Tricotine

WBCS 5K #16 Race Report

I don't usually report on my weekly 5K Series unless something unusual happened, such as a new PR or a personal improvement.

Today was Week 6/Day 4 of my Aerobic Base Training - meaning exercisisng within 60-80% of my maximum Heart rate, and it was RACE DAY!!!

My goal was to finish under 27 minutes and to follow my Doctor's instructions - meaning not to exceed 150 bpm during weekly races. I quickly realized that my two goals were not compatible.

At first, I did start jogging and I thought I would be racing along with the back of the pack, which I had no problem with. But then, I recognized in front of me LOTS of runners "from the back" which made me wonder where I was located in the pack. A quick look behind me and there I was... LAST!!!

That couldn't be!  OK for taking it easy but not finishing last!  Call it stupid pride or ridiculous competitive spirit but I couldn't bare that idea. 150 bpm was obviously not a realistic goal for making the time I wanted for today's race - although it is higher than my usual "in the zone" maximum heart rate...

So, I tuned up my i-Pod up (first time I was racing with music) as well as my speed and I thought... "The heck the Doctor... It is show time!"

Results: I finished in 26:05 minutes. Not my Personal Best of the Series (24:40 minutes) but although I had to slow down in order to try to keep my heart pace under 180 bpm, this is my second best time of the series!

First male won the race in 16:22 minutes and the first female to finish did it in 21:22 minutes.  Because there were so many talented male runners last night, she was 49th place out of 123 finishers total. I only counted 23 or 24 women running tonight and the usual fastest female runners were not participating... That certainly explains why I would place 7th in the female group (if there was one) with such a time - fine with me though... eh eh

Anyway, I feel like I didn't do too bad for someone who had a bad start. And looking at the final overall results, that means that I passed 36 runners after I had my "wake-up call"...

I didn't push as far as I would normally do though. I still tried to remain sort of "reasonable" and to not exceed 180 bpm (which is still higher than my Maximum Heart Rate). I held my stride or slowed down when it was necessary, and I did manage pretty well since my average heart rate was 166 bpm (Garmin HRM facts).

But my biggest satisfaction is to have kept a steady pace all along those 5 kilometers - except for the final sprint of course (HR up to 194 bpm - 110% of maximum Heart Rate, which was waaaay too high once again)...

Mile 1 = 8.18 min/mile Avg Pace
Mile 2 = 8.17 min/mile Avg Pace
Mile 3 = 8.18 min/mile Avg Pace
(Motion Based Stats)

That is a HUGE improvement for me, because my running tends to be hectic most of the time. But today for the first time I felt like I was in control!  I bet my Doctor is going to disagree with that though...

I will get back to my Aerobic Base Training (60-80%) tomorrow. Today I just got caught in the craziness of racing…

Wordless Wednesday #70

More WW...

Weekend Snapshot(s) #41

Weekend at the farm again this week, but for picking Peaches this time.

I personally prefer to eat my Peaches fresh, cubed in my salads and cereal, but I also like Peach Omelette and Clafoutis. We have plenty enough to please everyone at home, and... Peach Cobbler has been requested.

Weekend at the farm again this week, but for picking Peaches this time.

I personally prefer to eat my Peaches fresh, cubed in my salads and cereal, but I also like Peach Omelette and Clafoutis. We have plenty enough to please everyone at home, and... Peach Cobbler has been requested.

The back side of Organic Products

When it is good for you... well, it is also good for them!
Just like me, those little critters are very fond of pesticide-free whole food!

It may look yucky but here is the proof - if I needed one - that my Pearl Barley is truely Organic. I dont recall seeing this since I was a little girl in my Mom's kitchen, and my kids were pretty fascinated by that bug-container too. This is the kind of situation where I wish I had a better camera.

Now, how do you know if your Pearl Barley (or any other grains) is bug free?

Look for tiny holes in grains
<========  (photo here beside)-----------------

I am going to have to change my plans for today's lunch though...

How about a Wheat Weebil Kebab?

Wordless Wednesday #69

First signs of Autumn in my little corner of the world...

More WW...

The Hundred Pushups Challenge

I DID IT!!! 

I took the challenge 7 weeks ago (I doubled a week) and I have survived completed Hundred Pushups! I did modified pushups (knees) but I intend to try regular pushups next!  

Thank you Steve and Blaine for motivation and support! 

Weekend Snapshot(s) #40

This weekend, my little guy was the photographer during our trip to the farm. Not bad for a Kindergardener, huh?

We were hoping for peaches but they were not ready to be picked yet.

Breakaway 5K - NEW PR!!!

In order to recover from overtraining and to build an Aerobic Base, and following my Doctor's instructions, I have been training "in the zone" (meaning aerobic zone - 60-80% of my maximum heart rate) for the past three weeks now. For me, that meant jogging at slow pace (between 14 and 12 min/mile pace) and although my Doctor was confident about how I will do on race day, I was a bit nervous about running that 5K yesterday...

Well, as he said - still amazingly to me - I did pretty well...
Actually, I ran my best 5K ever!!!

Final speed-up at the finish line - not so smiling... and my Celine Dion Victory smile!

