Now for something a little more seasonal...

Temperatures have dropped again, so if any more precipitation falls it will likely be in the form of snow.

Had a really great run last night. Slow, but great and one of those days when slow doesn't matter. I ran for just over 40 minutes with one of them women I usually run with. I haven't seen her in a while as she was out west visiting her brand new (and first) grand daughter. Then when she returned home she had to deal with the death of a friend. So it was nice to see her after so long. After we parted ways at the Y, I ran for another 20 minutes on my own. The pace was a bit quicker, but I just felt very relaxed and the running felt effortless. Because of that it meant that I was free to think about other things. What those other things were I can't remember, but I do remember that I was almost home again when I realized that I hadn't been thinking about running or being tired or how slow I was going, or anything like that. Maybe it helped that it was eight degrees, no wind and no snow.

Woke up this morning to get to pilates class at 7:30. I have started making sure I sign up for the class the day before. Since I have been going regularly I don't usually sign up because I know she expects me there, but I find if I sign up the day before I am less likely to roll over and go back to bed. Anyway, today's class was tough, but really great.

Tonight I ride the first of the zone 2 trainer rides in the Computrainer Challenge.

I'm thinking about building an ark...

Man. It rained for the latter part of yesterday and I woke up to rain this morning. Wet ride to yoga class, then, after class I had to put my wet clothes on again to ride home. Yuck. Wet clothes from riding into work this morning. Hope they dry by the end of the day. Looks like it is supposed to let up in time for me to run this evening.

Was back at the gym yesterday doing some strength training. Worked my way through the exercises that my chiropractor gave me last year. Now this morning my butt is killing me. Last night at yoga we rolled on tennis balls (think: giving yourself your own fairly painful massage). So I am sure those things combined have resulted in my pained state.

I am almost finished the front part of my sleeveless funnel neck top. One thing I noticed when looking at it on Sunday is that where I bound stitches off on a purl row, the shape is not 'definined', while where I bound off stitched on a knit row, the shape is clear, like steps. I hope this won't affect the shape of one side of the garment when I stitch it together. I am really hoping it will fit as it seems to measuring a bit smaller than I figured.

First Serious Snowfall of Winter

I made it home last night on my bike before the snow started to fall. By the time I went to bed last night there was snow on every surface outside and this morning there was a good coating of it including a fair bit of ice and crustiness. So I walked into work this morning. This weekend I will swap out the slicks on my commuting bike for the fatter mountain bike tires with a bit better traction. Of course I will do that just in time for it to be 12 degrees at the beginning of next month. I swear, at this race the world is likely to explode in some kind of environment disaster before the year is up.

I rode my test session on the Computrainer last night as part of the winter Challenge I am participating in. I was faster than I had thought I would be, but am bringing up the very back of the pack with one of the slowest times compared to everyone else. I have no where to go but up, right? But the test gives you some valuable information that can help you determine training intensities for other types of training, so the torture is worth it for other reasons.

Will probably go out for a run with the group this evening, but have told them to take cover if the wind picks up. So we'll see what happens. I think I will run home from work at the end of the day to get in a bit of extra running time.

Back to Slow...

With the end of the racing season comes the start of base training. Base training is a time to slow down and work at much lower intensities than you were when preparing to race. So last night I headed out in -11 with the winds gusting to 65 km/hour and attempted to keep my heart rate under 153. I was mostly successful, but old ladies with walkers were passing. It is kind of strange double state. On one hand there is a sense of frustration because your pace is so much slower than during the height of race season, but on the other hand the pace is slower and therefore the workout is more relaxing. There is more time to look around and just spend some time relaxing and thinking. So I am trying hard to let go of the speed judgements and just enjoy being outside.

