6 Weeks to Go

Today I got an email from the Iron Girl Rocky Gap triathlon that E and I are doing September 7th. It was some bad news: they have cancelled the race. They couldn't secure a permit they needed for the roadway and therefor couldn't ensure a safe bike course. Whatever that all means, it is very disappointing that they couldn't pull it together properly. And I was especially disappointed for E, since last year she was injured and could only do the swim portion after registering for it. She's been doing such a great job with training, and this was going to be her first complete race. I know she was looking forward to showing up this year ready.

However, she found another one for us to do that same weekend in West Virginia: The Appalachian Traithlon. It's actually slightly farther away, but it sounds low key and fun enough. It is only the second year for it, which kind of makes me nervous. But I think I'll register on Saturday before the race when I get there, because, well...last year there were only 13 women and 32 men. Yeah. TINY. We can camp at the park it's in, perhaps for free. Kinda roughing it, but whatever. It is just going to be a very different experience! Small race, no shwagg, CHEAP, and just down and dirty - what a race should be, really. The only thing I'm worried about is the lack of people. It's just not as fun to not have someone to chase, but who knows. Maybe this year the word has gotten out and it will be bigger. (Right now there are only 4 people pre-registered though - ha!)

So now I have to get my money back for Rocky Gap, cancel the hotel, say goodbye to the prospect of beautiful, clear water and kayaking the next day in Maryland, and now focus on maybe winning the whole damn (women's) race. Because last year's winner had a bike split of 17 mph. And it's a flat course.

So. Back to work!!!

Here's what this week looks like.

MONDAY:
Just back in town from a LeMons weekend in Joliet and friend-visiting in Chicago. It was a pretty fantastic weekend, even with the LeMons race failure.

TUESDAY:
Bike: Tempo. I'll do spinning (first time at the Y I'm now a member of)
Strength.

WEDNESDAY:
Swim: 1500. Warm up 250, 8 x 25 drills, 8 x 75 max (45 sec rest), 4 x 50 sprint (20 sec rest), Cool down 250.
Run: Tempo Run 32 minutes. 10 warm up, 12 tempo, 10 cool down

THURSDAY: 
Bike: on trail 45 minutes. Speed intervals. 4 x 1 min with 2 minute active recovery.
Strength.

FRIDAY: 
Swim: 1500. Warm up 250, 8 x 25 drills, 3 x 200 (45 sec rest), 8 x 25 sprint (20 sec rest), Cool down 250.
Run: 35 min run + 6 x 20 sec strides.

SATURDAY:
Bike: Long group ride - Breakfast Ride.

Here I go. 6 more weeks - woohoo!

Enough! It's Time to Write Again!

Ok. So, I keep holding off writing here until I'm "back in training" or at least doing regular workouts. Or have some rough idea of what the heck I'm going to be doing this year for fun. But work just keeps being crazy busy and I'm irregular in pretty much everything I do right now... except for work hours. So, whatever. I'm just going to start writing anyway. This blog was never supposed to be a perfect publication.

Hmmm a quick update... In summary things have been pretty fantastic.

•  Ran the Heart Mini 15K in March - ran the first half well, pooped out the second half. But I was really happy with that first half's pace!

•  Didn't do the Pig. I really wanted to do it, but after the Heart Mini things REALLY got crazy and I just couldn't be consistent with running. And the Pig Half is no casual 13.1 miles. I knew I'd be miserable if I wasn't trained well (been there done that), so I just didn't do it. Maybe a Fall half will be in my cards.

•  Triathlon. Oh triathlon...I'm coming back for you, I swear! I haven't swam since... February. BIG Sad Face. But getting to the pool is pretty tough when you start working at 5 a.m. at home. And then don't take a break all day. Ug. Soon things will be under control again!

•  There is now a big sliding door in the back of our house! And a deck is being built. And a wall is in the garage so we now have a laundry room and "basement" storage area. So awesome. Someone sawing a hole through your cinder block and brick house does not make for easy work days. But the dogs and I have prevailed.  It's been me and Mack for almost 2 weeks now. Some of our conversation: "Hi Mack...going to a meeting!" "Hey Mack, going for a run, I'll be back in a few!"  Mack to me: "I need a haircut." :)  He's a super nice man and I feel like I should make him lunch. If I had more time and food in the house, I would. Maybe next week...

•  Went to Florida for a quick get-a-way (tagging on G's business trip) and now have a HUGE appreciation for getting away from work. People always say it. "I need to get away." But really, I did. I had an entire day where I walked, sat by the pool for a few hours, went on a run and had more pool time. The entire weekend was amazingly refreshing. Now I know that even though I didn't have time to do it, doing it anyway was mandatory.

