Running Hard

Yesterday was my run test. Basically, I had to run fast and hard. This is all fine in theory, however I was really unsure how exactly to do that without 1) going too hard and passing out or 2) not going hard enough and finishing the test thinking I still had more in the tanks (I hate that feeling).

I had a hard time finding a place to run. I wanted to run on a track for sure. The local H.S. had H.S. kids out on the track and stuff set up on the field, so there was no way I was going to run in front of them. Plus, technically, I am not supposed to be on school grounds during the school day. So I drove over to the community center, but I noticed they don't have a track so much as an oddly shaped path. Finally I drove to another community center (Campbell) where I knew they had a public track (and bathrooms, this was quite fortunate).

So I warmed up, and then I went for it. It was SO nice to not have to worry about my HR, or what zone I was in. I could just go. The training wheels were off, whether or not they should be! I did wear my Ipod for this test and it really helped me pick up the pace at times. I should thank Metallica, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam, Ozzy Osbourne, Eric Clapton, and Green Day for my performance yesterday.

At one point, I looked down at my HR monitor to see how much time I had left and thought I was only a 1/4 through. Then I looked closer and realized I only had 1/4 of the test left. This made me happy. There were definitely some interesting characters out on the track: an guy with Downs Syndrome was trying to stop everyone to say "hi" (he was a little too touchy feely for me so I just would sprint past him), some gang bangers running in their baggy jeans and cross trainers, and some nice older ladies with oodles of perfume on (to the point it almost made me sick).

My knee bothered me a bit during the run, but not to the extent it hurt before. I iced it and my ankle last night, and that felt wonderful. I have a pool that is 40 degrees, and it was suggested I dip my legs in for 5 minutes after my run, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it!

Tomorrow is the last of the tests - on the bike! Woo Hoo! Then my first race, and my first running race EVER, is next Sunday - Superbowl Sunday to be exact. I am looking forward to it!

Wardrobe Malfunction - Averted!

Today was my swim test. Basically, I had to swim fast. As such, I decided I would wear a different suit. I always wear polyester suits, because they last FOREVER, but the one I normally train in really cuts my shoulders and I wanted to have a full range of motion for this test. So I put on my TYR suit. I haven't worn this suit in a while and I was pleased with the way it fit at home.

Once I got into the pool, it was a different story. As I pushed off the wall, I had the distinct feeling of the suit adjusting in ways that was not appropriate for a community pool. I had forgotten how these suits can cut in on someone who is, shall we say, a little more well endowed than she used to be. We're talking about a Janet Jackson Superbowl moment with out the help of Justin Timberlake....I'd stop at the wall, re-arrange, and then push off. I kept looking down as I swam to make sure I wasn't exposing myself.

Now there are bikinis that show much more than my suit, however one does not normally sprint in a bikini, therefore you don't really have to worry about it coming off. My entire warm up was spent determining what I should do. First option: get out, go home, and put on my other suit. I really didn't want to do this. I was already at the pool, I was already wet, and I wanted to get this test done. Second option: go and put on my bra and wear it under my suit. I used to do this with a sports bra and my old life guarding suit. However, I didn't bring a sports bra, just a regular bra. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

So I got out, and put my black bra on. It looked awesome, let me tell you. WRONG! I got in, pushed off and realized after about 15 yards that this wasn't going to work either. I got back out of the pool, into the locker room and ripped it off. The two male life guards must have wondered what the hell the crazy girl was doing.

I just figured I was going have to spend my rest time readjusting. Oh well.

I am happy to say that, during the test, the suit behaved and did its job. I didn't have time to worry about it anyway, I was too busy trying not to puke. I was successful at not puking too. But I must admit, I sounded a bit like Monica Seles with all the breathing and grunting in between sets. There were a few swear words in there too =)

So that's how the first test went. More tests to come. Should be fun. Hopefully all my equipment will behave!

