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Fitness Friday

Posted by kaitwatts on June 1, 2012 in Uncategorized

I am taking a lead from this chica’s post and getting dirty with Fitness Friday.

I am 12 days out from a very hot marathon and almost two weeks away from the next mountain bike race. I took a week, almost completely off, except for walking 2-3 miles a day. I had not taken off a week from working out in over a year. Since my foot surgery a year ago February, actually. It was due time. Also, I was visiting family and felt good to get up and enjoy a cup of coffee or have dinner out with everyone rather than having to go out for a run.

Sushi dinner with the Auntie

On to this week. It was back in the saddle. I decided to start Jamie Eason’s LiveFit and work in some much needed strength training. I was also hoping to do a backwards taper of sorts and work myself back up to peak endurance level.

My verdict on Eason’s LiveFit: Meh.

The workouts did not take me more than half and hour an for weight lifting, I found myself barely  sore. I wish they pushed me a bit more. I’m not even sure if I am going to do today’s workout of shoulder and abs. The abs portion only has 2 moves? Really?

I went for a 4 mile run instead this morning. It was…meh. (Do you see a theme here?)

I looked at the following week and it is the same workout as this week.

One work: boring.

But, I decided with a mountain bike race almost two weeks away and me leaving for a week of work in between, it is literally time to get back into the saddle. We are thinking about hitting up the mountains near us this weekend for some camping, biking, and hiking. I think that the dogs need it just as much as we do. I need the excuse to pedal more, pedal harder, and get bad self dirty.

Need some mountain love in my life.

What exciting fitness plans do you have on tap this weekend? Or other plans in general?

Any other fitness programs out there that bored you? Zumba

Any tips for marathon recovery and getting back in the saddle of training for the next race? What races have you done almost back to back? Sometimes I wish that I had a coach to get me through these mucky times of training. I become so wishy washy and indecisive with what I should be doing.

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Growing Time!

Posted by kaitwatts on May 31, 2012 in Uncategorized

It’s the week of June 1st here. Not to be confused with the first week of June. We may be pushing the envelope a bit planting our garden, but the weather is telling us that it won’t get into the 30′s anymore at night (at least in the next week which will become the first week of June). Also, when I walk the dogs I see plenty of neighbors with their plants in the ground. Thus, I am inspired to get things going outside.

Plan A had us starting our garden inside this year. Spoiler-it was a total bust. Out of everything planted only about 4 pots of plants have taken root. Here’s the carnage:

The high plains and altitude-from what I have read, seen, and heard-makes it tough to start from seed unless you have a properly functioning green house. I was slightly disappointed with out results when our ambitious goal was shattered.Until I talked to my wise mentor, who has plenty of experience living in this area. She simply plants the seeds straight into the ground. I had a renewed hope today after hearing that.

Our bible for growing up here. This gets referenced quite a bit these days.

Plan B: All of these will be planted into the ground.

I had planned on putting beans, peas, and carrots straight into the ground. But, she suggested everything-lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes. Or at least doing peppers and tomatoes in pots.

So, we forge ahead with the new plan of planting into the ground straight from seed. We started turning up the soil today and got the tomato plants in the ground with their solar heaters. Tomorrow the seeds will be put in. Cross your fingers, I need a garden to tend this summer.

Tomato plants compliments of my mom are in and solar water heaters are filled.

Do you keep a garden? I love playing around in the garden outside in the summer. Sounds cliche-but it teaches me patience, and perseverance.

What’s the easiest for you to plant? Eggplant, zucchini, and squash have always done awesome for me. Apparently they do not grow well in this climate.

Any tips for planting or growing? I use coffee grounds on my hibiscus and it love me. I know this because it is blooming.

This post was shared on Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.

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Fitness classes-yay or nay?

Posted by kaitwatts on May 29, 2012 in Fitness tips, Healthy living

I finally made it home last night to the cool mountain air. After running a marathon in high heat and spending days sweating uncomfortably in humidity, this is quite the reprieve and a most relaxing way to ease back into life and work.

Tranquil

This morning started with a 6:15 muscle fire class. I decided to go ahead and do the Jamie Eason, LiveFit plan, but like any training plan I use these days, I will tweak it to my needs and level.

Let’s talk about fitness classes for a moment, shall we. They can be incredibly good or incredibly bad-in my opinion anyways. They are a great motivation and when you are unsure what to do, saying “I’ll just go to _____tonight” works wonders for getting your butt out the door. However, many gyms don’t have a prescribed group fitness programs where all classes are similar and you know what to expect. Instead, like my gym, the class depends on the instructor.