•  I'm in a wedding this Friday. I have to do last minute shopping for jewelry and a slip/keep-the-boobs-in-place contraption. Then I need to paint my toenails. And I need to come up with some artwork for a sandwich-board-style chalkboard sign for the bride and groom that they thought would be cool to have somewhere on the wedding grounds. Eeek! It will probably be a Thursday night/Friday morning kind of thing.


So...now.
Now I'm really trying to run in the mornings. The weather has broke. I think. My work schedule should start to get better end of May/beginning of June. I'm still mega-stressed, but am working through it way better. There are a few other things going on right now that are pretty difficult, but I'm focusing on the happy and good. Even when there isn't time to work out, it kinda still has to happen. Not for getting better or winning or anything like that, but just for the mind and body.

And finally. What I would normally be writing about here anyway... I ran yesterday. 3 slow miles where I felt like I was dragging a small child behind me. But I did it. And last night we went karting. I'm so sore! And the seatbelt cut my neck so now I look like I have a hickie there. Great timing. I'm putting neosporin on it, hoping that will make it fade before the wedding! If not, I suppose makeup could do the trick.

Today. Perhaps a short short bike ride. It's going to be beautiful outside.

Next week... swimming?

Happy New Year

I am watching the Bengals in playoff game number 1 and hoping for a win! While watching some pretty awesome plays, I was again awestruck by the example of football players' athleticism. Say what you want about their pampered lifestyles, criminal records, etc – I probably won't argue any of that. But when they're on the field playing, it's a reminder of how amazing bodies can be. And that got me thinking about my plans for the year and how I hope to experience some amazingness from my body as well.

The holidays and some crazy crazy work projects with crazier deadlines were pretty rough on the training schedule. After the Jingle Bell run on my birthday (which was cold, wet but fun), I only ran sporadically. The last day I've swam was December 11th. So it hasn't been a month yet, but wow. It's ok though - now things are going back to routines of work and also working out. I love the new year and planning!

Here are some highlights of the past month and what's to come.

1. Dec 14th Jingle Bell Run. Me, Greg, Casey and Richard ran the race. It was a cold wet morning, but it was still pretty fun. I didn't do nearly as well as I had been running about a month before...but that's because my running was already dwindling some. I managed a 9:36 pace and it was difficult. Meh. Since then, it's been sporadic runs outside.

2. Signed up for an indoor triathlon. The Mason Community Center is hosting an indoor triathlon on Feb 2nd. It's a goofy sounding kind of thing, but I think it will be fun and it has certainly motivated me. I signed up for a 10:15 time slot. I will swim as far as I can for 10 minutes. Then, I have 8 minutes to change clothes and get to what I guess is a spinning bike somewhere. I ride as far as I can for 20 minutes. Then I run as far as I can on a treadmill for 15 minutes. Sounds like a good time!

3. Strength. I'm doing planks a bunch now. Only 30 seconds at a time, but my shoulders have been very tweaky and sore, so it's enough. I'm also planning to do weights 2 - 3 times a week at the gym for a while. I need power/strength.

4. Swimming starts again Monday! I may take lessons in February or March. But for now I'm going to just get back into the water and try to get some swimming fitness back (the little I had).


I think that's it for now. Goals are simple. Get in real shape and enjoy the year.

Thanksgiving Week

The week was, as I expected, hit and miss with workouts and chock full of eating :)  But it's ok. The previous week wasn't much of a recovery week thanks to my hilly long run with the Dav-Huffs. I'm actually fine with how it's gone this week. I feel like I've learned a bunch these past 5 weeks and am excited for December.

Some things I've learned:
1. Eating and Hunger. My appetite has been through the roof. This week I finally felt like I wasn't hungry a lot...but I also only did a few workouts, so I guess that's why. I'm not gaining weight, but I'm not losing anymore either. I guess I'll need to cut back some more calories.

2. Swimming. It continues to be a struggle. However, I know where I need to get stronger before I start worrying about never getting better at swimming. My core and upper body is so very weak.

3. Biking. I am cruising through biking ok right now. Nothing is changing here at the moment and that's ok. I've settled into the Tuesday spinning class and alternating Saturdays with spinning or riding at home with a run afterwords when I feel like it.

4. Running. It was rough running with E and R through the hilly neighborhoods. I got pretty down about my fitness, but realized I had no business thinking I'd be suddenly good out of nowhere when I haven't been working on running all that much. I think that's going to come in December.

5. Overall Strength. I am so weak. I have endurance, but I don't have strength or power. I've decided in December I'm going to work on weights and building some power. I think it will be fun!


