Spiraling

The past two weeks have been draining, mostly emotionally, but physically as well. I've felt so out of control and lost.

About 3 weeks ago, I stopped swimming until I could get my shoulder and neck worked on by the chiropractor. Little did I know that it would be the last time for several weeks. It was feeling much better until the fall off my bike where I really injured it again. Since then, the only exercise I did was getting on a spin bike later that week.

To top it off, my house is under major repair where it's literally torn up. It's created such an uncontrollable chaos and mess, it's disconcerting.

The spiral continued. I haven't slept well at all, partly because of the chaos; partly because that shoulder is the on the side I sleep most nights. I wake up for an hour or two every night and can't get back to sleep without stewing. I try to read for a while and sometimes that helps. Because of this pattern, I've been shutting off the 4:45 alarm and skipping workouts. It's a nasty cycle. I miss workouts, which makes me more grumpy, which makes me not sleep enough...you get the picture.

Last night I finally gave up and took a Tylenol PM before heading to bed. In the past, that's helped keep me asleep. It helped a ton. I didn't budge all night and woke up around 6:30 feeling the best I've felt in a while. I actually feel like riding tonight, if I didn't have plans at the ballpark.

Construction will be done (hopefully) on Friday and I can get my both my physical and mental houses back in order by the end of the weekend. The triathlon is less than 60 days away now and I'm getting nervous about this large break in training. I'll finish, but it's not going to be as good as it should have been. I'll just be glad when this is all over.

Texas "hill" training

Living in north Texas has brought me a new appreciation for wind. It's really blows here, especially in the spring as mother nature tries her best to let winter go with a bang. Just north of here, in Denton, there isn't much to break the wind between Oklahoma and Dallas. The wind is definitely stronger.

So yesterday I hopped on the bike with some friends and set out for a 30-ish mile ride. Because we don't have much in the way of hills here, I kind of look at these windy days as a simulated hill. You crawl up these mountains when the wind is right in your face.

I was really dreading the west wind even though I knew it'd be great training. The guy who planned the route said that most of the wind would be at our faces for the first 10 miles or so. Man, he wasn't kidding. There was a bridge running west-east that brought me down to the granny gear in a hurry and I still barely made it to 10mph. We had to stop several times along the way to re-group our tribe of 10.

Another downside to strong, gusty winds is that they get you off balance in a hurry if you don't anticipate it correctly. We were on a great sideroad with no traffic and were turning onto another road. I was yapping, not paying attention like I should have. Sure enough, between a turn, a gust of wind, and gravel, I ended up on my side in an instant. It scared me for sure as I'd only fallen off the bike one other time as an adult, and that was right when I got clips (yeah, you all have experienced that, right?).

This time, it hurt. Though I got right back up and took a breath, we continued on. We were only six miles in, but I thought I could stick it out. Thankfully, I was able to, but the first chance I got when we stopped at a roadside gas station, I downed a couple of Aleve to help it out.

But the great thing about going into a headwind is that a tailwind is sure to follow. At about 11 miles in, we turned east into a tailwind so strong that I was averaging about 20mph and coasting; barely turning the pedals at all! It rocked! We got another one of those bits later in the ride and it felt as if we were flying down the road! It's such an incredible feeling.

The last six miles were on beautiful, smooth pavement and on a road with a wide shoulder. It was right back into the wind again. We continued to just limp through it; at times it almost felt as if we could get off the bikes and walk faster. Granny gears on flats are tough on the ego. :)

But we finished. And we headed to a great pub in the square of old Denton that served us huge burgers. We wolfed them down in earnest.

On the way home, I swung by one of those urgent care places. The shoulder was throbbing from the fall and I worried that something might be cracked, or at least torn. I squeaked in about 5 minutes before it closed. Sure enough, the doc said that I'd dislocated the shoulder, though it'd popped back in place. The tendons near the clavicle (I think) were torn slightly. He gave me a sling and a prescription and sent me on my way. No swimming for about 2 weeks at least and minimal work on the arms. He said that being in good shape helped that it could've been worse. Whew! (By the way, thanks for making me drink so much milk as a kid, mom!)