I have taken Muscle Fire before and found it very similar to Body Pump. Today, however, the instructor was different than the last class and the class itself was not great. Instead of doing lifting, we ran stairs, sprints, and wall sits. She did everything with us like it was a competition and as a result, she lost track of sets and everything was out of order. She also did not wear a microphone and I could not hear her over the bumpin’ rap tracks. A class like this can be a total waste of your precious time if you are on a schedule. Fortunately, I made the best of it today and decided to not take this Tuesday morning class again.

I figured on doing this class, then doing the LiveFit triceps and chest today. Many of the moves were covered in the class already, so I headed down to the gym afterwards to complete the workout. I also rode the bike for 30 minutes while reading “People.” Another gym motivator-trashy magazines that I wouldn’t usually spend my money on.

Obviously I didn’t read this issue today since it is 2 years old

I still have some residual achilles pain from the marathon. It was tight when I started the race, got worse with the camber of the road, and is the part of my body that has taken the longest to heal. I started doing the sprints during class today, but realized that it still was not healed and sat back doing more wall sits. So, it goes. Be kind, gentle, and patient to your body!

Do you like to know what to expect with fitness classes or do you like when things are mixed up? It’s nice to know what to expect so that you don’t waste your time.

What classes do you like taking? I always get more out of doing a yoga class on my own, and I have always enjoyed some type of weight class too.

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A New Start

Posted by kaitwatts on May 28, 2012 in Uncategorized

Did anyone watch the finales of American Idol last week? I did. 3 times. Apparently it is a popular show on the East Coast. Philip Phillips finished with a beautiful song “Home.” It could not have been more fitting for my trip back home. Nothing feels better than home.

Image

Being home was a wonderful recovery from the marathon and a great break from life in general. But, like anything it all must come to the end. The end of marathon training, the end of vacation.

Image

I am now on to new training. I am someone who trains for one event in one area and once over decides to train for something in a different discipline. The marathon is over, and although I will continue to run it is time to switch gears and train for something in a different discipline.

I am currently tossing around two ideas.

1. Jamie Eason’s Live Fit Trainer

2. Stone Temple 8- (an 8 hour mountain bike race here in Wyoming).

What I am thinking is to use Jamie Eason’s training plan to train for the 8 hour race. The reality is that I want to get faster and stronger on the mountain bike race, then I need to weight train more. What I like about the Jamie Eason plan is that she gives you 3 days of rest a week. That is really not an option, so I can use 2 of those to mountain bike and throw in one day of a double workout. 

I am hoping to come out with my new training plan this week and day one will start tomorrow.

Has anyone ever done Jamie Eason’s plan? Or can you link to a review of it?

What are you training for this summer?

 

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Sugarloaf Marathon Recap

Posted by kaitwatts on May 22, 2012 in Fitness tips, Running

One word to describe yesterday’s marathon-hot.

I wish I could say I had an awesome PR yesterday, but I can’t. I do have a PR though-by 3 minutes. Whatevs, it still counts. In the end, the heat got to me in a bad way.

When I started the race, it was 72 degrees. When I finished it read 85 in the shade and over 100 in the sun. However, there was no shade on this course. Just sun beating off the asphalt.

From the beginning, here goes the report.

We got up to Sugarloaf on Saturday afternoon. The last time I was at this mountain was spring break my second year of college when I was still at The University of Maine. I forgot just how much I love this area and this mountain. Something about big mountains and ski resorts that have managed to remain undeveloped really tugs at my heart strings. This is one of those places.

The Loaf

The morning of the race began with the usual bagel and cream cheese with oatmeal and coffee and then tragedy struck. I got everything together that I needed-the ipod, the gus, and the Garmin. I put the Garmin on my wrist and pressed on. Nothing. No beep, no screen. Nothing. Dad took over the watch trying to work his magic,  but it didn’t work. I went into panic mode and just told myself that I would have to practice some “zen running” and know when to eat the Gu according to the mileage rather than time.

We left the house and drove up to the start. Dad thought maybe the gas station would have a digital watch. We pulled in with our fingers crossed, but no dice. However, the attendant told us we could probably find one at the gas station next to the campground, which was where the start of the race was.

Bingo. I had a watch.

The race started and I felt great. No nerves, no bathroom issues, no aches or pains. Gravy. Everything was gravy.

Miles 1-3.Instant calf and hip pain due to the camber in the road. All race I had to be incredibly cautious of the camber of the road, especially due to the screw in my foot. I can’t run with a lot of pressure on that area.

Obvious tilted road camber here

I reminded myself that it takes about 4-5 miles for my body to warm up.

