Sunday, April 23, 2023

Getting Ready to Race

This week was all about getting myself ready, physically and mentally, for Saturday's trail race. I have to admit I was more than a little nervous about this race, having run it last year. I knew what to expect this time and that gave me a little PTSD. I cut back my miles and my effort, and did more yoga to stretch out my muscles. 

It was also a challenging week at work, with some really sick kids-one of which I sent to the ER and he was admitted to the PICU. I also saw a few new patients, including a toddler from Ukraine, who has a lot of developmental issues. The family doesn't speak English. Heavy stuff on top of feeling nervous about my race. Even though I did my best not to let it get me down, I did not sleep well this week! Now that my race is one, I'm pretty sure I will sleep much better this week!

Weekly Rundown
Sunday: Yoga with Adriene
Monday: CrossFit, Yoga with Adriene
Tuesday: Pool running
Wednesday: trail run 6 miles
Thursday: strength training
Friday: Yoga with Adriene
Saturday: Earth Day Trail 15 miler/actual distance 15.76 miles

Running

When I woke up on Wednesday, I felt vaguely unsettled, probably because of the difficult day at work on Tuesday. With Saturday's trail race looming, I didn't want to push myself and decided to take my run to the CAMBR bike trails at a different forest preserve than the usual one. Right into my first mile, I came upon a large herd of deer in a meadow. Some of them dashed away, but I was able to take a few photos of the ones that were grazing. Day made! Since this trail is built for mountain bikers, it's similar to a roller coaster in spots with lots of ups and downs. It's fun to run on and was the perfect choice for my run. I had a few near tumbles, tripping on tree roots and stumps in the trail, but I kept myself upright each time. Overall, this was a very strong run, I finished with a big smile on my face, and it was just what I needed going into my race!


On Saturday, I lined up with my trail sisters to once again run the Earth Day 15 mile trail race. If you recall, last year I swore I would never run this race again, but here I was. I will share a full recap once the pictures are up, but briefly, l learned my lesson from last year and did a good job with fueling. That last loop got me again--I ran it 7 minutes slower than the first 2 loops. My hamstrings were just crying for mercy. I definitely am going to have to train my legs to run longer distances on hilly courses. Still, I finished only 1 minute slower than last year! I also came in 2d in my new old lady age group.


CrossFit/Strength

We are working through an Olympic strength cycle at the gym, which explains all these overhead squats I've been posting lately. Monday was no different. The strength/skill portion of the WOD was a snatch complex: power snatch+snatch balance+hang snatch. I actually enjoy strength complexes--they require a lot of coordination, something I'm lacking; and they involve a couple of different variations of the same lift. When I successfully complete a complex, I feel so accomplished! For the most part, I was really pleased with my snatch complexes--I still have a few things to work on, but clearly, that shoulder mobility work I've been doing for the past couple of months has really paid off. SJ was very happy with my work in class and that is HUGE. I'm hoping to now start to add more weight to the bar! The MetCon was a 15 minute AMRAP of 6/per arm DB hang power cleans, 6 DB front squats, and 6 DB push jerks. We had to buy in with 10 cals on the Assault bike and do this every 3 minutes thereafter. It took me 3 minutes per round of the strength work, so it worked out well for me. I completed 5 rounds just before time was called!

in the 'hang' position

On Thursday when I got to the gym, my little friend was there with her dad. She came running over to me and asked if we were going to do summersaults. I told her we could work together after I finished with SJ. Because I had my race planned for Saturday, SJ wanted to take the focus off my legs. She had me do 4 sets of 8 bench presses (not sure about the weight) alternating with sets of 10 barbell rows (85#). After that, she had me do 4 sets of 6 cal all-out sprints on the Echo bike alternating with 3 sets of 20 ab mat situps. I had company for the sit-ups! The bike sprints were hard but I made SJ very happy, as I consistently completed them in 16 seconds. While I do prefer the track for sprints, this is a nice alternative and I hope she throws those in on occasion!

We had to growl like a lion when we sat up

Not much else to share--it was a full week for me! How was your week? Did you race this week? Do you cut back on your activities the week before a race? Have you ever done bike sprints in lieu of speed work?

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. 



30 comments :

  1. Sorry there's so much heavy stuff at work. That's hard. Congrats on the trail race! Your little friend at the gym is adorable.

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    1. Thank goodness for running--it's a great place for me to clear my head.

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  2. You have such a stressful job.

    But congrats on the race. Under tough conditions, you excelled. Not surprised. Looking forward to the recap.

