Welcome, 2012

A new year, new goals:

1) Run with Greg (and Cedric) at least once a week

2) PR at the 10k distance

3) Put at least 3500 miles on my tri bike

4) Be able to do 30 continuous full pushups

Settled on my workout schedule for the next couple of months:

Monday - Off

Tuesday - Cycling and hot Vinyasa Yoga

Wednesday - PR Core class and run with PR Fitness

Thursday - Run and PR Strength class

Friday - Long swim

Saturday - Long Run with PR Fitness

Sunday - Long bike, run with Greg, Yin Yoga and Core and Swim with Tri team

Great Reward

I linked my last post to the "Head Goat" of Running Fit and he rewarded me with 2 free race entries and a Running Fit Gift card. So awesome. Then I got a letter and certificate from more of the Running Fit Adventure crew with a free entry in to the Triceratops triathlon. I love Running Fit. I'm going to frame and hang up my certificate to remind myself I'm pretty cool on those days I'm just not feeling it.

Unfortunately, I just haven't been feeling it this past week. I acquired a horrible cold. It's quite hard to decide when it's better for you to workout and when it's better for you to rest. I took more time off than usual this illness because my throat was painfully sore and I couldn't bear the thought of passing more oxygen past the irritated skin than absolutely necessary. I'm feeling significantly improved this week and eager to get back to the bike, swim, run, core, and yoga.

Summary - Running Fit Adventure

Holiday Hustle - 5k race results:

Time: 22:30 (post-partum PR)

Place: 118 of 1076

AG: 9 of 84

The Holiday Hustle last night brings my 2011 Running Fit Adventure to a close. In summary:

• 16 Running Fit races completed along with two extra events
• Volunteer at 1 Running Fit race
• 3 Running Fit races missed: Dances with Dirt - Devils Lake, Pterodactyl Tri, and Run Vasa. The first two missed because I was preparing and taking my preliminary exam. Run Vasa missed because it was too close to my ultra.
• Completed my first triathlon and first ultra
• Dropped 1 min/mile off my best 1/2 marathon and 5k times from 2010
• 11 age group awards
• Favorite race - Dances with Dirt - Hell 50 mile
• Favorite event - Run Woodstock
• Race I wish I could afford to travel to again in 2012: Dances with Dirt - Green Swamp
• Least favorite race - Shamrocks and Shenanigans - needs some traffic management to deal with the fact that runners need to be able to pass walkers in the multiloop course
• Proudest accomplishment - finishing my first open water swim (800m) without stopping or panicking
• Over $1k spent on race registrations - but at least I have a ton of new tech shirts, beer glasses, mugs, and awesome memories

In addition in 2011:

• I fell in love with yoga
• Started running and working with with an awesome group of people at PR Fitness

What is up for 2012? More triathlons, shorter distance races (to focus more on speed and to have more time for other aspects of life), picking up the Running Fit races I missed in 2011, going for 10k and 1/2 marathon PRs.

All of this is subject to change if I end up going to Vancouver this summer and get a lottery place in the Knee Knocker - 30 mile race.

Lots of Updates

I've been quite neglectful with my posting duties.

Run Woodstock:
The race was unofficially renamed "Mudstock" this year. I made an unwise decision to run sock-less for the 1/2 marathon, in old road shoes (read: no traction). I did more skating than running and ended up with some very large and painful blisters. The runs without results were informal, non-timed events. Despite the trail conditions, still an awesome running weekend.

Friday night: 5k

Saturday morning: 1/2 marathon
Time: 2:27:26
Place: 108 of 326
AG: 5 of 20

Saturday night: short 10k ~ 5 miles
Sunday morning: 5 mile

DwD Hell:

My first ultra. I had an awesome time. I just kind of got into the zone and didn't think about anything. Kept my goal pace of 12 min miles until the 1/2 way point and then I started to drop off. Larry O'Sullivan pulled me in the last 10 miles. This was an awesome experience.