Miles 5-10. Just like the course description on the website said, it got pretty hilly here. Surprisingly I powered up these hills no problem and even dropped a few of the girls I was running with. I wouldn’t see them the rest of the race. I was feeling strong and hitting 9-10 minute miles no problem. At mile 10 I turned on my headphones and settled into the fast downhill.

Miles 15-End. At this point the heat became unbearable. I was struggling to keep nutrition down, my stomach was upset, and I became dizzy. I had to start taking short walk breaks around mile 21 as my body needed to cool down. It was slightly frustrating because I was running strong and had a sense of a strong finish in me, but the heat was devastating and there was not much that I could do about that. I started pouring water over my head at the aid stations and  a lady at various points on the course handed out ice that I put down my sports bra. I wiped brine and salt off my face, but hardly any true sweat. This combined with a full bladder told me that I was hydrated, but that I was not keeping in electrolytes.

Followed the river mostly the whole way.

The course was gorgeous and I enjoyed the scenery the whole time. Understandably, I wanted it to be over by Mile 20. My Dad and his wife followed me along the course, stopping about every 2 miles and cheering me on as I went by. When Dad saw the heat getting to me he started stopping every mile to mile and a half to hand off water or check on me.

I am slightly dissappointed with my time, especially because I was not nearly as sore as I could have been when I finished. I felt that I still had a bit left in my legs. Yet, there is nothing I could do about the heat and I could not push my legs to go any faster in the heat. And I suffered quite a bit afterwards with major intestinal issues. Not to mention that today I hurt from head to toe and feel incredibly dehydrated.

One thing that I am excited about is how fast the time flew by for me and the miles ticked away. I wanted it to be over more so because of the suffocation from the heat, but really I couldn’t believe mentally how fast it was. I know that I was off on my time, especially expecting a 4 hr 15-20 minute finish, but I accepted my slower time. That gives me some hope that they will get easier with each one that I do. That’s the hope anyways.

Anyone else run this weekend? How was it? Did you race?

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When in Maine…

Posted by kaitwatts on May 19, 2012 in Uncategorized

Happy Saturday from Mooselook Lodge-where everything is, well,  Moose!

Moose jumping through the coffee mug

The coffee mug, the candle holder, the table runner…moose, moose, moose

I don’t think this requires a caption.

I’m off for a 2 mile hill interval run as a simple warm up for tomorrow, then it’s game time. Hot tub soak, stretch, and throwing on the compression wear to drive up to Sugarloaf for packet pickup. Happy Saturday!

Anyone else running a race this weekend?

Any fun workout plans?

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Training high racing low

Posted by kaitwatts on May 18, 2012 in Fitness tips, Running

The phenomenon on altitude never dawned on me until I was training for my last marathon and the girl I was running with mentioned how training in Colorado and running in Arizona would make a difference on our breathing. I never gave it much thought, but since I stopped training 6 weeks before that marathon and still finished strong, I think the altitude may have contributed to it.

The “flat” roads of Maine

My awareness of this phenomenon has grown even more this training cycle or rather, I might be desperate for any excuse why I am not running fast. Regardless, it has not been easy training in Laramie (7,200-8,200 feet above sea level). But, running down at my Mom’s in Colorado (4,900 feet) has been easier. Yesterday, running in Maine (665 feet above sea level) felt even easier.

Yesterday I went out for a test run on the roads in Maine. My skin is not dry any more, I hit 8′s in my pace no problem, and I could take deep, long breathes. It was glorious. I sweat naturally as well too. When I trained in Colorado, the altitude was completely manageable, but this last training cycle in Wyoming was hard. It takes a lot to sweat, my  breathes are short, and my heart rate sky rockets fast.

The science of training at high altitude:

  • Most research in the area says that optimal improvement comes from training high and living low. Think running around in the mountains and then coming home to sleep.
  • Training at high altitude allows the body to acclimatize to less oxygen.
  • Less oxygen leads to: more red blood cells that bring oxygen to the muscles, increase in small blood vessels, an increase in the ability to manage the build up of lactic acid.(Source)

Benefits of training at high altitude:

Mountain biking in Summit County, Colorado at 11,000+ feet

  • Improvement in coordination and reaction times
  • Aerobic fitness during and post injury

Most of the research is still up for debate as to whether altitude training makes a difference in your performance at sea level. Despite the inconclusiveness of the research for training at sea level, elite athletes are still using high altitude training.

Here’s who uses high altitude training:

  • Shalane Flanagan
  • Kara Goucher
  • Lance Armstrong

I’m crossing my fingers that this idea gets me to the finish line too!

Those of you living at altitude-do you see any difference running at lower elevations?

Any ideas or insight to add to this conversation?

