That's what I felt like Wednesday and yesterday (and to some extent, today). Hope that feeling carries to next weekend for us!

Always good to hear that a pet walk or run was successful.

And it is amazing to see someone able to get a cat to walk or run with them, that takes some effort!

Remember when you tried a similar workout on Duck Brook Rd.? Looks like you're a lot stronger now; you should be very pleased and feel ready to run a superb marathon!

I'd feel a lot better about it if my tummy felt good. :(

You did a great job, too....I love that feeling of knowing you could do more. Yup, you're a rock star.

I know you're probably still feeling the lingering effects from that stomach bug you had earlier in the week, but what I usually do to prevent hunger pains is to eat something solid within 3 hours of running. It doesn't have to be anything significiant - I usually try to eat a small granola bar or something - just something that tells the stomach "I'm giving you something to do while I go run, so don't complain." It always seems to work for me, at least.

22:05 is pretty darn fast, you crazy chick! Good luck tomorrow. :)

I think it's fast, darn fast! Great work.

I think 22 minutes is darn fast too. :)

I just want to keep up with my hubby, I still don't believe guys are just naturally faster. I'm going to start doing some track workouts with the club up here and see if that helps. I haven't had a 5K as fast as today since 2004 when I was 15 pounds lighter, so I'm happy with that, but my goal for 2008 is to run a sub 7 minute 5K, do you think the speed work is what would get me there?????

the battle, from what I've been told and have witnessed first-hand. I've only had ONE real interval workout since I started long-distance running. Before my first Marathon in Hyannis, it was very difficult for me to get under 8/mile, but after that (and recovering), I was able to chip away at the 7-minute range and blew it away by the time Flattop rolled around.

I guess individual results vary, but mileage increases per week and those 'long run' workouts or lactate threshold workouts helped me get up to the next level (and hopefully get me to go up a few more levels). Maybe it'll work for you, too.

Additionally, today wasn't a true 5K, but I can already feel results from last Saturday's 18-mile run because it's so much easier to sustain a sub-7 pace now. I hope that Sugarloaf helps me go down even further!

speed work might help. I don't know much about speed work so I'll leave that to the people who do actually know what they're talking about.

A couple gems from various tri coaches:
1. Consistency and frequency [over duration].
2. Don't do anything today that takes you out of training tomorrow.
3. Do what you need to do today so you can do what you want to do tomorrow.
4. Suck it up and ride your bike more.

The last one is me-specific but the first three are pretty good - I was a lot faster in high school and the past three years I've run, got a stress fracture, run, got another stress fracture, repeat times three (I'm serious). I've been able to run pretty consistently since September - I had one week with a minor injury. The result of that, just running with no real goal except the Do Not Get Hurt one, is that I've gotten a lot faster. No speedwork. Just miles. I'm almost as fast as I was in high school!

Those are three very general points, but they are magic. I need to apply them to #4

Do you have a tri coach?? Or do you self coach? I want to do a tri this year and really need to put a plan together. I'm pretty clueless, but know that without a plan, I'm just going through the motion without getting the right benefits. I'm just learning to swim and I can swim a mile in the pool, it takes me an hour, but I can do it. I can bike and run ok, but need more seat time; I think the Trek will give me that. Suggestions are ALWAYS welcome.

I do not have a coach but I know a couple good tri coaches who are really patient when I have questions about training and stuff. I'm not sure I'm really coachable... this would be a whole 'nother debate :D

I'm not into plans because I can make them, or someone else can, but I don't follow them (see part about not being coachable). The Triathlete's Training Bible is a good book. Off the top of my head:
-if you want to do a tri you need to really work on swimming. If it really takes you an hour to swim a mile your stroke technique has a lot of flaws and swimming lessons would help. After that, it's frequency/consistency to get a feel for the water and to get all those neuromuscular patterns ingrained. I have 21 years of this :D
-try running right after you cycle ("brick") and see how that feels. They're fun, but if you can only run X miles a week, you sacrifice a couple of them there... they might be quality miles elsewhere. (Arizona tri coach is not a fan of bricks)
-think about trying to get 3 workouts of each sport in a week... or something like that... simple "plan" but at first it really is easy to improve with just doing more training.

I don't know if that helps you or not. I really do just make it up as I go along. Maybe Dr. Dave can chime in

one mile an hour is fast?? ha ha ha I've got to tell ya, I'm giving it all I've got. Guess I need a critique or I should just stick to tri's with paddling instead of swimming! (How fast should one be able to swim a mile?????)

