Saturday, May 15, 2010

Like riding a bike

 Bike 5 8 10

I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since the marathon! It has gone by fast. I’ve been a busy girl. This calls for bullet points!

- Recovery: I was super sore the day after the marathon. My knees and back mostly. I felt better the next day and haven’t had any particular aches or pains since. I took a couple days to be super lazy and eat tons of food and then I decided to get off my ass and do some fun post-marathon stuff.

It also took a few days to get settled down emotionally after the race. I admit I had some moments of disappointment over the next couple of days. I was initially very OK with missing my goal of the BQ, because I knew I ran a smart race and did my best. But, the next day it kind of weighed on me. I mean, 17 seconds, are you kidding me? I knew I did all I could but I was SO close. Oh well. I realized it is ok, and the BQ is just an arbitrary number and can’t take away from my accomplishment. It was a great finish time and my 3rd fastest marathon! Final decision: I’m ok with it.

- Yoga: I went to a 90 minute Vinyasa class three days after the marathon and did what I could. Lunges and such were not easy! It got easier and I’ve gone to 6 classes over the last two weeks from easy meditation classes to challenging Ashtanga and Vinyasa classes. I also did yoga at home once with Zach and did a Skype yoga with my mom. Yoga yoga yoga.

- Cycling: I rode my bike! I literally dusted it off and took it out for a spin the weekend after the marathon (picture above). I had to take my Ironman numbers off of it – I have not ridden it once since November 22nd. I rode 12 miles that first time on the Springwater trail and enjoyed it very much. I forgot how fun it is! There were tons of people on the trail and I took it very easy, averaging 13 MPH.

Feeling motivated and confident after that little test ride, I made a bike date with Alisa for Wednesday of this week. We did 17 miles on the Springwater at about 14 MPH. We had a great time chatting and are pretty evenly matched cycling speeds so it was perfect. I had promised her that when I was done with the marathon I would ride with her as she trains for her first half-ironman and I am excited to follow through on that promise! The highlight of the ride was my demonstration of how to change a flat tire. Her rear tire went flat and being a relative newbie she didn’t know what to do. Jen to the rescue! I had to kind of guess my way through it but I got it and felt like a hero. I got all greasy and everything, it was rad. We have a tire-changing lesson planned so she can learn this skill too.

Today (Saturday) I had another cycling date with Alisa in which I would join her for the last 20 miles of her long bike ride (ended up being 20.6). She rode 30 miles out to Hagg Lake where I met her and we did 2 loops around the lake. It’s quite hilly out there and was a challenging ride, I think we averaged about 12 MPH (her first 30 miles were much faster). The weather was great and her husband was there too along with a couple of friends and we all had a great time. Alisa was a super tough cookie and did her longest ride ever today! I was very proud of her. I was proud of myself too for tackling such a tough ride just for fun.

More bike rides are definitely in my future, probably mostly with Alisa but maybe also with Anne or Deana or whoever is in. Zach is excited to get back into it after his marathon (June 5).

- Swimming: I was completely satisfied with cycling being my big non-running endeavor for now and haven’t really had an interest in swimming. Like cycling, I hadn’t even considered it since the Ironman six months ago. I actually quit the gym (to put the money toward the much pricier yoga membership) anyway so I have nowhere to swim. Well, that is not completely true. I swam today… in the lake! Yes, I did a little open water swim as my first swim back. It was so fun. I probably only swam a couple hundred yards but it felt really good. I was really comfortable in the open water and my form felt good. I don’t know if I’m going to go to a pool anytime soon but might jump in next time I am at a lake. :)

- Running: Oh ya, running! That too. I’ve run three times so far. I ran the weekend after the race with Deana and Dana (Dana is a New Runner!!) for 3 easy miles. Tuesday I ran with Amy and Alisa. We did 4.5 miles at a 10:15 pace. I ran again on Friday, this time with Zach. It was his easy day so I decided I would try to keep up. I ended up running 5 miles (he did 6, I took a break in the middle while he did an extra out-and-back) at an 8:16 pace. It was HARD. Probably wasn’t the best idea but I got through it. I’m running again tomorrow and definitely will keep the pace slower but will try to run a bit longer.

