Well, I can't believe that I finally get to say that my event is this weekend! In two days, I'll be joined by about 800 ladies who want to swim, bike, and run their way to the finish! The Mermaid Triathlon is on Sunday, 06/07/09, 4 months after I started this journey!
I've been tracking my workouts along the way, unfortunately, I missed an entire month of tracking when I wasn't quite sure just what I was doing... training with no purpose. However, I do have some pretty exciting totals for about 3 months of my activity. Take a look:
Running
145Mi
19,727 calories
Walking
31Mi
4,285 calories
Biking
325Mi
15,238 calories
Spinning
16 classes
13,195 calories
Swimming
51,454 yds
14,853 calories
Elliptical
1 measly effort - stuck at a hotel!
276 calories
28 other workouts - including yoga, boot camp, pilates, and even some dancing!
During this time, I had a few pit falls to my workouts, like going on vacation, getting pneumonia, a few colds, but finished up with NO INJURIES TO REPORT! What a major success!
After looking back at the entire adventure, I can say, this has been such a fun time in my life. I tend to look at life with rose colored glasses, so maybe if I went back and reread my journals, I would recall the dark moments of exhaustion and fatigue, but all I can really remember right now, is what a wonderful experience I've had. I've given myself the chance to reclaim my strength, to be honest to myself about my physical fitness, to learn my limitations and set goals to exceed them, to achieve and sometimes miss my goals, to have my ego crushed, to feel pain, to remember my youth and incorporate it into my life, to feel powerful, to be embarrassed, to put myself first, to feel failure, to feel confident, to swim again, to buy a road bike, to run with less effort, to be unafraid of my exterior self and become reliant upon my inner self, and to put myself in an uncomfortable position, and see just what I was made of.
I've been asked by some acquaintances why I decided to do this, and how I can sustain it. Well, the why is pretty simple... I made a decision to change my life last year, and the moment I made up my mind, I moved forward. Every single day I tried to focus on bringing positive aspects into my life, and voila, they appeared! I love triathlon, but I think it's just one of the many undertakings I've focused on, in the effort to overcome some personal struggles with body image and eating disorders.
The how, well, that's more complicated. Firstly, I relied upon myself, and put myself first. I know this can be selfish sounding, but I'm the only person that can do the work to better myself, so in order to make that happen, I had to place focus there. Next, I have great support. My fiance does nothing but encourages, and along the way has learned to supplement my training by taking on some of my "chores"... don't think they go unnoticed; my family checks in, cheers, laughs, and listens when I cry; my training partner and friend calls before each workout to be sure we are going, helps to motivate me with the uneasy picture of a bikini when I'm feeling tired, laughs at me when I screw up, and always comments on my successes; and my coaches and training teams keep pushing my boundaries. Then I think, comes my organization... lists, schedules, organizing three bags of clothes the night before, washing one item and knowing to grab it in the morning so I have pants on my run! I would be nowhere without my lists! I think I showed up just one time without any underwear to change into afterward... not so bad! In addition, I think timing has been important. I'm lucky right now to be in a time in my life where I can do all of this. I have a good job, no children, a supporting fiance, family nearby, and live in a town that's about 65 degrees and sunny almost everyday! We've got mountains, ocean, lakes, rivers, hills, and an abundance of scenery to take in during the workouts. Believe me, riding your bike 25 miles after work, in Santa Cruz, along the coast on a sunny day, is really no chore at all! And of course, there's the willingness to give myself to something. To set a goal, and to work until it's fulfilled, and to stay dedicated to it, no matter how much pain I was experiencing.
So that's that. I've said enough! If I didn't stop myself, I think I could just go on and on. The truth of the matter is that triathlon is not the most important thing in the world, at all, and it's not the singular thing that I want to define me. But it is something I've decided to undertake for a little while, so I'm giving it my all. I've asked a lot of myself and those who support me, and I'm thankful that we've all come through. Now, if I'm as good a triathlete as I am a b-s-er, I think I'm in for a medal on Sunday!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Energetic and Playful!
05/28/09 - Bike
Just writing to share some of my excitement. Up until this point, I've just been kind of blindly riding my bike on my weekly rides. This is the area that I like and know the least about. I begrudgingly have to pull out my bike a few times a week, knowing that at some point, I am going to hit a hill that will kill and possibly defeat me! That is, until last night! We've started a new weekly group training that involves coached drills and technique for cycling. Think of it as track practice for biking!
I arrived last night, feeling pretty apprehensive, even considering leaving... I road my bike to work, and thought, I could just keep on going past the ride meet-up and straight to the house. Well, this wouldn't really help my training, so I decided to suck it up and see what this training had to offer. Worst case scenario, I'll just turn around, or cry, or worse yet, walk!! HA! (I had imagined some pretty bad scenarios of never ending hills!) Our coach was of course, due to our club's exceedingly high standards, an elite athlete. He had wonderful ideas and concepts about how to approach biking, that had me looking at the sport differently, and actually feeling relaxed about it. But, even better, we got drilled on technique. FINALLY! This is what I've been missing out of this program!
We did some pedaling technique and just lapped around a 2 mile block. Then, it was on to some drills, where you're in your hardest gear, at a very low speed, and then very quickly increase speed and hit a hill, while maintaining that hard gear and never lifting off your seat. This was great. The coach just watched and pulled us in each time to give us advice on updating our technique, moving from our core, staying stable on the bike, not pulling on the handle bars, keeping your back flat... before I knew it, I was increasing speed in a fluid motion, and at a great pace. I was so happy with myself, that at the end of practice, I literally whistled my whole bike ride home!
05/29/09 - Swim
Really nice swim this morning. I'm not sure what it was about it, but I felt like a kid this morning... energetic and playful. I did some 500m repeats, a few pulling sets, and then did some drills from the old days of water polo (head-up freestyle)... man is that hard and fun! I actually think that it's great for building up the arm muscles, and am adding it to my repretoire! Also threw in some other strokes, I did a few sets of butterfly, back, and breaststroke. Sure, these strokes might not be essential to my training, but they were fun. By the end of my 1900m's I just wanted to stay in the pool and play around. Which is what I did! I did a little underwater swimming, followed by a couple of somersaults, and finally floated on my back.
While I was floating, I thought back to the days when we'd get to swim practice, only to find out that it was a fun day... this meant no organized practice, and often involved an oiled up watermelon! These were the best nights of the entire summer! I've got to find someone in town with a pool, I don't think my summer will be complete now without pushing an oiled up watermelon through the water!
Just writing to share some of my excitement. Up until this point, I've just been kind of blindly riding my bike on my weekly rides. This is the area that I like and know the least about. I begrudgingly have to pull out my bike a few times a week, knowing that at some point, I am going to hit a hill that will kill and possibly defeat me! That is, until last night! We've started a new weekly group training that involves coached drills and technique for cycling. Think of it as track practice for biking!
I arrived last night, feeling pretty apprehensive, even considering leaving... I road my bike to work, and thought, I could just keep on going past the ride meet-up and straight to the house. Well, this wouldn't really help my training, so I decided to suck it up and see what this training had to offer. Worst case scenario, I'll just turn around, or cry, or worse yet, walk!! HA! (I had imagined some pretty bad scenarios of never ending hills!) Our coach was of course, due to our club's exceedingly high standards, an elite athlete. He had wonderful ideas and concepts about how to approach biking, that had me looking at the sport differently, and actually feeling relaxed about it. But, even better, we got drilled on technique. FINALLY! This is what I've been missing out of this program!
We did some pedaling technique and just lapped around a 2 mile block. Then, it was on to some drills, where you're in your hardest gear, at a very low speed, and then very quickly increase speed and hit a hill, while maintaining that hard gear and never lifting off your seat. This was great. The coach just watched and pulled us in each time to give us advice on updating our technique, moving from our core, staying stable on the bike, not pulling on the handle bars, keeping your back flat... before I knew it, I was increasing speed in a fluid motion, and at a great pace. I was so happy with myself, that at the end of practice, I literally whistled my whole bike ride home!
05/29/09 - Swim
Really nice swim this morning. I'm not sure what it was about it, but I felt like a kid this morning... energetic and playful. I did some 500m repeats, a few pulling sets, and then did some drills from the old days of water polo (head-up freestyle)... man is that hard and fun! I actually think that it's great for building up the arm muscles, and am adding it to my repretoire! Also threw in some other strokes, I did a few sets of butterfly, back, and breaststroke. Sure, these strokes might not be essential to my training, but they were fun. By the end of my 1900m's I just wanted to stay in the pool and play around. Which is what I did! I did a little underwater swimming, followed by a couple of somersaults, and finally floated on my back.
While I was floating, I thought back to the days when we'd get to swim practice, only to find out that it was a fun day... this meant no organized practice, and often involved an oiled up watermelon! These were the best nights of the entire summer! I've got to find someone in town with a pool, I don't think my summer will be complete now without pushing an oiled up watermelon through the water!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Goodness...
I haven't forgotten to post the details on the tri, I'm just waiting for a friend to send me the pics. How totally typical, after 16 weeks of build-up, writing a blog every couple days, I just fudge the end and give up... NEVER! They're on the way!
In the mean time, since the triathlon, I've had some good moments. I had a track practice where I was practicing out an 8-minute/mile 10k pace.... yes, that's what I said. 8! My coach thinks that by the end of the season, 8 will be within my reach. Now, let me preface this by saying, that last year at this time, I was barely making it to the end of my block without stopping to walk. My pace was nonexistent, because when you're doing 15 minute miles, you don't care. Here I am now, and what a change. No, it's not that I keep pace... to be honest, I rarely even wear my watch, but to cut running time in half in just one year is exciting. It has me really looking forward to next year!! (And no, I'll bet my savings that I won't be cutting time in half again! HA!)
In the midst of these good training sessions, I had some horrible bouts of ear infections to deal with last week, along with a girl's trip out of town. I didn't get quite as much training in as I'd like to, but I think I'm still on target for my race next weekend. I've done all the training, this blog is my testament to that, now I just have to maintain, rest, and hope for a peak performance on the 7th. Then, it's time to show no mercy as I begin another base building phase (which mean lots of 2xday workouts) and then move forward to another peak in September. I'll keep ya posted!
In the mean time, since the triathlon, I've had some good moments. I had a track practice where I was practicing out an 8-minute/mile 10k pace.... yes, that's what I said. 8! My coach thinks that by the end of the season, 8 will be within my reach. Now, let me preface this by saying, that last year at this time, I was barely making it to the end of my block without stopping to walk. My pace was nonexistent, because when you're doing 15 minute miles, you don't care. Here I am now, and what a change. No, it's not that I keep pace... to be honest, I rarely even wear my watch, but to cut running time in half in just one year is exciting. It has me really looking forward to next year!! (And no, I'll bet my savings that I won't be cutting time in half again! HA!)
In the midst of these good training sessions, I had some horrible bouts of ear infections to deal with last week, along with a girl's trip out of town. I didn't get quite as much training in as I'd like to, but I think I'm still on target for my race next weekend. I've done all the training, this blog is my testament to that, now I just have to maintain, rest, and hope for a peak performance on the 7th. Then, it's time to show no mercy as I begin another base building phase (which mean lots of 2xday workouts) and then move forward to another peak in September. I'll keep ya posted!
Friday, May 22, 2009
I Did It!
I'm a triathlete! I've got photos and a story to come soon. I've been unable to put it all together yet, but have no fear, I crossed the finish line. It was a huge personal success, and I did better than expected. All my efforts had a great pay off.
The next race is on June 7th, so I'm playing with my workout schedule. Trying to recover from my last race, keep my fitness up and fine tune a few things, and then I have to taper again. After that, I step it up a lot! I'm doubling the distance I've been training for, and will begin training for an Olympic triathlon. Giggity, giggity!
UPDATE
Here are some pics of the Nu2Tri Graduation Triathlon! The race went great. I was 2nd out of the water (some fish beat me), but then my transition practice paid off, so I left and finished first on the bike, then I slowed down... alot on the run! I'm not a runner, but I still managed to sprint the last .5 mile or so!
Trying on my race belt to ensure it fits!
No, the women on the bikes are NOT in the race, but they did enjoy slowly riding through the middle of the course.... see me checking behind me to see how close the next cyclist is!
The final sprint!
2009 Nu2Tri Triathletes!
The next race is on June 7th, so I'm playing with my workout schedule. Trying to recover from my last race, keep my fitness up and fine tune a few things, and then I have to taper again. After that, I step it up a lot! I'm doubling the distance I've been training for, and will begin training for an Olympic triathlon. Giggity, giggity!
UPDATE
Here are some pics of the Nu2Tri Graduation Triathlon! The race went great. I was 2nd out of the water (some fish beat me), but then my transition practice paid off, so I left and finished first on the bike, then I slowed down... alot on the run! I'm not a runner, but I still managed to sprint the last .5 mile or so!
Trying on my race belt to ensure it fits!
On your marks!!!! I almost started getting sick, but then realized I needed to start swimming. I'm in the yellow, the girl in the lane farther from me is the one that passed me... she never came to any of our swims, so I didn't even see it coming!
No, the women on the bikes are NOT in the race, but they did enjoy slowly riding through the middle of the course.... see me checking behind me to see how close the next cyclist is!
The final sprint!
2009 Nu2Tri Triathletes!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Slowin Down
05/11/09 - 05/13/09
Well, I'm just a few days away from my first triathlon. The last 15 or so weeks have passed by in a blur, but one thing is for sure, I've come a long way from when I first started. I'm now equipped and trained to finish my race on Saturday. This week, I'm just focusing on getting mentally prepared for the event.... believing that I can do it has been a little hard for me the last few days. I'm doing my best to get back the confidence I had, but it seems that under stress I sometimes don't have the strength to carry on with everything. Balancing life, family, friends, work, sleep, eating, triathlon, and all the rest of it may be taking an emotional toll on me right now.
