Please excuse the mess… workin’ on it! Had a minor freak out this morning with a “Error establishing database connection” message from WordPress. I am definitely that kid without a back-up of the site. Oops!
If anyone knows if I need a .tar or .zip file… please let me know. #technologychallenged.
In the mean time, here’s a photo from the Twin Cities Marathon expo on Friday. Had a fun time hanging out with Susan and Jeri all weekend!!
Adios amigos,
-E
[TWSS. A quickie UPDATE that is...]
So I started writing this post (actually last Friday – there goes the Friday Confessional you wanted SteveQ) about the 5 Tried it Tuesdays I have stacked up… the two different Medical Mondays that were started but saved as drafts (Jaime’s Q about muscle knots and Erika’s about TFL/hip flexors)… and I never got the chance to finish it. Surprise, right? Well luckily, I had lots of waiting time between multiple doc / radiology appointments today. And being the studious girl I am… I brought my lap top to look for housing do some work.
Crack open the McMac, and (after browsing the new housing listings in West Calhoun/Isles) made my way over to Dr.TR to finally finish one of these drafted posts. Which happened to be this post. After a little editing to compensate for the fact that we are now three days past the day I started, I thought I was done. I gave it a once-over to check for grammar, and I kid you not, the song Cry Me a River by that studly Justin Randall Timberlake came on my ipod. Fitting, because the post essentially sounded like poor me, I’m busy, too busy for my own good. Yep… you can put those cricket sized violins down.
So I deleted it, and started from scratch. Which brings you to what you’re reading now.
I’m busy. We’re all busy. It’s the start of a new school year, and if you’re still digging your financial grave via the education game, you get it. If you’re past that time in your life… you were likely there once. And if you’ve truly never been ‘that’ busy… bring your butt over here and help me fold laundry. 
This combination of training + work + school at first seemed to me to be a little overwhelming. Until I thought two steps further and realized that there are people out there who do all of that PLUS they are parents PLUS they take their kids to soccer practice/swim lessons/Lego club PLUS cook meals for the family PLUS have energy at the end of the night to …..
(Just checkin if you’re paying attention. And I was kidding about Lego club. 
)
The point of this post? You’re going to see a little less of me right now. And when you do see me, you’re going to see stuff like this:
In regards to the above statement, I truly LOVE my job, which is why I’m OK with it taking “away” so many of my free hours. If I’m going to be busy as hell and feel like I never have time to “get anything done” … at least it’s because I’m busy doing something I love!!
Complete this sentence. “I feel the most alive when I _________________________.”
I’ll start. I feel the most alive when I am running on crunchy fallen leaves on ‘my’ trail.
Go
.
..
…
-E
There are quite a few races going on today, and I just wanted to give some special friends a quick shoutout and send some race-mojo their way!
IRONMAN WISCONSON
70.3 World Championchips
SQUARE LAKE HALF
I’m sure a bunch of YOU are racing this weekend as well, so best of luck, squeeze out a smile for that camera, and finish strong!
And lastly, a few words of wisdom.
“No matter how slow you’re going, you’re still lapping everyone on the couch.”
“Just keep swimming… just keep swimming…” (-Finding Nemo)
“I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday.”
“But the other runners resembled them only in the sense that a puma represents a pussycat. It is the difference between stretching lazily on the carpet and prowling the jungle for fresh red meat.” (-Once A Runner)
“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” (-William Barclay)
“Your head might be giving out, but your legs aren’t. Find the finish line.” (-me )
“God may only give us what we can handle, but the choice to handle it is ours.” (-Running on Faith)
“At the starting line I realized the race was done. I had already sacrificed and worked and steeled my will, and in my mind the race was run. I had finshed. There was nothing to fear. I just had to drag my butt to where my spirit already was – the finish line. If I just focused on what I knew I had to do and took it one step at a time, I would get there. Just like that, there was suddenly no question that I would finish. It was one of the most amazing realizations I have ever experienced. That knowledge was the antidote for any negative thoughts creeping into my head. You’re already at the finish line.” (-Running on Faith)
-E
It’s that time of year again…
I know – lame excuse for my absence. Pinky promise that it will not be a reoccurring trend.
I’m sure what you all REALLY want to know is who won the compression sleeves?? Drum roll please…..
