Long Run

October 16, 2007
I had some kind of mental block to doing this first long run. With little over 6 weeks left until the Seattle Half Marathon, it was time to get going!

Here's a stretch of Myrtle Edwards Park along Seattle's waterfront where I ran today.

More than you really want to read about heart rate zones:

I planned to run 1:10 to 1:20 at an easy pace, keeping my heart rate in zone 3. It's good to keep certain workouts somewhat easy and sustainable to establish a strong aerobic base, gain fitness and grow more mitochrondria ("the powerhouse of the cell" - we all learned that in 6th grade biology, right?). Zone 4 workouts train your body to push up the aerobic ceiling or threshold (i.e.; in time you can go faster longer without going anaerobic) and improves endurance. Zone 5 are the short, intense, anaerobic efforts like interval training or shorter races.

Anyway, the point is to vary the level of training via the heart rate zones to get the most benefits from training. I wanted to run this longer workout in zone 3, something sustainable and not hard since I hadn't run anything over 7 miles in many months. For me that would be around 143 to 163 beats per minute (according to the VO2 max testing I had done in 2005). I did VO2 max testing to determine my fitness, my aerobic and anaerobic thresholds and things like that. A mask was strapped on my face to measure CO2 output and a heart rate monitor on my chest while I ran on a treadmill slow/fast/on an incline and stationary cycling. According to that testing, I was given heart rate "zones" to guide me in my training and other information.

But (long story short...) I believe my HR zones have changed since then. I have had changes in the dose of a thyroid medication I take and have seen a shift in HR. The medication can affect that and my training/racing HR tends to be lower than was a year ago. When my dose was higher, my HR was higher and I'd occasionally get palpitations and tachycardia. My HR would sometimes suddenly rise 20 points during a steady, moderately paced workout, to as high as the mid-190's and I'd become breathless and dizzy. I had to stop a workout on several occassions when this happened. I was convinced that my thyroid medication was causing this and sure enough a lab test supported that. I've since had the medication reduced and I've seen my HRs stay lower this season and rarely have they accelerated HR out of nowhere anymore. The accelerated HR happened only once during a race - the 2006 Seattle Half Marathon. I was on pace for about a 1:50 time, but around mile 8 my HR shot up to 190's and forced me to slow and then walk. I'd recover and resume running only to have the tachycardia return. That reduced me to walking about 6 times in the last 2 miles of that race, but there was nothing to be done about it. You just can't keep going with a heart rate artificially above your limit. I finished in 1:53:18 official (1:52:51 chip time), around 30 sec. better than 2005.

So to figure my heart rate "zones", I use my current maximum heart rate (the highest I've noted during any race or workout this season), and that would be 186. A zone 5 workout is just 90% to 100% of my HR max (i.e.; 168 - 186), zone 4 is from 80% to 90% of the max HR, zone 3 is 70% to 80% and so on. So, for a zone 3 workout, I'd want to keep my HR between 143 and 163. And so that's what I did today. It mostly was low to mid-150's. Here's a site that will calculate your zones and gives a brief explanation of each heart rate level and the purpose to train at each:

http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/hrzones.php

This is what you DON'T want to happen with your heart rate:

The run:
The route went from my home in Magnolia, across the Magnolia Bridge, along Myrtle Edwards Park and south along Seattle's waterfront. Except for the down then up on the bridge, it's a pretty flat run. Long runs get my hips, knees and ankles a little achy feeling and I felt about as good as I can. I did make a mental note that it must be time for new running shoes since my ankles and feet felt it more than I expected. Anyway, I ran for a fairly comfortable 1:40 which was encouraging for my first time out. I did keep my HR in the low 150's most of the run, except for the uphill portions. Adding 5 to 10 minutes each week and increasing the pace (or heart rate) here and there should make me ready for the 13.1 mile race in 6 weeks. I don't expect to be competitive at this distance, but I noticed that in last year's results, my target time of around 1:50 would have been good enough for 5th in the 50-54 AG. After a couple more long runs in upcoming weeks, I'll try to come up with some goals for the 2007 race coming up. Right now I'd say getting under 1:50 should be a reasonable goal.