However, the good news is that those feelings of doubt seem to dissipate the moment I start doing one of my activities. I was having a rough day yesterday, but after an evening of biking my race-day course and practicing T2 transitions, I felt that surge of strength come right back. I'm just doing my best to remember that feeling, and carry it with me throughout the day. As I type this, I literally feel like just putting my head on the keyboard and going to sleep though... like I said, I'm struggling a bit.
I'm pretty sure that some continued successes, good nights of sleep, and light workouts should get me back in the right frame of mind. As of Monday, I've begun tapering, which means I'm cutting the length and intensity of my workouts. This allows me to rest up my muscles for the big race day, while still maintaining a certain level of fitness. The other thing I'm doing is practicing some final details, like going and actually walking the race course to visualize all the details, riding my bike to learn just when I should be shifting, picking spots on the race course that are reminders to drink electrolytes, perfecting my flip turns, putting on and taking off all the necessary components at each transition so that it becomes second nature. The less I have to think about on race day, the more I can just relax, push hard, and have fun!
The name of the game for me since the day I started all my training has been fun. I know that sometimes I've complained because it's been challenging, but at no point can I actually look back and say that I wasn't smiling through the whole thing. That in itself, may be my greatest success!
Well, I'm just a few days away from my first triathlon. The last 15 or so weeks have passed by in a blur, but one thing is for sure, I've come a long way from when I first started. I'm now equipped and trained to finish my race on Saturday. This week, I'm just focusing on getting mentally prepared for the event.... believing that I can do it has been a little hard for me the last few days. I'm doing my best to get back the confidence I had, but it seems that under stress I sometimes don't have the strength to carry on with everything. Balancing life, family, friends, work, sleep, eating, triathlon, and all the rest of it may be taking an emotional toll on me right now.
However, the good news is that those feelings of doubt seem to dissipate the moment I start doing one of my activities. I was having a rough day yesterday, but after an evening of biking my race-day course and practicing T2 transitions, I felt that surge of strength come right back. I'm just doing my best to remember that feeling, and carry it with me throughout the day. As I type this, I literally feel like just putting my head on the keyboard and going to sleep though... like I said, I'm struggling a bit.
I'm pretty sure that some continued successes, good nights of sleep, and light workouts should get me back in the right frame of mind. As of Monday, I've begun tapering, which means I'm cutting the length and intensity of my workouts. This allows me to rest up my muscles for the big race day, while still maintaining a certain level of fitness. The other thing I'm doing is practicing some final details, like going and actually walking the race course to visualize all the details, riding my bike to learn just when I should be shifting, picking spots on the race course that are reminders to drink electrolytes, perfecting my flip turns, putting on and taking off all the necessary components at each transition so that it becomes second nature. The less I have to think about on race day, the more I can just relax, push hard, and have fun!
The name of the game for me since the day I started all my training has been fun. I know that sometimes I've complained because it's been challenging, but at no point can I actually look back and say that I wasn't smiling through the whole thing. That in itself, may be my greatest success!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Week 15!
05/05/09 - 05/10/09
This was a great training week. We were pelted with just a bit of weather, but then conditions broke way to provide some awesome training weather. I won't bore you with the details, but I just used this week to show myself that I am ready! I pushed hard a few times, a relaxed a few others, and all in all, I just felt fit.
I finished up my 15th week of triathlon training, pulled the buckle on my belt loop one smaller, and have now begun mentally preparing myself for next weekend... my first Tri! I'll spend most of the week tapering and doing some transition training. I'm hoping my elite athlete of a brother will guide me through the cumbersome process of going from wetsuit, to bike, to run, so that by Sunday, I'm a transition queen. Other than greasing the bike, laying out my clothes, and getting some rest, I'm ready. I'm trained, and actually confident that this should be a fun experience!
Only bummer was that I missed our re-scheduled practice triathlon. I was out of town this weekend visiting the fam for Mother's Day, but the below pic is what I could have been doing... should I be worried that my teammates now have the edge on me?????
This was a great training week. We were pelted with just a bit of weather, but then conditions broke way to provide some awesome training weather. I won't bore you with the details, but I just used this week to show myself that I am ready! I pushed hard a few times, a relaxed a few others, and all in all, I just felt fit.
I finished up my 15th week of triathlon training, pulled the buckle on my belt loop one smaller, and have now begun mentally preparing myself for next weekend... my first Tri! I'll spend most of the week tapering and doing some transition training. I'm hoping my elite athlete of a brother will guide me through the cumbersome process of going from wetsuit, to bike, to run, so that by Sunday, I'm a transition queen. Other than greasing the bike, laying out my clothes, and getting some rest, I'm ready. I'm trained, and actually confident that this should be a fun experience!
Only bummer was that I missed our re-scheduled practice triathlon. I was out of town this weekend visiting the fam for Mother's Day, but the below pic is what I could have been doing... should I be worried that my teammates now have the edge on me?????
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
I Take that Back
05/04/09 - Track
I was on the phone with my mom last night as I drove to the track. I was telling her how humid it was, and complaining about being tired. I explained that Santa Cruz was balmy all day yesterday, and I was just waiting for the moment when the clouds would burst and finally relieve us from the humidity with a cooling rain. She said to just get out there and run, and I'll feel much better. Well, I thought, what does she know! She's not the one busting her butt everyday, 7 days a week! Sometimes I just get tired!
I begrudgingly headed up to the track, started my warm-up and had to strip off my jacket with just one lap under my belt! It got warm super fast! We started with some 3/4 mile (1200m) repeats at a fast pace, and on queue, a gentle mist started falling. It was the type of mist that has you feeling like the clouds have fallen down from the heavens to join you on the ground. One one of our 1200's, our coach came by to help us loosen up. He has an amazing ability to get you to forget about your feet, bring the effort to your large muscles, and within seconds, leave you running in better form and with less effort! I literally felt like I was running on clouds.
After the 1200's we were in for a treat! 500m repeats with the last 100m being an all out sprint! It was cool outside, a little wet, there was a slight breeze... this weather was made for sprinting! Between each sprint we did a half lap or so cool down, which was so easy to do with all the moisture surrounding us. There was just a small group of people that showed up to the track, and we had such a great time cheering each other in to the finish. (I should make a side note, this is a big deal... we never cheer each other along. No matter how much I try to be a cheerleader, our die hard triathletes just seem too focused to care. Today was the exception, with one of the women we have termed "The Angry Clown" even joining in! Everyone was in a great mood!)
It's so funny how a good run or practice can shift your mood so quickly. I went from feeling tired to being so energized that I had to call my mom at the end of practice to let her know, she was right! Of course, I won't tell her that too much, don't want it going to her head or anything!
I was on the phone with my mom last night as I drove to the track. I was telling her how humid it was, and complaining about being tired. I explained that Santa Cruz was balmy all day yesterday, and I was just waiting for the moment when the clouds would burst and finally relieve us from the humidity with a cooling rain. She said to just get out there and run, and I'll feel much better. Well, I thought, what does she know! She's not the one busting her butt everyday, 7 days a week! Sometimes I just get tired!
I begrudgingly headed up to the track, started my warm-up and had to strip off my jacket with just one lap under my belt! It got warm super fast! We started with some 3/4 mile (1200m) repeats at a fast pace, and on queue, a gentle mist started falling. It was the type of mist that has you feeling like the clouds have fallen down from the heavens to join you on the ground. One one of our 1200's, our coach came by to help us loosen up. He has an amazing ability to get you to forget about your feet, bring the effort to your large muscles, and within seconds, leave you running in better form and with less effort! I literally felt like I was running on clouds.
After the 1200's we were in for a treat! 500m repeats with the last 100m being an all out sprint! It was cool outside, a little wet, there was a slight breeze... this weather was made for sprinting! Between each sprint we did a half lap or so cool down, which was so easy to do with all the moisture surrounding us. There was just a small group of people that showed up to the track, and we had such a great time cheering each other in to the finish. (I should make a side note, this is a big deal... we never cheer each other along. No matter how much I try to be a cheerleader, our die hard triathletes just seem too focused to care. Today was the exception, with one of the women we have termed "The Angry Clown" even joining in! Everyone was in a great mood!)
It's so funny how a good run or practice can shift your mood so quickly. I went from feeling tired to being so energized that I had to call my mom at the end of practice to let her know, she was right! Of course, I won't tell her that too much, don't want it going to her head or anything!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Rain, Rain, Go Away!
05/02/09 - Triathlon.... CANCELED!
Today was supposed to be my first triathlon. We were meeting informally with our training group to do a mini-triathlon and get some good transition training. I got all my gear together the night before, and woke up with some pre-race jitters. I was sure to get up early to get in my pre-race breakfast, to hit the restroom, stretch, and then to find out it was canceled! I guess pouring rain isn't ideal conditions for ocean swimming and biking. What a let down.
I got in a 6 mile run that day instead, but it doesn't make up for the mental and tactile preparation I had already put towards my first race. I just have to look at it as my first opportunity to train for the blues. After all my early morning, adrenaline-filled anticipation, I was definitely unprepared for the slump that followed.
Today was supposed to be my first triathlon. We were meeting informally with our training group to do a mini-triathlon and get some good transition training. I got all my gear together the night before, and woke up with some pre-race jitters. I was sure to get up early to get in my pre-race breakfast, to hit the restroom, stretch, and then to find out it was canceled! I guess pouring rain isn't ideal conditions for ocean swimming and biking. What a let down.
I got in a 6 mile run that day instead, but it doesn't make up for the mental and tactile preparation I had already put towards my first race. I just have to look at it as my first opportunity to train for the blues. After all my early morning, adrenaline-filled anticipation, I was definitely unprepared for the slump that followed.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Taking in the Sights
04/30/09 - Bike
With no more coached core trainings on Thursdays, we're now able to add another bike ride to our routine. After chasing down my runaway dog, we unloaded our gear in Aptos, CA, and noticed that my training gal pal had some seriously low tires. After both of our failed attempts using our small hand pumps, it dawned on me that the bike shop across the street might be the perfect place to get some air! Go figure!
We detoured into the Aptos Bike Shop, and were greeted by an adorable black lab, and the shop owner. What a great little operation they have going there, the people were nice, the dog was friendly, and it's woman owned... I know where I'm getting my bike maintenance done in the future!
With our tires filled to the brim, we hit the road for our evening ride. We planned to do about 24 miles, from Nisene Marks and out along the coastal farms in Watsonville, complete with beach front views, endless strawberry fields, and flower farms. We started out and hit a quick 400ft climb. Did I say that I HATE hills, well I do. I like riding fast, and the hills still get me crawling. I could really use some coaching on hill technique, and even though I hate it, I might just need to bring my bike to the base of a hill and do some repetitions up and down it... boo!
Anyway, the evening was beautiful, sunny, a little foggy, some cross wind, and warm. We had fun talking through the ride, screaming at the hills, and taking a few detours for sight seeing. We got a chance to tour through the cutest beach town, La Selva Beach, and stare in desire at their pristinely manicured yards and awe inspiring ocean views. Then we headed along the coast on rolling hills and checked out an old farm house, some beach front campsites, and finally a beach front mansion that literally looks like it was occupied in the 70's by the Cuban drug cartel! I'm talking gold fixtures on the gate and statues of lions! Think Tony Montana in Scarface!
Due to our late start and detours, we didn't make it all the way to Sunset Beach, but we had a great ride and perfectly timed our arrival back at the car, just as it started getting too dark to wear my sunglasses. We did just under 20 miles and got back home in time to watch the Office! What a great ride!
05/01/09 - Swim
Happy 1st of May! I started off the month with a great swim this morning. I did my normal 400m warm-up and then braced myself for my timed 500m race distance. I'm still trying to figure out my pacing for this distance, always afraid that I'll start too fast. I just started out nice and slow, and at the half way mark, kicked it up. It helped that the woman next to me was a fast swimmer, because she definitely started racing me. I only had 50m to go, so I kicked it up and we were definitely matched for speed. It was fun to finish strong, and if I had to put $50 on it, I'd say that I touched first! My personal victory for the day!
Anyway, I finished the 500m and saw my time. I wasn't horribly impressed, 8:30. I don't think it's bad, but I know I could do better. I think I'm starting just way too slow for fear of burning out. I had a race in high school, the 200m butterfly. I had never done it before, and the Coach wanted me to do it for Championships. Well, my 50m was very fast, and so without a previous time, I ended up being seeded #1 for the race. WHAT? I was so freaked out that I got in, went as fast as I could the first 100m, and then could barely move the next 100m... it was awful and embarrassing and my friends still laugh about it! Hopefully with more practice, I'll lose that fear, and I'm hoping to bring my 500m into the 7 minute range by the end of the season. I should note though I started in the 9minutes, so at least I'm seeing progress!
More swimming and pulling followed, and I hopped out of the pool and raced to the showers to try and beat the crowd!
With no more coached core trainings on Thursdays, we're now able to add another bike ride to our routine. After chasing down my runaway dog, we unloaded our gear in Aptos, CA, and noticed that my training gal pal had some seriously low tires. After both of our failed attempts using our small hand pumps, it dawned on me that the bike shop across the street might be the perfect place to get some air! Go figure!
We detoured into the Aptos Bike Shop, and were greeted by an adorable black lab, and the shop owner. What a great little operation they have going there, the people were nice, the dog was friendly, and it's woman owned... I know where I'm getting my bike maintenance done in the future!
With our tires filled to the brim, we hit the road for our evening ride. We planned to do about 24 miles, from Nisene Marks and out along the coastal farms in Watsonville, complete with beach front views, endless strawberry fields, and flower farms. We started out and hit a quick 400ft climb. Did I say that I HATE hills, well I do. I like riding fast, and the hills still get me crawling. I could really use some coaching on hill technique, and even though I hate it, I might just need to bring my bike to the base of a hill and do some repetitions up and down it... boo!