Time: 11:25:30
Place: 41 of 67
AG: 2 of 2


Spartan Sprint Tri:

I'm still not a swimmer, but with short pool swims, it barely matters!

400m swim: 9:35 (29 of 36 collegiate females)
T1: 1:49
20k bike: 37:46 (9 of 36 collegiate females)
T2: 1:18
5k run: 22:53 (10 of 36 collegiate females)

Total time: 1:13:18 (9 of 36 collegiate females)

Arbpocalypse 5k:

Maybe the first race I've won?

Time: 24:32
Place: 10 of 52
Gender: 1 of 28

Run, Scream, Run 5k:

Fun course!

Time: 24:05
Place: 46 of 724
AG: 3 of 85

T-Rex Triathlon

Race Results:

0.5 mile swim: 20:08 (71%)
T1: 1:17
12 mile bike: 37:57 (46%)
T2: 0:42
3.1 mile run: 24:08 (25%)
Overall Time: 1:24:13 (40%)
AG: 4 of 17
Overall Place: 165 of 413

*Percentiles based on the entire field (men and women)

I dropped my time by 5 minutes from the last triathlon, with pretty much the entire improvement coming on the swim portion. This time I was much more confident on the swim, so I pushed myself a bit harder. I also did a better job of watching the buoys and staying on the course. Transitions went better as well, with the exception of forgetting my towel (to dry your feet before you put your socks on) and having one of my research samples in my bike shoes.

I was quite surprised to hear my name called for an age group award. It's not too much to brag about though, as the field for this triathlon was weaker than it was for the first one.

Triathlons are a lot of fun. I look forward to continuing to do them. Maybe even moving up to a longer distance.

Red Carpet Run - 5k

Results:

Time: 23:19 (7:31 pace)
Place: 39 of 245
AG: 5 of 40

Barely made it to the race on time, weekday races are hard. I got stuck in stop-go traffic 1.3 miles from the race start. I needed to (a) get to the race, (b) warm up for at least a mile, and (c) use the facilities. I parked at an abandoned K-mart, ran into Duncan Donuts for a pit stop, and then ran to the race start for my warm up. I picked up my number just as they were calling 5 minutes for the start. A nice volunteer let me leave my glasses with her, as I had forgotten to take them off at the car.

The race itself went okay. My pace was steady the whole run, and I was spent at the end. I had my best 5k time this year, though it probably would have been faster if my bum wasn't crazy sore from squats in yoga class yesterday.

At the finish I got a wine glass (with wine) and I also got a diamond shaped prism for placing in my AG.

I was lame and didn't go with the theme of the race, which was to dress up like you were on the red carpet. I hate dressing up, and if I was on a red carpet for some reason, I might just wear my workout clothes. I did wear a necklace, which was annoying, and earrings, so some effort was made.

Long Time, No Update

It's been a long while since I've updated, mostly due to the fact that it's been a long time since I've raced. My goal of running all Running Fit Events in 2011 will not be realized, as I missed two races (Dances with Dirt Devil's Peak and Pterodactyl Triathlon) due to needed to devote more time to my preliminary exam. I'm still aiming to finish all of the remaining races, with the intent of picking up the two I missed this year in 2012.

Race Results from The Legend 1/2 Marathon:

Time: 2:02:43 (9:22 pace)
Place: 25 of 196
AG: 5 of 17

The race didn't go quite as well as I had hoped, but I didn't take into account heat and humidity when setting my pace goals. There is really nothing to do when the weather is bad, besides to hydrate property and to change your expectations.

Hurts so Good

I started a new yoga class yesterday and it was a whole new experience. Robin, my previous instructor, was soft spoken, played soothing world music, and slowly led us through posses. My new instructor, was a bit more like a drill sergeant. I felt bad towards the people to whom she displayed open disgust towards, because they could not hold the poses for long enough. I did well, though I would have been discouraged if I was a yoga beginner. Today my shoulders are more sore than they've ever been due to the pushups we did. She kept having us hold the pushup in the down position (halfway). Pushups are not my forte. I'll just have to view this yoga class more as an extra core class than as a relaxing experience.

