more tired or more hungry?

[Friday 3/24/06]
REST Day

after yesterday's run crash, i cancelled today's workout. my quads are very sore from that strength workout. my body is very fatigued overall. it is pretty sad that i call myself an athlete but it is a chore to walk up two flights of stairs today.

[Thursday 3/23/06]
Strength workout (fitness test)
Swim 2500yd, 47:17 - main set as 500 kick with fins, 10 x 150 on 2:45
Run 3 miles - easy with some pick ups to 5K race pace

I met with my new personal trainer, Katy, for the first time today. She had me do a fitness test that consisted of:
-maximum number of reps of push ups i can do with good form
-number of squats i can do in 45 seconds
-maximum number of assisted pullups i can do
-how long i can hold myself in a push up position on my forearms (abs)
-time trial for shuttle run: sprint/side skip/walk on fours/side skip/sprint
It was exhausting! I was shaking by the end. Then we went through the whole thing except the shuttle run 2 more times for the workout. It was great because I feel like I will be able to get really strong if I keep doing this stuff. I had given Katy a week long eating journal before we started and she wondered if I am really eating enough.

My swim was good, but then I crashed on the run. I was planning on doing a full track workout with speed intervals but after a quarter mile I got a side cramp and my legs felt deader than dead. I doubted that I would be able to do any decent intervals. I walked a bit, then decided that I was not going to give up. I ran a mile, did 5 fast 1 minute repeats with walking recoveries, and ran another mile. By the end, I felt nauseated. I had planned on doing yoga class after that, but at that point I just wanted to go home and rest so that's what I decided to do. I could hardly walk up to my apartment on the second floor.

Almost more than tired, I was hungry. This is often a dilemma for me... after a workout, i need to determine am I more tired or more hungry? do I have enough energy to make myself a meal at the moment or do I need to take a nap so I have the energy to make a meal? why are there so many places that deliver pizza (which i should not be eating) and so few that deliver something like grilled salmon and steamed broccoli?

[Wednesday 3/22/06]
Swim 2800yd, 57 min - Master's swim class

I spent a good part of this on backstroke. It felt very awkward at first as I was struggling through a windmill motion with my arms. My coach showed me the proper arm motion and rotation, but I'm not sure I quite got it. I know I got better though. I try to think of being efficient with backstroke like I am with freestyle except on my back. If I can figure it out it will be nice to have backstroke as a backup stroke to use during races in case I need to get more air for some reason. The backstroke is less slow than breaststroke to use for this purpose.

one reason to do this

[Tuesday 3/21/06]
Swim - 3000yd, 59:22 - main set includes 8 x 75 mod/hard, 400 B5, 5 x 25 sprint, 6 x 100 descend
Run - hill/tempo workout - 4 miles, 38 min - 2 x 1 mile @ 8:52, 8:20, 2 miles with 4 x 2 min (steep) hill repeats on 2 min recovery

My mother had surgery for breast cancer today. I timed my workout to be during the surgery. This one was for her. I felt strong and extra determined on the hill repeats.

trying to catch up

here's the quick version of things since i returned from hawaii. i am still getting adjusted to being home and haven't had time to post regularly yet.

3/14 tuesday: run 3 miles easy, bike 60 min, uppoer body weights, abs
3/15 wednesday: swim 1600yd, bike 1:30 outside (23 miles), lower body strength
3/16 thursday: REST Day
3/17 friday: bike 2 x 38 min on mountain bike, run speedwork (36 min) - 1200@5:23, 800@3:39, 400@1:46, 2x200@0:52, 4x100 fast
3/18 saturday: bike 2:01 (two spin classes), abs
3/19 sunday: swim 2400yd, run 6.2 miles very slow

this is about the end of the road for me without some good recovery. after all the biking i have done recently, not getting enough sleep, and not being able to eat completely normally while on vacation, i have run out of fuel. i am on the border of overtraining. at this point, even easy workouts and very slow running spike my heartrate and my legs feel dead. this next week will be all about recovery and getting my nutrition and sleep back in order.

my first race of the season is in two weeks (an 8K run), and even though it is not a main priority i still want to be ready for it.