Seeing progress

133 days until the race.

Finally! There is progress in both my weight (down almost 5lbs since Christmas) and fitness! It's almost like finding old friends again. I am finally feeling like an athlete again and clothes are fitting how they should be...without hurting to wear them. Hee hee!

The warm weather certainly has helped get me motivated again. I'm beginning to think I'm a lizard, needing the warmth to really gain energy. Three times this week I was able to get outside and have great workouts because of the warmth and it made me happy.

Sunday afternoon, I conned my tri-training compadre, April, into getting in a ride outside. It was about 55 when we started and nearly 63, 2 hours later. Awesome! We rode from her house out a hilly route I've done before and came back. It was a bit of an awakening for both of us that there is a lot of work ahead, but we managed. I think we'll hit that route again with all the hills.

Monday after work I was able to get a good run in around the 'hood. It was windy and only 4 miles, but it felt fantastic having the sweat running down my forehead while outside again. I think I even was able to wear shorts! Love it.

Yesterday was the peak, though. I knew it'd be in the low 70's so I went into work early with my bike on the rack. My friend, Rick, and I zipped out of work at 3:30 to catch the last 2 hours of light. We were able to get in 2 fairly fast loops in around White Rock Lake, despite 25+kt winds when we headed south. He took me up one killer hill where I was breathing so hard I couldn't even cuss. Yep, definitely need to work on the hills more, especially for Kansas. We made it back to the cars right at sunset, thankfully.

I left him and headed to the gym to get in a quick pool workout as well. I wanted to work on speed rather than distance.

200m easy warmup

4x50m alternating single arm strokes (left side needs work)

4x50m alternating breathing sides (left side needs work here too)

10x50 on the 1:00 - stay at a consistent time (managed to do consistent :37-:38 every time)

200 cooldown

Love it!

Hopefully tomorrow will bring another warm-ish day to get out for another long afternoon ride. I've put my aerobars on so I need to get used to using them and get the bike set up correctly so that parts don't hurt and I ride more efficiently this way.

Stay strong and train hard, y'all!

Swim practice with the kids

Normally I don't really care to hit the YMCA for swimming in the afternoons, but with the icy weather, roads were crazy in the morning and I wasn't even sure the gym opened on time. So I packed my gym back with swimming and running gear for after work in hopes that the one lap lane available during the kids' swim team practice would be open.

Perfect! I showed up and got in the pool just before 5pm as the next wave of kids poured into the pool and got it churning like a bunch of hungry koi. I'm always surprised to see how in synch they can be once they actually start doing their assigned laps, but beforehand, they're pure wiggles.

The churn in the pool makes it a harder practice, but one that is more realistic to a tri environment. As much as I don't care for all the extra commotion (as compared to the quiet 5am practices), they make for e great workout. I did 2000m and was definitely tired during and afterwards. I don't think I was fueled enough and felt as if I was working too hard for the effort. Remember that for next time.

Out of swimplan.com, this was the workout:

2x100 easy warmup

1x50m right breathing, 1x50 left breathing (repeat 4x)

12x100 on the 1:45. I ended up extending this to a 2:00 interval because of the kids and the effort

2x100 easy cool down

Have a great week.

Broken trainer and more treadmill

I was set to set up the bike trainer in the living room to get in a great spin. I got this thing used from a friend about a year ago (free, thankfully) and it's been collecting dust since it arrived in my garage. I pulled it out, set it up, and with the cold, a plastic part snapped off of it. Crap! It blew the workout I'd planned last night. Oh well, I'll make it up later in the week and figure out a new plan for spinning this weekend.

So this morning I'd planned to swim. But then I remembered a sign at the Y that the pool was closed for a swim meet. Dangit! Thankfully I had my running clothes packed in my bag as well and did a quick change. Another good treadmill workout...