Anyway, the evening was beautiful, sunny, a little foggy, some cross wind, and warm. We had fun talking through the ride, screaming at the hills, and taking a few detours for sight seeing. We got a chance to tour through the cutest beach town, La Selva Beach, and stare in desire at their pristinely manicured yards and awe inspiring ocean views. Then we headed along the coast on rolling hills and checked out an old farm house, some beach front campsites, and finally a beach front mansion that literally looks like it was occupied in the 70's by the Cuban drug cartel! I'm talking gold fixtures on the gate and statues of lions! Think Tony Montana in Scarface!Due to our late start and detours, we didn't make it all the way to Sunset Beach, but we had a great ride and perfectly timed our arrival back at the car, just as it started getting too dark to wear my sunglasses. We did just under 20 miles and got back home in time to watch the Office! What a great ride!
05/01/09 - Swim
Happy 1st of May! I started off the month with a great swim this morning. I did my normal 400m warm-up and then braced myself for my timed 500m race distance. I'm still trying to figure out my pacing for this distance, always afraid that I'll start too fast. I just started out nice and slow, and at the half way mark, kicked it up. It helped that the woman next to me was a fast swimmer, because she definitely started racing me. I only had 50m to go, so I kicked it up and we were definitely matched for speed. It was fun to finish strong, and if I had to put $50 on it, I'd say that I touched first! My personal victory for the day!
Anyway, I finished the 500m and saw my time. I wasn't horribly impressed, 8:30. I don't think it's bad, but I know I could do better. I think I'm starting just way too slow for fear of burning out. I had a race in high school, the 200m butterfly. I had never done it before, and the Coach wanted me to do it for Championships. Well, my 50m was very fast, and so without a previous time, I ended up being seeded #1 for the race. WHAT? I was so freaked out that I got in, went as fast as I could the first 100m, and then could barely move the next 100m... it was awful and embarrassing and my friends still laugh about it! Hopefully with more practice, I'll lose that fear, and I'm hoping to bring my 500m into the 7 minute range by the end of the season. I should note though I started in the 9minutes, so at least I'm seeing progress!
More swimming and pulling followed, and I hopped out of the pool and raced to the showers to try and beat the crowd!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
A little of this and a little of that
04/29/09 - Swim and Run
Today I got in a couple of workouts, but noticed they were just a little shorter than normal. I got to the pool at the regular time, but I'm not sure what happened... I somehow came up about 100m short of my normal distance, and I was doing sprints! Hmmm.... It was a good swim though, nice and fast. I kept my 100m sprints at 1:40 on the nose, and my 50m sprints between :35-:45. I had a little variation in the 50m because I realized that I should slow it down just a hair to be sure I could get all 10 in at the same time. I finished with a lot of energy left, so maybe next time I'll just stick with the :35 pace.
That night, I skipped out on our Cross Fit because I've really been wanting to join our Wed. Night Group Run. This is a group of runners from my Tri team, a run team, a 1oK training team, and some stragglers. My friend and fiance are both in the 10K race training group, and I kind of expected that these lead runs would be filled with insightful tips.... not quite the case! We got there, did a couple of stretches and then the coach spoke some words of wisdom, "Ok, let's run!"
Everyone took off. I was with my friend and this was her first run, and I was shocked! They didn't talk about pacing, about form, or even how long or where to run! We were on a path that runs along the ocean cliffs in Santa Cruz, so it would be hard to get lost, but a little direction would have been nice. I ran with my friend, trying to help her find a good run/walk pace. I've been in her position, even less fit than she is, and I know how hard these initial runs are. You go all out for a couple minutes and then kill yourself for the rest of the run. I noticed that there weren't any other newbies on this run, so I'm guessing that they got scared off by their own crushed egos.
We made the best of it though, and had a great run! I tried to help slow down the pace and keep up the conversation. It was nice for me to spend the evening with a great friend, and I was filled with excitement to see that yet another person close to me is starting on their own running adventure. It's been such a positive impact on my life, I can't wait to see how it manifests itself in hers. I think the hardest run are during the first couple of weeks... your body yells at you for putting it through an unfamiliar torture, but she killed it. She was calm and fluid, and I can see great achievements in her future.
This friend and my fiance are training for the Santa Cruz Wharf to Wharf 10k, which is a race from Santa Cruz to Capitola along the ocean, that is literally one big party! I can't wait to do it with all my friends!
Today I got in a couple of workouts, but noticed they were just a little shorter than normal. I got to the pool at the regular time, but I'm not sure what happened... I somehow came up about 100m short of my normal distance, and I was doing sprints! Hmmm.... It was a good swim though, nice and fast. I kept my 100m sprints at 1:40 on the nose, and my 50m sprints between :35-:45. I had a little variation in the 50m because I realized that I should slow it down just a hair to be sure I could get all 10 in at the same time. I finished with a lot of energy left, so maybe next time I'll just stick with the :35 pace.
That night, I skipped out on our Cross Fit because I've really been wanting to join our Wed. Night Group Run. This is a group of runners from my Tri team, a run team, a 1oK training team, and some stragglers. My friend and fiance are both in the 10K race training group, and I kind of expected that these lead runs would be filled with insightful tips.... not quite the case! We got there, did a couple of stretches and then the coach spoke some words of wisdom, "Ok, let's run!"
Everyone took off. I was with my friend and this was her first run, and I was shocked! They didn't talk about pacing, about form, or even how long or where to run! We were on a path that runs along the ocean cliffs in Santa Cruz, so it would be hard to get lost, but a little direction would have been nice. I ran with my friend, trying to help her find a good run/walk pace. I've been in her position, even less fit than she is, and I know how hard these initial runs are. You go all out for a couple minutes and then kill yourself for the rest of the run. I noticed that there weren't any other newbies on this run, so I'm guessing that they got scared off by their own crushed egos.
We made the best of it though, and had a great run! I tried to help slow down the pace and keep up the conversation. It was nice for me to spend the evening with a great friend, and I was filled with excitement to see that yet another person close to me is starting on their own running adventure. It's been such a positive impact on my life, I can't wait to see how it manifests itself in hers. I think the hardest run are during the first couple of weeks... your body yells at you for putting it through an unfamiliar torture, but she killed it. She was calm and fluid, and I can see great achievements in her future.
This friend and my fiance are training for the Santa Cruz Wharf to Wharf 10k, which is a race from Santa Cruz to Capitola along the ocean, that is literally one big party! I can't wait to do it with all my friends!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Whoah!
I'm way behind! So sorry, here's a quick run down of the rest of last week:
4/22/09 - Cross Fit
4/23/09 - Rest
4/24/09 - 6mi Run
4/25/09 - 22mi Bike
I had a distracting week last week. I was at a women's work retreat for two days and then left to go camping for the rest of the weekend to celebrate my fiance's birthday. It was a lot of fun, but it's difficult to squeeze in trainings when my schedule is out of whack. I have to consider what gear I'm bringing with me, and if I'll be able to shower afterward, and if I'll know where the heck I'm going in a new area. Still, it allows for interesting opportunities to explore new areas and sights that I haven't seen before, including running across a giant Jesus sculpture on the top of a hill. Where did that come from?
04/26/09 - Open Water Swim
This week started off with an open water swim clinic which provided some execptionally valuable tools on how to prepare to enter the water, how to exit, and how to handle the cold. We've had a few storms pass through causing upwelling, and with that some direly cold currents. We got into the water the first time to acclimate, and I just went into a bit of shock. Your lungs freeze, your muscles tense, and you forget to breath. Our coached walked us through the process of slowly submerging yourself underwater, and of course, allowing yourself to breath.
We started with a few short swims, and then hit up our race distance. On the short swims, I did great! Myself and two of our mentors finished first! We kept the same pace and seemed to create a large distance between ourselves and the other swimmers. However, I started noticing that my surf wetsuit may not be suited for this type of activity. I bought the wetsuit over a year ago, I've become a bit smaller, and accordingly, am taking on alot of water. Everytime I stroked, I could feel a gush of water coming into the suit and dragging me down. Triathlon wetsuits are much tighter and more flexible, so I might think about investing in one down the road.
Once we did the race distance, I kept pace with the leaders for the first half, but I started struggling with the wet suit and slowed my pace. They ended up finishing about 15m ahead of me, but I was just glad to finish!!! When I slowed my pace a bit, it gave me an opportunity to look around under water. We were practicing swimming through kelp beds to become accustomed to it's snarly nature, and I was spotting a little fish here and there. Of course, all of a sudden, I saw something much larger and much quicker! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but sure enough, I saw a silverish colored thing next to me! I popped out of the water, looking around to see how close the nearest swimmer was.... like I said, the leaders were 15m ahead of me (that's me in the red cap in the picture, bringing it in to the finish), and the pack was a good 100m behind me! I was alone! I thought about panicking, but before I had the opportunity, a little head popped up about an arm's length from me and stared at me with droopy and inquisitive eyes. I was so happy to see that seal, that it fueled me to pick up the pace and finish the last 150m in a sprint!
04/27/09 - T2 Training
I am BUMMED! With all the camping and birthday celebrating, I missed our T2 Training at the track on Monday. They set up their bikes and practiced race paces, and transitions, in which I am totally clueless. Thankfully, my training partner attended and I'm hoping she took notes!
04/28/09 - Run
We took in a nice run this evening. We no longer have spin class, so I'm adjusting to a new schedule... we'll see what manifests itself. In the mean time, the run was great except that I had a little intestinal issue about a mile in. Nothing that stopped me from running, but it definintely held my attention!
We ran along the ocean bluffs next to my office, and had a nice fast and strong pace on the way out. We knew we were going to be in trouble on the way back though, because the wind was hard at our backs. We hit the turn around point, and sure enough, we were blasted with the ice cold ocean winds. On a few hills the wind was so furious, that it seemed we didn't cover any ground.
We considered turning inland and heading for a little solitude, but I'm as stubborn as the wind, and thought it would be a great training opportunity. We battled the whole way home, and still had a strong, solid, and quick run. I'd have to say that with all this training, my run has improved the most. Interesting how spending extra time on the bike and in the pool ultimately helped me run faster! Go figure!
4/22/09 - Cross Fit
4/23/09 - Rest
4/24/09 - 6mi Run
4/25/09 - 22mi Bike
I had a distracting week last week. I was at a women's work retreat for two days and then left to go camping for the rest of the weekend to celebrate my fiance's birthday. It was a lot of fun, but it's difficult to squeeze in trainings when my schedule is out of whack. I have to consider what gear I'm bringing with me, and if I'll be able to shower afterward, and if I'll know where the heck I'm going in a new area. Still, it allows for interesting opportunities to explore new areas and sights that I haven't seen before, including running across a giant Jesus sculpture on the top of a hill. Where did that come from?
04/26/09 - Open Water Swim
This week started off with an open water swim clinic which provided some execptionally valuable tools on how to prepare to enter the water, how to exit, and how to handle the cold. We've had a few storms pass through causing upwelling, and with that some direly cold currents. We got into the water the first time to acclimate, and I just went into a bit of shock. Your lungs freeze, your muscles tense, and you forget to breath. Our coached walked us through the process of slowly submerging yourself underwater, and of course, allowing yourself to breath.
We started with a few short swims, and then hit up our race distance. On the short swims, I did great! Myself and two of our mentors finished first! We kept the same pace and seemed to create a large distance between ourselves and the other swimmers. However, I started noticing that my surf wetsuit may not be suited for this type of activity. I bought the wetsuit over a year ago, I've become a bit smaller, and accordingly, am taking on alot of water. Everytime I stroked, I could feel a gush of water coming into the suit and dragging me down. Triathlon wetsuits are much tighter and more flexible, so I might think about investing in one down the road.
Once we did the race distance, I kept pace with the leaders for the first half, but I started struggling with the wet suit and slowed my pace. They ended up finishing about 15m ahead of me, but I was just glad to finish!!! When I slowed my pace a bit, it gave me an opportunity to look around under water. We were practicing swimming through kelp beds to become accustomed to it's snarly nature, and I was spotting a little fish here and there. Of course, all of a sudden, I saw something much larger and much quicker! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but sure enough, I saw a silverish colored thing next to me! I popped out of the water, looking around to see how close the nearest swimmer was.... like I said, the leaders were 15m ahead of me (that's me in the red cap in the picture, bringing it in to the finish), and the pack was a good 100m behind me! I was alone! I thought about panicking, but before I had the opportunity, a little head popped up about an arm's length from me and stared at me with droopy and inquisitive eyes. I was so happy to see that seal, that it fueled me to pick up the pace and finish the last 150m in a sprint!
04/27/09 - T2 Training
I am BUMMED! With all the camping and birthday celebrating, I missed our T2 Training at the track on Monday. They set up their bikes and practiced race paces, and transitions, in which I am totally clueless. Thankfully, my training partner attended and I'm hoping she took notes!
04/28/09 - Run
We took in a nice run this evening. We no longer have spin class, so I'm adjusting to a new schedule... we'll see what manifests itself. In the mean time, the run was great except that I had a little intestinal issue about a mile in. Nothing that stopped me from running, but it definintely held my attention!
We ran along the ocean bluffs next to my office, and had a nice fast and strong pace on the way out. We knew we were going to be in trouble on the way back though, because the wind was hard at our backs. We hit the turn around point, and sure enough, we were blasted with the ice cold ocean winds. On a few hills the wind was so furious, that it seemed we didn't cover any ground.
We considered turning inland and heading for a little solitude, but I'm as stubborn as the wind, and thought it would be a great training opportunity. We battled the whole way home, and still had a strong, solid, and quick run. I'd have to say that with all this training, my run has improved the most. Interesting how spending extra time on the bike and in the pool ultimately helped me run faster! Go figure!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Firsts
04/21/09 - Yoga and Swim
Today was full of firsts for me, and I'm so grateful for them. One of the best parts of all this training is being able to push the boundaries I've built for myself, understand my physical limitations, confront some fears, and then blast on past them!!
