Going With The Flow

AM - I love snow running! I headed to the Horsepark this morning to run in some untracked powder. So much fun and lots of dogs loving it as much as me :o) Beautiful morning out with everything snow-covered. Then did yoga for 30 minutes. 

Tonight Jake and I are going to see Radical Reels Tour (A presentation of the best high-adrenaline films entered into the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival competition. The Radical Reels program is made up of short, action-packed climbing, paddling, mountain biking, BASE jumping, skiing, snowboarding, and other adrenaline sport films). I'm really excited - last year the outdoor films were amazing!

AM - Easy 4.2 miles around the Millcreek neighborhoods. Had to cut it a little short in order to get to yoga for 30 min.

AM - Met a group at Highland High this morning. Started off the first few miles with Emily Bates, Chad R, Jake, and MarkP. Then decided to take it easy, be safe and jogged back to RAD, Toby, and Paul (Prlman) to run with them. Glad I did because I wanted to meet and talk to them anyways :o). Ran several miles up the canyon then saw MarkP running down the canyon and joined him for the downhill fun. I didn't have a Garmin today, but I'm estimating that 12.8 is about right. 

I was really pleased with how my feet held up today. Definitely the best run over 7 miles that I have done in the past two months.  Back didn't feel too bad either. Now headed to Midway for some rest and relaxation (and maybe some snow tubing too!). If anyone is in the Midway area and wants to meet up for dinner or hot tubbing, let me know!

AM - Morning run with Jake around Midway. The sun was shining and the views of Mt. Timpanogos were beautiful. After some more hot tubbing, we headed over to Soldier Hollow and went snow tubing (I'm pretty sure we were the only ones without kids there, although Jake's kinda like a big kid...). What a great day to be outside! This was my first time to the Midway area and I really enjoyed how peaceful and quaint is seems to be - reminded me a bit of Eden. Already thinking about more trips there.

AM - Elliptical for 45 minutes. I spent most of the time experimenting with what difficulty and speed resulted in the fastest mileage. My indoor triathlon at work is in two weeks and I can't embarrass myself! I ended up getting a pretty hard workout - moving my legs at 220 strides per minutes gets hard after a while! I should probably do this more often so it won't be so bad when I start doing speed work again.

PM - Warmed up a mile then went to the track to massage out my feet and check up on Jake. Then ran 1.5 miles, got bored and thought - why not try some 200s and see how my feet do? So that's what I did.

Jumped in on Jake's MP workout and ran 6x200s w/equal recovery. Then ran an additional 4x200 w/600m recovery (the time it took Jake to catch up to me). So ten 200s at 5:15 pace. Good first mini-workout - it is hard to keep up with Jake! Feet seemed pretty good, we'll see tomorrow if they really handled the speed okay.

AM - Ran some easy loops around horsepark with Jake. Loved the mild temperature this morning (even with the wind)! I really hope we get a long spring this year.

PM - 35 min on the bike, easy.

Just booked a work trip to Brazil yesterday. Leaving March 16 and returning April 2 for a total of 17 days! Juiz de Fora, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo. Hopefully I'll get a little time to explore and do some sightseeing while I am down there. Average temperatures are high 78 and low 60 - hard to beat that! Now I have to work on finding someone I am working with down there that I can run with outside! There is a university close-by in Juiz, so hopefully that area will be safe enough for running outside as well.

AM - Same as yesterday, horsepark loops with Jake. Although the cold north wind today was quite a bit less pleasant than the warm south wind yesterday. 

PM - Tried to run again this afternoon but my feet can't handle the 2-a-days. Bummer. Made it 1.5 miles then called it. That's alright - I'm okay with just once a day (for now!).

Cool new documentary coming out this spring about young runners from Bekoji - an Ethiopian highland town which has produced some of the world's greatest distance athletes.

AM - Elliptical intervals for 35 minutes, working on turnover. 200s on the track this afternoon.

PM - Warm up to the Olympus track for 3.4 miles. Then ran 8 x 200m w/200m recovery jog - 36.8 s average! I am happy with how quickly I was able to run, even if it was only 200s. I was nervous that my feet would give me trouble, but they were good. I even wore the Mirages...first day in over a month that I didn't wear the clunkers (Omni 8s)! That 0.5 lb loss per shoe probably helped me run a little faster :o)

New women's race in Moab on May 12 - Thelma and Louise Half Marathon. Super fast course!

AM - Elliptical and bike for 39 minutes, followed by yoga. 

PM - 5 miles easy around Sugarhouse with a nice mix of grass, concrete, and track.

