11.11.07

Blast from the past

Posted in Uncategorized at 8:44 pm by Diana

Yesterday, while getting a personal coaching session with Joan (the perks of not racing!), I was yapping away about this and that. At some point, as I was talking about my parents coming down for Thanksgiving, I found myself mentioning videos they have of a few of my high school tack races.

Suddenly, the conversation was all about what CAC members might have looked like racing in high school. I know that Sarah used to have REALLY long hair, and that Caroline spent all her time in basketball shorts doing suicides with her basketball teammates.

My parents have kindly agreed to dig out the videos and bring them down next week…what about the rest of you? What fashion faux pas and crazy running forms are you hiding from your early years on the track?

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10.28.07

Types of Races

Posted in Uncategorized at 8:04 pm by Diana

In my experiences, there are 3 types of races:

1) Fast races that just seem to happen. They feel good, you feel strong and smooth, and everything is hunky-dory. These are amazing and don’t happen often enough.

2) Fast races that HURT. They are hard, take every ounce of your energy to stay focused and propel yourself forward, and are worth every single second of your fast time. These are satisfying, but it takes a while to recover once you managed to cross the line.

3) Other races. This is a catch-all categories for the mediocre, the painful-yet-slow, and the races you wish never happened. These races can be fun or just plain embarrassing.

For me, the Pumpkin Run fell into category 2. It was painful. More painful than a race has been in a long time. My legs were burning and screaming in agony after the first mile, but I knew that I was running fast, and that was motivation enough to keep pushing (oh yeah…and there was Joan coaching and yelling and prodding and supporting right next to me, behind me, and in front of me the whole way!). Here’s to 5 more weeks of workouts to work toward a category 1 race in Ohio…

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10.13.07

Shutout

Posted in Uncategorized at 4:02 pm by Diana

I was looking for an old post about raising the general popularity of running (maybe it was the Powerbar post?) because yesterday, as I was trying to plan my cross-training equivalent to a long run, I found that the pool was going to be closed today for football. Huh, I thought to myself, that’s kind of weird. Oh well, 60 min in the pool is pretty brutal. I’ll just go on the bike at the gym. So I pull up the schedule for the two different gyms I can access. They too are closed. Seriously? I thought to myself. The entire campus is shut down because of the football game? I can’t use the gym because there’s a football game?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love football. I was, in fact, looking for reasonably priced tickets to the game this morning (alas, I did not get them in the student lottery). But, I was also struck by the fact that an entire campus, even unrelated aspects of campus life, are put on hold for a sport that undeniably brings in huge revenue for the university.

How great would that be if UNC shut down the campus for its track invitationals??

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10.08.07

The weekend that wasn’t

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:45 am by Diana

Often I have difficulty finding good points in poor performances. However, this weekend was an exception. I was on pace for the first two miles, and had a good last 1000 finishing uphill.

Unfortunately, those good points don’t take away the sting of a slower-than-desired time.

In another situation I might continue to race, to try to shake whatever overcame me in the last mile (which, interestingly, I didn’t feel grab me). However, I’ve always been one to take great precautions with my body, and right now it’s a weekend or two off racing and back to the pool for a bit. (I will buy a waterproof ipod this time!)

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09.25.07

Tower Hills

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:30 am by Diana

Yesterday evening, Kim prepped us for the Tower Hills workout by saying, “If you come up with any good coping strategies, let me now, because I have yet to find one that works.”

I think I have her answer.

Now that I have been initiated, I would prefer to think of Tower Hills not as a workout, but as a bonding experience.

I think this is a nice reframe.

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09.18.07

Go-go gadget legs!

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:45 am by Diana

The Magnificent Mile was magnificent for some, painful for others (ahem, me). It was awesome to see the guys race and come flying down the hill (funny how it didn’t feel like a downhill when I was running), leading the field. As our women’s race started, I took a risk and pushed our little pack. At 800 meters, though, it felt more like I had rabbited the start…couldn’t I end early for having set people up so well? Obviously not. So I put my head down and tried to keep contact. Reminding myself that the end was “downhill.” I made the turn, excited to get a little help on the way to the finish line, but alas, my body didn’t feel the downhill. About halfway down that last road I thought to myself, okay, it’s time to get some turnover. <silence> Umm…body? Hello? Go-go gadget legs!! <silence> Hmm…one more time, louder now. GO-GO GADGET LEGS! <silence>

Apparently, my body was feeling a bit like Inspector Gadget on Sunday because despite my desperate internal pleas and commands and raging yells in my head, nothing happened externally as I intended it to, except for me keeping my form. Which isn’t such a bad thing.

On Monday morning I thought the long run would be a “clickety-clack” run. But despite my soreness and lingering cough, I had a long run that reminded me why I love running and how amazing long runs can be. I felt strong (although sore); I was never calculating how much longer or farther I had to go; I felt like I was recovering without feeling like a sack of bricks; it was cool and beautiful, hinting of the impending fall weather. All in all, the long run was refreshing and motivating and made up for the Inspector Gadget-ness of my legs on Sunday.

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08.31.07

And the conclusion…

Posted in Uncategorized at 1:41 pm by Diana

All my physical therapy commentary and pool workout complaints (ahem…reflections) withstood the test. My first non-hill workout went splendidly. My form DID end up falling apart, but the amazing thing was I could immediately feel the difference in my efficiency and ability. I could see and feel a difference in my speed and my form, and man, when it went, I could feel it all go. Any anxiety about being behind, etc., was completed eliminated in that 1.5 hours of workout on the Mason Farm loop with the rest of CAC.

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08.21.07

Hills (a continuing theme)

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:41 am by Diana

As I helped coach and cheer the Carrboro High School XC kids this morning, I watched them grunt and grimace their way up hill repeats.  Being a morning person, I enthusiastically encouraged them to jog down the hill, or use the people in front to help them get to the top.  I realized quickly that in a very few days, I will be the one grunting and grimacing, with legs screaming from fatigue and lactic acid, as I start the hill phase of my training.

My, how the tables turn!

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08.08.07

A puddle of sweat

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:26 pm by Diana

There are lots of women, especially rich women in the LA and NY areas I would guess, who pay exorbitant amounts of money to go to spas.  At the spa they get all sorts of pore cleansing treatments, including saunas.  Now, I know they use saunas for other purposes in Norther Europe and Russia.  Not being wealthy myself, I can only give you my impressions, but as I understand, saunas are used here in the USA as a method of purifying the body of toxins through sweat.

If that is true, that saunas are effective toxin-removers, then  I must be one of the purest women in NC, if not the entire USA!  Imagine, I was able to achieve this level of cleansing for free!  Outside!

Ah, yes, North Carolina in August…the time during which I achieve great skin AND fitness.

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07.23.07

It’s all connected

Posted in Uncategorized at 1:53 pm by Diana

As I continue my cross-training (which, I’m happy to report, appears to be working in my keeping pace with all the land-runners out there), I’ve been instructed to add in various strengthening exercises. First, they focused on my left glute. I’m happy to report I can now feel it “fire” in situations it hasn’t in the past. I also finally got that kick in the butt I needed to be good about crunchies. Now I’ve had to add in exercises with one of those big inflated balls to start tying things together.

I had no idea that my entire back was so weak, and so integral to having a stable upper body. Over the next couple weeks I will be increasing the amount of time I’m allowed to run (yea for 45 minutes!) as well as the number and difficulty of strengthening exercises I’m doing. Here’s to my evolution as a lean mean running machine!

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