This link provides a way to map your route and find out mileage and elevation:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

Dawg Dash 2007

2007 Dawg Dash 10K
46:19
1st in AG (50-59)
22nd OA (out of 382)

2006 10K
46:38
6th in AG (40-49)

2005 10K
48:12
6th in AG (40-49)

2004 5K
24:04
3rd in AG (40-49)

The Dawg Dash has been a University of Washington tradition for 22 years, being one of the festivities around homecoming time. The race offers a 5K, 10K and a kid's race. The race starts in Husky Stadium and loops up onto campus (key word: UP) for a scenic run. Running past postcard-worthy Drumheller Fountain is a highlight (especially on the way back DOWN). Some small offshoot from the Husky marching band sets up there and plays some of that rousing marching music to inspire us. Check out the photo of the fountain in 1959 (ok, it's not spewing water for the picture). That's my mom and me when I was 2! I'm a double alumnus of the U-dub (B.S. Psychology '79 and B.S. Nursing '86). Well, enough of that b.s., back to the race report. The course wraps back down again and finishes on the track in the stadium.

My 10K was fine, can’t complain finishing 1st in AG. Although it was only 19 seconds faster than last year (but at least it was faster). It felt hard and I started to get a side ache around the 4th mile. The kind of side ache that causes that involuntary grunting instead of breathing. About that time, a woman passed me. It was someone who I thought I recognized from my earlier reconnaissance missions (someone in my AG who has always beaten me by some small margin and who I ID’ed via race photos in the past). I wanted to beat her so didn’t let her get too far ahead while trying to get a little recovery from that side ache. Fortunately, we were hitting some good downhill sections by then. I think it was my slowing and not her kicking up her pace that had her ahead of me. As I started to feel better, I edged up to just behind her for awhile. Finally, with maybe 2/3 mile to go it was time to push and hope that I could hang onto a little faster pace without her surging ahead of me (or the side ache coming back). I gave a few backwards glances to see if I was threatened as I got close to the stadium, I didn’t see her too close but kicked it in anyway just to be sure. And it was a good thing I did. I forgot to account for the fact that her overall chip time could have been faster than mine if I was very far ahead of her at the start-line. I think this was the case since I only beat her by 7 seconds, time-wise, but I think I was over the finish line with a little more lead than that. That’ll be a lesson to me to remember the chip time and not just try to finish in front of someone. Well, at the time of this writing, the results are still preliminary, so I'll hope for no surprises. Photos should be up in a few days and I'll post if there were any good shots.

Ann R. took 3rd in our AG, Gina wasn't far behind and then I hear that the two of them took off for several more miles to round out some distance training. Good for them! It will pay off when the Seattle Marathon comes around in late November. I'm still thinking about that distance run I need to start.

Val R. took 2nd in AG in the 5K race and my friend Lori K. was 5th in the same AG. I'll have to tell you in a future entry about Lori. If it weren't for Lori, I might not be doing these races at all.

Oktober in September & Sub-7

Fremont Oktoberfest 5K
9/23/07

Official time: ??? 22:08 ????

My watch time: 21:38 (~6:58 pace)

I dragged Camille out of her warm bed a couple years ago to "Run with the Elves" at the kid's version of the Jingle Bell Run. She refuses to join me for any more of that early, cold winter morning nonsense! The expression on her face kind of says it all.

After my new and improved run pace at last week's Kirkland Triathlon, I started to believe in the possibility of a sub-7 pace for a 5K. The Fremont Oktoberfest 5K seemed like just the ticket, since it is a fairly flat course and this year, for the first time, a full-5K distance.

I biked a somewhat hilly 38 miles the day before and enjoyed more wine than I am accustomed to that evening, but thought I'd just drop on into this race and see what I might accomplish. Maybe I was a little too excited, because when I heard "5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." and took off running I was abruptly stopped by shouts from the pack behind me informing me that was the Beer Belly Division that had just sent off. DUH! The good news is that no one let me continue, mistaking me for an actual Beer Belly participant, prestigious as that may be.

My beer belly:

From the race web site:
"Beer Belly Division:
Don’t let that Beer Belly stop you from running! Join the elite Beer Belly Division, where you will be treated like Oktoberfest royalty.
If you are asking yourself, “How do I become a member of this highly acclaimed group of runners?” the answer is jump on a scale and see if you are qualified for this prestigious position. Those men who are 200 lbs. plus and women who are 160 lbs. and over are eligible to enter this division. Besides earning the respect and admiration of fellow racers who recognize your achievements, you will be honored with an unfair advantage of starting first, and thus ensuring your possibility of getting to the beer garden finish line before the pack!"