Cougars, Shopping, and Training

Last week was an interesting one. After my Wednesday of waiting out the inclement weather (I really didn't want to get hit by lightening, okay?) to go do skipping drills, things went really well.

Thursday was a wonderful rest day/shopping day where I bought my first items from Lululemon. I received my items on Saturday and I have to say their "not so deep V bra" is awesome for running. I usually have to double up on sports bras (sorry if this is TMI) but with these, one was plenty! I have a feeling I should be buying stock in their company or something, as I will be spending lots of money there.

I worked Thursday night, came home Friday morning, took a quick nap and then went out to the pool by 1200. I felt like complete crap in the pool, but I actually finished the prescribed yardage ahead of time, which surprised me. I am going to switch to a Masters team starting in February. Which I am looking forward too because my current pool is behind a strip mall whose various restaurants (BBQ joint, Sushi, and Bread shop) all bombard me with their luscious odors while I am swimming.

Friday afternoon, Molly and I went down the the hockey arena where we waited in line to see our favorite player, Douglas Murray. Who we completely adore for his uh...brain...yes...absolutely. I certainly did not let out a giggle when I saw his biceps through the window of the store where he was signing, because 1) he's my brother's age (29), and 2) that would make me a Cougar...Anyway they weren't allowing any pictures which was really all we wanted. So we settled for an autograph. He was looking pretty bored and tired once we got our turn, and who can blame him? He'd probably signed like 300 things by that point and there were some pretty "interesting" fans in line ahead of us.

Douglas is Swedish. I have babysat for a Swedish family for upwards of 4 years, so I do have a very, very limited grasp on the Swedish language (okay I know like 15 words: no, yes, thanks, you're welcome, horse, snow, stand up, hand, foot, fish, school, chair, cracker, sorry - important stuff!). After he signed my favorite pink jersey, I told him "thank you" in Swedish. He looked up at me for a second, startled, and responded "you're welcome" back to me in Swedish. So I felt pretty good about myself since I actually got a response. I guess now Molly and I have to go stalk him at practice (they will let you take pictures with them there, all though they are pretty smelly at that point). I will also be learning how to say "can we have a picture with you?" in Swedish =)

Saturday I went on a shopping foray to Sports Basement. This is another place I need to buy stock from...I did pretty well though. I finally found a waterproof cycling jacket, found a nice warm cycling jersey, and a water resistant running jacket. So I feel like I am pretty set up for winter training now.

The weather cleared up allowing David and I to get out on the road for a bike/run brick. The roads were surprisingly clear and we had a great ride together. It sprinkled a bit on the run, but I was wearing my new running jacket, so I didn't mind. My legs felt like jello, but I tested out my nutrition plan and it worked well.

Yesterday the rain was back, but I only had to do a run so it wasn't a big deal. This was my longest run of training - 50min. I have to say, it felt pretty good. Probably the best I have felt out on the trails. My knees weren't bothering me at all. I did have to do some walking, as my HR got up to high, but I felt great when I did get to run. It sprinkled on me for the first half of the run, and then it was beautiful. I love the smell of winter; the wet grass and trees, wood burning fireplaces, and rain, it's just wonderful.

I then made the mistake of going grocery shopping after said run. Not intelligent. I am astounded Trader Joe's has any food left after I went there.

This week is rest week/test week. I am scared and excited at the same time. I am scared because I am pretty sure I am going to have to puke on a few of them (oh who am I kidding? all of them..). Excited as I will probably get some new HR zones, and it will be nice to have a baseline to work from.

That said, today is the swim test. I haven't done a swim test in at least 15 years, so this should be interesting. Hopefully no one is sharing a lane with me when I puke in the gutter.

Week 3 totals:

Swim = 6900 yards
Bike = 20 miles outside plus 1:30 on the trainer
Run = 8.1 miles
Strength: 1hr

Peserverance

The following things happened today in the Bay Area:

a) Sustained winds of 40+ mph
b) Thunder and Lightening strikes
c) Tornado warnings
d) Torrential downpours
e) All of the above

If you chose "e", then you would be correct. Today was crazy. We never have thunder and lightening in Northern California in the winter, much less a tornado warning!

