"I like cheese...."

I will explain this phrase to you and why it popped into my head at mile 15.5 today but I have to give you a little backdrop first. I started with the blog layout...it has been so cold here this winter, I decided to theme the blog with our current weather and I seriously hope that the groundhog does not see his shadow on Tuesday. I can't do anything about the weather but I'm not looking forward to another 6 weeks of it! Choosing to be an optimist however, it is only a few more weeks to spring. I can make it. I also made an entire week of being able to run outside and that is a miracle considering the last two runs were in frigid conditions. My friends think I am absolutely off my rocker, I tried gathering a few friends through the TFM group, no takers; I tried my facebook crowd and although my post "I'm running 17 tomorrow morning in the chill. I need some partners and I don't care if you only run 3 miles. Come on people!" garnered a lot of comments, they were mostly along the lines of...

• No! Good luck with that my psychotic friend.
• I'll follow you in the car while I sip hot coffee.
• No way! Hate the cold! Good luck!
• You are running 17 miles without anyone chasing you with a gun???? What is wrong with you Jen!?!!!!
• Um, yeah, no thanks
• From the ultrarunner: Fine. I'll run the first 20 with you. Too bad he lives in Texas.
• It's 10 degrees with a breeze here in Rockland County. I'm going out for an hour run followed by an "indoor" spin. I feel your happiness! Embrace the chill...
• I would have joined you (cough cough, yea right) but my coach gave me strict orders to run an EASY hour only. And hey, I don't want to cross my coach, she can be a real harda$$ if I do ;-). Yes, that hardass would be me, lol.
• I'd run with you if I were there... just remember how exhausting it is to run it heat and humidity and it will make the cold easier.:) Oddly enough, when the hot hands and hot feet wore off and I was chilly, I thought of this Jill and I was almost relieved that I was cold and not suffering from heat exhaustion!
• funny- you're getting ready to run and I'm getting ready to nap. Bundle Up- if you happen to take a jog over this way want to grab the dog??? She'll keep you company. ;)

After splendidly procrastinating until 12 noon when it hit a marvelous 22 here, I got dressed in my warmest and most wind blocking layers, including the ba-la-clava (which for some reason I always go to pronounce as "baklava"- picture Dave and Sam cracking up reminding me that "baklava" is a greek dessert), hot hands, and hot feet in the gloves and shoes and out of doors I went, straight up the hill to the golf course road. The first 4 miles went really quick, despite the refusals to my attempts to get anyone to come out and run with me today, I met Larry C. on the golf course road with his roller blades and ski poles, of course! Haha! He "skied", I ran and we chatted in between his hill repeats, it was nice to not be alone and it was also nice because I had the wind at my back so I was a little warmer and the chatter made me forget how truly cold it was. Larry passed me once more on his way back for some final repeats and I hooked a left at the end of the rolling hills of the golf course road and headed over to pleasure drive. First 5 miles averaged right at 9's and I felt great. Sucked down a gel and ducked into the trail at the start of Pleasure Drive. I hadn't been in there in awhile and it was novel at first, the first 3 miles into the trail went by fast. I turned around at 8 and realized that I had a mostly uphill climb on the way back out. I felt the fatigue in my legs running in the sandy trails. At mile 10, with another round of gel in my belly I decided that I didn't make the best decision to run the middle 6 miles in the trail today. Sure, the trees block the wind but trail running with the tight, hilly single track and the up, down, lateral moving nature of it really takes you out of your normal run rhythm and can wreak havoc on the muscles of the legs, precisely what I was feeling when with a sigh of relief I exited the trail. 6 miles to go, into the chilly wind. I pulled my fleece face mask tight around myself so that only my eyes were showing (Van thought I looked like a Ninja before I left, ha!) and worked on my turnover trying to get back to that effortless 9 min pace I was running before hitting the trails. After another mile or two I started to feel better and I also started to get cold. The hot feet heat was used up pretty quickly and I was getting a little numb. Up and down on the golf course road hills I went, feeling the pain of leg fatigue really kicking in, still with 3 miles to go. Reminding myself that I needed to embrace this pain, push past the fatigue, this was the second week of the build with the longest run to date in this training cycle, I was ready for it. Then I had this little devil in my other ear saying "I like cheese......"
The story: When Evan (Sam's little boy) was three, he was busy throwing some kind of fit about getting in the bath and Sam said to him "are you a man or a mouse?" and little Evan replied "I like cheese..." in his tiny voice. I love that story and while I was struggling at mile 15.5, knowing I had 1.5 to go to reach my goal I started asking myself "are you a woman or a mouse?" and Evan's little voice was ringing from my overworked muscles saying "I like cheese!". I pushed on though, the cruelest part running past my house at mile 16 for another loop around the block to complete the 17 total. Check.
Back to the workouts that cause the complete exhaustion afterwards, total depletion. I couldn't get the chocolate milk down my throat quick enough and my body into the hot tub to thaw out fast enough. Burning 2000 cals for the 2 hours and 40 minutes that I was out there, I have been constantly hungry since finishing, just hard to peel myself off the couch! Definitely a recovery day tomorrow, and a "down" week coming up! Yay!