So it looks like it'll be a week on the spin bike for my exercise since it's the least amount of motion. I'm just thankful it wasn't any worse.

Progress!

Well you've heard me whining about the weight. It momentarily dipped below 160, but it's back again. But the good thing is, the fat must finally be turning to muscle. Clothes are fitting better. I'm content with that.

Yesterday, I ran about 75 minutes after work. It was gorgeous. On the way home I stopped to pick up some dinner. As I left the grocery store, I caught a glance of my legs in the reflection in the glass door exit. For a moment, I didn't recognize them. They looked more athletic and toned, like runner's legs should look. They're looking less like those hearty turkey drumsticks you see at the fair and more like solid machines. There's still work to do, but it was a nice surprise to notice the difference.

And today, a lady at work mentioned that she thought I was skinny! Really?! That might not be the word I was thinking, but it added to yesterday's shift in perception.

I'm content. I'm feeling better.

To top it off, there is definite progress in the way the training is going. The mileage last night was tough as it's ramping up over the week, but it was do-able. We had a great, hearty spin class on Wednesday night, so it felt good (and hard) to come to the week's long run with tired legs. While I didn't finish the time or mileage prescribed last night, I felt as if it was an accomplishment. I'll take it.

I'm content. I'm feeling better.

Thank goodness next week is a step-back week. It's tiring right now with the increasing intensity!

Train hard y'all!

Inspiration from a total stranger

For a long time, I was a purist. I didn't run with an iPod, even on my long trail runs. I like to stay in my mind and especially in trail running, enjoy the scenery. There were a few times, I'd plug in, but not often.

These days, I've grown to rely on it more with the longer runs. I enjoy the music and it keeps my mind from getting too bored. Today though, the damn thing was goofed up. I've noticed that it's a little buggy sometimes when I recharge it. The next time I play it, all the treble is gone so all I hear is the background. Grrr...this morning I really wanted to work with the music since the training plan called for 75 minutes, 35 of which were tempo drills. But maybe it happened for a reason that it didn't work.

I was about 15 minutes into the warmup when a guy walked up with an Austin 70.3 race shirt on. He parked it on the treadmill next to me, so I asked him how he liked the race, how long he's been racing, etc. I normally am not much of a talker running, even less so at the gym, but he responded, then kept chattering back.

Turns out he lost over 100lbs in a year and now he's at the point where it's been off for quite a while. He's stablized at his current weight, which appears to be that of a normal guy. Amazing! I just am in awe of people, like my friends Janna and Deeann, who have managed to take off incredible amounts of weight like that and keep it off. And most times, they find themselves in a new life and a whole new outlook.

Sure enough, this guy was the same way. He tried his first 5k, then got into a couple of sprints, then found himself improving so much, he did a 70.3 last year and in a decent time. Wow! That's incredible. Now he has himself a coach and is working to do two 70.3's this season and possibly a full IM next year.

The guy has guts, that's for sure. I left him after my workout and he still had about an hour to go to finish his. Can you imagine doing 14 miles on the treadmill? That was his plan and he was already nearly halfway through it. It's really inspiring.

So for once, I was happy that the iPod was down. I got in a good workout, good chat, and managed to meet a potential new training comrade.

My workout for the day? I shifted my schedule a tad this week for other conflicts.
75min run.
20 min warmup
35 mins tempo -- 3 mins fast/2 mins recover 7x
20 mins recover/cooldown
Ended up with 7.6 miles. I'm content with that considering the warmup and cooldown were done at 5.7-5.8mph.

Swim tonight. Cycle tomorrow 2 hours.

Train hard y'all!

Saturday run

Saturday morning was busy. My folks were flying in from San Diego in the afternoon, so all the errands, cleaning, shopping and oh yeah, homework, had to be crunched in before they arrived. Amazingly enough, I was looking forward to getting in a run that morning as well and made it a priority. After all, many of my peeps were out running the Cross Timbers trail race up on Lake Texoma.