Anyone want to join me for a run tomorrow morning? I was thinking 10-15 miles in the 7:30-8:30 pace range. I'm flexible and also have an extra free breakfast offer for Gepettos that needs to be used this weekend.... :o)

AM - Met Emily Jameson at the Jordan River Parkway. It was a beautiful morning for a run and great to have some company. We started out at around 7:15 pace for the first 7 miles and then stayed in the 6:50s the rest of the run (7:04 average pace). I was so happy that my feet felt good and I felt comfortable at this faster speed. The run gave me a lot of confidence that I'm on the upswing of my injuries...and since I signed up for the BAA 5K in Boston in a month, I need to get in racing shape!

Anyone interested in an 8-10 mile run tomorrow? Maybe meet at Highland High at 9am (b/c of the time change)?

AM - Met Allie at Liberty Park and ran a couple laps with an added loop. Accompanied her back to her place then continued a couple more laps for 9.5 miles total. Ran nice and easy today. Spent the rest of the day spring cleaning - quite a workout in itself. 

So proud of Jake today with his big PR in the 15K! 

AM - 30 min on the elliptical with mini-workout of 1 mile at 6:36, then 3x1min and 2x30s. It's tiring to go that fast on the elliptical! Finished off with power yoga for 20 min.

PM - 6.3 miles around Sugarhouse. It was absolutely beautiful outside - I'm loving this weather. Legs felt fatigued and overall I felt pretty lousy so I decided to run easy and hit the track another day. Saw Rob Murphy several times but I couldn't catch him and I think he was trying to avoid me.

Heard on the radio this morning that there are more heart attacks and less productivity the Monday after daylight savings time. Not to mention the dark and more dangerous conditions for runners  in the morning! I say we follow AZ's example and boycott the time change.

AM - Easy 30 minutes on the recumbent bike. 

PM - 6.8 miles. Grass/road mix followed by 6 x 200m at 38s (but probably more like 40s b/c of the wind aid). Body still feels tired and fatigued which made the sprints feel hard.

This is a really great article and in depth look at runner's knee/patellofemoral pain syndrome.

AM - JAFA Run, typical loops. Missed James - hope he gets better soon. Fritz was afraid to run in front because of my poor directional cues (I need to be more like JulieC!) and he apparently wasn't looking for extra hip and lateral motion workout this morning.

PM - Rode on the mountain bike to meet up with Jake on his run home, 55 minutes. So nice to ride outside!

In case you're interested in TMI from me, here's the interview I did on Hungry Runner Girl's blog (which is also the only reason I'm winning on the FRB monthly people stats, clearly not because of my stellar workouts :) ). 

Indoor Triathlon -
Treadmill 2 miles, no incline - 11:37
Elliptical 1 mile, 5% incline - 6:48
Recumbent Bike 4 miles - 15:38

Total time (with transitions) - 34:30

I gotta say, there was a lot of pressure for me to win this silly triathlon. Several guys have come to my cubicle over the past two weeks and told me their times and what I would have to beat. I only wish that this was back in November when I was in tip-top marathon shape!

Warmed up 2 miles, followed by lots of stretching and massaging for my feet. Then hit the treadmill. The time starts as soon as you push start and it took forever to get the treadmill up to 10.5mph. I felt really strong for the first 1.4 miles then got a little tired because I haven't run fast besides a few 200s this year. 11:37 is not too bad - really a relief because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to even hit 6 min/miles with my lack of fast running.

Transitioned to the elliptical and put the resistance at 8. Quite a workout to move the legs at 230 strides/min - I was breathing pretty hard!

Final leg of recumbent bike. The one here at work leans back really far which is kinda awkward when you're trying to pedal fast. Resistance at 8 here too.

My transitions lacked any grace - almost fell off the treadmill and the elliptical :o)

Overall, a great workout. I beat my competition (even despite my lack of fitness) so I have bragging rights now until next time. Also, I beat my time from last year by 1:45 too - I hope that's a good omen!

The biggest accomplishment is that my feet gave me no problems at all! Looks like I'll be able to start tempos in the next couple weeks. Anyways, thought it would be fun to post as a race report.

PM - Easy 3.2 miles around Sugarhouse.

AM - I had the morning off so I met up with Allie at Sugarhouse and we ran 10 miles together then I added a few more for 13.2 miles. It was so nice starting at 7:30am and just being able to enjoy the run without any rush.

