Eh, it's been awhile... and there really isn't a good excuse as to why I haven't posted lately... it's not that I haven't thought about it, I just haven't brought myself to do it... oh well...
So over the last month, I've gotten back into training and believe it or not, have sort of enjoyed it... I took a full three weeks off after Eagleman, which was much needed and much deserved, but in the end, pretty much came back to bite me in the ass, because my swim took hit, and so did the bike... believe it or not, the only thing that I feel like I've improved is my run (but I credit that to the drop in temperatures)...
Prior to entering base training, I acted like I knew what it was... I finally had to ask Kendrick what exactly base training was, what it entailed, and how it' beneficial to racing... In a nutshell, base training uses longer, less intense workouts (called LSD training, for Long, Slow Distances) to help build aerobic base and muscle strength... Has something to do with mitochondira in your muscles, but I sorta zoned out when Kendrick was explaining it... So, the focus of base training is to go slow (which I know all about) and to not hammer... I can be ok with that...
My runs have gotten back to where I was back in February (and better)... Kendrick allowed me to use a 5k race (which I'll write about later) as my TT, and the new paces I'm using for runs are, well, brutal... brutally slow when they're slow (E pace is 10:56), sorta uncomfortable when they're a bit faster (M pace is 9:26), and although I have yet to do any runs at T pace (Threshold), I'm sure it'll be miserable at 8:47.... Runs have been going pretty well with these paces, even though 10:56 is almost uncomfortably slow... But, it does allow me to not go out to fast and I get warmed up really well, so that when the M paces hit, I'm ready to do work...
I've really slacked on riding and swimming (riding mostly)... The time change has killed my riding schedule, as well as my committment to school stuff... With it getting dark earlier, there's really nothing to "look forward to" after a day at work, like riding... I've been able to keep up with my long rides on the weekends, mainly because I can wake up early on Saturday and get them done... and, given the lapse in weekday rides, I'm actually ok with the long rides I've done (2-2.5 hrs, all easy)... Of course, I'll have to recommit myself to riding over Christmas break to start getting ready for a spring 70.3 (which at this point, I'm thinking will be NOLA)
Swimming isn't going as poorly as riding, but it ain't goin great either... I'm not a morning swimmer, and with the increase in school stuff, haven't been swimming at lunch either... I have been making a better effort to get to the pool after work, but sometimes, after a brutal day of staring at a computer screen all day, all I want to do is go home and crash... I did a 1000 TT last week and clocked in at a little over 18 mins, which I was happy with, so I guess things could be worse... I'm just ready for the semester to be over with so I can get back to steady workouts...
So, that's the extent of training lately... I've started to map out next season and I'm really excited about it... The big races I'm looking to do are the Frostbite Half Marathon on Jan. 22 (my bday!) in Starkville, Mercedes Half Marathon again on Feb. 13, NOLA 70.3 on April 16 (I think), Memphis in May, Heart O Dixie, then maybe Augusta 70.3 in September... there are a few more races in there, a few sprints an Oly's, but the races I just mentioned are topping the "big" list... I'm really excited, especially for my first 70.3, which believe it or not, I feel like I could complete now (not race, just complete)... I think NOLA will be a fun race and I'm doing my best to convince Kendrick of the same (I think Chad's already interested, so if we do it, Kendrick will too-hopefully)...
Anyway, as of late, I've been getting back into training and trying to balance school (big shock, right? seems like I'm always writing about doing this)... This is also the time of year when 5k's happen every weekend! I've been lucky enough to run 2 already, with an Age Group win at one of them! (yeah, that's right, I said an Age Group win!!)... A few weeks back, I ran a 5k on campus put on by the ROTC and Pi Beta Phi sorority, and managed to take first in my age group, with a (race) time of 25:52 (My Garmin said it was 26:04, but whatever)... Only bad thing was that the course was short (3.01 mi) so it isn't a real PR, but it was cool to finally win something!
Ran another 5k when I was home for t-giving and posted up a time of 27:26, which is probably closer to a real PR than anything (course was a full 3.1 mi)... Probably could have had a better time, but I fell apart at a little over mile 2 and my pace went from like, the high 8's to the high 9's (PR'd my one mile time though, at 8:05)... Definitely cool to see myself getting faster, even if it is in rinky dink 5k's (well, at least the campus one was rinky dink, the one in Lafayette had 1600 runners!)
Anyway, like I said, I'm looking forward to the semester finishing and me being able to get back to a solid workout schedule.... Just gotta make it another week or so then I'm home free!
Here's a pic from the Pi Phi 5k
Thanks for reading...
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