Your forecast: Clear and Cold!

And I am running in this????

YES! Down with the treadmill today! (Fist pump!)

Actually it was more a matter of necessity and time management. If I had nothing to do today, I probably would have headed straight downstairs to the treadmill but the nice part about "regents week" at the high school is that I have slightly more time in the morning to fit a workout in. It's so much nicer to run when it is not dark for a change! I had to take advantage of the extra time this week, next week it's back to running in the dark in the morning or dark in the late afternoon or the treadmill. Hmmmm, dark, treadmill or dark? Decisions, decisions....

I had an appointment for an oil change at 8 am at Firestone. Since Dave is training his way up and down the Kona coast this week, I have to either sit there for an hour for this much needed car service and inspection or find something to do in that time. It was a no brainer, I'd run and kill two birds with one stone saving the larger part of my day for the other necessary things like work. Breaking out the wooley ski socks, multiple layers of dri-fit, fleece and other assorted winter bike gear that turns out is actually awesome for winter running, I put on my windstopper, furry lined lobster gloves and drove the car over to Firestone. We have used this particular service center for a number of years for our cars, so when I walked in, the manager recognized me and remarked "You are kidding me right? You are running home?", I laughed and replied, I will be running, just for an hour why you work on my car. Another employee quickly quipped something about being lucky if the skin on my face didn't fall off like frozen shingles when I was done but I was undeterred. Stepping outside after handing over the keys, I had to exhale a few times over the garmin buttons since my watch had frozen, got it started and I was off, luckily running with the wind at my back. I planned my route so that I would have minimal exposure to the 2 degree wind chill/20 mph North West winds and ran south and parallel to the local high school track. My legs felt pretty good and I was warm enough after 2 miles easy but it was a bit of a lung shock for the first of the 5 x 1k repeats at close to 5k pace that I did today. I chose not to go by heart rate today, just pace and feel in this type of cold and when I made the first turn into the icy blast and my pace dropped, I didn't worry about it. I just ran based on effort and I ran fast because I wanted to get out of the crazy cold as quickly as possible! I had a 1:30 recovery in between each repeat, happily averaging out to 7:30's which is actually 10k pace but considering the arctic weather, freezing winds and the mounds of clothing I had on, I was really happy with the consistent pace. I was also happy that the time was flying by fast and I finished off with the 2 mile easy run (with the wind at my back) on the way back to Firestone. 7 miles total, mission accomplished and I appreciated every minute of being out in the cold sunshine knowing that my midweek longer run and other runs next week will not have the option of being outdoors in the morning.

Thawing out in the hot tub at home, I thought about how fortunate I am to have a great job, and to have the luxury of soaking in 103 degree water to revive my frozen muscles, fingers and toes, and to have a supportive network of family and friends. Then I started thinking about the less fortunate on a cold winter day that do not even have the luxury of a winter coat. Through the Interact Club that I advise at PMHS, the students are sponsoring a winter clothing drive. If you live locally and would like to donate any gently used coats, sweaters, hats, scarves or gloves to the people and children that really need them, any size donation large or small would be helpful. On this frigid weekend coming up where we are spending much time indoors, please check through your closets or stored clothing for any winter items that you do not wear. There are people in our local communities that do not have the warmth of winter clothing. My students and I would like to help. Any help that you could give would be greatly appreciated!

Running barefoot... gait analysis peeps, check it out!

Thanks to KB for sending me this link, which led me to this Harvard researcher's website, and ultimately to this really great video:



I started working on changing my running gait to a more midfoot strike when Van was in the baby jogger, so we are going back 6 years that I have been interested in this topic. It took me a long time to actually change the way I run (this is the key here, make no mistake that if you suddenly change your shoes or start running barefoot that your achilles and calves will take a beating, it takes a long progressive introduction if you are thinking of changing your gait and your shoes), and I did so after suffering numerous ITB injuries over a period of 2 years (prior to Van in the baby jogger) that without Sinead's, my chiro's and the accupuncturist's help, I would have never gotten through. It was awful! Of course ITB wasn't soley caused by my shoes, I had a weak core after giving birth to Van that caused many muscle imbalances on my right vs. left sides that Sinead diagnosed, but I think that the shoes also contributed to the problem. Since then, I have switched from a heavy shoe (Kayano) to a lighter shoe (saucony sinister) to the DS trainer to Newtons two summers ago where I am still at. The evolution of my own running shoes has gone from heavy super supportive motion control with a very thick heel to minimalist performance neutral with very little heel and I would like to try super minimalist with the Vibrams! I wrote about barefoot running a couple of years ago, prior to the popularity of Born to Run, which has really contributed to barefoot running awareness.  You can read that article here for a refresher and an orthopedists opinion. I will also really encourage you to read through the Harvard Skeletal Lab's website, the science is sound and the video demonstrations beyond the explanation video above are outstanding! I love science!