I started off the day with some yoga. Pretty standard for me, until the very end of class. The teacher offered those of us willing to try, an opportunity to perform a head stand. She just immediately put her body into the position, and I sat there, a little stunned. At first, I wasn't sure what to think, will I embarrass myself and fall down? Then, before I realized it, something else kicked in, and I was doing it. I was shocked. I effortlessly pulled my legs from the ground and then above my head, and balanced, using the help of my core muscles. I almost started laughing out in celebration when I realized that I was doing it, but I thought it best to stay quiet and avoid all that falling stuff I had been thinking about just minutes before.
Later in the evening, I was confronted with some questions about what training to do that night. Our normal spin class is now over, it was 96 degrees outside, all the pools will be full.... then it dawned on me. I am not afraid of swimming in the ocean. If my training partner-in-crime felt comfortable giving it a try, then I was willing to do my swim in the open water.
Well, we arrived at the beach, threw on our wetsuits, and waded into the ice cold, and ultimately refreshing water. I looked over at C as we started swimming, and I was so proud. I was swimming in the ocean with a woman who was confronting one of her biggest fears. Yes, this was a first for me to swim around without a surfboard, but to see someone tackle their fears head on is quite an amazing experience. We took a few opportunities to just stop and float in the water, we practiced some resting techniques, I spoke to her about learning how to calm yourself down when you get in a panic, and before we knew it, we were face down swimming, having already covered our entire race distance!
Swimming in the ocean is so different from swimming in a pool. First and foremost, you're at the mercy of that body of water, but once you learn to give into it's power, to relax and go with the flow, to keep your eye on a focused point and just keep swimming towards it, it becomes a huge thrill. We were swimming along the Santa Cruz Wharf, in the company of sea lions, starfish, and otters. I felt like a kid exploring a whole new world, and I can't wait to make it a regular part of my training.
Today was full of firsts for me, and I'm so grateful for them. One of the best parts of all this training is being able to push the boundaries I've built for myself, understand my physical limitations, confront some fears, and then blast on past them!!
I started off the day with some yoga. Pretty standard for me, until the very end of class. The teacher offered those of us willing to try, an opportunity to perform a head stand. She just immediately put her body into the position, and I sat there, a little stunned. At first, I wasn't sure what to think, will I embarrass myself and fall down? Then, before I realized it, something else kicked in, and I was doing it. I was shocked. I effortlessly pulled my legs from the ground and then above my head, and balanced, using the help of my core muscles. I almost started laughing out in celebration when I realized that I was doing it, but I thought it best to stay quiet and avoid all that falling stuff I had been thinking about just minutes before.
Later in the evening, I was confronted with some questions about what training to do that night. Our normal spin class is now over, it was 96 degrees outside, all the pools will be full.... then it dawned on me. I am not afraid of swimming in the ocean. If my training partner-in-crime felt comfortable giving it a try, then I was willing to do my swim in the open water.
Well, we arrived at the beach, threw on our wetsuits, and waded into the ice cold, and ultimately refreshing water. I looked over at C as we started swimming, and I was so proud. I was swimming in the ocean with a woman who was confronting one of her biggest fears. Yes, this was a first for me to swim around without a surfboard, but to see someone tackle their fears head on is quite an amazing experience. We took a few opportunities to just stop and float in the water, we practiced some resting techniques, I spoke to her about learning how to calm yourself down when you get in a panic, and before we knew it, we were face down swimming, having already covered our entire race distance!
Swimming in the ocean is so different from swimming in a pool. First and foremost, you're at the mercy of that body of water, but once you learn to give into it's power, to relax and go with the flow, to keep your eye on a focused point and just keep swimming towards it, it becomes a huge thrill. We were swimming along the Santa Cruz Wharf, in the company of sea lions, starfish, and otters. I felt like a kid exploring a whole new world, and I can't wait to make it a regular part of my training.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Hot, hot, hot!
04/18/09 - Brick
So, what have I been up to lately, let's see. Saturday morning I woke up at 6:00am to find that I had only slept a possible one or two hours. I had quite a bit of trouble with sleep that night. I skipped our group ride and did a brick on my own. I road up into the hills, looped passed farms, cow pastures, and eventually back down to the beach. I did about 800ft of climbing, 18 miles of riding, and then jumped off the bike for 2 miles of running.
After this, I was supposed to register for the Santa Cruz 10k race, that was happening the following morning. The only way to register for the race was to go to the boardwalk, on a Saturday afternoon, at the busiest beach in town, with all the other race participants, and the thousands of tourists unloading in our town to enjoy the 80 degree weather! I headed down that way, and realized it was going to take hours, and cost me $20 to park, and then another $50 to run a route that I run all the time. Forget it! I met up with my bro and spent the rest of the day at the beach!
04/19/09 - Run
I woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to help PJ pin his bib number on for the Santa Cruz 1/2 Marathon! It's so exciting to be a part of races, I was a little bummed that I wasn't going to be joining him in the event, but then realized that I get to cheer him on. I dropped him at the start line, and then went and ran my own 10k. About half way through my run, I could hear the gun go off for his race, so I headed back home, put the dog inside the house, and then took off to hopefully find him on the course.
I was pretty sure of the pace PJ would be running, so I posted up at a few places on the course accordingly. I first got to see him at mile 4, and the look on his face was priceless. He had no idea that I was going to be out there. He looked great! Strong, and tall, and seemed to be taking the unwelcomed heat wave like a champ! I saw him again at miles 6, 8, and the finish. He finished fast, set a personal record, and then spent the rest of the day lazying at the beach with some margaritas! I'm so proud of the progress and work he's put into becoming a runner!
04/20/09 - Bike
Man was it nice when I woke up today. I knew I needed a rest day, so I decided to just ride my bike to work and take in the weather. On my way to work, it was in the 70's already and made my beach-side ride magnificent. I spotted pelicans, sea otters, sea lions, all basking in the light morning sun.
As the day progressed, the baromoter continued to rise. When it was time to leave work, my desktop thermometer was reading 96 degrees! I thought it was wrong... nope, record temps! I waited it out, but it didn't drop, so I headed back out for another ride, this time in the scorching evening sun. Riding along the beach in a cruiser is a nice slow way to enjoy the scenery, but I was on my road bike, and I was booking. The ocean breeze just helped reinforce how fast I thought I was going. Best part though, was the last hill I have to tackle getting up to my place. It is no longer a hill to me!!!! Could it be, that I'm starting to improve on the bike a bit? I sure as hell hope so!
So, what have I been up to lately, let's see. Saturday morning I woke up at 6:00am to find that I had only slept a possible one or two hours. I had quite a bit of trouble with sleep that night. I skipped our group ride and did a brick on my own. I road up into the hills, looped passed farms, cow pastures, and eventually back down to the beach. I did about 800ft of climbing, 18 miles of riding, and then jumped off the bike for 2 miles of running.
After this, I was supposed to register for the Santa Cruz 10k race, that was happening the following morning. The only way to register for the race was to go to the boardwalk, on a Saturday afternoon, at the busiest beach in town, with all the other race participants, and the thousands of tourists unloading in our town to enjoy the 80 degree weather! I headed down that way, and realized it was going to take hours, and cost me $20 to park, and then another $50 to run a route that I run all the time. Forget it! I met up with my bro and spent the rest of the day at the beach!
04/19/09 - Run
I woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to help PJ pin his bib number on for the Santa Cruz 1/2 Marathon! It's so exciting to be a part of races, I was a little bummed that I wasn't going to be joining him in the event, but then realized that I get to cheer him on. I dropped him at the start line, and then went and ran my own 10k. About half way through my run, I could hear the gun go off for his race, so I headed back home, put the dog inside the house, and then took off to hopefully find him on the course.I was pretty sure of the pace PJ would be running, so I posted up at a few places on the course accordingly. I first got to see him at mile 4, and the look on his face was priceless. He had no idea that I was going to be out there. He looked great! Strong, and tall, and seemed to be taking the unwelcomed heat wave like a champ! I saw him again at miles 6, 8, and the finish. He finished fast, set a personal record, and then spent the rest of the day lazying at the beach with some margaritas! I'm so proud of the progress and work he's put into becoming a runner!
04/20/09 - Bike
Man was it nice when I woke up today. I knew I needed a rest day, so I decided to just ride my bike to work and take in the weather. On my way to work, it was in the 70's already and made my beach-side ride magnificent. I spotted pelicans, sea otters, sea lions, all basking in the light morning sun.
As the day progressed, the baromoter continued to rise. When it was time to leave work, my desktop thermometer was reading 96 degrees! I thought it was wrong... nope, record temps! I waited it out, but it didn't drop, so I headed back out for another ride, this time in the scorching evening sun. Riding along the beach in a cruiser is a nice slow way to enjoy the scenery, but I was on my road bike, and I was booking. The ocean breeze just helped reinforce how fast I thought I was going. Best part though, was the last hill I have to tackle getting up to my place. It is no longer a hill to me!!!! Could it be, that I'm starting to improve on the bike a bit? I sure as hell hope so!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Another week down
4/13/09 - 4/17/09
Whoa, I'm not sure where my daily posts disappeared to. They must be hanging out somewhere with my energy. Oh, it's Friday morning, so that means I'm nearing the completion of my week and feeling exhausted, sore, burnt, shredded... all my normal descriptives. Throw in a cuss word or too, and you've got a transcript from my inner dialogue during my swim this morning. This week I was heavy on the weights and resistance work, and I was really feeling it today.
Ok, so let's see what's been going on. I got a run in on Monday, Tuesday was yoga and a leg shredding spin class, that night I had a girl's night so I slept in on Wednesday and did a great Cross Fit Class with some of the best core exercises I've tried to date, Thursday was an intense triathlon fitness class, and this morning I swam. Tomorrow I'll get in a bike ride and run, and then Sunday I've got a 10K race. Then, I kick back, pour a large glass of ice cold, electrolyte enhanced margaritas, and enjoy the 85 degree weather at the beach.... yes, all this work means way less anxiety about putting on my swim suit!
Whoa, I'm not sure where my daily posts disappeared to. They must be hanging out somewhere with my energy. Oh, it's Friday morning, so that means I'm nearing the completion of my week and feeling exhausted, sore, burnt, shredded... all my normal descriptives. Throw in a cuss word or too, and you've got a transcript from my inner dialogue during my swim this morning. This week I was heavy on the weights and resistance work, and I was really feeling it today.
Ok, so let's see what's been going on. I got a run in on Monday, Tuesday was yoga and a leg shredding spin class, that night I had a girl's night so I slept in on Wednesday and did a great Cross Fit Class with some of the best core exercises I've tried to date, Thursday was an intense triathlon fitness class, and this morning I swam. Tomorrow I'll get in a bike ride and run, and then Sunday I've got a 10K race. Then, I kick back, pour a large glass of ice cold, electrolyte enhanced margaritas, and enjoy the 85 degree weather at the beach.... yes, all this work means way less anxiety about putting on my swim suit!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Still Here
04/09/09 - 04/12/09
I was out of town camping for the weekend, so I'm behind on my posts. However, I'm happy to report (to myself) that I didn't skip a workout. I kept on track and still had room for lots and lots of champagne with my mom. Since the last time I wrote, I did a core class, a long swim, a bike ride, a run, and rested, aka, drank mimosas until the wee hours of the morning!
I got to run with my dog and fiance and we were joking about how my running times are shrinking along with me... I seem to drop a few seconds per mile with every pound. I'm at about a 10 minute/mile pace now, and feeling good! (I used to do 15 min/mile so you do the math!) Like I've said before, I'm a slow, bad runner, so for me this is pretty amazing!
Today I'll be doing yoga and spin, and then spending the rest of the evening in my pajamas in the company of my girlfriends, some pomegranate margaritas, and episodes of 90210!
I was out of town camping for the weekend, so I'm behind on my posts. However, I'm happy to report (to myself) that I didn't skip a workout. I kept on track and still had room for lots and lots of champagne with my mom. Since the last time I wrote, I did a core class, a long swim, a bike ride, a run, and rested, aka, drank mimosas until the wee hours of the morning!
I got to run with my dog and fiance and we were joking about how my running times are shrinking along with me... I seem to drop a few seconds per mile with every pound. I'm at about a 10 minute/mile pace now, and feeling good! (I used to do 15 min/mile so you do the math!) Like I've said before, I'm a slow, bad runner, so for me this is pretty amazing!
Today I'll be doing yoga and spin, and then spending the rest of the evening in my pajamas in the company of my girlfriends, some pomegranate margaritas, and episodes of 90210!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Big Squeeze
04/06/09 - REST!
This week launches a test of my ability to balance work, life, and triathlon. I'm having to rearrange workouts as they become longer, but also switch it up to ensure that my personal life is still in focus. Instead of track tonight, I enjoyed a restful evening of trying on bathing suits with my girlfriends.... did I say restful? It's more like panic stricken, torture, leaving me feeling that all this work is amounting to nothing.... I think I would have felt more rested if I'd just done our 7 mile track workout!
04/07/09 - Yoga and Run
Nice yoga at lunch today, followed by a short and sweet 3 mile run. I've been a little tired, and I've got family in town, so I'm just going to have to squeeze in the workouts this week as time allows. I'll be back in full swing once my family heads back home.
04/08/09 - Swim and Cross Fit
Started the morning with a great 2000m swim. This has quickly become my favorite way to welcome my day. Some quick 150m sets left me feeling weak in the arms, but I followed those with fast 50m's that brought me back to feeling strong again!
Tonight, we'll have cross fit where we put our muscles and endurance to the test. Hopefully I'm up to the challenge!
This week launches a test of my ability to balance work, life, and triathlon. I'm having to rearrange workouts as they become longer, but also switch it up to ensure that my personal life is still in focus. Instead of track tonight, I enjoyed a restful evening of trying on bathing suits with my girlfriends.... did I say restful? It's more like panic stricken, torture, leaving me feeling that all this work is amounting to nothing.... I think I would have felt more rested if I'd just done our 7 mile track workout!
