Wait, all I own is running sneakers... guess I'm going to have to run! Ever try to use this as an excuse for why you couldn't cross-train? Here's a list of equipment that may make your swim workouts more effective:
Some other things that you might need - goggles (can't really swim without them) and a swim cap (not necessary, but helpful if you swim a lot in highly chlorinated pools).
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
All Star 5K
Great race (with some big results... 4 of the top 10 women) this AM! Jennifer lead the way, running strong and finishing up as the 2nd female overall. Laura Berry also ran crazy fast, earning her 3rd female overall. Erica and I sewed up 1st's in our respective age groups... and Dave just missed 3rd in his. We also saw a bunch of our friends from the various training programs, and they all ran super! Brad was also out there to help and cheer, and both of his parents earned 3rd places in their age groups! See, wasn't that nice? Saved y'all scrolling down to the end of the post to find out the results... I learned this "efficient" strategy from the announcer this AM. However, if y'all want to hear how the race really went...
It was nice and freezing cold when we got there. I think we all huddled inside the RBC Center for as long as we possibly could until we "had" to warmup. However, by the time the race started, it was actually quite pleasant (you know it's been a bad winter when 35 feels warm). After they crammed all 950 or so of us into the starting chute, the "ready, set, go" command was issued, and off we ran.
According to the announcer, it was the "best start he's seen in Raleigh"... I sure hope he doesn't see many race starts (although, no one actually fell, but a few little kids came awfully close). The first mile wound through the parking lots, was mostly downhillish (which only accelerated the insane pace that the leaders were holding)... then we turned onto Trinity Rd. The hill didn't seem bad at first, but it kept going and going and going. Unfortunately, I am not the energizer bunny, and Blue Ridge was still no where to be seen (and courtesy of the fact that I now have contacts, that's a lot further than before). A guy with a Garmin passed me, and I amused myself thinking of what that data would look like when he uploaded it after the race.
Blue Ridge finally came, and so did the 2-mile mark (nothing like a 5280ft steady incline to distract you). The course continued to Westchase, which featured a much needed downhill. We turned back to the stadium, took a couple of turns, and suddenly the finish line was within sight! Everyone finished strong, and we were all super excited with our times. We ran a nice cooldown... checked the results... and, well, turns out the clock at the finish line was about 20sec or so fast. Jeez, and we thought the "2sec offset" was bad! But, we were all still happy because our times were still crazy fast (and it meant that the course probably was a 5K and not some random 3ish mile distance!). GOOD RACE and CONGRATS everyone! #20
It was nice and freezing cold when we got there. I think we all huddled inside the RBC Center for as long as we possibly could until we "had" to warmup. However, by the time the race started, it was actually quite pleasant (you know it's been a bad winter when 35 feels warm). After they crammed all 950 or so of us into the starting chute, the "ready, set, go" command was issued, and off we ran.
According to the announcer, it was the "best start he's seen in Raleigh"... I sure hope he doesn't see many race starts (although, no one actually fell, but a few little kids came awfully close). The first mile wound through the parking lots, was mostly downhillish (which only accelerated the insane pace that the leaders were holding)... then we turned onto Trinity Rd. The hill didn't seem bad at first, but it kept going and going and going. Unfortunately, I am not the energizer bunny, and Blue Ridge was still no where to be seen (and courtesy of the fact that I now have contacts, that's a lot further than before). A guy with a Garmin passed me, and I amused myself thinking of what that data would look like when he uploaded it after the race.
Blue Ridge finally came, and so did the 2-mile mark (nothing like a 5280ft steady incline to distract you). The course continued to Westchase, which featured a much needed downhill. We turned back to the stadium, took a couple of turns, and suddenly the finish line was within sight! Everyone finished strong, and we were all super excited with our times. We ran a nice cooldown... checked the results... and, well, turns out the clock at the finish line was about 20sec or so fast. Jeez, and we thought the "2sec offset" was bad! But, we were all still happy because our times were still crazy fast (and it meant that the course probably was a 5K and not some random 3ish mile distance!). GOOD RACE and CONGRATS everyone! #20
Friday, January 28, 2011
Upcoming Weekend
We get to race, we get to race, we get to race... WAHOOO! Brian is running in the William H. Craig Race for Life on Sat. (this is a 15K in Wilmington). The All Star 5K is also on Sat. at the RBC Center (the race starts at 9AM), and I think some of us were planning on that. So come on out and run, cheer, and/or jump up and down repeatedly because you are so happy that it's supposed to be nice out this weekend (and you only have to run 1/10th of the distance of your previous race and don't have to Oregon-trail-it-up and ford a stream in the middle of the course)! Ok, I'll stop at half a Jet Blackberry GU...
Packet pickup for the All Star 5K is today from 4-6PM at the RBC Center (Edwards Mill side). And, if anyone else is racing this weekend, please let us know and GOOD LUCK everyone! #20
And, for world record Friday, I bring you this random (but awesome) fact: the record for the most people crammed in a mini-cooper (new model) was just recently set by 26 members of the Pilobolus dance company. Apparently, EMC is celebrating their "record breaking technology" by launching a global initiative to set [random] records. They have also recently set the record for the largest ball of magnetic tape and the most vinyl records broken in 30sec by a team. Now there's an angle we haven't considered for fund-raising!