I forget that some triathlons have kayaking instead of a swim!

Giving it all you've got - swimming harder does not equate to swimming faster, most of the time. There's too much resistance for that to work. Swimming is a technical sport. If you're on the island this summer I'll happily help you.

How fast - NCAA cuts for the mile this year were 17:48 for women, 16:21 for men (I only know this because my boyfriend coaches a D3 team). Lucky for you you're not a college swimmer so you just have to be able to do the distance. I am a front-of-pack swimmer... mid 19 min range for a mile right now (then I spend all day heaing ON YOUR LEFT from the cyclists riding by me). Said boyfriend swam an 18:24 mile at masters nationals a week ago and is having a lot of fun telling me, "I can lap you TWICE!"

hee hee. I get all excited talking about triathlon and SWIMMING

If you can complete a marathon, you can complete a sprint or olympic distance tri.

As the womens' fields in most events are still quite small you can compete in these if you can complete.

If you want to go fast it takes some learning here. Fast speeds in tris are rather ave speeds in stand alone events Swim, bike or run.

Consistancy in training all three disciplines leading up to your event will get you ready. Learning and finding the pace for each is much more difficult, but is what makes up so much of the challenge.

As an average swimmer, improving cyclist and stronger runner myself, in races I will go around 75-80% of max for the first two, and the first half of the run then turn it up for the end of the run. In Ironman races it would be 70% then 75%.

Another way to think about it is by heartrate. Goal to get the fastest overall time: finish the run comfortably HR ~70% of your max, finish the bike still fresh ~80% then finish the run done at 90%+ HR.

Many it seems race for faster splits, that is to be the fastest swimmer, biker or runner in the race. I trained for awhile with this awesome swimmer, english channel record holder, now like 40 yrs experinced. He allways came out of the water in the lead, then spent the rest of the race being passed. Every race I've done, the men's divisions anyway are loaded with cyclists who just hammmmer the bike course then are left behind suffering shuffling thru the run. These folks aren't wrong, racing to their strengths or egos maybe. But most coaches and materials would predict faster overall times by building effort and speed thru the three parts of the race.

Going back to training it's just fine to swim mostly around your race pace ~65-75% max. Sure add some speed but really get a groove on your comfortable pace here. Time on the saddle especially longer rides will help you find that effort level you can hold without blowing up, leaving some freshness for the run. Run tri traing. Like I wrote if you can complete a marathon, meaning you can run when you're allready tired and keep (close) to you're pace, you will finish strong.

If you can complete a marathon, you can complete a sprint or olympic distance tri.

As the womens' fields in most events are still quite small you can compete in these if you can complete.

If you want to go fast it takes some learning here. Fast speeds in tris are rather ave speeds in stand alone events Swim, bike or run.

Consistancy in training all three disciplines leading up to your event will get you ready. Learning and finding the pace for each is much more difficult, but is what makes up so much of the challenge.

As an average swimmer, improving cyclist and stronger runner myself, in races I will go around 75-80% of max for the first two, and the first half of the run then turn it up for the end of the run. In Ironman races it would be 70% then 75%.

Another way to think about it is by heartrate. Goal to get the fastest overall time: finish the swim comfortably HR ~70% of your max, finish the bike still fresh ~80% then finish the run done at 90%+ HR.

Many it seems race for faster splits, that is to be the fastest swimmer, biker or runner in the race. I trained for awhile with this awesome swimmer, english channel record holder, now like 40 yrs experinced. He allways came out of the water in the lead, then spent the rest of the race being passed. Every race I've done, the men's divisions anyway are loaded with cyclists who just hammmmer the bike course then are left behind suffering shuffling thru the run. These folks aren't wrong, racing to their strengths or egos maybe. But most coaches and materials would predict faster overall times by building effort and speed thru the three parts of the race.

Going back to training it's just fine to swim mostly around your race pace ~65-75% max. Sure add some speed but really get a groove on your comfortable pace here. Time on the saddle especially longer rides will help you find that effort level you can hold without blowing up, leaving some freshness for the run. Run tri traing. Like I wrote if you can complete a marathon, meaning you can run when you're allready tired and keep (close) to you're pace, you will finish strong.

Well I do feel lighter!!!