** 1/29/10: since writing this entry a few days ago, many people are now weighing in on this particular paper. Check out the sports scientists opinion, another great read!

Manhattan half

First race of 2010! Not sure what to expect, I decided to continue on my running journey theme of "no expectations" taking the pressure I put myself under OFF. It's a good way to be. Trusting in my training, I felt I was probably in 8:30 shape but that would be a big "IF" considering that the last time I ran Central Park hills was in August of 2009. Figuring the worst case scenario would be 8:45's on the hills, I could live with that this early in the season. Honestly, this is the best running shape I have ever been in this time of year, ever. Sure, training for Boston is pushing that along but I am trying to think in terms beyond the marathon in April, onwards towards a hopefully triumphant return to being a full time triathlete :)
No rest going into this non-peak race. I had a regular build training week with 6 x 800's between 5k and 10k pace on Tuesday; 6 miles with a fast finish on Thursday and an easy 5 miles on Friday. I biked saturday in what was supposed to be an easy spin, but I decided to get on the CT and I just don't ride easy enough on that thing. It feels fine at the time but I could feel my glutes and quads on Sunday morning, not the kind of leg fatigue you want when running up the backside hills at miles 4ish and 9 but whatever. Every race can't be a PR and it felt good to do some decent riding on Saturday, I forgot that I actually can ride.
The well planned trip in the city was something I really looked forward to. I met M.E. and Jimmy at our favorite rendevous spot along the expressway with newly friended Jenn C. along for the ride. Jenn is a fellow teacher at PMHS and it's really nice to have someone at work to share all this insanity with. We get each other and what we do on our weekends is "normal" to us and completely wacked out to everyone else. I love being an athlete! So good to have such great friends that enjoy 4 am wake ups calls and 15 mile runs in the early morning!!!!!! With M.E.'s deft navigating into the city skills we were quickly in and out of packet pick up and off to a great parking space. A 1 mile jog to the start and it was time to corral up. For some reason, I ended up with a fast start time from my 10k race in the 2000's and equally odd Jenn ended up with a very high number as a mistake, she should have been in the 2000's and not the 7000's with the 11 minute runners! Deciding that a 7:30 pace was not even close to my half marathon time I started with M.E. and Jimmy in the 4000's. 8:15-8:30 was just about right. (Oddly enough I am having a childish flashback to "the three bears": this start corral was too fast, this start corral was too slow but the 4000's was just right!). We moved up as a group, started the race and I was surprised at how crowded it really was. Within the first mile a fist fight almost broke out....one guy on my left bumps another guy who yells at him, then obnoxious bumping guy is screaming "WHAT I CAN"T HEAR YOU" probably because his mp3 was too loud, the bumped guy screamed back something about "giving him a shot in the mouth" obnoxious guy is screaming back "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?" guy to my right remarks "It's the race for HUMANITY people" someone else chimes in "only in NY" and I said "this is supposed to be FUN people", it was classic and mildly disturbing. Obnoxious bumping guy went on to shove a woman in front of him and that started another onslaught of yelling, I dodged right and went around and through that lot of negative energy. It was very congested for the first couple of miles, my first mile in the congestion was 8:30, 2nd mile 8:05 and third 7:59- WHOOPS! Too fast! With 10 miles to go I reigned myself in and my goal was to run a steady 8:20 - 8:30 pace with a 168 HR, dialed in and ready to push myself to maintain that pace through the hills. Before the race I told Jenn to tap me when she caught me (her last half was a 1:41) and sure enough roughly just past mile 2 she came running up full of energy, and bounded off up ahead easily running 7's. She said her first mile was almost 12 minutes it was so congested! Off she went and I maintained my pace, running my own race. I spotted M.E.'s blue hat just slightly ahead of me and decided that if I could stay where I was I would run the steady race I was looking for. No-one can dial in a pace like Mary Ellen. Keeping her in sight and actually following her line through the crowds as she ran the tangents (something I haven't quite learned how to do yet), I caught up to her on one of the hills. She yelled at me to slow down when she re-caught me on the downside, I was running up hill too hard since I was needing to recover on the down sections. Mindful of that good advice I took it and dialed right back into that 8:25-8:30 pace. My motto for each of the many big hills was "up and over", over and over I repeated that in my head going up "upandoverupandoverupandover" and then "settle" as I regained the sense of controlled pacing from the harder uphill section where I had to push myself to maintain my pace. I stuck to my usual strategy, not looking past 5 miles at a time and before I knew it I was rounding 10 miles, 3 to go! 3 is a loop around the lake! 3 is an easy recovery run! 3 is going to take you less than 25 minutes! Hold pace! I had to remind myself of that quite often. Those last three miles were HARD. I also wanted to run each of those last three miles a little faster with hopefully enough gas to finish close to 10k pace for the final half mile. Looking for the 72nd traverse sign I hit the gas, finished, M.E. waiting with a big hug. It was a great day for a race. 1:51:30, really pleased, especially since my PR is 1:50:00 flat on the Hamptons Half course which while hilly, has nothing on Central Park. 8:30 pace, mission accomplished. Mini mission at the end also accomplished: last 3 mile splits were 8:30; 8:22; 8:17 and 7:33 for the last .2 to the finish.
Regrouping with Jenn (1:40:25! PR!!!!!) and Jimmy who finished right behind me, we jogged it right back to the car, which was much farther than I thought! I think we easily ran a total of 15 miles yesterday, 13.1 as fast as I could, a good confidence builder race. Meeting up at the diner with KB and his sister, the "up and over" them quickly became "It's all about the breakfast" as I wolfed down pancakes and eggs as we retold our triumphant running tales. Tentatively agreeing on the Prospect Park 4 miler at the end of next month (M.E. knows of a great breakfast place post race...SOLD!) we headed back towards home and an eagerly awaited hot shower! Fun times, can't wait for the next outing!