I get up at the crack of dawn nearly every day whether I want to or not. Even if it's a weekend. Sure enough, 6am, the eyes popped open for a new day. It was still a little too cool for this blood, so I got some cleaning done and made the list for the rest of the day.

By about 8:30 the mercury rose just enough and I was ready to roll. I decided that I'd do about 6 miles and wanted to get in a few small hills. There's a route through Highland Village that is perfect. I plotted the out-back up on mapmyrun.com, laced up the shoes, grabbed the iPod and left.

I almost always hate the first 1/2 to 3/4 mile as the legs warm up and stretch out. Usually, I'm ready to quit, but have to power through it. Same thing happened. But by the time I reached my turn at Brazos about a mile into it, they felt great. The music was playing hard (did you know Simon and Garfunkel have some great running pace tunes?). The pavement just flowed under the feet. It felt fantastic and I knew the pace felt great - less strained than usual.

The slow rolling hills start in at about mile 2. The last time I'd done this route was before the half marathon in December. I was struggling that time. This time, they didn't feel hard at all. I motored up them and by the time I realized it, I was at the turnaround point. I stood there for a moment, then looked ahead of me to the next hill which peaked about 1/2 mile away.

Aw, what the hell? I was still feeling strong, so I extended the run another 1/2 mile and conquored this next hill before turning around. I noticed several other runners heading out for their runs. Most everyone waves in this part of town, even if they're on the other side of the street. Nice.

At about mile 4-5ish, the boredom started kicking in. This is where I tend to walk a few minutes before running again. I'm normally not tired, just bored of the pace. This time, I managed to plow through it (some friends were in my head telling me not to stop) and continue.

Again, before I knew it, I looked up and noticed the water tower that's close to the 1-mile mark. Holy crap, I'm almost done? Sure enough I'd hit the turn back onto the main road and back to the house. The legs kicked in and I pushed the pace the last mile or so, only stopping briefly for the traffic light crossing. Amazing!

So I re-mapped with the turnaround point, and sure enough, I'd added an extra mile more than I'd planned. Yippee! I'm hoping more runs continue like this. It's encouraging.

Train hard, y'all.

Soooo close!

The goal starting after Christmas was to get down to 150-ish pounds by the end of March using Weight Watchers and tri training. I was probably sitting just a touch over 165. I don't know for sure because I was afraid to get on the scale, but the serious muffin-tops gave it away. I was probably at my all-time heaviest and felt like crap.

There have been some frustrating times and some setbacks as I bounce to happy hours and get too confident in my eating skills - reverting back to old ways. I've been hovering within about 2lbs of 160, going up and down for 3 weeks now, flirting ever so close to that milestone weight. At this point, just getting below 160 would be such a mind boost.

This week has been fantastic for training. The bit of warmth, especially after all the cold we've had, definitely did something to boost my spirits. To top it off, I got a much-needed kick in the ass from my friend and fellow blogger, Dave. He's seriously hard-core and is currently training for the Memorial Bataan Death March race in N.M. next month. He's planning to do it with a 40lb pack on his back. Amazing! I hear about his training and it inspires me to get off my butt and stop whining.

That said, the week was a great one for training! Got in a bit of distance and some speed work on the treadmill for running. There were two amazing swim days, one of which today was 3400yds in 55 minutes (ladder workout from 50-400 and back in 50 increment increases/decreases). I even got a bike ride in with a couple of chilly loops around WRL one afternoon (before heading to happy hour!) I'm hooked again!

Gotta keep focused and keep on track. The workouts are scheduled to get longer and more intense the next few weeks, though thankfully they'll be in increasingly warmer weather for some outdoor training finally.

And to top it off...the scale said 159 this morning. Whee!!!

Old habits

They say that it takes 30 days to make a new habit stick. I'm not so sure when it involves good food, good wine/beer, or cheese.

I've been using the Weight Watchers website since the last week of December and was really sticking to it. But with the past few weeks' training increasing so much, I've slacked off a bit on logging every morsel passing through my mouth. I've gotten to the point where I do well tracking the first few days of the week, then slack. I need to get back in gear, because old habits are starting to creep back into the picture, not helping the weight loss at all.