04/07/09 - Yoga and Run
Nice yoga at lunch today, followed by a short and sweet 3 mile run. I've been a little tired, and I've got family in town, so I'm just going to have to squeeze in the workouts this week as time allows. I'll be back in full swing once my family heads back home.
04/08/09 - Swim and Cross Fit
Started the morning with a great 2000m swim. This has quickly become my favorite way to welcome my day. Some quick 150m sets left me feeling weak in the arms, but I followed those with fast 50m's that brought me back to feeling strong again!
Tonight, we'll have cross fit where we put our muscles and endurance to the test. Hopefully I'm up to the challenge!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Transition Time
04/04/09 - Bike and Run (BRICK)
Today we had a brick training, meaning we were going on a bike ride and following it with an immediate run. This is known as T2, or the second transition in a triathlon. It's no easy feat to jump off a bike and start running, it sends your body into a little bit of shock at first. I was tired before I got there, so I was a little anxious about how this was all going to play out for me today.
We started out our 15 mile bike ride in Aptos, CA. We were told there were going to be a few hills.... the understatement of the day! I had a really tough ride, I think that I'm still building up my legs for cycling, but I also haven't rested in nearly two weeks, so I was burnt out before we even got started. The first hill put some distance between me and the other riders, but I quickly got back in line again on the downhill. It was the next hill, the hill that NEVER ended, that did me in!
I realized that I'm fine on quick, steep climbs, but the long, slow, never ending climbs just kill me. We were climbing and I was hoping once we got around the corner we'd stop, but it just never came! Finally, we hit a short downhill and I was able to catch up with people. It seems I have a knack for the downhills. No brakes for this girl (especially when I see another hill in front of me)! I know the route we were on was gorgeous, but I was so overwhelmed by fatigue from all the climbing that I didn't see it. After that short downhill, we went right back to climbing again! OUCH! I've learned along the way, that during endurance events, every athlete has a "Don't F#@$ with me!" moment. Well, I was definitely having one on this bike ride. A few encouraging words from a friend left me wanting to get off the bike and throw things at her! So, I chugged out a "get out of here" with the last breaths left in me, and trudge forward on my own. This was hard. I considered stopping, crying, cussing, freaking out, but I knew those wouldn't get me up the hill any faster. So, I just kept climbing, at a crawl's pace until it arrived.. the peak!
After all that climbing, we got to enjoy a super fast trip down the windy, country road. All I kept thinking was thank god we were doing such a short ride today. They trimmed about 10 miles from the ride since we had a big workout ahead of us tomorrow, and I couldn't be more happy about it!
I got back to my car, threw the bike in, pulled on my running shoes, and was off running.... and this time I was actually running! I couldn't believe it! Normally I sort of just move along with my feet barely leaving the ground during a brick, but this was a decent pace. I stopped at the 1 mile mark to stretch out a little, and then finished the last mile feeling strong, and really ready to run. I could have easily done a 10K!
04/05/09 - Swim and Bike (T1)
We were at the pool early this morning with our bike and cycling gear in tow. We set up our transition areas on
the pool deck. I laid a towel down next to the bike, laid out my cycling shorts, helmet, sunglasses, gloves, and shoes. Then we gathered in a meeting room to learn some information about the first transition in a triathlon, from swimming to cycling, or T1.
After some good info, we hopped in the water for a swim workout. I know my swim times, and thought that if I placed myself in lane 3 that I'd be in a good pace group. Lane 1 housed the quickest swimmers, and then the paces slow as the lanes go on. I was in a lane with another woman, and after the warm-up, I should have moved lanes. She was too slow to be in lane 3 and I was a too quick. We were definitely an odd couple.
We started with a 600m warm-up, 150m each Swim, Kick, Choice, and Pull. Then followed it with 12 x 25m of body positioning drills, including swimming with your eyes closed! That was freaky! I count my strokes when I swim freestyle, so at least I knew about when I'd hit the wall, but I had to really force myself not to open my eyes!
Our first set was 400m's of drafting. By getting in really close to the person in front of you, you can draft off of them, and decrease your energy output as they pull you along. This exercise was useless for me because I was so poorly paced with the woman in my lane. I was going slower than my warm up/cool down pace, and couldn't even kick. I felt like I was just kind of hanging out in the lane!
Luckily that ended, and we moved on to a 200m pull. Then some 50's... which I now can't remember how many we did. And next on to 6x100m's that increased in speed. We started slow, and then finished as fast as possible.
After that, came our race swim that was supposed to mimic our swim in a triathlon. I started at the same time as lanes 1-3. I was jamming. I felt strong, quick, and got to the wall to see that I was the first one in, by A LOT! I had lapped them! I was so excited, that I didn't notice someone was pulling me out of the water! Our coach had me by the arm, and before I knew it, I was out of the water and running to my bike. I was so excited, that I fumbled a little with things, but managed to pull my bike shorts over my swimsuit, and clipped on my helmet and shoes. I ran with my bike down the to the transition start, and off I went!
I was just in total awe of my swim effort.. first! I couldn't believe it! Of course, all those great athletes were right behind me, and the guys all passed me on the
bike, but I wasn't really concerned. This was a new experience for me. I wasn't just leisurely running a half marathon, not really caring about my time, and just having fun, I was RACING. I gave it everything I had on the bike. I was pounding the hills and crouching in the drops to be more aerodynamic on downhills. I finished strong and really proud of my accomplishment. Our coach came over and told me what a great job I did, I guess I surprised him.... I think I surprised myself as well!
Today we had a brick training, meaning we were going on a bike ride and following it with an immediate run. This is known as T2, or the second transition in a triathlon. It's no easy feat to jump off a bike and start running, it sends your body into a little bit of shock at first. I was tired before I got there, so I was a little anxious about how this was all going to play out for me today.
We started out our 15 mile bike ride in Aptos, CA. We were told there were going to be a few hills.... the understatement of the day! I had a really tough ride, I think that I'm still building up my legs for cycling, but I also haven't rested in nearly two weeks, so I was burnt out before we even got started. The first hill put some distance between me and the other riders, but I quickly got back in line again on the downhill. It was the next hill, the hill that NEVER ended, that did me in!
I realized that I'm fine on quick, steep climbs, but the long, slow, never ending climbs just kill me. We were climbing and I was hoping once we got around the corner we'd stop, but it just never came! Finally, we hit a short downhill and I was able to catch up with people. It seems I have a knack for the downhills. No brakes for this girl (especially when I see another hill in front of me)! I know the route we were on was gorgeous, but I was so overwhelmed by fatigue from all the climbing that I didn't see it. After that short downhill, we went right back to climbing again! OUCH! I've learned along the way, that during endurance events, every athlete has a "Don't F#@$ with me!" moment. Well, I was definitely having one on this bike ride. A few encouraging words from a friend left me wanting to get off the bike and throw things at her! So, I chugged out a "get out of here" with the last breaths left in me, and trudge forward on my own. This was hard. I considered stopping, crying, cussing, freaking out, but I knew those wouldn't get me up the hill any faster. So, I just kept climbing, at a crawl's pace until it arrived.. the peak!
After all that climbing, we got to enjoy a super fast trip down the windy, country road. All I kept thinking was thank god we were doing such a short ride today. They trimmed about 10 miles from the ride since we had a big workout ahead of us tomorrow, and I couldn't be more happy about it!
I got back to my car, threw the bike in, pulled on my running shoes, and was off running.... and this time I was actually running! I couldn't believe it! Normally I sort of just move along with my feet barely leaving the ground during a brick, but this was a decent pace. I stopped at the 1 mile mark to stretch out a little, and then finished the last mile feeling strong, and really ready to run. I could have easily done a 10K!
04/05/09 - Swim and Bike (T1)
We were at the pool early this morning with our bike and cycling gear in tow. We set up our transition areas on
the pool deck. I laid a towel down next to the bike, laid out my cycling shorts, helmet, sunglasses, gloves, and shoes. Then we gathered in a meeting room to learn some information about the first transition in a triathlon, from swimming to cycling, or T1.After some good info, we hopped in the water for a swim workout. I know my swim times, and thought that if I placed myself in lane 3 that I'd be in a good pace group. Lane 1 housed the quickest swimmers, and then the paces slow as the lanes go on. I was in a lane with another woman, and after the warm-up, I should have moved lanes. She was too slow to be in lane 3 and I was a too quick. We were definitely an odd couple.
We started with a 600m warm-up, 150m each Swim, Kick, Choice, and Pull. Then followed it with 12 x 25m of body positioning drills, including swimming with your eyes closed! That was freaky! I count my strokes when I swim freestyle, so at least I knew about when I'd hit the wall, but I had to really force myself not to open my eyes!
Our first set was 400m's of drafting. By getting in really close to the person in front of you, you can draft off of them, and decrease your energy output as they pull you along. This exercise was useless for me because I was so poorly paced with the woman in my lane. I was going slower than my warm up/cool down pace, and couldn't even kick. I felt like I was just kind of hanging out in the lane!
Luckily that ended, and we moved on to a 200m pull. Then some 50's... which I now can't remember how many we did. And next on to 6x100m's that increased in speed. We started slow, and then finished as fast as possible.
After that, came our race swim that was supposed to mimic our swim in a triathlon. I started at the same time as lanes 1-3. I was jamming. I felt strong, quick, and got to the wall to see that I was the first one in, by A LOT! I had lapped them! I was so excited, that I didn't notice someone was pulling me out of the water! Our coach had me by the arm, and before I knew it, I was out of the water and running to my bike. I was so excited, that I fumbled a little with things, but managed to pull my bike shorts over my swimsuit, and clipped on my helmet and shoes. I ran with my bike down the to the transition start, and off I went!
I was just in total awe of my swim effort.. first! I couldn't believe it! Of course, all those great athletes were right behind me, and the guys all passed me on the
bike, but I wasn't really concerned. This was a new experience for me. I wasn't just leisurely running a half marathon, not really caring about my time, and just having fun, I was RACING. I gave it everything I had on the bike. I was pounding the hills and crouching in the drops to be more aerodynamic on downhills. I finished strong and really proud of my accomplishment. Our coach came over and told me what a great job I did, I guess I surprised him.... I think I surprised myself as well!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Time to Rest Yet?
04/01/09 - Swim and Cross Fit
#1 - Swim
I don't really remember this swim anymore! HA! I know it was faster than usual. I'm gaining some speed, and I know it was around 2000m. How's that for a disappearing swim workout!
#2 - Cross Fit
Ouch! That's what I've been saying for a couple days. It started with Cross Fit. Pull-ups, push-ups, jumping on and off of things, weighted squats, weighted crunches, and a slew of other things have my body talking to me. It's saying, "I'm tired, stop grabbing the biggest weights every single time!"
04/02/09 - Run and Core
#1 - Run
What a run this was! We learned about a new path that sweeps through an open field, down along a lake, and then up a little hill to where the prettiest ocean swept tree resides. We started the route felling heavy, hurt, and in pain. We hit the first hill and decided that rather than injure and kill ourselves (did I mention how much my legs hurt right now), we'd loosen up with a walk first. We walked about .5 half, and then started again. Oh, my goodness the stiffness. I guess it just goes with the territory of 12 workouts a week that at some point you'll be tired. We skipped the run, and did a walk that seemed to make my tight and tired legs, warm and happy again.
#2 - Core
This class is one of the highlights of joining Nu2Tri. It progressively gets harder, and I find that I'm ready to meet the task. We had some super nifty 30lb weights to add to our routine tonight. Those paired with a squat and row were my favorite exercise of the evening. Of course, there's so much more that makes me happy! We place giant, thick rubber bands behind our shoulders and arms for more resistance with push-ups, we hold weighted balls while pushing into the air like superman for core, we use resistance bands and 10lb weighted balls while lunging, we get in a resistance band and try running backwards while our partners are pulling us the other direction, we toss weight balls to one another while balancing and hopping on one foot, we hold a band attached to high place in each hand so that our bodies can come parallel to the earth, and then do a pull up to a standing position, and SO MUCH MORE!
This class is not for the faint of heart. Even with all of these items (and more, like I said) our coach is tuned into each one of us, on every exercise. Every movement should be precise and at full effort, or he will see and he comes right to you for correction. I was doing the plank position while lifting my legs in the air, and felt my mat slipping under my arms.... literally the moment I felt it slip, he was standing over me to tell me that my shoulders need to stack over my elbows. Amazing! What a wonderful coach and class!
04/03/09 - Swim
Today will be my rest day for the week. I wanted to get a short workout in though, just to time myself on my race distance. We've got a long, hilly bike ride tomorrow followed by a run, and then Sunday will include a swim clinic and then bike ride (4 hour training)! I've gotta get the rest where I can, but I didn't feel right not timing myself this week on my race distance. I know when we get to the swim clinic that Coach is going to ask me my time, and I don't want to be unprepared.
I arrived at 6:00am and hopped into the nice warm water. Yes, I said warm! It was lovely! I started with my usual 400 warm-up of 100 each Swim, Kick, Choice, Pull. Rather than start into tempo, I did some stretching and went right into a timed 500m (20 laps).
I felt AWESOME during this timed set. So fluid, so calm, so relaxed. I kept wondering if maybe I wasn't going fast enough because it felt effortless. I decided that this was just practice, and I'd learn more about pacing later, so I should keep to the pace until the half-way point. Once I reached 300m's, I knew I was on the home stretch and I started getting quicker and quicker. Oh, and my big success of the day, I passed the guy next to me that was swimming WITH FINS! WOO HOO! That gave me the extra motivation to push my last 100m's and I raced into the finish.
I peered up at the clock, did a little math, and saw my time. 8:55. Not so bad. Not terribly good, but definitely a wonderful place to start from! Best part though, was that I wasn't even fatigued. I wasn't breathing hard, I didn't feel tired, and I was ready to jump right out of the water and get on my bike! I was exhilirated, and then totally ready to move into "rest day" mode!
