Monthly Archives: February 2013
3k Time Trial
Yesterday was set to be my debut track race of the season. My school was hosting an indoor track meet in our dome, and I was entered in the 3k. Last minute, the whole meet was cancelled! Unfortunately, my parents were already scheduled to come up for the weekend and watch me race. So in lieu of their visit, I decided to just run a one-(wo)man 3k on the track as a “time trial.”
Last year, my personal best 3,000 meter time at 7,000ft elevation was 10:50. (I’ve only run one 3k at sea-level, my junior year in high school in 10:37.) I wanted to run this time trial to compare my fitness level to one year ago. I’ve been training for just under 5 weeks after 5 weeks off from the December surgery. Before that, I had 6 weeks of running after 3 months off from the July surgery. Needless to say, I am not quite in my prime racing shape. I’ve been putting in the miles, speed workouts, strength workouts, extra ab and core sessions, and eating extra healthy.
When my parents arrived Friday afternoon, I had the 300-meter indoor track all to myself for the 10-lap “race.” My dad stood at the lap counter with his stop watch, looking very official and calling out my splits. Even though it’s not a real race, I still get nervous! My stomach gets butterflies and I think about all the things that can go wrong. Since I was all by my lonesome on the track, I knew I would have to keep myself from over-thinking and getting mentally psyched out. I tried to convince my dad to let me run with my iPod; he said NOPE. (To which I responded, “Fine then you’ll just have to SING TO ME! He did not. Lame.)
I did not have a goal time because I honestly had no idea what I would be able to do. My laps were not very consistent, and half way through I let myself get a little doubtful of my own abilities. But I finished with a kick in 11:12 which I am considering acceptable. Nothing really impressive, but of course it could be much much worse. Knowing that I am within 22 seconds of the previous year’s best is still pretty positive and I KNOW that in a real race with my teammates, some competition, my coaches, spectators and a legitamate uniform, I’ll be able to knock off at least 12 seconds ;) Next weekend we shall find out!
Another reason my parents are in town is to celebrate my birthday! It’s not until Tuesday, but we are filling this weekend with festivities. Which I am off to right now! Have a great weekend and if you are in the snow storms too, stay safe & drink some coffee.
Define “Strong”
Obviously before I could launch my blog, I needed a title. I had a few ideas, but I came up with “Strong Like My Coffee” on a morning run during the summer at a local park. ‘Strong’ encompasses more than just physical, muscular strength. Everyone has their own internal battles, and some days just choosing to wear that big, bright & beautiful smile is “strong.” Sometimes I use the most strength trying to refrain from smacking some loudmouth classmate across the head! ;)
We are ALL a little stronger than we think we are.
I love killing time on Pinterest and can usually always count on the “quotes” section to fill me with inspiration for the day. Over the past year, I’ve pinned a lot of quotes and phrases that have to do with strong. Since others have already worded them so much better than I could, I thought I would share my favorite and most applicable strength-themed quotes. All of them extend beyond health!
1. The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of us, but those who win battles we know nothing about.
2. Sometimes walking away has nothing to do with weakness and everything to do with strength. We walk away not because we want others to realize our worth and value but because we finally realize our own.
3. You have to be your strongest when you feel your weakest.
4. You were given this life because you were strong enough to handle it.
5. You are only as strong as the coffee you drink.
Okay you knew I’d have to throw a coffee one in there ;)
Without getting too sappy and metaphorical, I think it’s super important to remind ourselves of just how strong we can be! You have made it this far and have overcome things you did not know you could. I know I have! When I realize that I’ve accomplished something that originally struck me with fear, I can’t help but smile.
:)
Speed Workout and Recovery Fuel Smoothie
It’s Tuesday, so I must have a track workout this morning! Lately the schedule seems to have track workouts on Tuesdays and Fridays, strides following easy runs on the days in between, and a long double-digit-mileage run on Sundays. This program seems to be working because I keep shaving the seconds off of each workout and I’m really seeing improvement! Which is good because this Friday I will be competing in my first indoor track race of the season: 3000 meters (just under 2 miles). We race at 7,000 ft altitude, where the air is deprived of oxygen and times are a little slower than they would be at sea-level. Therefore we have a “conversion” time adjustment for every distance that has been created to better compare race times from Mammoth to those from Malibu.
For instance, I ran a 5k indoor track race last year at 7,000 ft altitude. My real time was 18:52, but was adjusted to be 18:02 with the conversion chart. A few weeks later I ran a 5k at sea level in 17:50. So the conversion is more of a guide. We have to keep this in mind when we run work outs up here. Trying to keep “mile race pace” for a track workout is a little slower than it would be at sea level.
Today’s Track workout: INTERVALS.
- 12 x 400 meters to be exact. (For those not too familiar with track/metric distances, 400 meters is one lap around a track which is 1/4 mile).
- 90 seconds rest in between each interval.
- Start out at 5k pace (about 85 seconds per 400 meters) and gradually speed up through out the entire workout, finishing anywhere between 70-74 seconds.
- Intervals allow you to run at a faster speed than a straight 30-minute run. Varying between bursts of speed and rest boosts metabolism and builds fast-twitch muscles.
- The twelfth interval should be the fastest!
I love these types of “progression” workouts; it really stresses control. When you start out, you feel fresh and you want to go faster. But you have to run smart to have enough energy each lap to shave off a second or two.
After this long workout, recovery is SO IMPORTANT. Especially considering I will be racing 3 days later and need to be free from soreness and have plenty of energy. Post-workout recovery meals (along with sufficient cool-down and stretching time) are top priority if you want to keep lactic acid to a minimum and reduce soreness.
I’ve always heard that chocolate milk was a perfect recovery drink. One of the track meets in high school even had cartons of chocolate milk at the finish line for racers! However I recently read an article pointing out that chocolate milk contains a significant amount of high fructose corn syrup. After a little research I learned that 1 cup of chocolate milk contains an incredible 32 grams of sugar! Not to mention an equal amount of fat as protein – a measly 8.6 grams. I feel like we can do much better than pour that amount of sugar and simple carbs in our body after an intense workout.
Smoothies are delicious, healthy and super easy to make. I’m a fan of popping them in the freezer for half an hour to make them extra thick, but since recovery fuel should be taken in within 30 minutes of a workout, we might want to fore-go this step.
Into the blender goes:
- enough water/fat-free milk to get it all moving
- frozen banana
- non-fat Greek or regular yogurt (more protein)
- handful of spinach leaves (lots of Iron!)
- scoop of whey protein (to repair those muscles)
- Pinch of Flax Seeds (Anti-inflammatory!)
- Handful of quick oats (whole grain carb for replacing energy)
You can always add in some berries, cinnamon, wheat germ, almond butter, or whatever else your favorite smoothie ingredients are. Just make sure your post-workout recovery snack/meal is not completely undoing your workout. If you are working out to lose weight, you’re not going to want to end a 4 mile run with a 1,000 calorie smoothie so remember to keep it light on the nut butters and flavored protein powders, and go for Greek yogurt over a Clif Bar.
I can do a whole nother post about recovery “protein bars” like Odwalla, Clif, Zone, Tiger Milk, Luna, Kind, and Mojo bars so I’ll save that for later. If you have any favorite recovery fuels, post them below :)