This week was tough on workouts as well. I'd planned to hit it hard Wednesday and Thursday, knowing I'd be out of town for the weekend. Well the snow and ice didn't help matters at all. They gym never opens on time on these kinds of days, which screws up the time I have to work out before going to my job. This made me lose a couple of days.

But my trip was cancelled at the last minute. There was no reasonable way to get up to Minnesota on Friday flying standby, so I stayed home. Now you'd think that I'd have made up the workouts over the weekend, but then again, you'd be wrong. Laziness, or rather, procrastination kicked in heaviliy so I ended up not doing anything at all.

And I had cheese fries. The wonderfully, nasty cheese fries from Snuffer's. With ranch dressing.

So today is starting a new week, not only for getting back on track with food, but training. The intensity of the training plan I'm on is ramping up for the next wave. And there will be two days of at least 50 degree weather which is the tipping point for me for outside work. Hopefully, those two days I can get out on the bike after work.

Train hard everyone!

Mass swimming

I guess you can tell by previous posts that I love to swim. I've always been a water baby, but who wouldn't be when you grow up in Southern California? I remember days after my parents divorced, we'd spend weekends with my dad on his sailboat where he lived. The marina had a small pool that was always over-chlorinated. My brother, Rob, and I would swim until Pop would pull us out, our eyes swelled shut from all the chemicals. Even in high school I swam my senior year and felt completely at ease. It was a place where the sweat wouldn't show.

But now I'm sort of re-finding my love of swimming through triathlon. It's a sport where I feel more competitive than most I do.

Today, my triathlon training buddy, April, and I did our first workout with Texas Triple Threat, a local triathlon club. They hold a swim every Sunday morning. This time of year they practice in a pool, but come late March, we'll be in Lake Lewisville doing open water swims.

April and I felt a bit of trepidation showing up at 7:30 this morning with about 25 other people. We thought we'd be outmatched by far. She set herself with the slow group and I set up about in the middlle as I eyeballed many a tattooed person with the Ironman symbol. It's terrifying.

Lo and behold, I warmed up and was held up by some of these guys. The coach suggested that I move up not one, but two lanes to the nearly fastest folks. After a warmup, we did 30 minutes of a continuous swim. The water was boiling like it does when you throw fish food into a pond full of koi. There were no lane lines to break the surge. It felt like it would in open water. It was incredible!

I got in with the guys in my group and was starting to pass... or try to pass. The guy with the purple cap and giant feet ahead of me apparently didn't get the memo that when someone touches your feet (several times, I might add) that he should've stopped on the wall and let me pass. I'd even hang out on the wall until he was halfway across the pool and catch up to him without much effort. I could see his inefficient stroke ahead of me and he drove me nuts. Finally at one point about halfway across the pool, I noticed that there was plenty of room, so I turned back around and got ahead of him. It worked until later when he was able to somehow get back ahead of me by sitting on the wall for a break. Bastard.

Thankfully the coach saw my frustration and suggested I move up to the fast lane. Finally I was in my element and excited to be pushed to keep up more. Where I enjoyed the more even pacing of the slightly slower lane, this lane really made me fight more to keep the pace higher. I think I'll go there next time. It felt so good to be in the top tier of swimmers. My biking and running aren't nearly as good so it feels great to be adept at one of the elements of triathlon

After the 30 minutes continuous, we did a few drafting/mass start drills which were a blast. We paired up and tried to keep up or physically pass some of the other swimmers. One guy pushed hard on me and game was on! I drafted him for the rest of that lap, but on the return, I pulled on his ankle and slowed him down, allowing myself to get just ahead of him. Yay!!!

On a side note, oh my Gawd triathlon guys are great looking! Holy cow, I think I finally may have found a bit of heaven. Now if I could only snag one of them...

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)

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!

The agony and ecstacy

Sunday I had to get in a long run. I theory, it was supposed to be 7 miles according to the training log. I was supposed to meet with my prospective trainer that afternoon in Coppell, where my gym is, and thought about just doing my mileage there after we were finished. I mapped out a run and thought it would be fine.