I woke up this morning to pouring rain, thunder and lightening. I kept an eye on Doppler radar all day to see when there would be a potential break in the weather. This took awhile. I finally got out on the track around 3:45pm. There was a break in the weather.

As I got out on the track I noticed some high school girls leaving, they must have been "real" runners as they were clad only in running shorts and t-shirts. I, on the other hand, had put on thermal leggings under my sweat pants, Under Armor Cold Gear turtleneck, running hoodie, and rain slicker. Did I mention I don't like being cold? Well, I don't like being cold.

Today's agenda called for some skipping, and I will admit I had to take off the rain slicker for that part at least. During my 15 min warm up, I looked around the track; taking note of the only person there (a petite Asian lady doing some really "interesting" work out moves), hoping she would know how to call 911 if I got struck down by a bolt of lightening. Then I found myself wondering what does it actually feel like to have the hair stand up on the back of one's head?

Luckily, the inclement weather held off. I did not hear one clap of thunder or see one flash of lightening, so I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. The skipping was fun, and I realized this high school has a ton of options for running, not just on the track, so it was a good adventure no matter what.

Now it's off to work for the next two nights. Stay dry, people!

Swimming in the Rain...

Monday's swim was quite interesting. I had worked the previous four nights, and it was a holiday, so finding somewhere to swim was a bit of a challenge. Luckily, Molly has done this before and knew one of the high schools was open for lap swimming. Instead of going to bed after work, I stayed up until 11am to go to the pool, figuring I could take a nap later (which I did).

It had been raining steadily ever since I got home from work. California hasn't seen this kind of rain since 2002 at least. I kept checking the Doppler radar in hopes it would let up a bit for me to get out to the pool. It did in fact do just that. The weather for our swim couldn't make up it's mind. It would be raining, then the sun would be out and yet still raining, then windy so that all your gear would fly around, and then some other permutation would be created. It was sunny enough that I began to wish I had put on some sunscreen. Crazy.

After such an experience, hot chocolate was needed. Since I know where every Peet's Coffee and Tea is withing a 5 mile radius of any location in San Jose, getting our hot chocolate fix was easy.

Yesterday I had a 1:30 min bike on the schedule. I checked the good ole Doppler again, and it looked as if things were going to clear up. As the sun began to peek through the scattered clouds, I contemplating just going outside on my bike. It was cold and windy, and the roads were scattered with debris and crazy drivers, so I opted to stay inside. It turned out to be a good choice. About 45 minutes into my ride, I heard a huge clap of thunder. Not too long after that I saw a flash of lightening followed almost instantly by another clap of thunder. I gave up riding in monsoons when I moved away from Arizona, so I was quite happy that I chose to stay indoors.

Today is suppose to be run skips on the track. So far we are getting pummeled by what the weather "experts" say will be the worst of 5 storms this week. We are trying valiantly to not let our pool overflow. It looks like the rain/wind might clear up a bit in the afternoon, so I am shooting for going out then. Wish me luck, and stay safe out there!

This trainer work out brought to you by Green Day

It has been an interesting week 2 of training. The swimming was great (minus the crazy synchronized swimming coach who yelled during half of my workout on Friday, I hate underwater microphones....but that's another story).

The running was good, minus a little twinge in my right patellar tendon that was unhappy no matter how I changed my steps. I have since iced said tendon and tried to stretch it as much as possible. It didn't bother me during this morning's 30min run in Zone 1 so that's good. I am still struggling to stay withing my heart rate zones while running, but have been instructed to wear my "patience hat" because it will all come eventually.

Biking outside was nice because I managed to miss any torrential down pours, and only got mildly sprinkled on. This week's forecast is calling for oodles of rain and wind and I have two days outside on the bike, so we'll see if I can find a time in between storms. Luckily I only work a few days this week, so I have lots of time to watch the weather.