Traveling for the next 18 hours! Thank goodness I will be in business class for the 10-hour flight, so the seats lay flat and I can (hopefully) get some sleep. Jake downloaded lots of good chick flicks for me to watch too.  Part of me is really excited about going to Brazil, but the other part of me just likes the routine I'm in. It'll be fun though and I'll try to make the most of my free time - I'll take lots of pictures and post them!

Just found out the Desi Davila is running the BAA 5K....my goal will be to stand next to her at the start line, get a picture, and not finish more than 2 minutes behind her!

PM - After a full day of walking around Rio, I went for a very easy run on the boardwalk in Rio. My feet were so swollen afterwards (probably the heat, sea level elevation, walking around, and 18 hours of travel). 

AM - 7 miles along the boardwalk in Rio de Janeiro. I feel tired from all the traveling and action. 

Spent the weekend in Rio de Janeiro with a co-worker and her friends. We took a tram to the top of Sugarloaf - a huge rock formation with beautiful views. We also went to the famous Cococabana Beach, Baja Beach, and three others. The beaches are so cool here because they are segregated from each other by mountains and other rocks. It was kind of awkward hanging out with the group because they only speak Portuguese and I only speak English. So I had no idea what they were saying for two straight days but I still had lots of fun and was grateful that they were willing to let me tag along. Thankfully, I was able to run outdoors in Rio because they have a great bike path along the beaches!

Now I'm in Juiz de Fora. I don't feel as safe here, so I'll probably be doing treadmill runs for the rest of the week. The treadmills here are the equivalent of treadmills in US about 15 years ago - no incline, pace oscillates +-0.5 km/hr, and the distance kept changing. Anyway, I THINK I ran about 5.8 but who knows!

PM - 3.1 miles on the treadmill, very slow because I had to run after dinner and was very full! 

AM - I was able to find a treadmill that had incline and worked at higher speeds! I set the incline to 1.0 and warmed up for 2.4 miles. Then I ran a 20:00 5K tempo, 6:26 pace. It felt hard, probably as much mentally as it was physically. Treadmill running feels a lot more difficult to me for some reason, but I was still glad to get in some faster running this morning (did I really run a marathon at this pace only 4 months ago?). Cooled down for a total of 5.9 miles. 

PM - Ran 2.9 miles on the treadmill very easy - had to run after dinner again tonight. 

AM - Got up really early this morning to get in some decent mileage on the treadmill because I will not have time for another workout this evening. Ran for 60 minutes for 7.5 miles, very slow at first to wake up then gradually faster. Threw in some incline every once in a while for hills but mostly stayed at 1.0.

After work today, we are going to my co-worker Rafaela's English class. Apparently they really like to practice their English with Americans. I'm just relieved that I will actually be able to understand people - the language barrier here is becoming very frustrating. Afterwards, Rafaela's mom is treating us to an authentic Brazilian dinner. It should be an interesting evening!

AM - Treadmill workout. Warmed up for 1.75 miles then ran 3 x 1.55 miles at 1% incline (2.5 km) at 6:26 pace w/ 3 min active recovery. The effort felt hard this morning - my legs felt fatigued but my breathing wasn't too bad. Glad to get another workout in - I'm worried about the BAA 5K in 3.5 weeks. Cooled down for a total of 7.6 miles.

I've been really struggling with my back for the past 3-4 days to the point where I can barely sit down for more than a couple minutes without pain. Maybe it's because I haven't had as much time to stretch and do yoga every day, I don't know. The pain seems to be stem from the SI joints and radiate up my back. It is the worst when I am sitting but can feel it all the time. When I start running, I get a burning sensation in the joints but running is not necessarily painful. I wonder if the back pain has been the result of SI problems this whole time (I haven't ever been treated for that). I've been taking a lot of ibuprofen and putting on Biofreeze to help. So frustrating..

AM - 5.1 miles on the treadmill with varying inclines 0-3%, 8 min pace average. Felt better today because I spent a lot of time last night massaging and stretching my back.

I got my results back from my blood work yesterday. My ferritin value was 35 ug/L which is borderline low. Camille Herron posted a great article on this topic that I would recommend. She also links to a Review of Iron Supplementation in Athletes that recommends a supplementation of 100mg of iron a day on an empty stomach for 3 months if you are under 35 ug/L. The target ferritin value is 60 ug/L. Although I have already been taking iron, I haven't been taking enough or under the right conditions for optimal absorption. So I'm going to modify my supplementation and hope that I will see improvements! 

Other relevant values are (with reference to elite XC women skiers, similar to runners):

Red blood cells 4.76     (Ref 4.23-5.94)
Hemoglobin 14.6           (Ref 12.5-15.1)
Hematocrit 44.8             (Ref 37.6-45.1)

So I'm about the same as the references, which is good!