1/2 Done

Over half the year has passed, and I'm half done with my races. Only 10 (maybe 11) races to go. I'll have another tough couple weeks in early August (3 races in 11 days), but this time I'm going to sleep and eat excessively well.

I ran 8 miles pushing Cedric today. He held up quite well, though he got really fussy a few times. At mile 6 I found myself gasping "Victors" up a hill to entertain him. It reminded me of trying to blast out M Fanfare after doing entries into the stadium. I need to run with him more often, though on shorter routes, for both our sake.

National 24 Hour Challenge

The National 24 Hour Challenge is a bike race in Middleville, MI where the goal is to bike as many miles as you can in 24 hours. I was planning on doing the first loop of this race, 120 miles, with my Dad. Unfortunately I fell ill the night before. My dad still completed the loop on his own. Way to go, Dad!

I was planning on finding another long bike ride to do this summer, to make up for missing this one. Once I started looking at my calendar for a weekend that would work, I remembered how many events I already have on my plate this year. Aside from the stress on my body, it is also stressful for my family to plan around these weekends. I think I'll just aim to do the National 24 Hour Challenge again next year.

Triceratops Triathlon

Felt great the whole races. Made some mistakes, including leaving my socks inside out, forgetting where my bike rack was when I came in from the bike, forgetting to take my helmet off before the run...but I think those are to be expected for a first timer. My goal was to finish in the top half of my age group, and I did (8 of 16). I would have placed better except I'm worse at the swim than I had originally expected. The good news was that I never panicked on the swim, and "swam" the whole thing without stopping. Percentiles in results are given as the % of people better than me (so 100% for the swim portion in my AG means I was last).

Flirt with Dirt

First of all, thanks to my parents who saved the day. They drove all the way from Sturgis to watch Cedric so that I could run and Greg could go to work. Here are the results:

Time: 54:13 (8:45 pace)
Place: 112 of 327
AG: 3 of 24

This is a huge improvement from my 1:05 time last year. Not only was I in better shape, but I improved my strategy as well. A good portion of the course is single track, meaning that it's difficult to pass. I made sure to start in a faster pace group and I was more aggressive with passing. I still got stuck in lines a few times, but most of the time I was going at my own pace.

Triathlon Approaching

My first triathlon is coming up. I wanted to provide a description of how these things work.

You generally wear the same outfit the whole race, called a tri suit. It's pretty tight, to avoid drag as you swim and bike, but quick drying so that you aren't water logged after the swim. It has a padded chamois, like bike shorts, but much less padding, so it dries faster and so you don't feel like you are running with a diaper on. You are labeled, by marker, or temporary tattoo, with your number on your biceps and quads, and perhaps your age group on a calf.

Most triathlons have open water swims. The start is often staggered, so there aren't too many people swimming in a clump at once, though it still gets congested. You are required to wear a bright swim cap with your number. You want googles as well. If the water temp is below a certain temperature, you can wear a wet suit without being penalized (the buoyancy makes you faster), but no wet suits are allowed above 78ºC. When your wave starts, you run into the water, swim around the buoys as instructed, and come out where indicated. The swim distance in the races I will be doing this summer is a half mile.

You then run into the transition area. The next segment is the bike. You put on your shoes (and socks if desired), sunglasses (if needed), and helmet. You then run your bike out to the mount line until you can get on and start riding. The Running Fit races have a bike distance of 12 miles.

Once you reach the dismount line (usually the same as the mount line) you have to jump of your bike and run it back to your place in the transition area. You place your bike on the rack, take off your helmet, change your shoes, and grab your race tag. Then it's just the running segment, in this case a 5k (3.1 Miles).