Interesting study

Usain Bolt's world records are an amazing site to watch. This german video is of his world record at Berlin in 2009 when he ran 19.19. Amazing. In a new study published by the Journal of Applied Physiology, the critical variable in allowing humans to achieve even faster sprinting speeds (Usain is currently at 28 mph) is really all about the human bodies ability to withstand ground reaction forces. Examining the force effects at different gaits, it was determined that humans may be able to achieve speeds of upwards 30-40 mph! Of course, you would need the right genetics and muscle fiber types (Type II fast twitch fibers) in the ideal numbers but the possibility exits. Neat study, you can read more about it here.

My line for the day....

I've been thinking a lot about excuses today and lack of attention to detail from my students and from certain weight loss participants at the lab. Each time I heard an excuse today, this visual and saying popped right into my head. I think I need to hang this up in the classroom and the office!

Weekend recap: Jack Frost

What a great time! We drove to PA on Friday night with the Cila's:

Over Christmas, we talked about doing a weekend trip for the boys. Anna made all the arrangements and until we got there, I was a little hesitant. Had a super busy non-stop day and night kind of week, run lots, field trip to NYC to the BODIES kind of week. SO busy that I had to be packed and and ready to roll out immediately stepping off the bus from the field trip on Friday, jump back into the car and drive to PA. I have never skied. Ever. Went snow boarding once 15 years ago and spent most of the day on my arse and a couple of weeks after walking around very sore legged. I was a little bit nervous about how the weekend would play out. Sam remarked that I had the deer caught in the headlights look as we wound are way through the rental equipment area Saturday morning. I was thinking of signing up for a lesson considering I have never been on anything fixed to your feet that actually slides you down a mountain on top of snow. Caught up in the morning rush to get the boys into their lessons, I was overlooked. Sam offered me some advice instead and it became the motto of the weekend: "Go really fast, when something gets in your way......turn".

This picture was taken before the first run of the day. I can tell because (1) I have that nervous what the hell am I doing smile and (2) I am not covered with snow after numerous wipe outs. Actually I wasn't that bad. Dave was quite impressed but I have to thank Anna, she stayed right by me giving me some pointers as we went down the first easy to moderate trail. By the second run I had the jist of it. By the third I could turn pretty well. By the fourth I was in way over my head as Dave led me down on a "more difficult" intermediate trail, hit an icy steep patch and POW! Hit the ground hard, mouth full of snow in a full frontal body slide for about 20 feet, coincidently the same amount of height my ski's got at they were launched off my feet into the air. It was spectacular.... too bad no one saw it except for the ski patrol asking me if I was alright. I was fine, a little ego bruised, a little bit of tears in the eyes. After several minutes Dave realized that I wasn't coming down (he radioed me on the walkie talkies) I told him it took me awhile to walk back up to where my ski's and poles landed and then try to maneuver putting them back on while still on a steep section of slope, ski lessons would have been handy here, let's just say I made great use of the "pizza pie" ski maneuver, I made it down to the lift and told Dave that I was headed back over to the "fun side" the green and blue trails where I could control my speed and do a bit of zig zagging down the slopes, building some confidence.

Van chose to take snow boarding lessons with a group on Saturday morning. While his report card said "Awesome job!" at managing the beginners bunny hill used for teaching, actually heading down one of the gentle green slopes was out of the question. After considerable frustration we convinced him to trade the board in for ski's. He took to it immediately:

With a big smile on his face, he snow plowed his way down the first easy slope, eager to join Sam and Anna's boys.

It was a beautiful day to ski, 40 degrees, and like Sam said at the end of the day when we returned the equipment at 5 pm, "where else could you be outside all day in these temps if it weren't for skiing?". He's right, you didn't mind being out all day at all, even when the weather turned for the worse on Sunday.