I met with Alma, the trainer, and had a great time. We talked and I was able to pick her brain on training and tri tips (not the beef, but the race). She even printed out elevation and maps for my Kansas race to discuss. I like her!

Anyway, after we met, I headed out to chase sunset, thinking I'd get my 7-ish miles and/or 7 minutes in before the sun went down. As I started out on the route I'd mapped out, I realized that the Andy Brown park which I was running near, had just over a 6 mile loop beckoning me to run to keep it from getting boring. Sure enough, I succumbed to the whole thing, and added with the mileage to get from the YMCA to the park entrance, it ended up coming to 8.5 miles! WTF!!??

The legs (and side stitches) balked at me at first, like they always do the first mile or two, but then I got into a groove. I kept going, but told myself that I'd do a 1 minute walk once I got to the far duck pond or 35 minutes, whichever came first. Fortunately, I didn't have to choose, as they came at about the same time. I decided to suck down a gel, walk for a minute, then keep going.

It was a great move looking back. The gel kicked in about 10 minutes later and carried me through to the end. I thought I'd end up walking maybe the last 1/2 mile or so, but kept carrying on until I made it back to the car 85 minutes later! Holy crap! For someone not training well this was awesome!

But I paid for it on Monday.

Damn I'm sore. To top it off, I did my first upper body workout with Alma on Tuesday and she pushed me to do weights I certainly wouldn't have done on my own. I'm learning from her and think she'll be great to develop the core muscles I'll need to help set the base for when I start really training in January.

Oh and I'm cussing her name today. I'm so sore, typing hurts right now. Everything from the waist up hurts. It's a good hurt though. It's the agony and the ecstasy all rolled into one.

Looking forward

So a while back I decided that next year I would do my first half Ironman. I chatted it up with a few of my girlfriends (many of whom did a wet, muddy, crazy 50k in the rain this weekend) and started digging for a good one to do.

I had a few requirements to look at. I didn't want it too difficult or too crowded (I hate big crowds). I didn't want a mass start in the water and I really didn't want a double loop of either the bike or run. One loop is enough, thank you. I initially wanted to make a trip of it and enjoy some scenery and make a vacation out of it, but moved that down on the priority list because I'd like to do RAGBRAI again next year. So, then I wanted it to make it within a day's drive.

So we narrowed it down to the Gulf Coast Triathlon in May next year or the Kansas Half IM in June. Fresh water and rolling hills won out over salt water, beaches and flats. We're on for Kansas on June 10, 2010.

So here we are and this blog will start to become more devoted to the ups and downs of the training. Along the way, I have a half marathon in December, a bum knee to contend with, and who knows what else to hurdle. I hope you stay with me and throw in good advice or tell me to suck it up when you think it's needed (and it will be needed for sure).

Now it's time to start planning and training and worrying. Gah!

The plan this week

Holy crap! The RAGBRAI start is less than 18 days away and I'm both excited and nervous. To top it off, there's a triathlon 2 weeks after that. It's down to crunch time again.

This week, the goal is to mostly get time on saddle more than anything. I figure doing 3 days of riding in a row, though a couple of them just easy days riding to/from the gym to swim, will help out with getting the butt used to it. I'm hoping this strategy will pay off.

The rest of the week will have easy runs interspersed with 2-3 days of swim time. I'd like to start having 2 workouts each of swim/bike/run, but am not sure how this all will work.

Overextended again? Yup. Love it? Yup!

Danskin Triathlon - Austin race report

What a perfect day! The early morning temps hovered around 70, the water temp was perfect and the winds stayed down until after we were all finished. You can't ask for a better day.

This year, I was excited, but not nearly as nervous as last year. I felt like an old pro and even Deeann seemed to be much more serene than last year at this time. We got to the race site, saw the line for the shuttles and decided that hoofing it just over a mile would be a lot less stressful than waiting amongst the squirming, squealing masses. It turned out to be a good decision. The moon and early morning sunrise kept the road light and calmed our souls.