The bad news is that I crossed the timing mat on that false start, which will have started my "clock" via the timing chip, even though I stopped, went back and started with the main group 30 seconds later. Unless the timing company agrees to adjust my time by that 30 second difference (hopefully they'll see the 2 starts that my timing chip will have registered), I will be stuck with an "official" time of 22:08 giving me a pace of 7:08 or so. (Adjusting my time will not be any priority for them since there was a larger than expected turnout and the race started with probably half the pack having no bib number or timing chip. They will have a nightmare sorting that all out!).

According to my watch, my actual time was 21:38, which would have given me a 6:58 pace! So regardless of official results and where I might end up in the placing, I am quite happy to have achieved another PR! Some of the other races I plan to do this fall will not have as flat a course, so I will probably be kissing goodbye the sub-7 pace for awhile. It was nice to know you. Maybe further on down the road, another time?

Anyone want a cat? Two cats? Lil' Orange Feller was making typing at the keyboard quite challenging. He's one of my current foster kitties (I also have the low-maintenance Sassafrass). Do click on and enlarge the photo on the left to warm your cat-lovin' heart (if you have one). I will tell you all about my fostering and former Crazy Cat Lady phase another time. For now, if you know anyone looking for a nice cat or two...

The Danskin Report '05

8/21/05
1st in AG/24th OA

Swim: 12:27

T1 2:15

Bike: 36:02

T2: 1:10

Run: 25:22 (8:11 pace)

Total: 1:17:16

This is the race in which I wanted to place 1st in age. I had other goals around an improved run pace, bike pace, feeling stronger and more confident in general - things within my power to improve on based on better training over the prior year. The thing I never have control over is just who shows up on race day and what training, goals and natural abilities they bring to their race. So I didn't put too much into my idea of "success" depending on a 1st place or even placing at all. There were other ways to measure success.

Having said that, I thought 1st was within the realm of possibility. With hard work, with some luck...who knows? I had been reluctant to say that out loud though. Wouldn't that be too bold and cocky? Who does she think she is? And if I didn't achieve a 1st, then wouldn't that just be kind of pathetic and embarrassing? To hell with that! I believe there is power in saying something out loud and so I put aside my doubts and false modesty about it. One day at the lake with friends, I answered their question about how I wanted to do with first "I want to do my best..." then, "I want to improve over last year...", then "I hope I can be in the top 3 this year..." and finally I laughed and said "I WANT TO BE FIRST IN MY AGE GROUP!" So there. Why is that so hard? Is it a female thing? A generational thing? Because I've never done much competitively prior to this? Who knows?

It wasn't until an hour or more after my finish that the top 3 finishers in each age group were announced over the P.A. system. Darcy was with me and we froze as we listened. They announced one woman's name as the 3rd place finisher (ok, not me - my heart rate picked up), they announced another name for 2nd place (not me - ACH! So am I first or did I not make the top 3 at all????). Then they announced... my name!! That was a happy moment, but it was all the more special because my good friend was there and it was her bursting into tears about it, that got me going. I'm so glad I had a pal to share that moment with. I'll never forget what it felt like to have a loyal friend share the thrill with me. OK, so that sounds super corny and all, but I'm a lone coyote in so many ways, that I appreciate the moments that solidify a friendship all the more. Darcy had a happy day as well, making into the top 10 (9th) of her AG.

Here is what I wrote to a friend in '05 right after that race:

I’m feeling less giddy now and the temporary insanity seems to have passed (the bursting into 5-second tearful episodes every few hours throughout the day). Maybe it’s because the next race is in 2 days. Or maybe it’s the road trip/camping trip thing I plan to do with Camille next week that will severely interfere with training. Anyway, so here I am, very happy to have met and even exceeded my goal again! As I study the other racers’ times, it makes me nervous to see the many ways people are very close or even gaining on me during a race. Well, this was my lucky day and it will take continued hard work and some luck to do a repeat performance of this. In any event, these events are all fun and offer different challenges each race.

I see a picture where I’m just standing still so I can hit the button on my damn watch for my splits. I better not waste that kind of time in the future! ; )

I am very happy to have accomplished this!

The Danskin Report '04

Danskin Sprint
August 15, 2004

4th in AG (45-49), 53 OA (of 3442)
Swim: 20:16
T: 1:57
Bike: 37:05
T2: 1:37
Run: 27:31 (pace 8:52)
Total: 1:29:28

Living in Seattle, it's hard not to have heard of "The Danskin", or know some woman who has done it. For years, as I vaguely became aware of triathlons, I thought I might someday do one. After all,

1. I could swim. I was on swim team in high school (Federal Way High School, Class of '75) and had done some swimming for fitness on and off over the years.