The sky was grey and cloudy, temps hovering around 30 on Sunday morning. This time the nervous what the hell am I doing smile was replaced by a genuine can't wait to get going smile. We decided the day before to sign up Van and Evan for a private lesson for 2 hours and it was the best dollars we spent. After having 2 hours to ourselves to ski the harder sections, we picked Van and Evan up and we were truly impressed by what the instructor taught them. Van was skiing like a pro. He loved it, even when the freezing rain began and we got wet and chilly on the lifts, he didn't want to stop. There is nothing like watching your little boy's sheer enjoyment. We made it outside until 3 pm, when chilled to the bone we went back to the condo. After warming up with some hot tea and a change of clothes, I headed back out into the freezing rain and ran some mountains for 10 miles. Surprisingly the 16 hours of skiing I did didn't make me sore but that 10 mile run up and down the mountains did me in! Hard core! I had a decent pace too and it is one of the runs I'll look back on during Boston. I'll be thinking of how tough it was running straight up the side of a mountain with freezing rain pelting my face. If I can run in the conditions I have been doing the long runs in over the last couple of weeks, I can pretty much run through anything! Next up: Central Park Half Marathon, let's hope the legs recover!

Functional strength training Part II

Monday, I began the introduction to functional strength training focused on why you should incorporate this type of strength training into your weekly program, today I will focus on the what. I started thinking about writing this type of post last week, when I did a really great routine that targeted exercises specific to my needs and it was so simple and took relatively little time (20 minutes max) so I figured I would start out Part II of this series with that sample routine. Keep in mind, with anything new there is a learning curve. If functional strength training has never really been a big part of your overall exercise routine, your body awareness as you move through space with exercises that you are not accustomed to may take some time and patience to execute properly. I will do my best to describe what I was doing and where I can I will post some images or video. I think the best way to approach this is with a few different posts aimed at different levels. If you have been core/stability training for awhile, you may be able to handle more progressive exercises. If your core is weak, or you are overcoming an injury, it may take you a little longer and you should start with a few of the more basic exercises and work your way up. The key with any of this type of training is that if you feel really wobbly and you can only make a few repetitions, keep at it! That's a sign that it's a major weakness that you need to strengthen!
A favorite routine:

1. Bosu ball squats with a front shoulder raise using 8 pounds dumbells on the flat portion of the ball
2. Overhead press standing on one leg, second set on the other leg
3. One leg bent over row
4. Box jumps
5. Plank raise off the elbow. This can be done with the elbow on the bosu ball or on the floor.
6. Pushups for a set of 10 reps on the flat portion of the bosu ball
7. Push ups with one hand on the foam roller for a set of 10, second set other hand. Sorry, no link for this one... foam roller is parallel to your body on one side.
8. Stable lunge with a bicep curl, I often alternate these with a one legged squat on the rounded side of the bosu ball (I haven't been able to master the flat side one leg squat like the picture yet!)
9. Slow motion bicycle crunches Hold each side for 2-3 seconds. For some added fun, do a double crunch (chest to knees) in the center between each alternating side.
10. Crunch with elevated legs: One straight leg at 90 degrees, the other straight leg at 45 degrees. Now crunch :)

My particular routine may be more advanced for some, I figured I would share what I was doing to give you an idea of how to put a small routine together. Give each exercise a try and see how you make out! I favor two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions per exercise and everything is done slowly with as much control as possible. I don't do the same routine every time. I often substitute exercises and use a stability ball which wasn't featured in the workout above. On a third day I'll do one of my favorite vinyasa yoga dvd's which are great for overall strength and flexibility. Next up in the series: I will focus on a single piece of equipment and feature some really great exercises for each. First up, the stability ball!
Happy training!

Introduction to functional strength training Part I

Should you strength train? The answer is YES!!!!

Should you just go to the gym and lift weights haphazardly sticking to the old school 3 sets of 10 reps?

NO!!!!

So then, what should you, as an endurance athlete, do to strengthen your body? You should also be asking yourseslf:

Why?

• enhanced running economy (1, 4)
• improved muscle recruitment patterns in triathletes during cycling (2)*
• improved distance running performance (3, 4, 7, 10)
• prevention of weight gain and improved body composition changes (5, 6)
• improved core stability decreases injury risk (you too cyclists!!) (8, 9)

Strength training for endurance athletes really should focus on functional, sport specific strength exercises. These types of exercises often occur through multiple planes of movement and can involve a measure of instability forcing you to work on your balance and strengthing of the pelvic region. Most of what we do as triathletes, or even if you are a single sport swimmer, cyclist or runner, is movement in the forward plane of motion only. Often, because of the repetitive nature of our chosen sports, larger muscle groups are favored for recruitment and if the lumbar/pelvic muscle groups are compromised, an overuse injury in the lower extremity can develop particularly when time and distance increase and fatigue sets in. Continued training to fatigue combined with a muscular imbalance anywhere in the core or pelvic region can lead to an increase in lower extremity injuries for cyclists and runners (11, 12). Winter is the perfect time to begin a functional strength training routine that will yield huge dividends when training ramps up and racing begins.