5 min warmup
Starting at 6mph, I bumped up the speed .1 each minute for 5 minutes, then reduced by .1 each minute for 3 minutes. Then starting at 6.2, I went up .1 for each of 5 mins, then down 3 again. Up 5 more, then .1 down for 10 minutes to slowly bleed off speed and time. Ended up with about 4 miles with cooldown. Nice workout and it helped to work up the speed.

Dave sent me a killer treadmill hill workout. Thanks, man! When I give that one a shot, I'll holler (or cuss) at you with the results.

Rock on, y'all!

3.5 treadmill

I'm a wimp in the cold. I'd rather have a 90 or 95 degree day than one at 45. It wasn't that long ago that I enjoyed cold, but for some reason, I'm now at the point where I'd like to only visit the cold (like seeing my favorite friends in MN).

So when it's frigid like this (under 40...see I told you I'm a wimp), I end up hitting the treadmill to get in the miles. Today was no different. I loved taking a treadmill class at my old gym, which is sort of like a spin class - a mix of hills and speedwork. It breaks up the drone of the belt and pushes limits at times. If done right, it's a two-towel workout!

Today's workout is simple, but it can be hard depending on how you push it. The last 2 one-minute intervals were really difficult. And why is it that 1 minute goes by a lot faster when you're doing the recovery?

1 mile warm-up

10 x 1-minute intervals of 1mph faster than my "regular" speed.

1-minute recovery between intervals

1/2 mile cool-down (run, then walk at the end)

This week's plan

There are 23 weeks left until the race (well, that's counting from Saturday) and my training plan doesn't really start until the 20 week point. That won't stop me though! I signed up for Texas Triple Threat triathlon training group and will start swim practices with them this week. If I remember the calendar right, those are W/F first thing in the morning.

As a minimum, I'll be getting 2 sessions of each skill in each week and hopefully at least one weight training session per week. With the gyms filled to capacity this month (damn NY resolution people), and the icy conditions (for us southerners) it'll be tough fighting the crowds.

The schedule is posted to the right and I'll have to stick to it.

Weight this week starting out is 164.4. Honestly, I didn't weigh myself after coming home from Mom's for the holidays. I know I was heavier, but I'm in denial. LOL!

Posting training later.

Start me up!

155 days from today I'll be doing the 70.3! This blog will be more or less dedicated as a training log for not only the physical, but the mental part of the journey.

In my mind, I know I can do the distance and finish without much problem, but honestly, I'm scared shitless for all the training in the meantime. LOL! But this week, the training began.

Random thoughts for today...

It's only been less than a month since the half marathon out in Vegas, but I because I haven't taken the time to run since then much of that fitness is gone. Not completely, but a lot of it. I ran about 3 on the treadmill yesterday and I was surprised at how sore I am today.

Alma worked my triceps hard on Tuesday and when I swam on Thursday, they were still really sore. I worked through the workout, concentrating on form more than speed this time. I also worked on breathing on my left side a bit more, making sure I wasn't lifting my head which I tend to do.

Tri bars are now installed on the bike. If the weather turns out as nice tomorrow as it was this afternoon, I feel a 60-90 minute ride in store, you know, to test drive those bars. :)

I also recently signed up for Texas Triple Threat, which is a triathlon training group. It looks as if most of it is based out of the north Dallas area so that should help out quite a bit. There are also group swims at one of the pools that looks like it's on the way into work. Sweet!

Finally, I've made it a goal to drop at least 15lbs. I signed up for Weight Watchers online last Tuesday. Two of my dear friends, Deeann and Janna, have both inspired me by their gains (or rather, losses) over the past year or so using the system. They're both amazing women and they not only make me laugh with them, the make me smile as I see them become more confident. Not to be left out, Greg has made huge progress as well and he inspires me in so many other ways. Yay to y'all! Thank you!!!

I'm starting out at 165 and will confess to y'all the progress. Please help prod and poke me if you see something change for the worse. So far it hasn't been easy to stay within the point system, but it's been fun seeing how many extra exercise points I can rack up. Fingers crossed, this system will help.

'Nuf said for now. Please help keep me honest with at least logging workouts and updating the weight! Hugs!