2. I could run. In the 1980's, I experimented with jogging, did a few 5Ks and even made it through a marathon when in my 20's (with a very unspectacular time of around 4:20). I wasn't fast, but I could get through it.

3. I could bike. Recreational cycling I did occasionally, sometimes hauling gear in my panniers to camp under the stars on San Juan Island trips. In 1991, I did the STP 2 day ride (Seattle to Portland, about 200 miles total) and averaged 16 mph for each 100-mile day.

String these activities all together and maybe I could claim having done an Iron distance tri (um, with each event separated by a "transition" of several years)? Just kidding.

I enjoyed a generally active lifestyle and hiked, backpacked, did aerobics classes, played some softball and volleyball, took the stairs instead of the elevator, raked instead of using the blower, carried the baby on my back instead of pushing a stroller.... Oh, there's that baby now! Camille is on the right, she must have been about 3 years old. She didn't become a triathlon orphan until later, when she was 8.

After a couple of years of overhearing chatter at the gym from a younger group of moms, my interest finally piqued. If they can do it, so can I, I thought. They were strong and energetic in aerobics classes, but I was at least as fit as they were. A little competitiveness stirred in me. Not only would I sign up for the Danskin, I wanted to have a better finishing time than these gals.

In March of '04, I reacquainted myself with swimming and running and maybe got a workout or two in each week, while continuing aerobics classes. By April, the old bike was tuned and on the road again. To further prepare, I picked the brains of anyone who I met who had done a triathlon and was introduced to a whole new world. A suggestion I picked up in the locker room after a lap swim was to go to Mary Meyer's swim clinics. So I did. I had been a decent swimmer, but never had heard any of the technique tips I picked up at that first clinic. Ideas like swimming horizontally, rotation, catching the water, not crossing the midline had never occurred to me, but made perfect sense. I still work on these technique points (when fatigue sets in or focus lags, it's easy to slip into old bad habits). From the clinic, I went to an Intro to Triathlon presentation and got tons of useful info for a first timer. I haven't stopped recommending that to people since. Once I started training in earnest, I lost interest in running to the T.V. every time Derek Jeter, the object of my schoolgirl crush, came up to bat. One must make sacrifices for their sport.


At first I didn't tell anyone that I had registered for the race, thinking that if it seemed too daunting a task, I could quietly slip out the back door on this thing and no one would ever have to know. But pretty soon people knew and what came from my mouth was a lot of "I just want to finish". As a month or two of training went by, I saw that "just finishing" was aiming much too low, and I continued to upgrade my goals as I learned more about my abilities. By July, I felt I could try my first race as a warm-up experience so did Seafair. Placing 3rd, forced me to reconsider my goals yet again for the Danskin. I went from "just finish" or "place in the upper 50% of my AG" to aiming for top 10% of my age group. By a week before the Danskin, I was bold enough to say "Top 10 of my Age Group" - that's what I want (not just top ten percent, which would have been about 30 women).


I like to share that thought process because I think it is so typical to underestimate our potential or be unrealistic about goals. I came into this endeavor as athletically better-than-average but untrained, a middle-aged mom, with maybe a few athletic skills and experiences in my bag of tricks. I was sure everyone else came from competitive backgrounds, college-level training and had all sorts of other intimidating athletic resumes'. Aim low and cling to fear, and you will sabotage yourself.

Though this wasn't my first tri, it was "The One" that this season was about. The race was challenging and fun, and all the happy talk I'd heard about Danskin appeared to be true - how supportive everyone is, what a "feel good" experience it is and all that. The race was great and I was so happy to have placed 4th in my AG!

Well, I was in great shape and excited, not burned out, so I figured, why stop now? I went on to do a couple more races in the next few weeks and will have something to say about those experiences another time (Lake Sammamish sprint and The Reebok sprint). I think he misses me:

To blog or not to blog?

I enjoy writing about my races. Specifically, about the triathlons I do. It all started innocently in 2004 after my first big race, when I sent a "race report" to my dad and brother, enthusiastically sharing about my experience. And bragging, sure. It was to family, after all. Soon I was including my non-triathlon friends and I enjoyed re-living the race by describing to them what race day and the race itself is like. They seemed to enjoy reading the reports as much as I liked writing them, so it became a habit, at least for a few of the more important races I'd do each season.

So I will publish my earlier reports soon and see where this blogging leads me. There will be more race reports to be sure and other miscellaneous events and details about my life will likely appear here. So stay tuned...