I haven't mentioned the yoga class I started taking. Monday was the second class of six in a restorative yoga course that I am taking. I had started taking a yoga class at the gym, but many of the poses were making my back sore again, so I found this restorative class that is designed to address students with problem areas. It is a lovely class. It is 90 minutes long and all of the poses are supported in some way (with pillows, rolled blankets etc). So you get to enjoy being in the poses without all the stress of trying to hold your body in the proper alignment. It is not easy, and you are still working at gaining range of motion, so it can be uncomfortable. But it just feels safer and it is easier to let go. So I am really enjoying it. I am taking it at The Yoga Space if anyone is looking for a studio. The location is really beautiful.

Tonight I am scheduled to do my test on the computrainer. A tough 35 minute or so all out effort on a fairly easy course. This test determines your training parameters for the online 'competition' I am participating in over the winter.

Two Finished Projects!

Well, part of operation-do-nothing meant I had some spare time to knit. So this weekend I managed to finish both projects I had going. I finished the poncho first and it turned out great! It is very light (in weight), but quite lofty and warm. I was worried that it seemed a bit big (which meant the neck opening was big), but it just meant that I could fold the neck down like a turtle neck. It actually makes the piece look nicer, and a bit dressier. I'd be tempted to make another one of these in another colour. I was also surprised that I did a decent job on the seam. I thought it might be 'stretchy' because the knitting is pretty loose. But it looks nice and firm. Then I finished the shrug. I had previously torn some of this out because it was too small (as made per the pattern). But using some grade nine algebra I managed to use my arm span measurements, and measurements of what I had already done, to figure out how to get it to fit, and it worked. So I sewed the sleeves together on Sunday and it was finished. Both projects have gotten good reviews at the office. Although the bell sleeved shrug makes me feel a little bit like a wizard :)

Back to a light training schedule this week. I will run with my running group on Tuesday and Thursday and then a run on my own on the weekend. I am doing the 'test' ride on the computrainer this week for the computrainer challenge that I am participating in. It is basically an online competition of people riding the same courses on the computrainers. The test is supposed to be a time trial, so ridden as hard as possible. Should be interesting. I am looking forward to having something to compare my progress to over the winter.

The other neat thing about the computrainer is now my coach can tell me which courses to ride for different training rides. Takes the guess work out of what kind of 'terrain' to ride. This weekend I get to do a few loops of Central Park.

Last week I also went to check out my chiropractor/ART practioner's new office. He opened his own business with some other health care providers. It is a great office. They are offering personal training, sports medicine, massage, chiropractics, spinning... etc. If you are in the GTA and looking for someone for this kind of thing his new website is at The Urban Athlete. The website content isn't up yet, but the location and phone number are there. I can't say enough this chiropractor (Dr. Jardine). His holistic approach to injury treatment includes not only soft tissue manipulation, but exercise prescription as well (various strength training suggestions). Most of the exercises he prescribed for me were ones that he 'invented' himself to specifically address my issues. Highly recommended.

The Fine Art of Doing Nothing...

I am practicing the fine art of doing nothing. After racing on Sunday the instructions for the week were to do whatever I felt like doing (after taking two full days off). As of right now I have chosen that to mean 'do nothing'. I am still riding to work, and the days that I don't ride to work, I walk. So I am getting some light activity. But when I get home in the evening the couch and I become one. Don't get me wrong, I don't veg out completely. I knit, or read or book or whatever. But I am enjoying coming home and staying home instead of rushing home to rush back out the door again. I must admit that the doing nothing coincided nicely with some VERY crappy weather.

Now the race... It didn't go as planned. But every time things don't go as planned it is a chance to take something away from the experience. The number one learning experience is that I am still unable to stop myself from starting too fast. I don't get caught up in the excitement (it was hard to feel that with such a small number of racers!), but I think that I am unable to judge how fast others are going and just hang out with those around me. So my first mile was 8:00 (when the goal pace was 8:35). It was hard to adjust on the next mile because the marker was off. I hit the half way point about right on schedule. At that point I took a little bit of Hammer Gel. About three minutes later I got a terrible stitch in my left rib cage which forced me walk a little until it went away a bit. But it never really went away, it was like a little dull ache there. The terrain also took me by surprise. This is a rolling course, but it is pretty constantly rolling. Nothing terrible in terms of hills, but just a constant up and down. So it was hard to find a rhythm. Well, the goal time was 1:26 and I finished in 1:29:16 (chip time). I was happy to come in under 1:30 given the windy conditions and that the course was more difficult than I anticipated. Hopefully in the spring I will get a chance to run a half marathon or two and try to solve my 'going out too fast' problem.