You are timed on all segments of the race; swim, transition 1 (T1), bike, transition 2 (T2), and run. The total time determines the winners, so you need to be quick at all aspects to succeed. We'll be practicing more of the transitions and starts in the triathlon class I started this past week.

Dances with Dirt - Gnaw Bone

Time: 2:22:41 (10:54 pace)

Place: 35 of 105 total, 8 of 51 women

AG: 2 of 9

This was an amazing race. I would have never thought southern Indiana (near Bloomington) was so beautiful? The first couple miles had clay mud that came up to your ankles, but since the last 1/2 mile was in the creek, your shoes ended up pretty clean. In between were some gorgeous trails, though with frequent downed trees, many of which it was hard to decide whether it would be quicker to climb over or crawl under. Crossing a couple of times through Brown Country state park, where we camped, you found water and Gu stations.

I did well this race, and finished feeling that I could have gone faster or further. Instead of the usual mug AG award I got a "Run Wild" canvas chair. Definitely going back next year.

Fit 5k Summary

Cedric decided that he was not interested in running in the kids race, though he though it was very funny when I carried him and jogged it. I guess I'll wait until he asks before I sign him up for another race. Of course, he ran tons afterwards. He's stubborn like his mommy.

We helped at the water station. Greg held Cedric on his shoulders while he held out a cup for runners. Cedric thought it was awesome when somebody took a cup from Daddy. He had his own little cheer too, though we're not sure what it was. Afterward, he had a lot of fun running around picking up the dropped cups, stacking them, and throwing them in the trash boxes.

In summary, it was fun to volunteer at the race, but not really worth a 45 minute drive. We'll stick closer to home if we want to help out in the future.

Trail Marathon Results

Time: 5:06:04 (11:40 pace)
Place: 96 of 181 overall, 12 of 34 women
AG: 5 of 6

A fun race, though I wish I had only done the 1/2, or trained better for the full. Even though my time isn't what I would have liked, it is faster than my 5:20 finish there in 2005. This is the first marathon I've done twice. However, in 2005 the trail was covered in snow from a late April snow storm.

I added my gender place in the statistics above just to showcase how skewed the gender distribution is for long trail races. For road 1/2 marathons, and shorter, it's usually pretty even.

I fell just before mile 10, but I didn't want to take the time to stop and look at my knees, so I just kept running. Then a couple of spectators and the aid station volunteers were commenting on how bad it looked. I was starting to get concerned, but once I got finished I found out that my left knee is just a little skinned up. There wasn't even dripping blood. I had them clean it at the first aid tent, and they said it was nothing compared to some of the stuff they'd seen this morning. People who commented made me worry for no reason.

----

I'm cheating a little bit for the next race, a 5k on Wednesday. I made my goal "to participate" in all of the Running Fit races, not necessarily to run them. I'll do the kid's dash with Cedric, and then we'll give directions to runners on the coarse. I probably wont be up to racing so soon after a marathon, plus when you volunteer you get a $30 coupon for another race, which I could certainly use. It's a nice thing to do, and fun, unless you are helping with parking. People are very grumpy when you tell them the closest lot is full.

Go Team!

I almost forgot to recognize the accomplishments of some of my team/running mates. Last weekend was the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals in Tuscaloosa, Al. The UofM mens team placed 10th overall, with one gent getting a top 50 finish. The women's team did quite well too. Tomorrow (Monday) is the 115th running of the Boston Marathon. Several runners from PR Fitness will be there to represent. Best luck to all of them.

My coach gave me a shoutout in this months PR Fitness newsletter:
"PR of the Month:
Congrats to Tracy Berman, who has made great strides in her running. She has gone from a 2:13 half to a 1:56 half marathon time. This is an amazing jump! Great job Tracy!"

Lululemon, which hosts the PR Fitness Saturday runs in Ann Arbor, gave me a couple pairs of socks to promo. I just have to give them feedback on what they could do to make them better. According to Greg, I'm picky about my running socks, so it will be a good job for me. I will have something to say if I get blisters!