    I've been neglecting the bike since now that I can run... I knew I would.

    Usually I cut back but for this one I'm still rebuilding so we'll see how far I get.

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    1. I wanted to do better on this one, but again, that last loop got me. I'm going to have to train for that if I decide to do it again!

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  3. I'm sorry work continues to be so heavy. :(

    Great job on your race, though! I had thought I would run a 5k this weekend, but obviously I am not -- which is just as well because it's cool & pouring rain!

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    1. I was going to join my Trail Sisters for a walk this morning, but i'm not feeling great and the weather is crappy again too!

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  4. Congratulations on another tough race! I am looking forward to reading all about it. When I was into tri races, I used to do bike sprints all the time and loved them. Good to mix up up!

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    1. I agree--this was definitely a good alternative to running sprints!

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  5. Congrats on your 2nd place AG finish at your trail race! I know you're happy to have the race behind you. Hopefully, you'll have a less stressful week at work and with this behind you, you'll sleep better this coming week.

    I've not done bike sprints, but probably should just to mix it up on my spin bike.

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    1. I hope this week is much calmer. I'm pacing a friend at an ultra on Saturday, but it's at my flat preserve. Hopefully, it won't beat me up as much as the race did.

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  6. Congratulations on your race and AG award! I hope you're going to write a recap.
    Now that my race is over, I want to get to the gym more and focus on strength training. And, in Next Level, she lists sprinting as one of the things post-menopausal women should be doing, and she actually suggests the bike, as it's more feasible for some people than running.
    When is your next big race?

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    1. I actually have written the race recap already--I wanted to do it when it's fresh in my mind. I'm just waiting for the photos. My next big race is in July in Leadville. I need to get working on logistics!

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  7. Congratulations on your race!
    We were in Tennessee most of last week. Typically I love running from sister-in-law's house but the pollen wiped me out! I've been pushing hard the last little while so I just decided it was time for a rest week and now I'm ready to go again.

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  8. Sounds like the race went pretty well, especially considering the challenging terrain. Those bike sprints sound fun! I love doing intervals and Tabata workouts on the bike...I totally think they've been a huge asset to my running.

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    1. It's all good! I've done a lot of cross training on the bike in the past. Endurance is endurance.

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  9. That looks like such a fun week for you! Well done with the race, to my ears it sounds like you did a good job with it. It certainly sounds challenging with the hilly terrain - but personally I love that sort of terrain! Nice work in the gym too, as you know I'm impressed with all your overhead lifts.

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    1. Thank you! i was really proud of my overhead lifts--I'm working hard on shoulder mobility. The race was very tough--I thought I would be prepared for it but the weather threw me off. Next year I'll do more hill training!

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  10. Wednesdays run sounds like it was exactly what you needed! And great work at crossfit -I imagine this also really helps you let off some steam. Glad you went back to the race anyway - sometimes when we say "never again" it might be an indication that we just need a bit of revenge... :D

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    1. I still need revenge--we'll see how I'm feeling next spring!

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  11. I had to go back and reread your post about this race from last year. Oh my, how much better it went this year!! Running three loops is hard mentally, never mind all the hills and mud. Congratulations on finishing brilliantly in 2nd place!! Well done, Wendy!
    Which do your prefer, the assault bike or the rower? I hate both... I'd rather do burpees, I think!

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    1. Good question--I think after going there for so long, I've made peace with all the devices of torture, lol

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  12. Well done on your race and sorry about the hard week. I had the exhausting conditions of a race without the medal on Sunday as I was down supporting the London Marathon (saw about half of my 15 runners; didn't have my best friend with me so got pushed back without a good view at times, but saw my closest friend who was doing it and got a cuddle and a photo).

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    1. I'm so sure your friend was happy to see you on the sidelines! That hug probably pushed her to a strong finish.

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  13. Sounds like a really tough week at work :( Great to hear that your race went well - congrats on your AG! I hope this week is calmer for you.

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  14. Good job! Congrats on 2nd place!!

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  15. Great job on your race! Too funny that you said you weren't going to go back last year. Will you do it again? I haven't run trails in a very long time. Now that my road race is done, maybe it's a good time for me to give it a try again. Well, except I'm not thrilled about getting my feet week. I'm not much of a trail runner after all ;)

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    1. Right now, I'm still feeling salty about how my legs felt on the last loop. I'm definitely considering one more go at it, just to beat that course. I'll have a recap up when the pictures are available.

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