Post-run recovery shake

My favorite treat after a longer run (75 min or more) is the following shake that I mix up with my immersion blender, then drink straight up with a straw. This is a modification based on what the trainer suggested. I resisted the oats at first, but pureed in the shake they act as a nice thickener. Mmmm.

1 scoop chocolate whey powder
1 small banana or half a large
1/4 c. quick-cooking oats
1 c. skim milk
Add water as desired

I read somewhere (and can't remember where now because I think it was as I was drifting off to sleep, or maybe I dreamed the whole thing?) about an endurance runner who described how she came to terms with the effort required in a race, and she called it "embracing the beast." This idea that you court and invite the pain, revel in it, celebrate it. I thought about that a little on my run today, envisioning a short, fat, hapless, fuzzy beast.

One more random post. I was looking up inspirational quotes for my class today and found they had a section on running quotes. Two of my favs:

If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken Him completely by surprise. ~P.Z. Pearce

The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank. ~George Sheehan

Wake-up call

I've been coming undone in the last six weeks, and it's all on my left side (oddly). First came the shoulder pull, not an unusual gym injury, but one that requires some careful handling to heal. Then on a sumo deadlift, I felt something pull, almost tear, from my collarbone area. The whole upper middle part of my chest has been sore, but again, healing. My left knee acts up now and again; that's the one I fell on at the Brush Mountain Breakdown. And on the time trial on the bike last week, it was the left quad that screamed the loudest.

So, naturally, I've been dancing around these issues, but unwilling to back down too much for fear of losing ground training-wise. Well, today I think I pushed my luck and I'm not so sure I dodged the bullet this time. That chest thing is back with a vengeance. It happened on a set of incline smith machine presses and I heard an audible POP. Scary.

This is my wake-up call that I'd better pay attention and take care because the LAST thing I need is something big to get in the way of all the things I enjoy doing. There is no race, no bench press meet, no nothing more important than being healthy to have fun swimming, running, biking, and lifting. It's time to back off and heal up.

Swimming thoughts

Today I met up with Jim at the pool for my swim workout. I thought about how far I have come since the first time he helped me back in about June. The latest things I need to focus on:

• kicking up, not down, smaller amplitude of kick to keep my body in that streamlined "tube" without breaking new water. minimal kicking.
  
• keeping one goggle in the water ("there's no more air up there than down here" as Jim says)
• keep arms wide, on two tracks
• get elbows up high sooner on stroke; straight arms only serve to raise the torso and adds to drag
• find the balance between front-quadrant swimming and the long gliding stroke of swim golf.
  

Winter Trail Running

So far, this has been an uncharacteristically cold, snowy, and icy winter. We've had a warmer week so I thought I'd try a short run on the trails at Pandapas Pond in the Jefferson National Forest, about a 15 minute drive from the house. I put on the old trail shoes, iPod, carried my pepper spray (bears, whatever, you never know!) and set out. The trail switched between areas of thick mud and ice with stretches of perfect, soft, leaf-covered surfaces. The iced forced frequent slow-downs, but then I took full advantage of the areas where I could open up. About half-way through my planned loop, I came to a swollen Poverty Creek. I walked upstream to find there was no way to cross and stay dry, so despite the 40 degree temps, I forded the creek up past my knees.

Well, that unleashed something in me, and from then on, I bounded through every creek, puddle, and flooded stretch of trail and was amazed to discover that wet feet and legs at that temp were not a problem at all.

Trail running is something I'd like to do more of in the coming season.

run/cycle/swim/lift updates

I'm working on getting my running mojo back a bit. Friday I had a short shake-out run/walk and Jake had suggested walking the dog. I took him up on it and the combination of having Trixie along, running in a different part of the day, and the warmer air put a spring back in my step that I had been missing. Trixie enjoyed it and I was reminded how incredibly good she is on the leash like that...at least until she sees a squirrel. It was a good prelude to the following day.

I had a 17-mile run scheduled for Saturday and decided I didn't want to drive out of the valley for it, so I ran a big loop from the house with the elevation profile below. There was a nice climb for about 3 miles up through Deercroft and Nellie's Cave that humbled me to a walk on a few occasions. I bounced back and kept going through town, around campus, past the gym, up Main Street, returning via Mt. Tabor and Happy Hollow. About two and a half hours later I arrived back home. Most of my miles averaged around 8:25ish, but I logged a 10 minute mile and 11 minute mile up that blasted mountain, which was not as bad as I thought. There's just nothing like the feeling of knowing you can cover some distance on your own two feet - hit the zone and just keep going.



Friday I had a cycling time trial on Jim's CompuTrainer. He hooked my bike into his stationary trainer, added some sensors and controls, and off I went, eyes affixed to a computer screen, racing a computer nemesis. I led for most of the 10 miles but thanks to an overly aggressive start on my part, computer man won the race. I will seek my revenge in a few months time. This is what I ended up with:

10 mile TT = 29:22
Average watts = 196
watts/kg = 3.42
mph= 20.4
average HR = 163
Max HR = 174
spm average = 87
calories = 339

Incidentally, I had a bit of a swimming time trial too earlier in the week. I did a 400 in 6:52 and a 200 in 3:17. That wasn't so great considering I did an 800 in 14:35 not too long ago. I think it was an off day or I psyched myself out.

In better news, I hit a 130 bench press with a pause today. So that's coming along!

I'm continuing to focus on eating clean, getting good rest, staying on top of work, and minimizing mental stress. For a while now I feel like I have not been recovering well I think in large part due to stress. I'm getting a handle on it again, finally. It's important that things are kept in good balance otherwise they can quickly get out of whack.