Today's final workout was cadence/interval work on the trainer. Ouch. I was supposed to be recovering at 100rpm and working hard at 60rpm. After a few false starts (cadence monitor wasn't working - note to self: check functionality of new toys the day BEFORE you want to use it), I was chugging away. Since I had to do fast recovery, I put a little Green Day on the Ipod and it definitely helped me spin faster.

So tonight is my 4th night of 4 in a row at work. It's also a holiday, so hopefully things will go quickly and I can get back home to get some sleep! Sleep has been a bit wonky this week too. Waking up at 3am and not being able to back to sleep is no fun. Then I am not getting the best rest during the day, for whatever reason. I think my body is just getting used to working night shift and to working out again, so I am really confusing it royally! Oh well. Such is life.

Okay, time to refuel and get ready for another week!

Swim: 5800 yards
Bike: 13 miles
Run: 7.44 miles
Strength: 1 hour
Total: 6.5 hr

Swimming...

For some reason, the sandman and I are no longer friends. I woke up this morning at 3:30am, hungry and wide awake. So I got up, surfed the internet, and finally decided to just go and swim. Not much else to do that early anyway, and the pool is close to one of my happy places, Peet's Coffee (if you're curious, watching the San Jose Sharks play hockey at HP Pavilion is my other happy place, but I digress).

I know I talk a lot about swimming. It is what defined me for many of my formative years. I do hope that soon the entire sport of triathlon will take it's place, but for now, I like to write about swimming.

Keep in mind that today was my 3rd workout in the pool. Today was a combination of long swimming and IM. That's right, all four strokes got their due today, not just the dreaded backstroke. Coincidentally, I was pretty happy for backstroke after doing four consecutive laps of butterfly, without breaking stroke. I am not saying it was pretty, Misty Hyman I am not, but I got my arms out of the water and did it (perhaps with more than 2 kicks per stroke, but that, my friends, is legal according to US Swimming. I was an official, I know these things!).

One of the added benefits of doing butterfly while lap swimming, is that your lane mate tends to end his work out early. This left the entire lane to me. Since I had to do more IM, no one else seemed eager to share the lane with the crazy girl doing full butterfly either. So, bonus!

That 400IM hurt though. As I pushed off the wall for the 3rd 25 of fly, I felt the familiar nausea in the pit of my stomach. I had almost forgot what IM will do to you. Almost. If you do IM right, you always feel like barfing. That is just the way it is. I used to tell my swimmers that. Swimmer "Coach Jenn, I feel like barfing after that 200IM", me "Good, that means you did it right! Great job!", swimmer "Oh really? You mean it is always going to feel like that?", me "Yep, pretty much."

I was also thinking about my husband, David, also a former swimmer. This boy used to do a set that went something like this: 10 x 400IMs followed by 5 x 1000s. Yeah, he was a distance swimmer. All the way. After doing my one measly 400Im, I remembered just how hard he used to work in the pool.

But now I say goodbye to the pool until Friday. In between there will be much running and biking to fill the time and further trash my legs (which they deserve).

Next week is a big week, apparenlty. Which will then be followed by test week. I am so glad I have gotten a few weeks to get into some semblance of shape before testing. I really appreciate that. Then my first 10K on Superbowl Sunday. After the Patriots dismal performance yesterday, I don't know I will be watching it anyway! Which is good, because it means I won't have to pace myself with all the Superbowl party food.

A week in review....

The last workout to round out this week was a 65minute ride on my bike in the big chain. I also call this the Jan Ullrich gear. All though I didn't look quite as bad as he used to look mashing up Mont Vontoux, chasing furtively after Lance, my quads still were not pleased. But that's okay, they need to learn to deal with it!

David was kind enough to come with me, and I got to try out my new leg warmers (they were great). We had a nice ride, the weather held, and no one honked at us.