Basic equipment for functional strength training:

• Large stability ball
• Foam roller
• Bosu ball
• Dumbbells or kettle balls.
• Yoga mat

Of course there are many more things you can purchase but if you are new to functional strength training, start small and inexpensive: the dumbbells and stability ball go a long way. I think the best way for me to approach this topic is to break it up into a series of posts. Part I, today, will focus on the "why" you should do it. Additional posts on functional strength will focus on a the different pieces of equipment bulleted above and specific exercises you can incorporate into your new routine to progress your level of core stability and overall strength. Eventually I would love to post a digital picture catalog or you tube video of me doing one of my favorite functional/core strength routines (any amateur photographer/athlete friends of mine out there that can help me with this project? You snap and shoot and I set you up with free one on one instructional sessions with me! Let me know! Reply below or shoot me and email....).

Why, continued:

Functional strength training involves a lot more than simply building strength in individual muscles to increase power or economy, in fact, lower leg resistance training for cyclists has been shown in the literature to be largely ineffective on cycling performance (13, 14). However, many coaches and pure cyclists may be misled in thinking that all strength training is a waste of time when in fact core stability training has an impact on cycling performance and decreased injury risk as referenced above. I am also of the opinion in my many years experience as a practicing exercise physiologist that the change in body composition from a higher fat percentage, to a lower fat percentage with an increase in lean tissue goes a long way towards improving power output on the bike. If you are for example, a 135 pound woman and 22 % body fat your lean weight at 0% fat is 105 pounds. Of course, women can never be 0% fat, just for normal menses and hormone function, body fat in competitive female athletes should range between 12 and 15%. If I take that example 135 pound woman and reduce her body fat to 18% with a longer range goal of hitting 15%, the goal target weight becomes 130 pounds at that 15%. 5 pounds lighter but with with more lean tissue weight (110 pounds vs the original 105 pounds). 5 pounds greater lean tissue, with an overall reduction of 5 pounds of body fat is going to equal tremendous watt gains on the bike irregardless of training! FREE SPEED PEOPLE! What helps you get there cyclists? Functional strength training! For you triathletes and/or runners? Improved running economy and increased distance run performance. It's a win-win.
With anything new, there is a learning curve so your homework tonight is to figure out which 2-3 days fit best to incorporate the new routine in your schedule post ride or run. You don't need loads of time either: 15-20 minutes 2 to 3 times per week will go a long way.
Tomorrow: Part II of the introduction to functional strength training. Simple exercises to start with. See you then!
Happy training!

* This particular study is extremely interesting to me. Apparently the researchers found a different recruitment pattern in the leg muscles of trained triathetes vs. trained cyclists with recruitment patterns in trained triathletes matching those of novice cyclists particularly in regards to cadence and muscle activity. The authors suggest that multidiscipline training (swim/cycle/run) can interfere with the adaption of neuromuscular training necessary for cycling. Recruitment patterns may be enhanced by resistance training. It's something to explore in a future post but it will also require more research on my part to address it. I've emailed the author in the meantime with some questions :)

Brew Run 2010

Running in the freezing temps in January really makes you appreciate those warm days (and at this point warm would qualify as anything over 40 degrees). Especially the warm days where you can run out the door in shorts and a tech T and feel the warmth of the sun on your skin without a thought of windburn or frostbite.

Yesterday was not one of those days!