Those of you living at sea-level, do you see the effects of going to higher elevations?When I first moved to Colorado, I used to get drunk really fast.

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Run Less Run Faster Training Plan Review

Posted by kaitwatts on May 17, 2012 in Fitness tips, Running

To read about the start of the training plan read here, and a midpoint review here.

This round of marathon training is just about a wrap. I should probably wait until the marathon is over to give a review of my plan, but I will discuss it more in depth now and then let you know what I briefly think according to the marathon results.

Notice the hole in the side of the shoe. Love my Mizunos.

I chose this plan due to my past history of over use injuries. The problem is not so much that I run or workout more than anyone else, but rather the biometrics of my foot. According to my orthopedic surgeon as well as my sneakers that have holes on the outer edges, I strike on the outside of my foot, causing stress, strain, and in fact fracture.

This plan calls for three days of running a week-1 day tempo, 1 day speed, 1 long run. It adds in two days of cross training. Essentially you begin the plan by looking up your recent race results, choosing beginning, intermediate, or advanced and plugging in the numbers. I chose advanced because this is not my first marathon, I have run consecutively (minus injury time) for 6 years, and my times are average.

Pros of the Plan:

Page 1 of the finished plan. What is typed is the actual plan.

  • I loved the speed workouts and tempos. For all other training plans I have merely run a certain amount of mileage or times during the week and then the long runs. It was nice to have structured workouts that kicked my butt.
  • I like having two days of cross training-perfect for ski season and mountain biking. But, I also wanted days of shake out or easy runs.

Page 2 of the plan. What is written in is what I did.

Cons of the Plan:

  • It starts out fast and long. The first tempo run called for speeds two minutes faster than I usually run. My first long run was 13 miles, then 15, 17, and 5 20′s. You really need a strong base.
  • It called for 5 20 mile runs every other weekend. The weekends in between were 15-18. Mentally this was tough to run. Also, I never felt like there was a break in long runs.

I don’t know yets of the Plan:

  • It called for 20 mile long runs. I never did over 20 miles, I don’t know how those last 6 will fair.
  • The overall weekly mileage is low. I am not sure how that will fair either

The predicted times for everything in this plan coincide with The McMillan calculator, so I don’t think that the authors of “Run Less Run Faster” are too far off in their science. Sometimes I need to be pushed more and this was definitely the plan to do it. For the time crunched runner, this is the plan. It’s very manageable and I saw results in my speed and distance.

Have you ever used this plan? Would you use it again?  I would use it again, but probably tweak the long run schedule.

Are you thinking of using this plan and have questions?  Not like I am an expert, but it could help you decide if you want to spend money on the book or not.

Anyone go over 20 miles in a long run? Anyone keep them at 20 miles? How does that work for you? The last time I trained I went up to 24 miles. This time I never went over 20.

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Marathon Prep

Posted by kaitwatts on May 16, 2012 in Uncategorized

Today I board a plane for Portland, ME. I am pretty stoked because not only is a marathon waiting for me to run it on the other side, but my Dad will be waiting too. Although, you probably already knew that.

Nothing says Maine like lobsters and Mountain Dad

I’ve been getting myself ready for this marathon. When I think about it, I get butterflys. It has been over 4 years since my last marathon. Although, in between I have trained (not raced) for another marathon, ran five halves, a bunch ov trail races, 8 mountain bike races, and 1 50 mile mountain bike race. I had a stress fracture after the first marathon. Another stress fracture after the Seattle half marathon, and two foot fractures after that. Whew. What a long ride.

You probably already knew all that too.

Anyway, I am tapering.

Here’s what tapering means:

1. The running schedule

Saturday: 10 miles

Sunday: off

Monday: 5.5 miles easy

Tuesday:off

Wednesday: 5.5 miles easy

Thursday: Maybe 3 miles on the treadmill

Friday: off

Saturday: Miles 8-10 of the marathon course (these are the two biggest hills of the course)

2. The eating schedule:

There is none. I am sitting around, relaxing and eating everything I feel like. I really had wanted to get this free for all under control this training round. I want to keep with the same amount of calories of  my normal diet, but swap out my fiber and proteins for carbs. I guess it isn’t too late to start this.

Speaking of Maine and lobsters, I thought I would be eating lobster salad sandwiches to fuel for the marathon. Wrong. Mom bought lobster tails as a celebratory meal Friday night. The first few miles of the 10 miler hurt-bad. Glad I learned that lesson.

This meal will be saved for after the race.