This next week begins with a swim. There is at least one 400IM involved. Whoa. I am allowed to use fins for it, but I don't own any, so....thank goodness I am swimming yards and not meters! Then I have one more week (even bigger apparently) before test week. I am honestly looking forward to all of it.

I am still figuring out how to balance work with training, more because of the fact that I work night shift, sleep during the day, and there is not an abundance of daylight currently. Luckily, the days are getting longer, and by the time I really need the extra sunlight - it will be here.

In the meantime, I am on the hunt for the following: new road pedals and shoes, and a waterproof cycling jacket that keeps me dry and warm. A little birdie told me REI has a huge sale starting tomorrow, so I think that's where I'll be!


Swim: 2:25 hr/6350 yards
Bike: 1:50/14.33 mi + trainer
Run: 1:00hr/ 3.20 mi
Strength Training: 1:07 hr
Total training time: 6:17.00

One more to go...

I have one more workout to go this week. A nice bike ride outside tomorrow. It will be time to try out the new legwarmers. I have no idea what lies in store for me next week, but I am sure it will be fun. Not to mention the fact I have a few days off from work, so easier to schedule my work outs.

Yesterday was my first brick. It was a short affair, 45 min. on the trainer followed by a 15 min run off the bike. My legs felt interesting when I got off to run. I don't have another word to describe that feeling yet. I still had to do a combination of running and walking to stay in my HR zones, but I did it. There were some glitches as I am not quite used to programming my Garmin yet in terms of work outs, repeats, etc. But I am getting better. I do love that watch. I received my cadence monitor for my bike, so need to get my mechanic *ahem* husband, to help me out on that one. Maybe if I hand him the monitor and a beer at the same time...

Today was a swim. The only time the pool was open was at 9am. I worked last night (extra shift) so I just decided to stay awake and get the swim done. Sitting in my truck, waiting for them to open, it was all I could do not to stand at the windows chanting "open, open, open" like the lady in that old Mervyn's commercial. A little girl got into the lane next to me and I realized I had been her swim teacher 3+ years ago. It always feels good to see a former student, who is now doing year-round, club swimming. Warms the heart. She didn't remember me =).

There was a lot of backstroke in today's swim. Did I mention I was never a backstroker? My mom used to have to shut her eyes when I would compete in anything that had backstroke in it. I was so happy when I got fast in breaststroke because I found I didn't have to train much backstroke any more. My age-group coach once stood at the end of my lane and told me I had the ugliest backstroke he'd ever seen. He didn't see fit to fix it at that point, since my specialty was breaststroke. I know it's good for me, especially since my alternative of recovery breaststroke is not the best for someone who is trying to learn to run without killing her knees. I know how to swim it correctly now too (after I realized what it meant to "over-reach"). But just because it's good for me doesn't mean I have to like it =). Recovery butterfly anyone?

Okay that's all for now. It's time to sit back, watch some hockey, and have a well deserved glass of wine!!

Which is whiter: my shoes or my legs?

It's a toss up, really. My shoes are so new that they just seem to scream out "inexperienced runner! Watch out!" as I trudge along the trails. That, coupled with my very white legs, probably blinded a few people while I was out on my run today. Another great thing about triathlon, between the swimming, biking, and running, my legs will eventually become another color than stark white! I will wear sunscreen, of course, but I will still get some color. Albeit I will have 3 different tan lines on my legs, but who cares? I will have tan lines!

I should make a confession: I have tan envy. One of my best friends, who I grew up swimming with, is Portuguese. She tans the most beautiful shade of brown you've ever seen. After several bad sunburns growing up, trying to match her, I finally came to the realization it wasn't going to happen (yes I get my skin checked by my dermatologist every year, things have already been burned off). Then I went and married my husband, who is also Portuguese and tans the same shade as my friend. My husband merely thinks about the sun and he tans.

So yes, I know I will not have the bronze legs of my husband or my friend. But, there will be color there. Even if I am the ONLY one who knows it. Oh, well I guess everyone will know once I'm in a bathing suit. And for that and many other reasons, I am glad I am training for a triathlon.