I finished with a 200m easy pull, and was off to shower, and enjoy the rest of my Friday. I hope you all do the same!
#1 - Swim
I don't really remember this swim anymore! HA! I know it was faster than usual. I'm gaining some speed, and I know it was around 2000m. How's that for a disappearing swim workout!
#2 - Cross Fit
Ouch! That's what I've been saying for a couple days. It started with Cross Fit. Pull-ups, push-ups, jumping on and off of things, weighted squats, weighted crunches, and a slew of other things have my body talking to me. It's saying, "I'm tired, stop grabbing the biggest weights every single time!"
04/02/09 - Run and Core
#1 - Run
What a run this was! We learned about a new path that sweeps through an open field, down along a lake, and then up a little hill to where the prettiest ocean swept tree resides. We started the route felling heavy, hurt, and in pain. We hit the first hill and decided that rather than injure and kill ourselves (did I mention how much my legs hurt right now), we'd loosen up with a walk first. We walked about .5 half, and then started again. Oh, my goodness the stiffness. I guess it just goes with the territory of 12 workouts a week that at some point you'll be tired. We skipped the run, and did a walk that seemed to make my tight and tired legs, warm and happy again.
#2 - Core
This class is one of the highlights of joining Nu2Tri. It progressively gets harder, and I find that I'm ready to meet the task. We had some super nifty 30lb weights to add to our routine tonight. Those paired with a squat and row were my favorite exercise of the evening. Of course, there's so much more that makes me happy! We place giant, thick rubber bands behind our shoulders and arms for more resistance with push-ups, we hold weighted balls while pushing into the air like superman for core, we use resistance bands and 10lb weighted balls while lunging, we get in a resistance band and try running backwards while our partners are pulling us the other direction, we toss weight balls to one another while balancing and hopping on one foot, we hold a band attached to high place in each hand so that our bodies can come parallel to the earth, and then do a pull up to a standing position, and SO MUCH MORE!
This class is not for the faint of heart. Even with all of these items (and more, like I said) our coach is tuned into each one of us, on every exercise. Every movement should be precise and at full effort, or he will see and he comes right to you for correction. I was doing the plank position while lifting my legs in the air, and felt my mat slipping under my arms.... literally the moment I felt it slip, he was standing over me to tell me that my shoulders need to stack over my elbows. Amazing! What a wonderful coach and class!
04/03/09 - Swim
Today will be my rest day for the week. I wanted to get a short workout in though, just to time myself on my race distance. We've got a long, hilly bike ride tomorrow followed by a run, and then Sunday will include a swim clinic and then bike ride (4 hour training)! I've gotta get the rest where I can, but I didn't feel right not timing myself this week on my race distance. I know when we get to the swim clinic that Coach is going to ask me my time, and I don't want to be unprepared.
I arrived at 6:00am and hopped into the nice warm water. Yes, I said warm! It was lovely! I started with my usual 400 warm-up of 100 each Swim, Kick, Choice, Pull. Rather than start into tempo, I did some stretching and went right into a timed 500m (20 laps).
I felt AWESOME during this timed set. So fluid, so calm, so relaxed. I kept wondering if maybe I wasn't going fast enough because it felt effortless. I decided that this was just practice, and I'd learn more about pacing later, so I should keep to the pace until the half-way point. Once I reached 300m's, I knew I was on the home stretch and I started getting quicker and quicker. Oh, and my big success of the day, I passed the guy next to me that was swimming WITH FINS! WOO HOO! That gave me the extra motivation to push my last 100m's and I raced into the finish.
I peered up at the clock, did a little math, and saw my time. 8:55. Not so bad. Not terribly good, but definitely a wonderful place to start from! Best part though, was that I wasn't even fatigued. I wasn't breathing hard, I didn't feel tired, and I was ready to jump right out of the water and get on my bike! I was exhilirated, and then totally ready to move into "rest day" mode!
I finished with a 200m easy pull, and was off to shower, and enjoy the rest of my Friday. I hope you all do the same!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Short and Sweet
03/31/09 - Spin and Yoga
Yoga was good, spin was great. That's about all the energy I have right now. Feel a little lost due to lack of sleep, burnt quads, and a full-effort swim workout at 6:00am. I'll be dreaming of my bed until the moment I've sunk in for the night.
Yoga was good, spin was great. That's about all the energy I have right now. Feel a little lost due to lack of sleep, burnt quads, and a full-effort swim workout at 6:00am. I'll be dreaming of my bed until the moment I've sunk in for the night.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Training for the Finish
03/30/09 - Track
I hit up the track today for our usual sessions with Coach Heskett. It's become our routine to start out with some warm-up laps, and then we do a moderate session and cool down. Today, however, we entered a new phase of our training. We've built up our base for the last 2 months, we're able to finish our race distance, so now we're working on getting to peak performance. We're entering a phase of training that will really stretch and push our physical limitations, and hopefully, prepare us to be the quickest triathletes we can be. The moderate sessions will now be replaced with some taxing and full-effort workouts. Just a warning, be on the look out for me being a bit more tired, I know this phase and the workouts start to get really intense.... soreness and whining may be unavoidable!
Our training today included 5 x 400m's (one lap) at a fast pace. This is no longer a jog, we are running at maybe 85%, and then we kick it into an all out sprint for the last 100m. I know, it sounds easy, just a quarter mile fast, a little sprint, and then rest for a couple minutes. The first few actually are easy, however, the last of them get your head going a little lopsided. The point is to train your body and mind to go through these stresses and maintain complete relaxation and control of our form. I think I did pretty well, and if I do say so myself, even passed a few ladies that are uber-triathletes! I'm such a slow runner, with my running mate always busting past me in the sprint, that it's pretty momentous to pass ANYONE, let alone one of the super fit gals we train with.
When we were leaving, our coach asked us if 5 repititions were enough, and I thought to myself and then answered, "No. I think 7 would be better." What was I saying??? Telling the coach that I wanted some more? I have a feeling there will be plenty more opportunities to burn the heck out of my muscles and run until I feel sick! For now, I'll take my 5 and know that I pushed it, I had room for more, and then I headed home to relax and still get out of bed without any pain this morning!
I hit up the track today for our usual sessions with Coach Heskett. It's become our routine to start out with some warm-up laps, and then we do a moderate session and cool down. Today, however, we entered a new phase of our training. We've built up our base for the last 2 months, we're able to finish our race distance, so now we're working on getting to peak performance. We're entering a phase of training that will really stretch and push our physical limitations, and hopefully, prepare us to be the quickest triathletes we can be. The moderate sessions will now be replaced with some taxing and full-effort workouts. Just a warning, be on the look out for me being a bit more tired, I know this phase and the workouts start to get really intense.... soreness and whining may be unavoidable!
Our training today included 5 x 400m's (one lap) at a fast pace. This is no longer a jog, we are running at maybe 85%, and then we kick it into an all out sprint for the last 100m. I know, it sounds easy, just a quarter mile fast, a little sprint, and then rest for a couple minutes. The first few actually are easy, however, the last of them get your head going a little lopsided. The point is to train your body and mind to go through these stresses and maintain complete relaxation and control of our form. I think I did pretty well, and if I do say so myself, even passed a few ladies that are uber-triathletes! I'm such a slow runner, with my running mate always busting past me in the sprint, that it's pretty momentous to pass ANYONE, let alone one of the super fit gals we train with.
When we were leaving, our coach asked us if 5 repititions were enough, and I thought to myself and then answered, "No. I think 7 would be better." What was I saying??? Telling the coach that I wanted some more? I have a feeling there will be plenty more opportunities to burn the heck out of my muscles and run until I feel sick! For now, I'll take my 5 and know that I pushed it, I had room for more, and then I headed home to relax and still get out of bed without any pain this morning!
Monday, March 30, 2009
3-Day Weekend
03/26/09 - Run & Core
Great 4+ mile run today after work. I'm just really feeling strong, however I need to remember to wear my watch! I was late for Core class, so I just skipped it and went home to enjoy some grilled wild salmon and asparagus! It's exactly what I was craving... thank you to my fiance for that treat. I got some core in on my own, but it doesn't quite match up to the class we get from coach!
03/27/09 - Run
By some miraculous alignment of scheduling, my guy and I were both off today! Thank you state holidays!!! We headed out the door early to Nisene Marks, a nearby state park that boasts some great trails, mountain biking, camping, climbing... you get the idea. With our dog in tow, we headed up the beautifully soft trail. It's the kind of trail that you dream of as a runner, buoyant, shock absorbing, but hard enough that you don't lose any of your speed or form! AHHH!!! Felt like heaven after all my concrete runs.
This trail is surrounded by redwoods with a creek alongside it. It's truly magnificent, and I had the company of my two boys, dog and fiance. What a wonderful morning. I felt really strong again, especially when I started thinking back to my memories of the first time I ran this trail. About 7 months and 60 lbs ago, I ran this same trail. It was my first real run, 8 miles! It was agonizing, I had blisters on my feet, I felt insecure, I walked just about every 10 minutes, but I finished. Yes, I got sick afterward, but then came this feeling of great accomplishment and success. That feeling has now continued with me and pushed me to where I was on this Friday morning. On the same trail, a half-person size smaller, and 5 minutes a mile quicker!
After the turn around, we let our dog take a quick run in the creek and headed back to the trail entrance. I had forgotten one of the nicest parts of this trail... it has a slight incline the entire way in. It's not so noticeable that you get overly fatigued, but it sure does show it's beauty on the way back! We flew back to the start with a nice negative split time! I focused on staying calm and strong, and my speed just seemed to follow, it was nearly effortless to change up my pace by just using more from my hamstrings and staying relaxed everywhere else. Ha, all this work on pacing and form seems to have finally paid off! I sprinted in to the finish where PJ was already waiting for me.... sneaking past me in the last half mile.
I expected to feel tired or worked after such a great run, but instead I just felt normal. My heart rate steadied quickly, my breathing returned, and I realized that I could definitely run this distance, and swim, and bike!!!! I guess my training is aligned with my thoughts, because next week begins our peak training performance. We've built up our athletic base over the last two months, and now we'll just focus on finishing as strong and as quickly as possible! Here we go, I'm about to become a triathlete!
03/28/09 - REST
I had a scheduled ride today, but was in need of some rest... or at least a chance to lay in bed past 7:00am. I thought we were only going to be riding hills, but turns out we did a ride I've wanted to do since I got my bike.... from Soquel out to Sunset Beach along all the strawberry farms and coastline! BOO!!! Too bad I didn't know sooner, I'd have parlayed my rest for another day!
03/29/09 - Swim
I finished up the week with a nice, long swim. I got to the pool early to find it jammed packed. So, I turned around and went to another pool 10 or so miles away on the UCSC campus. Ha, it was closed for spring break!!! I grabbed a bagel, got a $35 parking ticket, and then went back to the first pool. Finally my morning started right and I found that the pool was now clearing out (too bad I didn't just sleep in today!).
I shared a lane with 3 other women at first, which kind of put a hamper on my timed intervals. I had to continuously slow down and stop to wait for the person in front of me. One of the ladies was doing a set of all pulling for backstroke.... not the quickest thing ever when it didn't actually look like she had swam backstroke before! Oh well, I just worked on stroke technique or pulling. All of a sudden though, they were done, and it was on. It was gorgeously sunny out, and I swam for about an hour and a half. Swimming, and then just doing stroke technique drills.... what a wonderful way to start a Sunday morning. I think I did about 2300m, but to be honest, I was so relaxed I wasn't really paying attention!
Great 4+ mile run today after work. I'm just really feeling strong, however I need to remember to wear my watch! I was late for Core class, so I just skipped it and went home to enjoy some grilled wild salmon and asparagus! It's exactly what I was craving... thank you to my fiance for that treat. I got some core in on my own, but it doesn't quite match up to the class we get from coach!
03/27/09 - Run
By some miraculous alignment of scheduling, my guy and I were both off today! Thank you state holidays!!! We headed out the door early to Nisene Marks, a nearby state park that boasts some great trails, mountain biking, camping, climbing... you get the idea. With our dog in tow, we headed up the beautifully soft trail. It's the kind of trail that you dream of as a runner, buoyant, shock absorbing, but hard enough that you don't lose any of your speed or form! AHHH!!! Felt like heaven after all my concrete runs.
This trail is surrounded by redwoods with a creek alongside it. It's truly magnificent, and I had the company of my two boys, dog and fiance. What a wonderful morning. I felt really strong again, especially when I started thinking back to my memories of the first time I ran this trail. About 7 months and 60 lbs ago, I ran this same trail. It was my first real run, 8 miles! It was agonizing, I had blisters on my feet, I felt insecure, I walked just about every 10 minutes, but I finished. Yes, I got sick afterward, but then came this feeling of great accomplishment and success. That feeling has now continued with me and pushed me to where I was on this Friday morning. On the same trail, a half-person size smaller, and 5 minutes a mile quicker!
After the turn around, we let our dog take a quick run in the creek and headed back to the trail entrance. I had forgotten one of the nicest parts of this trail... it has a slight incline the entire way in. It's not so noticeable that you get overly fatigued, but it sure does show it's beauty on the way back! We flew back to the start with a nice negative split time! I focused on staying calm and strong, and my speed just seemed to follow, it was nearly effortless to change up my pace by just using more from my hamstrings and staying relaxed everywhere else. Ha, all this work on pacing and form seems to have finally paid off! I sprinted in to the finish where PJ was already waiting for me.... sneaking past me in the last half mile.
I expected to feel tired or worked after such a great run, but instead I just felt normal. My heart rate steadied quickly, my breathing returned, and I realized that I could definitely run this distance, and swim, and bike!!!! I guess my training is aligned with my thoughts, because next week begins our peak training performance. We've built up our athletic base over the last two months, and now we'll just focus on finishing as strong and as quickly as possible! Here we go, I'm about to become a triathlete!
