles to run!....I looked at my time....4h14min...a 12:42 pace exactly!!...I was really thrilled!! My goal this season is to break 5h 30min....and for the 1st time this season, I actually think that I have a shot at doing it....I took 5h 53min for the DC marathon (13:35 pace)....and really want to reduce that by at least about 25 mins!!....And hopefully I will!! I am pretty psyched now about New Orleans!! And will spend the next couple of weeks tapering off and resting my body in preparation!! I just really really hope that the weather cooperates, because that really made a big difference in yesterday's run! But more importantly, I am going to focus on keeping my spirits up and really enjoying the experience, because that is what truly determines whether you have a great run or not!!
The run started slowly...we ran up Rio Grande from 4th St to 28th St, and when I say, ran up, I literally mean it, it was a constant upward gradient. The first 3 miles were painful and the weather was humid...and I was already dreading the remaining 17! I met Coach Peri at the 1st water-stop at about 3.5 miles and she told me I looked great! I know coaches HAVE to say that, but it's still somehow uplifting to hear someone say that, especially when you feel crabby! I drank 2 cups of water and headed off....the next few miles took me to Bull Creek and then on to Shoal Creek...I am not a big fan of running on Bull Creek...but the weather had become better and there was a cool breeze along the route....so I just kind of zoned off and ran till I hit Shoal Creek...I love love running on Shoal Creek...it's a very pretty road, and has a nice wide bike/run path...met Coach Geezer at about Mile 7....drank 2 more cups of water and swallowed a salt tablet....continued on Great Northern and then past Northcross Mall....by now, I had settled on a good momentum and was also enjoying the cool weather!! The humidty had also kinda disappeared!
The run then went onto El Arroyo St, another long Road and then towards North Loop....I took a Gu at the Mile 11 water-stop....I literally sucked parts of it and washed it down with Gatorade...and barely tasted any of it...and then took off...I was at mile 13 now....I had been avoiding looking at my watch all this while...but was curious to know what my half-marathon time was...I was clocking about 2h 46 min....about a 12:40 pace...I was pretty happy with that since I was running sub-13 mins....it made me a lot more excited to get the next 7 miles in!! The next few miles involved a relatively downward descent on Duval Road...another road I quite enjoy running on...For those of you who are running 3M, you will spend at least 3-4 miles on this road, and it's where you will really pick up speed!! I reached the end of Duval and was feeling pretty good when I got to the last water-stop....I looked at the map then and saw that we were going to run left on San Jacinto...and then right on Dean Keaton, and do a loop around campus, Dean Keaton - Guadalupe - MLK and then back to San Jac....Deak Keaton is a horribly uphill road - with a steep gradient...I decided to skip it, since I didnt want to risk doing anything to my knees just 2 weeks before the race....and decided to make it up by running a couple of smaller loops in the downtown area...which is relatively flat.....
I ran continuously without stopping for the remaining 3 miles...and reached the Rogue Store with quite a strong finish....I felt great....I could have run more....which I was happy about since on race day, I would have 6 more miles to run!....I looked at my time....4h14min...a 12:42 pace exactly!!...I was really thrilled!! My goal this season is to break 5h 30min....and for the 1st time this season, I actually think that I have a shot at doing it....I took 5h 53min for the DC marathon (13:35 pace)....and really want to reduce that by at least about 25 mins!!....And hopefully I will!! I am pretty psyched now about New Orleans!! And will spend the next couple of weeks tapering off and resting my body in preparation!! I just really really hope that the weather cooperates, because that really made a big difference in yesterday's run! But more importantly, I am going to focus on keeping my spirits up and really enjoying the experience, because that is what truly determines whether you have a great run or not!!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
All Gu-ed out!!
"Gu" is an energy gel that I have been using pretty regularly during all my long runs and during my marathons and tris. The Gu gels are a great source of carbohydrates and during runs, I typically try to take one every 50 minutes or so. They help maintain my energy during the long runs and also keep me from becoming tired/hungry. I've never really had any major problems with them in the past and actually quite enjoyed the Chocolate Gus!Over the last 6 months however, I've lost the taste for Gus. I find it very hard to stomach them, and it's been a challenge trying to consume them during workouts. I've tried washing them down with water, tried different flavors and alternate brands but those have not worked as well. I switched to the jelly beans and the shot blocks - which have been good, but those just dont produce as much energy and are also quite cumbersome to carry along for a run. Gu packets - I can just pin on to my shorts!
When I'm out on the course for 4-5 hours, I really need energy replenishments. Otherwise, I tire easily. I carry gatorade or salt tablets typically to help with electrolyte replacements, but I am not sure what to do now about carb replacements. Any suggestions folks??
I'm all Gu-ed out and my race is just 3 weeks away!! :(
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