3. Outfit rehearsal

I tried out the new outfit from the Reebok outlet-it’s a go. The new compression socks-not so much. Too hot to run in. However, they will be worn on the plane today. I do not need any blood clots before the marathon. Speaking of injuries. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I keep thinking that my calves are sore and tight and I freak out. Then I wake up in the morning and they are fine. I am so good at freaking myself out.

Do you freak yourself out before marathons? For the most part I remain pretty cool, but I do get a little weird about fearing new injuries.

Do you like lobsters-aka “the roaches of the sea?” I love lobster. I will do anything for a lobster salad sandwich when I home with Dad.

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Hypothyroidism and athletes

Posted by kaitwatts on May 15, 2012 in Healthy living, Uncategorized
Overview of the thyroid system (See Wikipedia:...

Overview of the thyroid system (See Wikipedia:Thyroid). To discuss image, please see Talk:Human body diagrams (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

**Disclaimer: I am not in any way an expert or doctor. This is just my experience with the disorder and what I have learned along the way. 

I used to never have to take a pill every day. Now I do. Since I was first diagnosed with cervical dysplasia and later cancer, the hormones started going crazy. Some how it left my thyroid underactive

Taking a look at the list, I had a variety of the symptoms:

  • Fatigue-Yes
  • Hair thinning
  • Dry skin-Yes
  • Abnormal periods-Yes
  • Low heart rate-Yes
  • Fogginess.sulligishness-Yes
  • Unexplained weight Gain-Yes
  • Constipation-Yes
  • Depression
  • Hoarse Voice
  • Puffy Face     (Source) and

Right around the time of my diagnosis, I became extremely fatigued, had dried skin in weird places, and felt bloated, with unexplained weight loss. I went back to the doctor for a follow up on my diagnosis and told her about these new symptoms, beginning with the lack of energy. I thought at first that my schedule of teaching high school full time and bartending a few times a week was taking it’s toll. She ordered a blood test and the results came back void of T3 and T4, the two hormones responsible for your thyroid.

This is common in women especially when your hormones change. For me it was the change in estrogen from my diagnosis. Many women find this an issue when getting pregnant or after being pregnant. If you want to read about the scientific, make you yawn stuff, this source is helpful. However, I think sharing my experience can be more helpful for people.

What I have decided to do for treatment:

Due to my lifestyle, I opted to not take the synthetic thyroid (synthroid) for the last coupleo f years. When I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism, the natural medicine (Armour) had been taken off the market because it was going through reregulation by the FDA. I started on a thyroid medicine that had to be compounded. Think about the old fashion pharmacy in your neighborhood growing up, complete with one of everything, no more no less, and a soda fountain. That is where I went for this. I would call and order a refill and it took a couple of days for the pharmacist to mix the exact amount of avian and bovine  thyroid. Yes, I supplemented my own thyroid with that of thyroid from birds and cows. But, it worked because you could play with the amount of T4 and T3 that worked for you.

Armour is back on the market and I am graduate student with student health insurance, so no more compounding for this girl. But, things started going weird again since I have been on Armour. I have spoken to a couple of different doctors at my clinic and they think that although Armour is now FDA approved and suppose to contain the same dosage in each pill, that may not be the case. So, right after the marathon (I don’t want to mess with thyroid levels) I will start on the synthetic.

How it effects me as an athlete:

The thyroid controls a constellation of networking process in the body. When it is under active, everything can slows down. Your hear rate and blood flow. This decreases muscle exertion as well as muscle recovery. You are tired to the point that you can’t focus and fogginess takes over. All of these things can affect you as an athlete.

For me as an athlete, I don’t really feel the difference except that weight does not come off. Right around the time of diagnosis of this and the other issue, I gained about 10 lbs-without changing my diet and exercise- and ever since then (2.5 years ago), I haven’t shook it. But, my running times are just as good, if not better, as are my times on the bike.

It took a while to get my thyroid level elevated. I had to have blood tests every 6 weeks, then every 6 months for the first two years.  I can tell when I miss a day. By 3 or 4 o’clock, I feel as if I have been hit by a brick. I can fall asleep standing up. If I miss two days in a row or for some reason it gets low, I get these weird patches of dry skin on my chin and my thigh. These reasons are why I am back to trying a new medication.

Taking the medication can be a bit of an art when you are not used to even taking a mutli vitamin daily. It must be taken on an empty stomach with no food for one hour at the same time every day. Certain supplements can interact with it like calcium and iron. However, other supplements can help with it like B6 and B12, Vitamin D, and Folic Acid. It is also connected to autoimmune diseases. Eliminating or cutting back on gluten and soy can aid with feeling better as well. (Source)

Anyone else have a hypo/hyper thyroid?

Any diet/supplement suggestions?

How does it interfere with your training?

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