03/28/09 - REST
I had a scheduled ride today, but was in need of some rest... or at least a chance to lay in bed past 7:00am. I thought we were only going to be riding hills, but turns out we did a ride I've wanted to do since I got my bike.... from Soquel out to Sunset Beach along all the strawberry farms and coastline! BOO!!! Too bad I didn't know sooner, I'd have parlayed my rest for another day!
03/29/09 - Swim
I finished up the week with a nice, long swim. I got to the pool early to find it jammed packed. So, I turned around and went to another pool 10 or so miles away on the UCSC campus. Ha, it was closed for spring break!!! I grabbed a bagel, got a $35 parking ticket, and then went back to the first pool. Finally my morning started right and I found that the pool was now clearing out (too bad I didn't just sleep in today!).
I shared a lane with 3 other women at first, which kind of put a hamper on my timed intervals. I had to continuously slow down and stop to wait for the person in front of me. One of the ladies was doing a set of all pulling for backstroke.... not the quickest thing ever when it didn't actually look like she had swam backstroke before! Oh well, I just worked on stroke technique or pulling. All of a sudden though, they were done, and it was on. It was gorgeously sunny out, and I swam for about an hour and a half. Swimming, and then just doing stroke technique drills.... what a wonderful way to start a Sunday morning. I think I did about 2300m, but to be honest, I was so relaxed I wasn't really paying attention!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
What day is it?
Thank goodness for this blog and my workout tracker, without it, I'd have no idea what day and in what place I was or I am supposed to be. I'm feeling tired as I round the corner to the end of another training week, and it can be confusing on what morning I'm at the pool, which afternoons do I forgo lunch for some core, what nights am I at the track, or at the yacht harbor, or pool, or spin, or bike ride... you get the idea! By the end of my week, my body feels rundown, and I think my brain starts to follow suit, keeping track of only the essential items such as feeding times and sleep.... I've definitely got those two under control!
Anyway, thanks to being OCD, I keep a very diligent training calendar with me at all times, posted to my fridge at home, and on my wall at work. This has been my saving grace to know, not only where I need to be and how much of what activity I'm doing, but what to bring with me each and every day. Do I need my bike today and some run clothes? Just my swim gear or how about my yoga mat? Thanks to organization, I make it to my morning workouts, shower at the nearest locker room then head to work fully clothed, and keep my evening workout stuff with me everyday!
03/25/09 - Swim and Cross Fit
#1 - Swim
Off to the pool and in by 6:00am... ON TIME TODAY! This provided me the opportunity to possibly throw in some extra 100's today. That's what my brain was saying, however, my body wouldn't cooperate. I had a hard time today due to fatigue. I got in to warm up with my normal 100 each of Swim, Kick, Pull, and Choice, and figured the aches and pain would slowly work their way out of my arms and legs as they normally do. Unfortunately, I finished my warm up, and they were still there. So, I did a few tempo 50's to try and get my body in motion, still no luck. I guess it was then that I had to face the fact that I was just a little off today.
Today I had some speed intervals to tackle. 7 x 100's maintaining the same pace each time with 15 seconds rest, then a 100 pull cool down, then repeat the set. I've been doing a great job lately on coming in right on the mark with these 100's at 1:35 - 1:40 each. Today I was all over the place, my first was at 1:15, then 1:30, then I stayed there for a bit and went back to 1:25, and then 1:40! What is going on! I couldn't gauge how fast/slow I was going today. I may have been overcompensating for the pain in my overworked muscles, but I lost my fluid and focused nature in the pool. Bad, bad, bad. Not to mention, look at my times! 1:15 is a far cry from 1:40, what was I thinking going that fast?
The second set of 7 x 100's were a little better, varying between 1:30 and 1:40, still, not what I was shooting for though. I actually was going a lot faster than I felt I was in the pool. Every stroke left me feeling like I hadn't propelled very far in the water, that I was gripping on air. Then, I'd finish and see my time... it made no sense! I finished with a 100m cool down, and was thankful to see the end of my nonsensical swim session. If all my training has showed me anything, there will be better days than this, and more than likely worse days than this!
#2 - Cross Fit
There was no Cross Fit today, apparently the UCSC campus is on spring break, so their physical trainers get to take a week off! How can I get in on that? Anyway, I was going to substitute a run. I got home, still in pain from my spin class, and began to longingly look at the couch. I just kept saying over and over how tired I was; almost to the point of tears.
Then the phone rang and it was Patrick. He and some friends were hanging out nearby. Well, I thought, I can just walk there instead of going for a run! That won't hurt my aching quad's nearly as much. So, I briskly walked to a local joint, had a few beers and some food, and some laughs. I felt normal again. It's nice to mix it up, and not be so strict all the time. I enjoyed a nice walk home with Patrick, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow! (Of course, I kept telling myself that I have to make-up my workout today!!! Stupid trainging calendar!)
Anyway, thanks to being OCD, I keep a very diligent training calendar with me at all times, posted to my fridge at home, and on my wall at work. This has been my saving grace to know, not only where I need to be and how much of what activity I'm doing, but what to bring with me each and every day. Do I need my bike today and some run clothes? Just my swim gear or how about my yoga mat? Thanks to organization, I make it to my morning workouts, shower at the nearest locker room then head to work fully clothed, and keep my evening workout stuff with me everyday!
03/25/09 - Swim and Cross Fit
#1 - Swim
Off to the pool and in by 6:00am... ON TIME TODAY! This provided me the opportunity to possibly throw in some extra 100's today. That's what my brain was saying, however, my body wouldn't cooperate. I had a hard time today due to fatigue. I got in to warm up with my normal 100 each of Swim, Kick, Pull, and Choice, and figured the aches and pain would slowly work their way out of my arms and legs as they normally do. Unfortunately, I finished my warm up, and they were still there. So, I did a few tempo 50's to try and get my body in motion, still no luck. I guess it was then that I had to face the fact that I was just a little off today.
Today I had some speed intervals to tackle. 7 x 100's maintaining the same pace each time with 15 seconds rest, then a 100 pull cool down, then repeat the set. I've been doing a great job lately on coming in right on the mark with these 100's at 1:35 - 1:40 each. Today I was all over the place, my first was at 1:15, then 1:30, then I stayed there for a bit and went back to 1:25, and then 1:40! What is going on! I couldn't gauge how fast/slow I was going today. I may have been overcompensating for the pain in my overworked muscles, but I lost my fluid and focused nature in the pool. Bad, bad, bad. Not to mention, look at my times! 1:15 is a far cry from 1:40, what was I thinking going that fast?
The second set of 7 x 100's were a little better, varying between 1:30 and 1:40, still, not what I was shooting for though. I actually was going a lot faster than I felt I was in the pool. Every stroke left me feeling like I hadn't propelled very far in the water, that I was gripping on air. Then, I'd finish and see my time... it made no sense! I finished with a 100m cool down, and was thankful to see the end of my nonsensical swim session. If all my training has showed me anything, there will be better days than this, and more than likely worse days than this!
#2 - Cross Fit
There was no Cross Fit today, apparently the UCSC campus is on spring break, so their physical trainers get to take a week off! How can I get in on that? Anyway, I was going to substitute a run. I got home, still in pain from my spin class, and began to longingly look at the couch. I just kept saying over and over how tired I was; almost to the point of tears.
Then the phone rang and it was Patrick. He and some friends were hanging out nearby. Well, I thought, I can just walk there instead of going for a run! That won't hurt my aching quad's nearly as much. So, I briskly walked to a local joint, had a few beers and some food, and some laughs. I felt normal again. It's nice to mix it up, and not be so strict all the time. I enjoyed a nice walk home with Patrick, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow! (Of course, I kept telling myself that I have to make-up my workout today!!! Stupid trainging calendar!)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Go Faster, Faster... SPRINT!
03/24/09 - Spin
Our yoga class was canceled this afternoon, so only one workout on Tuesday. I arrived at the swim center where our spin class is normally held, really proud that I was able to balance my training bag, bike trainer, bike, and purse all in one trip! I'm getting used to this stuff! I walked into the room reveling in my mini-success, to find it empty! This class is normally packed to the gills with my triathlete teammates, but today, there was just a handful. Seems there was some miscommunication between the team and the coach that I somehow overlooked! Lucky me, because this was the most intense class I've had to date, and now it became my own private personal training session.
After getting the bike situated on the trainer, I started warming up and was wondering who this new coach was standing in front of me.... maybe no one was here because his class was awful? He clarified for us, and told us his name was Richard, and he was a former pro cyclist and training teammate of Greg Lemond. He still races, and focuses mostly on century rides and 24 hour endurance events on his mountain bike. With that out of the way, he did a quick bike fit on all of us, providing us suggestions for peak performance, and then the class began, complete with some timed rock'n'roll tunes! SWEET!
We started out with some speed intervals at medium intensity (and Guns'N'Roses), but quickly I started noticing a trend. This guy wanted us to go fast! He kept yelling, "Faster! Faster! Pedal Faster! Now, SPRINT!!!!"at the top of his lungs. We kept increasing our intensity of the gears to simulate hills, but kept increasing our speed as well. I was maxed out.... in my lowest possible gear out of 24 options, cranking away with power, and speed, and being told to go faster! There were a few times that I was ready to break and considered toning the gear retention down just a little, and he'd walk over and look at me and tell me, "Keep it up, go faster, you're almost there!" Almost where? This is a stationary bike, thanks to my trainer... ha! OK, I didn't say that, but I knew what he meant. I was almost to the top of my imaginary hill that we were racing up, so I just kept on pushing to the top.
By the mid-point of the class, I was soaking wet. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I looked like I had just gotten out of the pool, complete with sweat dripping off my nose and forehead! I always bring a towel with me and it was already doused with perspiration, sopping wet all the way through! Remember my sweat-o-meter from last week? Well if I was using it to measure this workout, this would be off the charts! We finished with some really intense sets, timed out to some ACDC, Sweet Home Alabama, and opera? The opera was actually the hardest set of the day, and it was the perfect song choice. I gave every bit of juice I had during those 5 minutes.
So what did I learn? Well, that I always surprise myself with my continued progress, there's no way at all I would have been able to do half of this class just a year ago. And, as always, never judge a book by it's cover... an unassuming ex-pro athlete might just work the last bit of sweat right out of you!
Our yoga class was canceled this afternoon, so only one workout on Tuesday. I arrived at the swim center where our spin class is normally held, really proud that I was able to balance my training bag, bike trainer, bike, and purse all in one trip! I'm getting used to this stuff! I walked into the room reveling in my mini-success, to find it empty! This class is normally packed to the gills with my triathlete teammates, but today, there was just a handful. Seems there was some miscommunication between the team and the coach that I somehow overlooked! Lucky me, because this was the most intense class I've had to date, and now it became my own private personal training session.
After getting the bike situated on the trainer, I started warming up and was wondering who this new coach was standing in front of me.... maybe no one was here because his class was awful? He clarified for us, and told us his name was Richard, and he was a former pro cyclist and training teammate of Greg Lemond. He still races, and focuses mostly on century rides and 24 hour endurance events on his mountain bike. With that out of the way, he did a quick bike fit on all of us, providing us suggestions for peak performance, and then the class began, complete with some timed rock'n'roll tunes! SWEET!
We started out with some speed intervals at medium intensity (and Guns'N'Roses), but quickly I started noticing a trend. This guy wanted us to go fast! He kept yelling, "Faster! Faster! Pedal Faster! Now, SPRINT!!!!"at the top of his lungs. We kept increasing our intensity of the gears to simulate hills, but kept increasing our speed as well. I was maxed out.... in my lowest possible gear out of 24 options, cranking away with power, and speed, and being told to go faster! There were a few times that I was ready to break and considered toning the gear retention down just a little, and he'd walk over and look at me and tell me, "Keep it up, go faster, you're almost there!" Almost where? This is a stationary bike, thanks to my trainer... ha! OK, I didn't say that, but I knew what he meant. I was almost to the top of my imaginary hill that we were racing up, so I just kept on pushing to the top.
By the mid-point of the class, I was soaking wet. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I looked like I had just gotten out of the pool, complete with sweat dripping off my nose and forehead! I always bring a towel with me and it was already doused with perspiration, sopping wet all the way through! Remember my sweat-o-meter from last week? Well if I was using it to measure this workout, this would be off the charts! We finished with some really intense sets, timed out to some ACDC, Sweet Home Alabama, and opera? The opera was actually the hardest set of the day, and it was the perfect song choice. I gave every bit of juice I had during those 5 minutes.
So what did I learn? Well, that I always surprise myself with my continued progress, there's no way at all I would have been able to do half of this class just a year ago. And, as always, never judge a book by it's cover... an unassuming ex-pro athlete might just work the last bit of sweat right out of you!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Off to the Track
03/23/09 - Track
I had a little trepidation about going to the track last night on such a windy evening. If you've ever run on the Soquel HS track, then you know that there is one corner that gets blown out by wind. Not only are running the turns hard for some reason, but when you've got just 100m left of a sprint, you're rounding a corner and fighting gravity, and then you get pushed back by the wind, it can just suck the life out of you!
I already knew our workout tonight. I knew we were doing all-out sprints, and I knew that corner was there and that the wind was unforgiving, but I'm not one to skip a workout, so I pulled up at 5:30 ready to get moving. Started with a nice warm-up, just under a mile today. Looking back, I think I should have warmed up some more. It was accidental, but I like doing some tempo work after my warm up to get my muscles accustomed to a quick pace, but it's all a learning lesson.
The workout tonight was a continuation of our progress. Really quicken the pace, push ourselves way beyond the limits of comfort, but do it while staying completely relaxed and allowing all the effort to generate from our hamstrings. Our coach always tells us to stay numb from the knee down, keep your toes spread out in the shoe, let your hamstrings push you forward and your leg will follow, stay strong in the core, and loose in the arms. Yeah, that's all we have to remember while pushing through a hellacious number of sprints and staying totally calm and focused! Ha! What's next, juggling?