Today's run went well. I was supposed to keep in between Zones 1 and 3, and managed to do that by a combination of jogging and running. So that was nice. I don't think my calves will hurt as much after this run today. My quads are another story. After yesterday's functional strength training routine, I literally cursed at whose ever idea it had been to place the pots and pans in the cupboard on the floor as I got them to make dinner.

I also had the pleasure of being introduced to the loveliness that is local retailer "Sports Basement", I can tell already that I will be spending a lot of money there. That place is great, though, and I bought my new friend, the foam roller, there as well.

Tomorrow is a trainer ride and then a run off the bike. Interesting.

In the meantime, I need to get ready for a hockey game (thanks Molly!) and work. We're going to see if I can go to the hockey game AND make it to work on time (I may need to leave early).

Trashed...

No, I am not referring the amount of Cabernet I have imbibed recently. I am instead referring to my arms, and my calves!

First the calves, their pain is the happy product of my attempt at "high knees" during my run on Friday. I think the problem was the fact I was running primarily on the balls of my feet, resulting in a feeling similar to doing many sets of stairs. Ouch. Stretching is good, and stretching is my friend. Soon I will have a foam roller, which I am sure I will have a tumultuous, love-hate relationship with, but that's okay. It's good for me.

Had a great ride with Molly and David on Sunday. We had a nice out and back in Almaden Valley. Kinda went over my allotted time, but that's a work in process. Also working out the logistics of using Mr. Garmin. I can't explain how helpful Molly is in these situations, it is no coincidence that I got the same Garmin model she used to have...I also enjoy David accompanying us with our rides, except for the fact that it leaves me without legwarmers. I guess it's time for me to buy some of my own!

In case you were wondering, Garmin was much quieter on the ride. He only chirped a bit here and there. David said he always knew where we were from all the beeping (I thought he was referring to the inevitable chatting that goes on when Molly and I ride together=>). But really, because I was able to keep up a constant conversation during our workout, I knew I stayed in Zone 2. Woo Hoo!

Sunday was a rest day, and thank goodness, because I needed the sleep. I was especially thankful for my rest day when I got to work last night and realized it was going to be the busiest of the 4. Thankfully, the night went quickly, I felt rested, and the ER is still standing!

I slept for about 2.5 hours, woke up, put on my swim suit and headed out the door to find a beautiful, sunny day awaiting me. I couldn't ask for better outdoor swimming weather in January! I didn't even need my parka. Molly was already in the water when I got to the pool. I was greeted with a half empty lane and a warm pool. Things just kept getting better. So I got in the pool and started swimming.

I think October was the last time I was in the water, but I am not sure. At any rate, I felt flat in the water, but I was still able to get up and down the lane without a problem. After a w/u, 10x100s, 10x50s, and 10x25s (with some easy 200s thrown in), I was so excited to put on my buoy and paddles. I love to pull! As I started down the lane, I realized something: I like to pull at the beginning of practice, not the end! My arms were thrashed. Still I was ecstatic to be in the water, and I knew that I wouldn't always feel this out of shape (all though the hurting part was going to be a constant friend), so I wasn't discouraged.

Molly finished before me, so she worked on flip turns as I gave her some tips in between 25s. To her nose-clip free x1year credit, she did a couple of really good ones. It was nice to watch.

After that, I did my warm down (and included backstroke - ugh), then attempted to climb out of the pool without falling back in (accomplished, but barely), and called it a day.

Tomorrow is functional strength training, which I am sure will bring a whole new round of aches and pains. But I am looking forward to it!

I am off work until Wednesday night. I can hear my laundry calling me...

Where is Zone 1 anyway?

First of all, if you're here after reading Molly's post today...Hi!!