I wasn't quite sure I was going to make it to the Brew run this year. My early week pessimism could be attributed to the intestinal virus I suffered from Thursday and Friday. I have to keep in mind that when my energy is low and I'm feeling blue that I might just be coming down with something. Depression is not part of my repetoire. Thursday night I slept over 9 hours and woke up feeling more tired on Friday, the first clue, the second sign blaring in my face was the frequent trips to the bathroom. Horrible. Needless to say, I did not eat much on Friday for this reason. A slice of toast, a small sandwhich for lunch and a small bowl of chicken soup. Not enough calories for the activities I like to occupy myself with and I think the majority of those cals were flushed down the toilet on Friday. I did not run on Friday although I thought about it, a lot. I don't like to miss any run on my schedule, ever, but I decided to do the smart thing and actually listen to what my body was telling me. Only on Friday though! I went to bed at 8 pm and slept until 5:30, awoken by Van in a asthma related coughing spasm and I thought that Dave and I would not be able to go to the brew run but Van came out of it and at 8 am we left the house and the 15 degree temps hoping that it would be slightly warmer in Patchogue.
This weekends long run was the first of what I qualify as the "really long runs". Anything 15 and over is really long to me. Knowing all week long that I had this 15 miler to do and knowing the funk I was in all week, I really did not want to miss the group run from the brew. I needed my buddies, there is strength in numbers. Since the brew run is roughly 12 miles, I decided to run the 3 miles from my mom's to the Bluepoint Brewery to get that extra three in. Got there in plenty of time to meet up with M.E., my friend Jenn (an english teacher I work with that is a phenomenal runner, it's so great to have someone at work to share this with!), M.E.'s husband Jim and running partner Mike, K.B, Wynn and Theresa and I was happy to see Danielle too! Dave decided to run this morning not sure of how his hip would hold up and he took off with some guys from the Weasel trail runners group. It's always amazing to me to see Dave run, he's so fluid and he barely runs, his fitness is so high in other regards and his running background so vast prior to the hip problems that when he does run, it's like he is running 30-40 miles per week steadily. He ran 10 miles yesterday, feeling good and the last couple of miles were with 2 really fast runners, he didn't look at the pace until checking the garmin later on, turns out they were running 6:15's! Amazing.
It was such a pleasure running with M.E., Mike and Jenn. We talked the entire way out into the icey wind. I started feeling my legs around the 9-10 mile mark, which I think is pretty normal for this kind of weather but was still holding a steady pace. M.E. asked me how I was holding up and I told her I was feeling the fatigue in my legs but I was still holding pace. Over the next few miles I lost the ability to chat, had to concentrate and no wonder, when I look at the garmin splits I was still holding 9's but my HR was creeping up into the high 160s (yes, too high for the workload) but I pushed on, doing to countdown in my head of the miles left, doing the "hold this pace until you reach the corner" tricks. A few pushes from M.E. to latch me back into the group. Hit mile 13.5 and the wheels came off. BONKED. It's not marathon training for me unless I get one good bonk in and I hit the wall HARD. HR 170 at a 10:18 pace, hahahahaha still makes me laugh. Most days I could practically walk and be doing a 10:18. Nothing like a good bonk. I told me buddies to go, at 170 bpm I was cooked. I walked for 2-3 minutes, got my HR back down to 140 (walking!!!!) and then began to run again. Finished up runing 9:45's, ended up averaging 9:27's for the entire run, not bad. If I passed anyone on the way back to the brew and did not say hello, I apologize, I was just completely and totally out of it. M.E. told Dave to bring the sag wagon back for me in case I was walking the 1.5 miles back in the freezing temps but I was right at the brew house when I saw him. 14.7 miles done. I figured that was close enough to 15 with the bonk and I am working on trying not to get caught up in numbers (although knowing myself when I run tomorrow I will do 5.3 easy instead of 5...such is the OCD). The bonk doesn't bother me, I kind of expected it with little to no food on friday and being dehydrated from the virus. I knew I was, I actually took 2 endurolytes prior to running because I was having cramping in my legs before the long run. It worked- in retrospect I probably should have run the 12 with the group on pace and finished the last 3 to 15 as a slog by my lonesome, but oh well, it's done. I just regret not being able to finish with my group and I regret big time being dehydrated going into the run because I missed out on the free beer at the end, and Bluepoint Brewery makes some really good beer! Instead, I downed a sugary hot chocolate and inhaled a piece of hero before Dave and I had to skedaddle for Van's kiddie birthday party at 1:30. Truly fun, nothing like sharing miserable running conditions with good friends. Next up: CP half marathon and no bonking!

Several

By this time over the next several mornings for the next several weeks I will have run several miles. In order for me to fit in the many miles on my schedule to be done by this hour of the morning, I must get up between the God forsaken (and that is the only way I can describe the time of the early morning when it is the coldest and darkest) 4:15 and 4:30 am. Uuuuuuuuggggghhhhhhh..... this after coming off of 11 days of sleeping in until 8:30-9:00 am everyday during winter break. Which was really really nice and I was really really rested and had all morning to sip on my beloved java, surf the net and get to the run around 10-11 am, some days I didn't even get out until after 1 and I did not mind that at all, it also coincided with the warmest part of the day, which up until this afternoon, has not cracked freezing.

The benefit to my early birdness is that I do not have to think about my workout for the rest of the day. It is done and in the record books thus freeing up time in the afternoon for other things. What those are yet I have no idea because I am so tired by 6 pm that I am ready for bed, but I'm working on it.

The other benefit is that waking up 3 hours before my body is actually ready to do so makes "sleeping in" until 6 am seem like a wonderous thing.