KIM!! She blogs over at “Teta means Booby in Spanish” … aptly named from when she was training for Ironman Cozumel in 2009. Chica – please email me your address (drtrirunner at gmail dot com) and I will get them on their way to you asap!
That’s all I have time for now… CLASS in 10 min. Ugh.
-E
THREE THINGS!! All equally important. (OK… TWO may be slightly more important to you than the other one…) Don’t skim this!
1 // MACCA. Chris McCormack. Two-time Ironman World champ. Wheeties box. Yeah… that Macca. He’ll be racing in the U.S.’s first ever TriStar111, which is right here in good ol’ Minnesota. The showdown is this Saturday (August 27th) in Maple Grove at Weaver Lake Park, but Chris McCormack will also be over at Urban Tri on Thursday (Aug. 25th) night from 5:30 – 7:00 for a book signing!!! There will be a limited number (~100) of copies of his new book (“I’m Here to Win”), cold drinks, and chances to win sweet goodies like the Ironman edition Yurbudz. PLUS if you haven’t had the chance yet to check out Urban Tri, you’re killing two birds with one stone. AWESOME shop!! Be there, or be square. More details can be found on Urban Tri’s news page.
2 // I recently took on a little blogging project for the College of Education and Human Development and the Kinesiology department. I know I have some younger readers just entering college, and several have asked about Kinesiology, Exercise Physiology, Sports Medicine, the U of MN, etc. Please feel free to check out my U of MN and don’t ever hesitate to ask questions!! Last year I had a girl come with me for a day of practice, classes, and work (HI KRISTEN!) and she is now a ‘U student’ and planning her degree to eventually enter the Doctor of Physical Therapy program!! You can find my UMN blog HERE.
3 // And last but certainly not least, the GIVEAWAY!! Yeah… I know this is the one you were really looking for. A legitimate Tried It Tuesday review will be coming later, but I thought we’d get to the fun (or more fun) part first. Up for grabs is a pair of SWEET Vital Sox arm warmers. <— See awkward photo at left. I want to say the temperature was about 60° when we started that ride. My core temperature overheats easily, but the circulation to my extremities still sucks. Hence the sports bra / arm warmers combination. Or the sports bra / gloves combination that you could likely see me running in around mid October. ANYWAYS, point of story is that the arm warmers rocked. Did their job… never felt too hot, too cold, and more importantly never slipped down my arms. And I can’t forget – big thank you to GEAR Running Store for providing these for the giveaway!! They’re the greatest.
Each of the following options below counts as “one” entry. You can do just one of the following, or you can do all of them to up your chances. Please leave a separate comment for each thing you do! Giveaway closes one week from today (Wednesday, Aug. 31st) at midnight central time.
Leave a comment.My papabear is currently visiting from Philly, the SUN is shining, and we’re headed out for coffee. Over n’ out!
-E
Somebody (coughmecough) has been a little neglectful lately… sorry! Thankfully, it’s due to the fact that life has been BUSY, with lots of fun and exciting things going on. In attempts to keep it short, I’ll give it to you in bullets. With pictures!!
• My roommate is now the proud father of THIS beautiful girl. He adopted her from the Golden Valley Animal Humane Society, and she is possibly one of the most wonderful perfect gorgeous dogs I have ever seen. It is possible that I will never run with my roomie again, because from here on out he will always have a running partner who is rarin’ and ready to go.
• I’m MOVING. Again. No… you’re not mistaken – I moved in December, the previous July, and the July before that. All after moving from Minneapolis to Boston (2008) and back again (2009). This will be my SIXTH move since moving to Boston. I’m still staying in the same neck of the woods (6 blocks from my current house) and will be here for the remainder of the year, until moving to DULUTH in the summer of 2012.
• Remember the Kayak Theory? I am sure glad I remember it… because I am swimming an open water 2.5K race in July! As I talked about in last week’s Groucho Sports post: Switching Gears, I finally manned up and committed to some goals, including several races for the summer calendar! You can check out what I’m racing by reading the post, or waiting for an updated race calendar to come!