After setting up our transitions, we wandered back to our favorite base of operations under a huge oak tree near the swim start. Just before 7am, we could hear the guys over the loudspeaker getting everyone ampped up and ready to go. The waves, spaced 3 minutes apart, started right on time and kept moving. I was in the 7th wave, one of two for the 40-44 year olds. Last year at this time, I hadn't done an open water swim before and was a nervous wreck, almost to the point of crying. This year, serious focus mode kicked in and I tried to weasel my way up towards the front of the wave. The gun went off and game on! No panic. No fear!

The swim felt fantastic, other than trying to quickly work around the slower people in my wave. The first bouy was nearly impossible to see, but kept following the wave in front of me and staying away from the kayaks. That didn't work, though as I ran into a kayak while trying to pass another swimmer. Damn! I found myself quickly into the wave in front of us, dodging women who were chatting with their friends. Seriously! Chat later and race, dammit! I rounded the first bouy and found myself with only a few light blue caps in front of me, which were other girls in my wave. Sweet! That made me want to push just a bit more. I saw one girl in my wave and tried to get in her wake but soon found myself passing her and moved on. As I neared the second bouy, I was then well into the group 2 waves ahead of me and passing many of them. It was very exciting! I could see the exit, found a chunk of unused water and powered through it. Sure enough, I checked my watch as I got out of the water and I was right on schedule with right at 17 minutes! Woo hoo! It gave me a new boost of energy to run up a small hill to the transition zone.

I was very lucky that my TA spot was right on the main aisle for all the events. It was quick, easy in and out. I'd forgotten a towel to dry my feet off, but it wasn't a big deal. I grabbed my bike sandals, threw them on and ran to the exit. As I ran, I ate 3 Clif Blox to get prepped and put the rest of the sleeve in a pocket. As a side note, the design of the Clif Blox packaging is great! They now come in a long sleeve of blocks so it makes it so much easier to open and put a few in your mouth with one hand. Love 'em.

My heart was racing after the swim and transition. It took a good 5 minutes on the bike for the heart to settle down and get into a better range. I had to keep telling myself to settle because I was so excited. Oh, I saw Doc and Hunter (Dusty's family) as they were walking into the race site. Yay! The bike ride was better than last year. I had hoped to average about 16.0 to improve over last year (15.5), but a few of the hills kicked my butt. On the flats and downhills, I was in the fastest gear I could go, so that helped the average. At the 6 mile point, I grabbed the last 3 Blox to start prepping for the run. As I rode, I didn't see many in my age group either passing me or me passing them. I thought I had a pretty good speed going. Though my bike calculator said I'd averaged 16.2, the official times showed it at 16.9. Nice! I'd taken some time off of last year as well. Yay!

I rounded the corner to head back into the transition area and was feeling really good. I downshifted to start getting weight back on my legs, then ran to my rack. The shoe transition wasn't as smooth as it could be, but as it turns out, the TA time was better than I thought. Though I was feeling good, I decided to grab another sleeve of the Blox in case I thought it might be good to get some last calories in during the early part of the run. I think it was a smart decision.

The run was what I'd expected, and maybe a bit better feeling. I hadn't focused on running hardly at all this year, so I figured I'd just muddle through it again. Last year was miserable and I walked a lot. This year, I told myself that I'd run to the big hill at the end for sure. Though it was tempting to slow down and walk, I kept to that promise. I felt much better than last year and was plugging right along. Several ladies in my age group passed me on this leg and I lost a lot of ground. That damn hill got me again this time, though not quite as bad as last year. This hill is one of those slow rollers that just seems to go on forever, though really it's probably less than 1/2 mile. It's at the end of the race, so you really have to dig deep to get up it. I admit to walking about 1/2 of it, but in spurts. I'd jog to a point, then pick a point to start running again. Finally once I hit the top of this bastard, I knew we were less than 1/4 mile to the finish. I looked at my watch and saw that my goal time of 1:36 was very do-able and kicked it in gear.

I crossed the finish line with a huge grin on my face! I could hear Greg on the sidelines and he greeted me at the end! Yay! I looked at my time and had nailed it! What a great finish! 11 minutes faster than last year and felt so much better! It was short lived though because both of us wanted to make sure we saw Deeann on the run. As it turned out, we missed her on the run, but barely caught her finishing thanks to Kait finding us and yelling at us that she was finishing. She had taken nearly 45 minutes off her time and we were thrilled!