In the realm of knitting, I am about 15 rows away from finishing the shrug. I draped it over my shoulders yesterday to see if it was getting too long, but I think it is going to be perfect. I finished the poncho, but it was too big for my tastes, so I pulled out some rows and need to cast it off again. I didn't mind that it was long, but because of the way it goes together, the length also affects the neck. So I thought the neck was a bit gapey. So I am going to try it a bit shorter and see if that works.

Not getting caught this time...

I'm not getting caught this time. I registered for my ten mile race, I have the receipt, I am ready to go. I have heard there is a decent sized hill on the course and it can get quite windy. So I'm just going to get out there and give it my best shot and see what the day sends my way. Training has been going well. I have been working on some pace type running in the past few weeks and I have to say that my concept of pacing on the road (as opposed to the track) really stinks. I seem to have two speeds: slow-warm-up-pace and race-pace. So I am working at trying to find the pace that is closer to a solid 'intensive aerobic' effort. I think I need to learn to let go of worrying about the pace. By that I mean that I have to realize it is OK to miss in training. I think I tend to run the kilometers too fast because I know that the prescribed pace is faster than an easy jaunt and so I think it should be HARD. So I pick up the pace too much in fear of wasting a kilometer going too slow. I need to stop looking at a 'miss' as a waste and see it as a point of comparison instead. How zen.

The Saturday of that weekend a co-worker and I are going to check out the the Body Worlds exhibit at the Science Centre. It is a display of human bodies that have been plastinated. It should be really interesting. I have heard that many places that have run this exhibit have had to keep their doors open 24 hours near the end of the run in order to accommodate the number of visitors trying to see the show. I haven't been to the Science Centre since I was a kid, so I'm looking forward to visiting again.

I picked up the knitting again this weekend. Spent the weekend working some more on the shrug. I am in the last 25 or so rows I think. I picked up the poncho again this morning, so hopefully I will make some progress on that this week. I'm on the last ball of yarn required for the project. Then I just have to figure out how to put it together. Since the gauge is so loose I am worried that the seam will look 'stretched'.

It's dark...

Well, daylight savings time has come and gone for another year. While we are enjoying a bit more daylight in the mornings, it is now pretty much dark when I go home at the end of the day. By the time I meet the group to run it is definitely dark. Between the leaves on the ground and the darkness, it makes for some dubious footing. Weather has definitely been nice for running though. Still getting some warm days. So with one more week or so to prepare for this 10 mile race I will keep my fingers crossed for nice weather come race day.

I am enjoying what seems to be a bit of an increase in run speed these days. I haven't been using my heart rate monitor this fall, running instead on perceived exertion and pace (based on my Timex Bodylink). I have been a convert to heart rate training since about 2000 when I bought my first Polar. And I still believe that it is an excellent way to train. But with some of the improvements this fall I find myself wondering if their usefulness might be in their timing. It seems early in the season as you ease into your training plan and lay the foundation for your racing season, they are an excellent tool. But I wonder if when the time comes for more "sharpening' as your race approaches if training by pace doesn't have a benefit as well. I find I am terrible at feeling certain paces and even the track hasn't really fixed that. I feel like I need more work at feeling pace on the road. So this fall has been a chance for me to try this out.

I haven't had much interest in knitting this week. Not sure why, but when I sit down on the couch in the evening I just don't feel like picking up the needles. I am on the last ball of yarn for the poncho, so I wish I would have done a bit of work on it because I probably could have finished it by week's end. I will likely be finished with the shrug this weekend if I pick that up.

Tomorrow I will attend my first yoga class in about 5 years. I figured it is time for me to deal with the fact that I can no longer touch my toes!