• Got a new bike (back in like February actually) … trying to sell my old bike. If you, or anyone you know is looking for an entry level, SMALL, impeccable condition triathlon bike, please let me know!! That bike has brought me quite a few podiums!! (Info and pictures HERE!) This would be absolutely perfect for all you tiny runner ladies looking to try a tri, but not quite ready to drop over a thousand bucks on a bike.
• Speaking of bikes, and biking, I had my first 200+ mile week last week! 203 miles on the bike, and 225 once you add in swimming and running. An NBD to some, but kinda a BFD to me. Plus STRENGTH training again, finally! Goodness GRACIOUS I feel so much better.
• Just this morning, I nabbed a next-to-new THULE Roof Rack, with FOUR trays for FOUR bikes, for $10. Not a typo. Not a joke. I still need to buy a fit kit for my no-longer-POS car, and some locks. But if you bike, you know what kind of a ridiculous steal that is. Is it December 25th or June 25th? You decide. (Note: I wish this was my bike on my really sweet car. It would be even sweeter if it was a Countryman. Dreamin!)
• Since there is all this link love going on, I should point out that the LINK Love tab at the top of the page has some new additions! Joining the party are Superior Performance, a super awesome coaching company based out of Duluth, MN but coaching athletes all over the place, and Gear & Training, the sponsors of my triathlon team and retailer of more triathlon/running/outdoor goods than you would even know what to do with. (CONTACT ME for a discount of 20% off and FREE shipping! Unfortunately, no – I cannot get you a THULE roof rack for $10.)
• There will continue to be updates made to the website over the next month. Not just posting updates (which I promise, will continue to come) but design, features, resources, sponsors, and more. I know most people read blogs through Google Reader or something, but I would love and appreciate any feedback on changes made. Speaking of feedback… is my COMMENTING system confusing? Someone sent me an email saying they couldn’t figure out where to leave a comment.
• Technology hates me. In the last month, my iPod Touch has died, my underwater mp3 player is done, and my little blue shuffle keeps repeating “battery 75 percent” over and over. If someone wants to sell me an extra iPod they have laying around, again, please contact me! I won’t trade you for a tri bike, but I’m sure we can work out some kind of deal.
• And finally, a special shout out and wishes for good luck to all my RACERS this weekend. GO GET EM!!
-E
I just realized it’s only Saturday. I thought the weekend was over!!
Hey chicos! Something janky happened with my comment system… and I’m no longer getting email notifications. So I tried responding to each comment individually via wordpress, but as you can see it just piled them all together and now it looks like I commented on my own post a bunch. Oops! I’ll get it figured out. In the mean time… someone who commented (Steve Q, Rose, Chelsea, DR, Maren, Suzanne, Jessica) would you let me know if you got an email from wordpress with my response?
ANYWHO.
It’s hot in Minneapolis right now .I love it. 
Except for the part about the power going out last night and melting stuff in the freezer. And I had just bought my favorite Ciao Bella too!! I have a serious uneven suntan from riding so much – my back is nice and bronzed, and my front… has been neglected. It’s like someone put a fish in a frying pan and only browned one side!
Yesterday hit 102° in Minneapolis, which was definitely a record. I’ve heard a lot of the “it’s too hot” line being tossed around, but in my mind… it’s just fine. Yeah, it’s kind of uncomfortable at times. But I would take this over 20° and cloudy any day. It’s currently 80° and sunny, and I’m sitting on my patio with iced coffee. Really can’t complain….
Update on the stress reaction: well, there is no real update. It feels OK – no hot spot on the bone or anything tender. But that is likely because I’ve been a good girl and followed directions.
And a little update on the MN racing scene…
Last weekend was the FANS 12 and 24 hour races at Lake Nokomis. Chris Rubesch, a buddy of mine put up an AMAZING effort taking 1st place in the 12 hour race. He got in 70.7 miles in 12 hours, and still had a smile on his face. I had the chance to do a couple laps with Chris during the afternoon, and I was amazed at all the runners with smiles still on their faces. It was a HOT day, and to all that participated, I just want to say everyone did a fantastic job! (The winner of the 24 hour race did 111 miles – beeeast!)
And with that, I am going to go jump on my bike, and then jump in the lake. I’m already sweating. Teaser for the next post….
How do you handle the heat? What is your ideal kind of weather? Have you ever run an ultra?? 70 miles… holy jeezz!