My goal was to finish under 24:30 minutes (my previous PR was 24:40 minutes) and I made it in 24:10 minutes!!! WOOHOOOO!!! I still cannot believe it!

My Doctor and running coach had predicted that soon I would be able to run a 5K in 23 minutes and I thought they were kidding, but yesterday, I got close to that 23:00 something minute!!!

It was a very fast race and I finished 6/27 in my age group, which was not fast enough to be awarded a medal, but #1 and #2 finished in 19 minutes something and I don't think I will ever be able to run that fast, so I decided to celebrate my own victory, the one over myself. Isn't that what matters the most after all?

My metabolism does not seem to have improved yet... Although I was well warmed up (before the race I had done 30 minutes of stepper, ridden my bike early in the morning and jogged to the starting line) I was shocked to see on my Garmin screen that my average HEART RATE during the race was 102% of my Maximum HR, my maximum Heart rate was 110%!!!

I don't think it had ever been that high before...

Although the course was fairly flat - except for the first part of the race that started with a deep up and down hill - I found that race really hard. I had the feeling that I was going slower than I was really going... Strange feeling indeed but looking back now I think I could have pushed myself a bit more – but I always feel that way after a race... LOL

I tried to keep my pace steady no matter what, but despite my efforts I ended up running the first two miles faster than I did the third one… 7:31 – 7:38 and 8:06 min/mile. I got tired... or dehydrated... or both!

I didn’t want to stop at any water stop (maybe that was a mistake because it was warm) but I was fine after I passed the finish line. I drank the water bottle that was handled to me at the finish line and ate a Clementine my husband had brought for me. I was glad he didn't forget because no post-run food at all was offered by the race organization for 5K runners…

Then, there was the Kids Fun Run. A whole mile that I ran with TJ while Mister T. was running with Little BT. TJ made it in 11:04 minutes without stopping and walking at all, and Little BT in 15 minutes something!

I am so proud of my little Champions! ♥

They got medals – like all kids participating to the race - plus T-shirts, food certificates (Pizza, fries and ice cream) and free rides for two hours at the Amusement Park. We had a fun day!

Now, recovering from AEROBIC DEFICIENCY could take up to six months (three if I am lucky)... Until then, I am neither allowed to speedwork or Tempo Runs, nor to Strengh Training or any other Anaerobic training - I have anaerobic trained for too long with my running when I was thinking I was actually getting cardio benefits... But I am lucky that I am still allowed to run my races. eh eh

Building an AEROBIC BASE is very important in order to keep running safely and to give my metabolism a chance to heal and to function properly again - meaning to burn the fat in my body to "fuel" my workouts, rather than my muscles and organs. Athletics improvements are worth a few sacrifices, right?

AEROBIC BASE TRAINING = Going slower to get faster, meaning to run or bike slowly in order to gain performance. The hard part of base training is having the discipline to train at lower intensities.

Just like "The Karate Kid" (my Dr nicknamed me) I need to learn to be patient...

Weekend Snapshot(s) #39

Trip to Boston this weekend, to attend a AAA Baseball game - not that I am a big fan of Baseball but it was a warm and sunny day, and family time is always nice. And... I had brought decent food (that I had to eat before entering the stadium because bringing food is not allowed...) my camera and a great book - thankfully, that was allowed!

At first, we were seated in a section of the Ballpark where seats were more tiny and uncomfortable than economic class airplanes' and from where I could not see much because of a pole that was on my way - am I lucky or what? LOL 

Not to mention the continuous hearing-impairing screaming of an over excited crowd, and the overwhelming smell of greasy foods mixed with beer/tobacco breaths...

Needless to say that I was pleased when in the middle of the second game Mister Tricotine announced that he would like to see the game from another angle! We moved to the very opposite side of the Park that was actually less crowded, and in fact the game was more enjoyable from there - except for Mister T who mentionned that it was difficult to see the ball. Other than that, seats were more comfortable, the area was quieter, and the air was more breathable.

Probably because it is farther from the action, seats in this area of the Park are cheaper, but I like it better because I think it is more family friendly, especially with young kids; games are sooooooo loooong... and little legs need some activity.

And... For the low-interested-baseball-audience that I am, it was also more fun to "play" with my camera under an open sky!

Morality: More expensive does not always mean better!

Weekend Snapshot #38

My new partner in Fitness and Health, the Fuji Absolute 3.0! 

At first, I had thought about getting a road bike but considering that I also might want to go ride with my family on trails beside riding on the road, I finally opted for a Cross Bike, also often called a Hybrid, Cross Terrain Bike or Fitness Bike. 

It is a versatile tool that does many things well. It can handle paved roads, bike paths, graded fire trails and dirt roads. It is not as fast on pavement as a Road Bike, but I don't intend to train for a Tri-Athlon (for now anyway) so it is going to be just fine for my warm-up and wake-up sessions before my runs.

Besides, I have heard that bicycling is great Cross Country training for runners because it works different muscle groups and is not as agressive on the heart as running is.

I am glad I didn't have to get the Ladies version (for small women) because I like the Night Burgundy color much better. I had a few accessories added and the original saddle switched to a more comfortable gel padded one - I didn't like those padded cycling pants they were trying to sell me. They felt like I was wearing diapers!  j

I cannot wait to get on the road!