For my first day of triathlon training in 2010, I had a 40 min. run on my schedule. My instructions from Coach Jen were to stay in Zone 1 and occasionally checking my cadence (21 right foot strikes in 15 seconds). So I woke up at 4pm (I had gotten home at 7:45 am after work and went to sleep around 8:30 am) and got ready to get outside before I lost daylight.

We drove down to the Almaden Lake Park, since it is close and has a multitude of surfaces to run on for my inexperienced legs. David, my husband, was more than willing to accompany me and that was great. I started out and began to think about keeping my knees high. As a former swimmer, and breaststroker no-less, I tend to run duck footed with a bit of a shuffle. Not the most efficient way to run. Oh and by the way, I am really out of shape. Anyway, I thought that now was as good of a time as any to start working on getting a higher knee lift in my running. As such, as soon as I started my Garmin beeped at me. WTH? I was already out of Zone 1! I had gone maybe 30 feet. Maybe. I began to slow down, and my husband turned around to look at me as I explained I was just going for heart rate and time today. But the guy is 6'4" so his walking is close to the speed I was going at this point. I let him go ahead. He needs a good work out too!

Well, fine, if I was already out of the elusive Zone 1, I figured I should go ahead and try this little cadence thingy. That was hard. I kept getting to like 16 and 17 and that was it. Meanwhile, my Garmin continued its plaintive beeping on my wrist. I didn't run with an Ipod today (a BIG step for me) but who needs an Ipod when their Garmin is playing its own little tune?

As Garmin beeped at me again, I decided to start walking so I could look down at my heart rate. It was fast, something like 160. I thought that perhaps it wasn't reading correctly. After all, this is a new piece of equipment for me, so perhaps I had set up wrong. So I decided to manually palpate my pulse (sorry, nursing vernacular), I checked my pulse with my fingers. Sure enough, that baby was going fast! It was what I like to call in my nursing charting "bounding". Okay, so Garmin wasn't lying. I was so far away from Zone 1, it wasn't even funny.

A caveat, these Zones are preset from Garmin based on my age and weight. Since I am so out of shape, Coach Jen and I decided it would be better to just get going and gave me some easy ways to remember the different zones:

zone 1 = recovery (SUPEReasy)

zone 2 = Aerobic (you can talk!)

zone 3 = TEMPO

zone 4 = HARD!!!

zone 5== well, you won't see this zone yet.

But I can tell you, either way, I was not in Zone 1. Okay, I was in Zone 1 when as we drove home. Heck. I am probably in Zone 2 now just typing this, but I don't have my HR monitor on, so I can't be sure. I do know that I can talk as I type, so Zone 2 it is. I do believe I saw Zones 2-4, but not on purpose and only heart rate wise. There was certainly no tempo or going hard going on today, but that is what it was supposed to be.

At the turn around point, I decided to try and give my knees a bit of a boost again, but not with the same sort of vigor I employed at the beginning of my run. With Garmin now screaming at me, I set forth. I found that if I did the "swimmer shuffle" ie, my normal way of running, my right knee was a little angry. However, if I picked up my knees a bit, and used a better foot strike, my knee shut up. Either way, Garmin beeped. There is no way David could have lost me on the trail, he would have just had to go toward the beeping.

I did walk the last 5 minutes of the workout, so I could at least show that I was in Zone 1 at least some point during the 40 minutes I was out there. All in all, it wasn't a bad day. I was trying to go slow, and think about my feet and knees. I didn't miss my Ipod (too much to think about). I was never close to feeling like I was over doing anything in anyway. Most importantly, I got out there and did it. So that makes me happy.

I got home and was so excited to upload my data into Training Peaks. That took me a while, and also had me deleting today's run off of TP all together...hmm...will get better at this. I finally downloaded Device Manager and that seemed to work, all though I have heard it's a bit buggy.

So now, it's off to work in an hour. Time to make some coffee and try to make myself look presentable for my patients. Try not to go above zone 3 at work. Tomorrow's agenda has a nice bike ride with Molly and David. Molly's agenda on the bike tomorrow is a bit different than mine, but we'll make it work!