So...December is going to be fun. I'm looking forward to seeing some improvements and feeling good! When it gets crazy around the holidays, so be it. I'll do what I can. But first is the Jingle Bell run on my birthday! It's hard to say how it will go. I would be elated with 9s. We'll see, it will be fun to run no matter what.

Official Pie-Season Winter Training Kickoff Day

I've toiled over the schedules and have come up with a plan for the most of winter: an olympic distance plan that I'll probably modify here and there as I go. And today (drumroll)................... is the first day of it. [cheering!]


A snapshot of the schedule:

Sundays - off
Mondays - base swim in the a.m. / run in the p.m.
Tuesdays - biking...which I'll do mostly through an a.m. spinning class / strength
Wednesdays - interval swim in the a.m. / run in the p.m.
Thursdays - biking...1 to 2 hours
Fridays - swim (base or intervals) in the a.m. / run in the p.m.
Saturdays - biking...which I'll do either in an a.m. spinning class or on my bike / strength

So that's it in a nutshell.
I'll see how it goes every week. It seems pretty balanced.


This morning I swam 1200 yards. Warmed up 200, did 6x25 pull drills, 4x100 main set, 8 x 25 kicks, 6x25 pulls with high elbows, and cooled down 5 x 50. Wait. That's 1350 yards. I can never count correctly when I'm in the pool! Oops.

Lucky for me, this day is supposed to be nice and sunny and warm, so when I run this afternoon, it should be nice. It's been getting colder, and I'm just not acclimated to the dark and chilliness yet. I'll get there though.

Schedule Making

After many weeks perusing the internet, trying to find a training plan for the "off season" or figure out how to make one, I finally broke down and bought a book.

It's huge. Very thick. And has every imaginable scenario for training. It covers Sprint, Olympic, Half-Iron and Full Ironman distances. Within each, there are 10 levels of plans to choose from/manipulate into something that will fit. And there are 2 levels for off-season training. Perfect!

The difficult part is deciphering it. There are codes for everything. You don't just run, you RFR3 (foundation run level 3 which means it's for a certain time). Or maybe you RLT2 (lactate threshold run level 2).  What? Also, the design of the book is pretty clunky.

So what do I do? Redesign my chosen plan, of course! (I am a graphic designer, after all.) I made an overview schedule, where I can just see what sport I'm doing every day in words, not codes. Then I wrote out the codes of my chosen plan in sentences for each day so I know what I'm doing. Because I'm never going to be able to remember what something something 3 is verses something something something else different 2. I already can't keep human being names straight that begin with the same letter.

So I'm settling into a plan that I'll use until the new year. Then I suppose I will start actual training for something or multiple somethings. I still don't know for sure what I want to do, which is pretty lucky. So many things to choose from:
1. Flying Pig half or something
2. Sprint triathlons (definitely want to do these)
3. A half ironman? (because crazy?)

I've done a triathlon. Now what?

On September 8th, I finished the triathlon I had been training for all summer: Iron Girl Rocky Gap in Cumberland, Maryland. .5 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and 2.5 mile run. It was very very fun, and sealed the deal for me and triathlon hopefully living a long life together, for better or worse.

Here's what my training looked like for those months. Click to see the calendars larger.

May it began. I was hesitant to get in the pool.

June. More consistency and increased swimming yardage.

July. Man I am serious here. Look how few days off there are!

August. I've never been this consistent with any training before in my life.

September doesn't have much to show; I hurt my back and had to scale things back a bit.

In general, I feel I trained pretty well...consistently if nothing else. I really enjoyed it. I looked forward to most workouts and it helped break up my days working by myself. 

Looking back, I think I could have taken more rest. I was worn out a lot when swimming. Definitely my weakest link.

Looking forward...well I'm still working on a base/maintenance training schedule for winter. But the goals and focus for the next few months are this:

1. Lose more weight, get leaner.  Eating healthier is helping this. I feel like I've finally balanced the constantly hungry feeling with the right kind of food to keep me fueled. But damn, I like sweets.
2. Get stronger in general.  I have no upper body or core strength, and, well, swimming takes a lot of that. My swim is pretty slow, so I'd like to make it better.
3. Get stronger on the bike. I watched my legs get bigger and bigger as I trained, but I lack power. The Saturday morning 45 mile ides I've been going on have illustrated that as I creep up every hill. 
4. Figure out how to run faster. It may just be that I'll never be able to run fast. But perhaps if I get all these other things in line, I can see how I can strengthen my run. 

And why? I have to ask myself why I would spend 7 - 10 hours currently on training. Is it my hobby? Am I winning? Is there some ultimate goal?  I think the answer to the why is simply balance. Balance for my health, my day working solo, and the empowerment and happiness my accomplishments (no matter their size or impressiveness) give me.