- Race plans: Despite all the biking and swim talk, I’m not planning on doing a triathlon this summer. Well, maybe, but probably not. I am planning on a couple running races though- a half marathon on June 12 is the only sure thing. I’d like to do a 5k too and a trail race, but that is tbd. I’m throwing around fall marathon plans but am entirely undecided. I’ll keep you updated.

 

That’s all for now! Here’s a picture of me and Alisa from today’s bike ride. Check out my Ironman bike jersey:

Hagg Lake 5 15 10

Thanks for reading!!

16 comments:

Petraruns said...

Nice recovery workouts Jen - great going on the yoga as well as the biking.

Will email you back shortly on autumn plans!

Kelly said...

So sad you had to take your numbers off. You sure you can't leave them on forever? I think you should.
Nice job on the recovery and all the yoga, jealous!
Want to run a 5k with me the weekend of July 10th and 11th? Eh? I'm thinking of doing a race while I'm out in Portland this summer. Could be fun! Slow, and fun!

Carolina John said...

it is nice to get back on the bike after dusting it off. i finally cleaned my bike from the century ride 3 weeks ago, and i'm ready to get back on. of course, i don't have anyone as awesome as Alisa to ride with!

Alisa said...

It was awesome to have you out there--three times this week!!

Thanks so much for the tire changing tutorial and for motivating me to keep going during my little fits this week.

Can't wait for tuesday and our run/yoga date.

Way to do a hard run with Zach, keep those legs speedy!!!!

Marya said...

Looks like you're doing very well with the recovery, and definitely not being lazy! Keep at it!

Is the half marathon on June 12th the Helvetia Half? If so, I might see you there! :)

Susan said...

Sounds like you're out there enjoying yourself, which is really what's most important!

Lisa Eirene said...

I'm glad the flat tire didn't ruin the day!

Ewen said...

Bullet points (and a few photos) do it for me Jen ;)

Your bike looks happy to be dust-free. Your tbd race plans look good. By the way, your marathon was great. You'll get the BQ in the next one.

I used to tape a tube of hand cleaning gel under the saddle, but I always was a bit of a wuzzy mechanic.

Anonymous said...

Skype yoga with your mom, what a great idea!! Glad you are just enjoying biking, swimming, yoga, running with no real plan. You had a serious year of training, enjoy a lax schedule. A trail run would be fun.

Yuri said...

Wow, beautiful pics Jen. Biking is such a great way as well to cross train with your running. Great stuff.

Yuri
Interval Running Man

Aron said...

sounds like life post marathon is going great :) glad you are getting back out there on the bike too, sounds so fun! can't wait to hear more about fall plans and all the rest :)

Anonymous said...

You have been a busy bee post-recovery! I love all the activities you're incorporating in. Wish I could ride with you girls! It's lonely down here with no one to ride with :(

Amy said...

I love that when you talk about Hagg Lake I know exactly where you're talking about b/c I have biked (and swam and ran) around it too! I love it there! So hilly though.....ugh.

Sounds like things are coming along just swimmingly. LOL, get it? Lame tri joke, sorry.

I think having no races scheduled (or few) is refreshing. Decide what you want to do on a whim. We didn't get to do that last summer.

ShirleyPerly said...

Jen, I envy how well you are adjusting to running vs. tris. I am feeling major withdrawals from not being able to workout and spend as much time with my tri buddies and my hubby.

Anyway, glad to hear your recovery is going well and that you are happy with your last race performance. I think you did AWESOME!

KK said...

"This calls for bullet points!" LOL, hilarious.

Ugh, I feel your pain on missing the BQ by mere seconds. Rationally you're right, it's just a number. But that doesn't make it any easier to deal with the emotional let down. I still love ya though! And you did run a smart, fast race.

I agree with Amers, you didn't get to do anything on a whim last summer so live it up this summer. Margs and potato chips and an occasional bike, run or swim sound delightful. Also, naps are good.

Love your IM jersey!

Marathon Maritza said...

Cute jersey, girl! As opposed to "Jersey Girl" which was that AWFUL Ben Affleck movie...digression!

I am so proud of you for all your working out, especially the yoga! I wish I could go to yoga with you because I know I'd be so much better about it if I did! Nice job!

Miss you! XOXO