Exercising, More Fun Than Homework

Instead of working on my now past due lab report, it's more fun to think about new things that I have coming up.

Starting in May I'll be taking a triathlon class where we'll focus on transitions and open water swimming and all sorts of new stuff. They already sent me a training plan to use, though I'll probably only use the swimming portion as my coach already gives me my running plan and I need to follow a much different plan as I train for my 120 mile bike ride in mid-June (the bike distance in a sprint tri is only 12 miles). I'll need to make sure to get a bike rack for our car before then!

Also starting in May are new UMove classes. I'm definitely taking Vinyasa yoga again, I just have to decide during which time slots. Too bad I don't have time to do all of them. Yoga is really awesome because you can work on so many things, strength (e.g. squats and planks), balance, stretching, and my favorite part is ending class in savasana (resting pose).

AND since I wont have class anymore, I want to start going to my coach's core workout class. It's held at a bar, how cool is that? Running in Golden,CO (home of Coors) I got used to the smell of beer when working out.

I just have to squeeze this all in with PhD research and being a mother. The first step is to finish this darn report.

New Half Marathon PR!

Results from the Martian Invasion half marathon:

Time: 1:59:18 (8:54 pace)*
Place: 688 of 1836
AG: 35 of 136

* The course was 0.3-0.4 miles too long, somebody put the turn around point too far down the road. The 8:54 pace is calculated assuming as distance of 13.4 miles (a half marathon should be 13.1). If you do a percentage based adjustment, my time for 13.1 miles would be 1:56:38. However I'll leave my PR at my official time, it is what it is.

The race went very well, aside from me getting there late and without money to pay for parking (three cheers for one of the guys in my running group for loaning me a $20). I got to warm up by running to the start line and jumping in the already departing crowd. Most races use chip timing these days, which means your race time is calculated between the time the RF ID in your shoe tag triggers the start and finish mats. If you start in the back of the pack, or even late (I was 10 minutes late to my 2nd marathon) your time doesn't start until you reach the starting line.

My goal was a sub-2 hr time, so I paced myself to run at 9:09 pace for the first 7 miles, even though it felt pretty easy. My plan was that if 9:09 was felling too easy, I was then to run 8:50 pace for miles 7-10 and 8:35 pace for miles 10-13.1. I held to that pretty well. However, once I realized that the course was going to be too long (I knew the mile markers were off after mile 6, but I still assumed the finish line would be at 13.1), and I still really wanted a sub-2 hr time, I managed 7:47 pace for the last 1/2 mile. That's only 2 seconds slower than my most recent 5k pace. Being that I had that much left in the tank at the finish, I probably could have pushed harder earlier in the race, but I'm still very happy with the results. Maybe next year.

I held up really well mentally for it being an out and back road race. I swore off all road marathons last year, they're just to painful and boring, but this wasn't bad at all. It will be fun to do at least one a year and see if I can get my times to improve. Trail races are still better though.

Still not a fish

We did some hard swim intervals (100 yards) at triathlon practice last week, and I had 1:50 repeats when everyone else seemed to be under 1:15. Even if I'm slow, it's still exciting for me that I can even swim 100m at a time. I'm proud of myself for participating, even if it was slightly embarrassing.

This week I actually finished the whole beginner workout, over a mile of swimming. Usually I run out of pool time. The way swim workouts are structured is a little bit different than running or biking workouts. It is believed that the biggest improvements in swimming come from doing drills (exercises focused on improving form) and short repeats. Below is what tonight's workout looked like, for reference 25 yards is one length of our pool. I did backstroke for the cool down, just for some variety, but everything was freestyle (crawl).

Warm up: 200 yd
kicking w/ kickboard: 5 x 50 yd
drills: 5 x 50 yd
3 x 200 yd
6 x 100 yd
Cool down: 100 yd

We worked on flip turns a lot during my swim class this week. I'm pretty terrible at them. Watch the video to see how it should be done: