Collecting my Energy for Sunday Morning

My only hardworking task today: eating.

I had butternut squash soup and potato-and-alfredo pizza for lunch and gnocchi with baked plums and sweet potatoes for dinner. Mmm... carbolicious, I tell you. And I can feel all that energy gearing up to be unleashed on Sunday morning.

I took a long, slow walk this evening (another cool night) to stretch out my tight right hamstring for 2.5 miles. It started feeling a little tight in the middle of the day, and I’m hoping that the muscle-warming walk and easy stretching will make it chill out. But the walk and stretching will be the extent of my activities for the next day and a quarter.

In the meantime, I’ll occupy myself with triathlon focus. Because the Greater Cleveland Triathlon will be my first, I’m wholly uncertain of what to expect of the race, the course and myself. And since I don’t know, my time goals are the following loose guesstimations (sans transitions… or with transitions mixed in?):

• 1/2-mile swim in 30:00
• 12-mile bike in 1:00:00
• 5K/3.1-mile run in 30:00

It may be too much; it may be too little. According to last year’s results, it’s very middle of the road. And I’m all right with that. So, we dive in at 7 a.m. I’d like to be done by 9 a.m.

Now I just need to work on getting some good sleep!

Last Day Before I Rest

At first I thought that talking to my Dad, who is in Phoenix right now and said it was 109 degrees yesterday, put my mental heat index on ice. But as it turns out, the horrendous storms that passed through NEOhio and the “colder” fronts pushing with them brought the still-humid night to 70 degrees.

I hadn’t even planned on running when I returned home from dinner this evening, but I couldn’t help myself.

My carbohydrating kicked off this evening at Mangiamo!, where I had eggplant with fettuccine for dinner with Neil and Jeff. Tomorrow I’m making room for sweet potato something for lunch and potato gnocchi with baked plums for dinner. On the way home from New York, I read a nutrition article in the latest issue of Runner’s World that detailed the goodness that is potatoes. I’ve been craving them ever since.

Between the pasta, wedding soup, bakery’s worth of bread and a decaf black coffee, I was pretty much filled to the brim at the end of dinner. But when I stepped out of the car and walked toward my apartment, I knew the “cool” evening wasn’t to be resisted. So, I ran inside, topped off my dinner with about half a Think Thin chocolate fudge protein bar (I didn’t have dessert, so I had to, umm, balance my taste buds—hey, it wasn’t a cupcake), changed into running clothes and hit the streets around 8:45 p.m.

It was just another round-the-hood trot, but felt even better, stronger, looser than the last several runs. Was it the shoes? I don’t know. But it really helped my confidence. Yesterday’s swim made me feel all right about the first leg of my race; tonight improved my running outlook. And, well, the cycling portion will be what it is.

I had only intended to run for a short bit (in fact, I felt a bit full and had considered just walking… but these Mizunos just won’t let me!), but stayed out for around 45 minutes and 5.25 miles. My legs and core were a little fatigued from 40 minutes of power vinyasa yoga over lunch, but that soreness seemed to turn into strength and energy as I ran. Ahh, the magic that is yoga.

The only thing that really pushed me inside was the total darkness and threat of mosquitoes/West Nile virus. Plus, we have some nutty drivers around here who probably don’t yield to runners (as I know all too well), and I have a race in three days!

Morning Run, Ninjas and Afternoon Swim

So why didn’t you tell me running in the morning was awesome?

Almost every plan I had for training on Tuesday was thwarted (the pool was packed to the gills and beyond, it started hardcore storming one mile into my evening run), so I focused on weight training last night, had a restful sleep, skipped yoga this morning and took to the neighborhood streets at 6:30 a.m. for a really great run.

And boy was it muggy! I think I live with the blind notion that mornings are almost always cool. Not so. It had to be at least 80 degrees this morning with air so thick with moisture that I felt like I had a sticky film all over me. Yick! It did not, however, affect my run.

Nor did the ninja warrior practicing his nunchucks in the leasing office parking lot. Neil and I first saw Mr. Ninja, a stout and bulky man with a cleanly shaven head, when we dropped off our rent before taking off for New York last Friday morning. He was standing in the parking lot next to his Beethoven-blaring Rav-4 spinning, swinging and switching nunchucks from hand to hand. Since I am obviously the ninja in this relationship, I was the one who got out of the car to hand in the rent.

Oddly enough, Mariel and Eric introduced us to Ninja Warrior—a Japanese physical challenge show that is half Most Extreme Elimination and half superhuman Double Dare obstacle course (without the nose-picking event)—during our Brooklyn trip last weekend. It really has nothing to do with ninjas or warriors, but is one of those shows you catch on a lazy Saturday afternoon and secretly try to find on Sunday when nothing else is on. Not that I’ve ever done that.

But back to my run: I weaved through the parking lot, gave Mr. Ninja a nod and continued to feel great in my new Mizunos. All due respect to my previous life as an ankle-roller, but the greater ankle flexibility I have in these shoes has loosened up my stride and eased the warm-up period that used to burn my shins. What’s more is that my upper body even feels relaxed and my arm swings have finally begun to feel natural. I’m on my way, baby!

My goal for the morning was to run for 30 minutes. It’s not as much time as I would like to dedicate to running, but I a) am trying to rest a bit this week, despite my lazy-training in recent weeks; and b) had to get showered and to work by 8 a.m. Sticking around my neighborhood, however, enabled me to hit some minor hills and a few grades, check out a ninja dude and work on picking up the pace a bit.

I’m only running with a watch these days, so I had to guess my distance during the run and measure for certainty later (one of these days I’ll get back to that HRM). At least I know my times. In fact, my first “lap,” 2.06 miles down my street and around the condo community, went by in 17:55; the second lap, which was an abbreviated 1.3-mile cool down trip around the neighborhood, clocked in at 12:05. My total run was 3.35 miles around 8:57/mile pace.

I realize that while I felt great running today that I can’t quite expect the same miracle of energy from my shoes on Sunday. That whole swimming and cycling first thing might get in the way!

Today’s run left me wanting for water, however, so I skipped lunch and cut out of work early to get a full no-rush swimming workout for the first time in way, way too long. While I’m a strong swimmer, I know that I’m not near peak shape or speed… and I can’t expect to be with my poor excuse for a swim-training regiment of one 30-minute swim each week.

Thus I was surprised at how easily I completed my 4,000-yard workout this afternoon:

• 1,000 yards free warm-up
• 8 x 50 yards “perfect” stroke down, spotting stroke back (:15 rest)
• 3 x 500 yards free (1:00 rest)
• 300 yards one-arm butterfly
• 300 yards reverse IM kick
• 500 yards free cool down

What I call “perfect” stroke is essentially swimming with a correct stroke. In an ideal world I would swim that way all the time. But for this set I focused on every single inch of my stroke—from entry to pull and breathing to follow-through—for the first 25 yards, and then swam with my head above the water on the way back. I imagine that spotting might come in handy while swimming with many other people in open water on something of a “course.” But it gets tiring!

The only problem with today’s regiment: man, was I flippin’ hungry on the drive home! I was just lucky I hadn’t decided to bike to work today because I may have actually eaten my helmet or my cell phone.

For the past several weeks, however, I’ve been trying to pick up more protein than the average electronic and protective device. I’m not really a meat-eater (I’m big on fish), so I’ve been pretty protein-lacking for much of my life. No wonder I’m so short! And while I’m utterly crazy about cheese, I have a natural (read: hereditary) and slight cholesterol almost-problem that prevents me from fulfilling my protein needs with feta, cheddar, gorgonzola, chevre, soft swiss, hard swiss, colby, havarti, smoked gouda, brie… I’m sorry: I just went somewhere else for a minute. And now I need some fresh French bread.

One of the foods I’ve recently used to supplement my training diet is Think bars (i.e., Think Thin, Think Organic, Think Green, etc.), which provide up to 20 grams of protein, have one of those wholly appealing all-natural ingredient lists and are pretty darn dee-lish.

It’s only taken me nearly 30 years to realize that I need protein to grow and repair my body. And I’ll definitely need that protein as I train for the triathlons and road races to come.

Four days to go! Countdown with some Ninja Warrior...

What a Difference a Shoe Makes

Not long after I returned from my weekend in Park Slope (with an afternoon wedding stop in Montclair), I was itching to head to Vertical Runner for my next pair of shoes. I woke up this morning, took in some Namaste Yoga, and then headed to Hudson to find out what’s next.

Vertical Runner, at 134 Main Street in Hudson (around First & Main), is a small store that was at first a bit intimidating [to a goof like me] with its wall of running socks, super-runner gear and much-better-than-Dick’s selection of running shoes.

What shocked me most: Vince, one of the store’s owners, actually took quite a bit of time to help me find the shoes for me. He looked at my feet and my arch, talked about how far I run and where, and recommended a few different shoes for my to try. At another place, which shall remain nameless (Dick's), I was told to "just try on whatever pairs I liked to see if they fit." It's no wonder I've suffered so much as a runner.

Since my favorite shoes so far have been my Asics Gel-Foundation 7 (we always love our first pair), I tried on Asics GT-2120—a good-looking structured cushioning shoe that felt great except for what seemed to be a lump under my left ball of foot.

The GT-2120, to me, felt like it had a platform sole compared to the other shoes I tried. On one hand, I thought the support and concrete-shield might somehow benefit my aging joint and these shoes might be a good decision; on the other hand, they just didn’t sing to my feet. I even tried on three different sizes, but there simply wasn’t harmony between my foot and that shoe.

And I don’t think my pretty little metaphors for my shoe's ill fit would be as cute after 10+ miles of pain.

I tried another pair of similar Asics and what I believe were a pair of Nike Air Pegasus 2007 that just didn’t jive with my feet at all, but not before I laid my feet in a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 3.


The Mizuno weren’t the best looking of the four shoes by far, but they felt like they were my shoes. The shoes feel lower to the ground than any of my other shoes; they weigh next to nothing but feel trustworthy and stable; and the lower top is a welcomed change from the “training wheels” higher ankle on my last pair of Nike (granted, it really helped me run without rolling my ankle)

The shoes are a touch aesthetically challenged in clean white with orange accents, but they have GP written all over the inside. Besides, what do I care about the visual appeal of my shoes?

But if we really want to talk about being fashionably challenged, please refer to the Speedo triathlon suit I’ll be wearing at next week’s race. I bought the suit many month ago and have taken it swimming once, but thought it was time to take it for a run before the Greater Cleveland Triathlon.

I took the day off to recover from the weekend (and the realization that I have to go back to work!), and thought that 2 p.m. on Monday in my neighborhood should be desolate enough testing grounds. Nevertheless, I put the suit on with a pair of my new running shorts—I’m shameless in many respects, just not when it comes to, umm, super aerodynamic apparel.

The suit has a high neck, zip up the back and bike-short legs with a sticky-like material around the bottom. It had long been my impression that I would not only have zero support, maximum sweat and even more chaffing in this suit, but it turned out to be a good investment. So far.

The high neck didn’t feel constrictive at all—even if it will take some getting used to—and the suit legs stayed in place better than my super-awesome running shorts.

What’s more is that I ran past various groups of landscaping dudes, construction dudes and garbage-pick-up dues, and not one batted an eye my way (generally I’ve noticed that anything with some semblance of woman-running catches the eye and cat-calls of more guys than necessary).

Finally: the solution for distraction-free running.

I only ran a little over 1.5 miles because it was ungodly hot outside, and I’m not that used to the suit just yet. Plus, I would like to take the suit out on my bike tonight and get in some running after that.

Can I talk about the shoes, though? They felt fantastic. I had run them around the store and down the street, but I didn't quite pick up the spring and support I felt during my run. The greater ankle flexibility has opened up my stride a bit and made my knee extension far less laborious. And to think that I had never heard of Mizuno before this morning!

I’ve never been much of a crammer, but I feel like I’ll be cramming in brick workouts this week. While I’m a little disappointed in myself for dropping off on the brick workouts I had started earlier this summer, all I can do is power through and prepare better for the next. And I’ll have to schedule some resting time this week as well.

But by the end of Sunday, I should (if all goes well) be able to call myself an actual triathlete. I just need to finish! (Check out "Don't Let Life Become a DNF" from the August editor's letter in Ohio Sports and Fitness Magazine.)

Back to New York

Despite the predictable unpredictability of work, I still managed to go for a bike ride with Neil on Wednesday evening and take a brief run around 11 a.m. Thursday. It was a quick, hot run, and I took it in my “old” pair of running shoes (the pair before my current pair).

I was wearing my old Asics cycling the other day and found that I liked the feel of them better than my current shoes. And they feel better on the road as well. So, when Neil and I get back from New York, I’m going to get my feet to Vertical Runner in Hudson—a running store that has been wildly acclaimed and recommended by just about everyone I know who runs in this area (which is about four people). It will be nice to know what my feet should be wearing these days.

This weekend, however, I will be wearing my dancing shoes because my friends Betsy and Dan are getting married in Montclair, NJ. Mariel has been gracious enough to let us stay with her on this trip, which is particularly useful because she a) is very hospitable; b) is an NYC tour guide/history doctoral candidate who has fascinating insights about the city; and c) has a much better handle on getting to Montclair than I do.

Most of my ideas about getting around the city don’t take party dresses and high-heeled shoes into consideration, so it’s nice to stick with someone who is swell and has a clue. Plus it’s going to be one steamy weekend, and I don’t think we would have much patience for any of my gaffes.

Perhaps I’ll even get to run in the city again. When we originally planned this trip (and I realized it was the weekend of the Cleveland tri), I looked around to see if any races were up on Sunday. What do you know? It's the New York Half Marathon! Maybe someone else will need to get married or engaged or house-warmed this time next year...

And then next weekend is the Greater Cleveland Triathlon! Charlie was nice enough to give me reassurance about commute-cycling vs. race-cycling (thanks, man). I’ve also been trying to get Neil to join the race as my insurance racer so I wouldn’t finish last. But then I changed my mind about Neil because I’d be pretty devastated if he could not train at all and kick my butt. And he’s competitive and naturally fit enough to do that (damn him!).