My Vitamin D was low - 33.3 ug/L (Ref 30-100) so I am supposed to take a supplement for that too. The spring and summer sunshine should also help.

Most other values on my blood work were relatively normal. I just need to make sure I keep my blood and bones healthy!

AM - Flew into Sao Paulo, Brazil last night. Took a taxi this morning to Ibirapuera Park and it is awesome! They call it the "Central Park" of Brazil and it has a 4 mile loop dirt trail along the perimeter with beautiful bamboo trees and huge trees with vines everywhere. It was beautiful. I didn't take my camera today because I didn't want to carry it for 13 miles, but I'll try to get some good pictures tomorrow. My run went pretty well - the 7:45-8 min pace felt easy compared to running on the treadmill. I ran a couple miles really slow with a co-worker and then ran at my pace. At 8 miles my back got so tight that I couldn't run anymore, so I stopped and massaged it for a minute then was good to go for the rest of the run. I threw in a faster 6:25 last mile.

Now we are off to check out the other sights!

trail 

AM - 10 miles at Ibirapuera Park again today. It rained pretty hard last night so the trail was quite a muddy mess. I felt a lot of fatigue, probably from the run on Sat plus walking around Sao Paulo for 6 hours. Ran at an easy effort which turned out to be about 8:45 pace. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry! More exploring today...

AM - Found a different park in Sao Paulo that is closer to my hotel. Only a 0.9 loop around but that was good for mile repeats. The goal today was 4 x 1 mile at 5:50 pace. This ended up being way to ambitious for my current fitness! Ended up running 3 x mile (5:44 - too fast, 5:54, 5:56) the 4 x 200 (5:56 pace). I felt like I had a lot of fatigue in my legs, probably from walking around yesterday for 7 hours after a 10 mile run. I have also been building my mileage pretty steadily over the last month. I'm a little disappointed in the workout but I need to remember that I'm only beginning to do workouts and it takes time to get speed and endurance back. 

PM - 3.3 miles easy. Had some time to kill before dinner so I took it to the streets. Can't say it was a pleasant run..I spent most of the time dodging cars and people and doing circles around the block.

Some cool photos from Sao Paulo -

Really neat wall art.

Check out this cemetery! Quite the dramatic statues...

Local Samba music get-together. Really cool!

AM - Ran 0.3 miles to the subway. Went to the same park as yesterday and ran loops again. I felt almost like my "old self" today. Tired legs but I could still move at a good pace. I would say this is probably only the 2nd run since the marathon that I have felt good. Average 7:15 pace for 8 miles. Then took the subway back and ran to the hotel.

Here is the Link to the blog about my week in Juiz de Fora.

AM - I convinced all my colleagues to go running with me this morning - it's amazing what a little peer pressure will do! They are all on a corporate team to run Ragnar but have not started training. That is, until this week with me :o) One of the guys ran 5 miles with me at 8 min pace, and he was stoked to run that pace. It made me happy! We have a really long day of work today (until 9:30pm) so it was good for all of us to get the day started off well. This morning was an easy recovery day for me. Tempo run tomorrow!

AM - I'M BACK!!! 2 mile warm-up then 6 mile tempo (6:22, 6:16, 6:12, 6:09, 6:06, 6:04). I felt awesome today - no pain in my back or my feet and I felt strong during the whole run. I hope this "feeling good" trend continues!

Because I've been really concerned about iron recently, I saw this article talking about when is the best time to take iron on workout days. It discusses that there is an absorbing-blocking effect and why - interesting.

"If you're supplementing iron, or consciously choosing iron-rich foods to keep your levels up (which is likely a good idea for many female athletes), you should try to time it so you're not taking the supplements in the six hours after a hard workout. Do it earlier or later in the day, so you're not fighting against this absorption-blocking effect."

AM - 5.5 miles easy around the streets of Sao Paulo.

Apparently Thursday night is the best night to go out in Sao Paulo, so my coworker and I went to this really cool rooftop bar at a place called Unique Hotel. It was quite entertaining trying to understand Portuguese and communicate with people - fun times. Stayed out a little too late though and only got 4.5 hours of sleep :o( Hopefully I can stay awake today!

AM - Ran around Lagoa Rodrigo de Rreitas in Rio de Janeiro. It is a 4.8 mile loop of fantasic views. Lots of running clubs set up tents along this path and there were so many people out exercising! Was planning 14 but then got lost so ran an extra 0.8 trying to find the place I was staying at. This is my longest run this year!