Good:
Food and fluid management worked out really well. I ate a full sleeve of the Blox during the bike, then took another half early in the run. I drank early and often on the bike (and half the of the lake, I think) mainly on the downhills and flats, which helped keep me hydrated on the run. During the run, I only grabbed a sip of water at about the 2 mile point which was perfect.

Running without socks for 3 miles was fine. No blisters or hot spots. Any more mileage than that, I'd use socks.

Improvements:
The swim went really well, though I need to remember to spot an object on the horizon rather than looking for the bouy early on. I've read that and completely forgotten it.

I think I could push just a bit harder on the swim and the bike. Still new to the sport, I was holding back just a little worried about the run. I think I can go out a bit more next time.

I need to figure out a better way of changing into my running shoes. It felt slower than I'd hoped.


Overall, it was a good race. You can see in the post below this the times and placings. Next year, I'd like to shoot for top 10 in my age group, not just top 10%. That's a long ways away, but you never know, right?

Quick Danskin Tri update

I don't have time for a full race report today, but wanted to just grin a bit. Check this out...

About a month ago, I threw out the times I thought I'd do on this race: http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=4264519818016288018

Swim 17 T1 2:30 (different/faster to put on shoes this year)
Bike 43 T2 2:00
Run 31:30 Final 1:36:00

And here's how it turned out:
Swim 17:52
T1 2:37
Bike 42:26
T2 1:40
Run 32:12
Final 1:36:49

Finished 191 out of 1976 in the field and 27th out of 281 ladies in my age group.

Holy crap, that's pretty spot on, huh? Needless to say I'm pretty exstatic. The rest of the girls in our group did well also. Deeann smoked the race and knocked 43 (YES 43!) minutes off her time from last year and probably is still grinning!

More updates to come.

Another good swim

Wow, it's so much fun to see improvment!

This morning I changed up the swim routine just a bit, doing sprints first.

100 easy warmup
5x50 at 1 min
5x200 at 4 min
5x50 at 1 min
100 cooldown
(Total 1700)

The first set of 50's I worked on arm turnover more than form. Felt fast and it got the early morning blood pumping. I did most of these at about :40-:42.

The 200's are what really suprised me. The past few weeks, I've been getting them done regularly at 3:13 (for about a 47 second rest between sets). This morning, I consistently did them in 3:03-3:05. Wow! I don't know where I lost that 10 seconds, but they felt so much stronger.

Last week, I worked with a couple of girls on swim strokes and maybe it was a bit of a mind-refresher to me too. I also follow a good triathlon blog and last week she had some interesting video showing Michael Phelps' stroke. http://www.triathlontrainingblog.com/?p=1342 I concentrated more on the stroke, mainly with reaching more in a breath stroke. Wow, I did feel a bit more power. Something must be clicking.

One week to go before the triathlon. Whee!

Swimming discovery

"Swimming is not a sport. It's a way to keep from drowning."
--George Carlin, comedian

This morning I went to the pool before work to get in about 25 minutes of swimming. I want to be prepared for the next tri and not panic again. Yikes!

During the Danskin tri, I noticed that I had a hard time catching my breath, even after I'd settled down. I think this morning I figured out part of the problem.

As I was doing laps, practicing breathing on both sides, I realized that I was starting to lose my breath again. I just felt as if I couldn't catch in enough air between strokes. I realized that I was blowing out my nose instead of both the nose and mouth. I found I was still exhaling when I should only be inhaling. "When I run, I breathe through my mouth more, so why shouldn't it work the same when swimming," I thought.

Sure enough, I started blowing out more air from my nose and mouth and was able to go longer and felt as if I could breathe easier. I found myself going back to the old habit, only to correct it shortly afterwards. It's definitely self-critiquing. :) It may take a while to get into the new habit again, but I figure if I swim twice a week from now until the next tri in August, it should work itself out.

Cheers!