I do like the early mornings, in the summer. Light by 5 am and warm, running outside before the rest of the world is up is one of my favorite things. The winter, however, is a different struggle and I understand why people say that the Boston marathon is one of the hardest events to train for if you live in the north. I've had a rude awakening and it's not because I haven't been training, I actually haven't missed anything on my schedule, I am just struggling a bit with the motivation to run alone in the cold and the dark. That's the weird thing too- I am, for the most part due to life circumstances, not really by choice, a loner trainer. I have to get the workouts in when it is most efficient for my family but for some reason running early in the morning in the cold and dark, even if it is on the treadmill in the basement is so much harder in the winter than any other time of the year. I love running, but I haven't been loving it lately and when the big miles show up, like they are now, the stress of the upcoming workout can be a little daunting. Writing is a cathartic tool for me and this blog needs to stay honest, rather, I need to stay honest with myself, so while I was super motivated in my last post (and I was, must have not been sleep deprived and boosted by my lovey doveyness for David that day) I was ready and raring to go for the new year. 4 days later, back to the real world of juggling career and family and training, I find myself struggling again. So I reached out to veteran winter marathon trainee's, good friends, and part time comedians K.B. and M.E. for a reality check to make sure I wasn't crazy. It's very difficult to be objective about yourself and your own training. Having good friends with great eyes for details and loads of experience training for a winter marathon is a really great thing to have. So a BIG THANK YOU to Mary Ellen and Kevin for helping me to pull my head out of my arse. I am way way too hard on myself most of the time and they both reminded me of what was important. I did lose my way, I forgot what I loved most about the last marathon, the journey to fitness. I came off the October marathon with no real break in the run training besides my body forcing rest on me when my immune system decided to take a vacation in November through early December. Wanting so much to capitalize on my fitness from the lead up to Mowhawk Hudson River I became much more outcome focused for Boston than truly enjoying the process leading up to a race that not every runner gets to do. What good is doing a race that I do not enjoy the entire process for? For the next two and a half months I am going to make sure I have plenty of other crazy winter runners to train with on the weekend long runs, and I am going to continue to suck it up during the week and I will get the miles in and I will regain my confidence in myself and that confidence comes from taking the pressure off my finish at the Boston marathon. The goal is to get to the start line happy, healthy, and knowing I gave 100% throughout the process.

Next up: Bluepoint Brewery run with a cast of characters on Saturday.

Out with the old, in with the new.... attitude that is.

For the sarcastic, there is no better website than http://www.despair.com/index.html. Some are truly pessimistic, which is why they are funny. There are many days that I would like to hang this in my classroom:

but it would not fit with the character ed theme I have going including "Positive people do not put others down". Still, I get a laugh at this particular poster everytime I see it and it would be particularly useful for a multitude of questions, like: "Mrs. Gatz, do you get sick when you pee off a boat?", during lab involving beakers and chemicals: "can I drink this?" or my perrenial favorite, "Wow, girls really don't pee out of their vagina's?". Teaching 9th grade biology certainly has its perks. Maybe I can get away with the mug....

In any case, my point to this post really has to do with attitude and there is no better time for a readjustment of attitude than the first day of the new year. Myself included.

My theme for 2010 actually came from my husband's facebook post last night. I love it. "Change only if you feel the need...follow your passion into the New Year..". As I sit here New Year's morning watching the older Hawaii Ironman videos, the first being 2001, I am reminded of being there, 7 months pregnant with Van, the first time Dave had qualified, watching him come in off the worst ever recorded winds on the bike right behind Natasha Badmann and most of the pro men, amazed at the bounce in his step as he ran 26.2 in the 100 degree temps with a smile on his face that never faltered. The excitement of watching Tim Deboom win after the tradgedy of 9/11 that we all felt and the elation and surprise at Dave's finish when Steve Tarpinian came running up to us telling him that he won his age group. 2001 was a magical year. That passion, that energy, that excitement is what I look forward to in the next couple of years.

My determination and drive to succeed has increased today, I have a new appreciation for the opportunity I have created for myself in running this year's Boston marathon. With 16 weeks left to go, my excitement for running is renewed today and it comes from being reminded of what my original goals were and where I want to take all this running experience to capitalize on it. My passion for triathlon is returning and I am getting really psyched for 2010 and what I've decided to do in 2011.

I lost my way slightly through November and December as I battled sickness. I started each run workout thinking "I have to run" and I didn't really look forward to running. In a way, it became one more thing that I just had to finish throughout my daily grind. No more. I realize today that I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to compete at the Boston marathon. I realized today that my goal to qualify for Boston was to help my run leg so that I could be a better triathlete. I realized today that I really miss swimming and cycling with regularity but I am also willing to sacrifice a little more time so that I can do what is necessary to run Boston well. Instead of dreading all the hill training necessary for Boston I am going to embrace it. Lake Stevens 70.3- hills! Syracuse 70.3 more hills and I will enter both with the confidence that I can ride and run well in the hills, the Boston lead up the catapult. Looking beyond? For the past few years, my goal was to return to Ironman when I turn forty as a better swimmer, biker and a runner and I am going to use 2010 as training prep for my 40th birthday, July 22, 2011 and I am going back to Ironman Lake Placid and I am going to kick ass on the course that I have trained and raced on. Woman of Iron # 4, July 2011.

I hope that you find a little motivation in this post to do what you really want to accomplish in the coming year. Flipping back up to the first "demotivator" poster at the top, I hope that you have to courage to make the changes you need to, to meet your goals. There is much truth in that first lithograph, doubling efforts, doubling miles and just simply adding more volume to your workouts will not necessarily help you to achieve what you want to. Make specific goals, really think about them! Take the leap and make some big changes, work on your weaknesses, hire or change your coach, do something new this year and renew your passion for your sport. Really think about what is was that worked the last time you had that most awesome of races. Don't be afraid to tweak your schedule and certainly don't be afraid to work on your weakest link, it is the challenges that you find there and rise above that will ultimately help you achieve what you originally set out to do. Today of all days, be honest with yourself and "change only what you feel the need....follow your passion into the New Year". Much love.