Packet pickup for the All Star 5K is today from 4-6PM at the RBC Center (Edwards Mill side). And, if anyone else is racing this weekend, please let us know and GOOD LUCK everyone! #20
And, for world record Friday, I bring you this random (but awesome) fact: the record for the most people crammed in a mini-cooper (new model) was just recently set by 26 members of the Pilobolus dance company. Apparently, EMC is celebrating their "record breaking technology" by launching a global initiative to set [random] records. They have also recently set the record for the largest ball of magnetic tape and the most vinyl records broken in 30sec by a team. Now there's an angle we haven't considered for fund-raising!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
ROYGBIV
At the club XC meet in December, we were noticing that a lot of teams had red and white uniforms. This got us on the topic of what would be "good" uniform colors to make us stand out from the rest... neon was a natural choice. We were leaning toward dark gray, orange, and white for its uniqueness... kind of like Saucony's new VisiPro line (aka Dave's City of Oaks shirt, but maybe with the orange more as an accent)... then I came across this article. Apparently consumers tend to select schemes that involve a few, matching colors. Who would have guessed from the way our team dresses?!? I guess we adopt more of the "neon matches neon" attitude, which is good because I'm pretty sure that denotes a positive outlook on things! And, since a positive attitude translates into better race performances... TOTAL TAF DOMINATION! #20... betcha didn't see the post heading in that direction (being stuck inside as a result of "wintery mixes" drives me insane)!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Positive thinking results in negative splits...
The nature of your thoughts can have a significant effect on your race performance. Ever dread a workout or race and find that it was just as bad as you were thinking, if not worse? Or, your legs suddenly feel more tired and the pain grows exponentially as you count the number of people passing you by? This, in part, is due to negative thinking. Conversely, ever start passing people and feel like you are flying and have all the energy in the world? Or, hit every split dead on and suddenly your last one is way under pace? Wahooo for positive thinking.
So, to help his athletes "remember" to think positively, Dr. Walker tells his athletes to repeat a mantra. A good mantra (at least according to Dr. Walker) is short, positive, instructive, and full of action words. Or, sometimes, I just repeat advice that people have given me in my head. And, other times, for longer races, I find that singing songs works!
#20's Favorites:
... 31 more miles to go, 31 more miles, take one step, and then another... 30 more miles to go (the good thing about this "song", you can replace the distance measurement with anything you want: 42 more kilometers to go, 42 more kilometers...) -> note: the entirety of this song gets sung at every distance interval! :-)
So, to help his athletes "remember" to think positively, Dr. Walker tells his athletes to repeat a mantra. A good mantra (at least according to Dr. Walker) is short, positive, instructive, and full of action words. Or, sometimes, I just repeat advice that people have given me in my head. And, other times, for longer races, I find that singing songs works!
#20's Favorites:
- Be positive. (someone told me this in the last few miles of the Frosty 50, helped enormously)
- Remember your geometry. (1 of 2 most "most useful" pieces of advice ever given to me by a coach)
- Keep moving forward. (2 of 2 "most useful" pieces of advice ever given to be by a coach)
- I'm going to make it, I'm gonna make it, I'm gonna make it... wahooo! (the past tense of which I repeat after every workout... with a skip for good measure)
... 31 more miles to go, 31 more miles, take one step, and then another... 30 more miles to go (the good thing about this "song", you can replace the distance measurement with anything you want: 42 more kilometers to go, 42 more kilometers...) -> note: the entirety of this song gets sung at every distance interval! :-)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
What is the necessity of that?
This was a question that someone posed to me on my way to a run one day. It caught me kind of off guard, and all I could come up with was that I wanted to see my friends. Not such a good response... I was told that "normal" people usually meet for coffee or something. Ok, so I got to thinking about the necessity of running, or working out in general (yes yes yes, cross train cross train cross train... I know). Luckily, this article in the Feb. issue of Runner's World will spare y'all 10 minutes of my thinking (thank you notes should be addressed to Amy Rushlow). To highlight some of the benefits - longer life, stronger bones, healthier brain, better vision, and a lessening of the symptoms associated with asthma (wahooo)! #20
Monday, January 24, 2011
Look Up
A Mystery: Why Can't We Walk Straight? from NPR on Vimeo.
While watching this video at lunch (because that's what we do for fun in my lab), my thoughts immediately went to open water swimming. I mean aside from the whole getting swum over and drinking way too much disgusting lake water, open water swimming is hard because you have to constantly sight to make sure you stay on track. I know alternating breathing sides helps you swim straighter, but I guess this is why I still go careening off course no matter how hard I try. Good thing you don't have to swim blind-folded during triathlons, and that they actually give you bright buoys to look for! I mean really... did y'all catch that in the video?!? I would have loved to see the recruitment poster for that study... guess that's why we have to get IRB approval for stuff now!
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