ADIOS.
-E
¡Hola chiquititos!
No… this not an error with your Google Reader, or a black hole. I am posting twice in the same week. (Likely only because I’m writing this ahead of time, anticipating that I’ll either forget to publish or take way longer than necessary to write something relatively simple.) You already read the title of the post, so you know where this is going… I definitely think we’re I’m due.
While there’s probably a laundry list of things I could ‘fess up to, I’m going to give you just ONE, and one I’ve been needing to get off my chest for a while.
(If you’re new to Friday Confessionals, click here for the 101. Anything and everything goes.)
After my last post, when I said “Running…? Not quite ready to comment on that one just yet.” … I got some inquisitive texts and emails saying essentially, Watchu talkin bout Willis?? So to avoid sugar coating it too much… I’ll just lay it out here: essentially, my body hates running. I still love it – don’t get me wrong – but it is definitely hating me. My last “long run” was OCTOBER 30th in the Monster Dash Half Marathon. I don’t think I’ve done any runs over 10 miles since then. In fact… my total MONTHLY milage averaged over the last 4 months is what my WEEKLY mileage was at this time last year. And running was my thing! DISTANCE running!!! What I want to do is something like this:
BUT. Because I am no longer 5, and at least feel semi-obligated to act my age, I’ll take a deep breath and count to 10. It will be OK.
Right…?
Truthfully, this is the first year that I have ever been NOT confident in my running abilities. Like super not confident. And the fact that racing season is coming at me fast is not helping in the least. You know that feeling you get when you know you’re going to have to face something super unpleasant? Kind of like you got punched in the gut? That’s how I feel when I think about racing right now.
So what exactly is making me feel like this? It essentially comes down to two:
1. LOOMING INJURY
I don’t think there’s actually anything “officially” injured at the current moment. I do know that when I was in Puerto Rico in March I ran a little too much given my current mileage. And I do know way better than that. And I also know exactly what a stress fracture feels like, and upon returning from that beautiful little island, was pretty damn sure I had one in my 5th metatarsal. So I pulled way back and re/pre habbed the heck out of it until it didn’t feel like a stress fracture anymore and I wasn’t scared to run on it. Which tells me it was probably a stress reaction (the precursor to a stress fracture) and I took the right steps to stop it from getting worse. But the fact that it was definitely about to be a real injury leaves me feeling like I’m running on egg shells. Like I can’t run hard or I’m going to break something. Like there’s always going to be an injury “looming” in the distance.
2. PAST INJURY HISTORY
There might have been a time when I had convinced myself I didn’t really get injured, but that time is long gone. I’m super injury prone, and I know it. Going from being a 70 mpw runner and decent marathoner, to a pool runner with a broken femoral neck and three screws holding it together, back to a 50 mpw runner, to a refractured hip, to 60 mpw and a tibial stress fracture, to 30 mpw and another tibial stress fracture and a cut [way] short racing season, to NOW, current time, when, again, nothing is “officially” injured but oh by the way my foot hurt, and then I thought I pulled my groin again doing some stupid plyometric drill at practice, and I’m scared as %&#$ to bring my miles back up.
Actually… let’s just get it all out. Full disclosure: I’m running 48 ± 2* miles per MONTH. And assuming that each month has 4.4 weeks, that equals 10.9 MILES PER WEEK.
To say that I’m mentally struggling with this is like saying Tiger Woods is kinda hot. IT’S A MAJOR FREAKING UNDERSTATEMENT!! But unlike the many ladies who can just throw themselves at Woods… I don’t really know what I can do about this predicament. Run more? Maybe take another injury and sit out the beginning of the season? Sit out all of the season? Don’t run any more than I am now and SUCK at running for a year??
Looking back on race reports like New Bri Tri 2010 (and pretty much any other tri), the run is where I excelled. That run at New Bri was a game of road kill, and this year I feel like I’m going to be annihilated.
……….
Oh yeah, I was counting to 10. Exhale.
I ran today (or yesterday by the time you’re reading this). Four. Flipping. Miles. It felt fine, but it was FOUR miles. That – in my mind – is still a warm-up. And that make me sad.**
Then I went to work*** and proceeded to do this:
And then I thanked the Lord for ice massage. And then I went online to finish this Friday Confessional which has now turned into a full out pitty party. And NOW I’m going to stop.
I apologize/am super impressed if you read through all of that.
Have you ever gone through a big slump in your training? If so how did you get out of it? Are you “injury prone” or one of those people who somehow manages to stay injury free? (And by “somehow” … I think I mean “trains smartly” …) As always with EVERY Friday Confessional, feel free to “fess up” and get whatever you want off of your chest!
Happy WEEKEND chicos, and happy EASTER! I know not everyone celebrates, but it is hands down my favorite day of the year so I’M looking forward to Sunday for sure! I’ll see you back here with that giveaway!
-E
* All values are presented in mean ± SD. I know, I’ve been reading too much research.
** For the record, my total training VOLUME has not changed at all. But the percentage that is running is obviously way down. So either I better be much faster on the bike this year, or faster in the water. Or someone (probably just me) is gettin’ hurt.
*** It actually is a legit job, and yes, I actually DO do work. But while I’m not working on any of the other athletes, I can kinda work on myself. I’ll post more on my job later!
I just submitted a ten page research paper. In Spanish. Ay Dios mío…
But that does confirm that: yes, I am still here. Possibly buried under a stack of PubMed articles and lab reports, but here none the less. I have had pretty much zero guilt or shame in admitting that the blog has been at the very bottom of “the list” this semester… that is until my amiga Betsy over at Earning My M-Dot called me out in one of her posts for slacking. And then Susan, my long lost friend in NY emailed me saying she was coming to Minneapolis and where the truck was my blog?
Guilt is a powerful emotion. Guilt about skipping that long ride because you were SPENT from being at the office till way late the night before. Guilt about not being cleared to play in your stupid 1-credit tennis class, when your doctor is clearing you to run as much as you please. (You’re a LINEAR athlete!! Don’t risk it for something so small!) Guilt that the Twins just lost 10-5 and yes I did just snap on someone unintentionally. (Oh… guilt that this was written last week and never hit publish? Twins won their last two games BTW.) Guilt that yes, that is a Costco sized box of Starbursts in my drawer. (Cheap, long ride fuel?!) And then it crept in – guilt from blog neglect.
I’ve still been reading though – I know that Julia went on a sick training trip, Betsy is planning (are you serious??) a freaking amazing racing/spectating trip, Steve is an overunder pronator and yes damnit we will ride soon, my teammate Matt posted a SOLID race at Oceanside 70.3. I haven’t been able to post, but I’m definitely still reading!
ANYWAYS. Long story short, this is my life right now:
[ETA: we're back to the current date - April 19th.) There are a total of 16 days until my last class of the semester, and then ONE WEEK of finals with my Ex Phys exam on the last possible day – Friday May 13th (we can’t all be lucky) – and then I’m donnnnnne!!
Or at least done for 9 days until my May term class starts. Don’t feel too sorry for me – it’s PE 1012: Beginning Running. And my LAST PE course ever of my Kinesiological education. ( <- That’s the outcome of my degree. “Kinesiological.” Really?) I will, however, accept condolences from July 4th through August 4th when I’m sitting through 4 hours a day / 4 days a week / for 4 weeks of intensive Physics. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little…
Training? It’s going. I had probably the slowest ride of my life yesterday, but I’ve also had lots of great rides so I’ll write that one off as “one of those days” and move on. I’ve also been swimming consistently – 95% of which is contributed to having someone to consistently swim with! Running…? Not quite ready to comment on that one just yet. The racing season will be here in a blink of an eye though, so I better own up and take whatever I’ve got!
If you guys can just hang with me for sixteen more days… I promise my life will be about 75% less packed and stressful, and we can hang out like we used to back in the old days. In a shameless attempt to KEEP any readers that I may still have, I’m going to be posting a giveaway sometime this week, so make sure you check back! I have several to give away, and they rhyme with depression leaves. Only they have nothing to do with Prozac or botany.
Can I get a quick collective rundown from the people who are still out there – how is training going? What races do you have coming up? (I know a lot of you have already started competing – how did the 1st of the year go?) Any big trips – racing or otherwise – to look forward to this summer?
Train hard, train smart, train often!
-E