OK, back to the workout... tonight we did 200's (half a lap on the track) at about 85% effort, with a 100 rest, and repeat it 3 more times. Then we'd rest for a few minutes, and do the set again for a total of 4 sets. It sounded pretty easy to me at first, until I thought about rounding those corners and the wind, and not to mention all the people on the track lately that have no etiquitte. I'm not a grumbler when I'm running, but on a set of sprints when you are actually giving it everything you've got, it can be pretty annoying to have a group of women just standing and talking in the middle of the track! MOVE OVER!!! Of course, I always try to see the positive in things, so as I jammed passed them, I turned my thought to how I now have the ability to worry about this because I'm continuing to increase my speed. Before, people stopping in the middle gave me an opportunity to slow down and move around them, now I just sustain my focus and blaze on by! It must be working though, because I felt that my 200's were strong, relaxed, and efficient! What a payoff!
I noticed last night that I haven't been wearing a watch lately. Interesting with all this training that I'm doing that I'm not using one. I'm not sure why, but I've moved my focus away from time and just to my technique. I have a whole lot to learn from just paying attention to my technique, so maybe my watch was too much of a distraction? I'm happy to say that I noticed a nice improvement last night, as did our coach. I stayed strong and consistent through the sprints, and went home super sweaty and a little jello-legged... it's becoming one of my favorite feelings!
I had a little trepidation about going to the track last night on such a windy evening. If you've ever run on the Soquel HS track, then you know that there is one corner that gets blown out by wind. Not only are running the turns hard for some reason, but when you've got just 100m left of a sprint, you're rounding a corner and fighting gravity, and then you get pushed back by the wind, it can just suck the life out of you!
I already knew our workout tonight. I knew we were doing all-out sprints, and I knew that corner was there and that the wind was unforgiving, but I'm not one to skip a workout, so I pulled up at 5:30 ready to get moving. Started with a nice warm-up, just under a mile today. Looking back, I think I should have warmed up some more. It was accidental, but I like doing some tempo work after my warm up to get my muscles accustomed to a quick pace, but it's all a learning lesson.
The workout tonight was a continuation of our progress. Really quicken the pace, push ourselves way beyond the limits of comfort, but do it while staying completely relaxed and allowing all the effort to generate from our hamstrings. Our coach always tells us to stay numb from the knee down, keep your toes spread out in the shoe, let your hamstrings push you forward and your leg will follow, stay strong in the core, and loose in the arms. Yeah, that's all we have to remember while pushing through a hellacious number of sprints and staying totally calm and focused! Ha! What's next, juggling?
OK, back to the workout... tonight we did 200's (half a lap on the track) at about 85% effort, with a 100 rest, and repeat it 3 more times. Then we'd rest for a few minutes, and do the set again for a total of 4 sets. It sounded pretty easy to me at first, until I thought about rounding those corners and the wind, and not to mention all the people on the track lately that have no etiquitte. I'm not a grumbler when I'm running, but on a set of sprints when you are actually giving it everything you've got, it can be pretty annoying to have a group of women just standing and talking in the middle of the track! MOVE OVER!!! Of course, I always try to see the positive in things, so as I jammed passed them, I turned my thought to how I now have the ability to worry about this because I'm continuing to increase my speed. Before, people stopping in the middle gave me an opportunity to slow down and move around them, now I just sustain my focus and blaze on by! It must be working though, because I felt that my 200's were strong, relaxed, and efficient! What a payoff!
I noticed last night that I haven't been wearing a watch lately. Interesting with all this training that I'm doing that I'm not using one. I'm not sure why, but I've moved my focus away from time and just to my technique. I have a whole lot to learn from just paying attention to my technique, so maybe my watch was too much of a distraction? I'm happy to say that I noticed a nice improvement last night, as did our coach. I stayed strong and consistent through the sprints, and went home super sweaty and a little jello-legged... it's becoming one of my favorite feelings!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sleeping In
03/21/09 - 03/22/09 - Bike and Run
I think this weekend was supposed to focus on hills, but I opted to focus on sleep! You may laugh, but it's an essential part of training... well, that's what I'm telling myself anyway! After a very fun, margarita and Irish Car Bomb filled Friday (quite the combo) I opted to skip the group ride on Saturday morning and go solo. I normally train with a partner in crime, but I never heard back from her, so I just went out on my own.
At some point in the early afternoon, after begrudgingly getting out of my pajamas, I managed to get on my bike and get a nice and easy ride in. We had a mix of weather this weekend, rain, sun, and wind, the rain wasn't so much a pest as the wind... I think I'll need some glasses on my future bike rides. I ended up in the country hills with pretty much every type of leaf variety in my eye.
Sunday I again slept in, oh the life! Then went out for a 5 mile or so run, in the rain and wind. Still, it was a great way to start out my lazy morning. After that, I hit up the new WholeFoods and was tempted to eat my way through the market. I settled on some spinach, avocado, peppers, and eggs and went home and made a wicked scramble.
I think this weekend was supposed to focus on hills, but I opted to focus on sleep! You may laugh, but it's an essential part of training... well, that's what I'm telling myself anyway! After a very fun, margarita and Irish Car Bomb filled Friday (quite the combo) I opted to skip the group ride on Saturday morning and go solo. I normally train with a partner in crime, but I never heard back from her, so I just went out on my own.
At some point in the early afternoon, after begrudgingly getting out of my pajamas, I managed to get on my bike and get a nice and easy ride in. We had a mix of weather this weekend, rain, sun, and wind, the rain wasn't so much a pest as the wind... I think I'll need some glasses on my future bike rides. I ended up in the country hills with pretty much every type of leaf variety in my eye.
Sunday I again slept in, oh the life! Then went out for a 5 mile or so run, in the rain and wind. Still, it was a great way to start out my lazy morning. After that, I hit up the new WholeFoods and was tempted to eat my way through the market. I settled on some spinach, avocado, peppers, and eggs and went home and made a wicked scramble.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Woo Hoo!
03/19/08 - Run and Core
#1-Run
I have been racking my brain trying to see where I could possibly fit another run in my weekly training schedule. I've got a little time before core class, so I'll just squeeze in a run where I can take it! I'm used to the marathon training mindset, where I need a few hours on the weekend and AT LEAST an hour at a time for my daily runs, but in the triathlon, I'll only be running 6 miles! No worries! I'll take 30 minutes and run with it (sorry, couldn't help myself)!
Met up with Cristy and we started at a nice quick pace on our run. Something was a little different for me today, maybe I was channeling my brother like I always try to, but I felt really light on my feet. This could also be a result of 12+ workouts a week making some extra weight kind of fall to the floor, but anyway, I felt like my load had been lightened. We ran from the swim center where our core workout would be to the yacht harbor and back.... it's about 3 miles, and I felt no pain, not even any sweat really. I felt like I had just gotten started when we finished. 3 miles was normally my warm-up on long runs, so it's probably just ingrained in my head that the worst is yet to come!
#2 - Core
I shouldn't just call this a core class, it's really a strengthening class specifically for triathletes. We ran in from our run with enough extra time to grind out some stiffness on the foam rollers before class started. Oh, this is magical and painful all at the same time. Rolling breakdowns some of the tightness and knots you get in your muscles to help prevent injury, and pretty much feels like you're being pounded on by a 200lb WWF wrestler, but yet, it feels oh so nice! The kind of pain you look forward to!
After working out the kinks, we do a circuit training warm up with things I've never seen before. Really, the entire class is comprised of some strengthening exercises I recognize, but some that are just genuinely creative and seem to be making me quite a bit stronger. The class has consistently gotten harder every week as well, and I'm able to keep up. I like what I'm seeing!!! The first time I took the class I thought it was a little too easy, not really a good workout, but now I'm finding it to be one of the gem's of my week. Our coach is so focused and pays attention to everyone's form.... there's no slacking allowed, and that works for me! After the class was finished, I even went back for an extra round of pull-ups, and some push ups with resistance bands. I'm just yearning for some tanktop worthy arms this summer!
03/20/09 - Swim
Got to the pool a little late this morning, and again to find it cold. I'm wondering who I need to talk to about covering the pool at night, seriously people, it's not easy getting into a cold pool at 6:00am!!! Anyway, did my normal warm up of 100 each Swim, Kick, Choice, Pull (are you getting bored of me repeating this yet?). I skipped my 50's to save on time and started in on my workout. Today was supposed to be 4-5 x 250's (10 laps each) focusing on staying fluid and calm for distance. I did my 4 x 250's and decided to make the last one a timed 400m. This is the distance of most of the sprint triathlons, so I'd like to know how I'm sitting.
My arms were a bit burnt out already, having finished about 1400m of swimming. But, I just decided to not worry about time, and focus on being calm and consistent. I started my 400m and before I knew it, I was in my good place. I was focused, calm, relaxed, and felt like I was the only one in the pool. I noticed no one else but myself. As I was moving through my laps, I realized that I was so focused on being calm, I was kind of erring on the slow side. I decided to kick it up a bit, still feeling calm and relaxed. By the last 50m's I just gave it my all, and felt powerful and quick moving into the wall. I touched the wall, tore off my goggles, and peered at my time. It looks like it was somewhere around 7:15 or 7:25! Not bad at all!!!
Yes, that's where the "Woo Hoo!" title comes from. After I saw my time, I belted one out, and proceeded to sing my praises through my cool down. I'm pretty proud of myself. Not even halfway through my training, and really looking good on the swimming. And to think, that was my time AFTER having done the majority of my workout, I'm thinking I can get that down closer to 7:00 on fresh arms and legs.... we shall see, we shall see!
At least now I have a true marker of my progress. The first month of swimming I could barely finish a 200m without being stopped by fear. Now, I'm doing the 400m staying calm and collected and in a decent time. Two more months and I should be golden!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, it feels so nice to not be the slowest at something! At least now I have more balance;I'm a slow runner, but not that bad of a cyclist, and can certainly hold my own on the swim! It's too bad the tri isn't performed in the opposite direction (run, bike, then swim), so I could actually finish it strong!
PS - No #2 workout today that I anticipate. I'm looking forward to some drinks and fun with the girls tonight. Sometimes a workout will magically manifest itself in the way of a fun dance class, but for now, I see nothing but margaritas and guacamole in my future!
#1-Run
I have been racking my brain trying to see where I could possibly fit another run in my weekly training schedule. I've got a little time before core class, so I'll just squeeze in a run where I can take it! I'm used to the marathon training mindset, where I need a few hours on the weekend and AT LEAST an hour at a time for my daily runs, but in the triathlon, I'll only be running 6 miles! No worries! I'll take 30 minutes and run with it (sorry, couldn't help myself)!
Met up with Cristy and we started at a nice quick pace on our run. Something was a little different for me today, maybe I was channeling my brother like I always try to, but I felt really light on my feet. This could also be a result of 12+ workouts a week making some extra weight kind of fall to the floor, but anyway, I felt like my load had been lightened. We ran from the swim center where our core workout would be to the yacht harbor and back.... it's about 3 miles, and I felt no pain, not even any sweat really. I felt like I had just gotten started when we finished. 3 miles was normally my warm-up on long runs, so it's probably just ingrained in my head that the worst is yet to come!
#2 - Core
I shouldn't just call this a core class, it's really a strengthening class specifically for triathletes. We ran in from our run with enough extra time to grind out some stiffness on the foam rollers before class started. Oh, this is magical and painful all at the same time. Rolling breakdowns some of the tightness and knots you get in your muscles to help prevent injury, and pretty much feels like you're being pounded on by a 200lb WWF wrestler, but yet, it feels oh so nice! The kind of pain you look forward to!
After working out the kinks, we do a circuit training warm up with things I've never seen before. Really, the entire class is comprised of some strengthening exercises I recognize, but some that are just genuinely creative and seem to be making me quite a bit stronger. The class has consistently gotten harder every week as well, and I'm able to keep up. I like what I'm seeing!!! The first time I took the class I thought it was a little too easy, not really a good workout, but now I'm finding it to be one of the gem's of my week. Our coach is so focused and pays attention to everyone's form.... there's no slacking allowed, and that works for me! After the class was finished, I even went back for an extra round of pull-ups, and some push ups with resistance bands. I'm just yearning for some tanktop worthy arms this summer!
03/20/09 - Swim
Got to the pool a little late this morning, and again to find it cold. I'm wondering who I need to talk to about covering the pool at night, seriously people, it's not easy getting into a cold pool at 6:00am!!! Anyway, did my normal warm up of 100 each Swim, Kick, Choice, Pull (are you getting bored of me repeating this yet?). I skipped my 50's to save on time and started in on my workout. Today was supposed to be 4-5 x 250's (10 laps each) focusing on staying fluid and calm for distance. I did my 4 x 250's and decided to make the last one a timed 400m. This is the distance of most of the sprint triathlons, so I'd like to know how I'm sitting.
My arms were a bit burnt out already, having finished about 1400m of swimming. But, I just decided to not worry about time, and focus on being calm and consistent. I started my 400m and before I knew it, I was in my good place. I was focused, calm, relaxed, and felt like I was the only one in the pool. I noticed no one else but myself. As I was moving through my laps, I realized that I was so focused on being calm, I was kind of erring on the slow side. I decided to kick it up a bit, still feeling calm and relaxed. By the last 50m's I just gave it my all, and felt powerful and quick moving into the wall. I touched the wall, tore off my goggles, and peered at my time. It looks like it was somewhere around 7:15 or 7:25! Not bad at all!!!
Yes, that's where the "Woo Hoo!" title comes from. After I saw my time, I belted one out, and proceeded to sing my praises through my cool down. I'm pretty proud of myself. Not even halfway through my training, and really looking good on the swimming. And to think, that was my time AFTER having done the majority of my workout, I'm thinking I can get that down closer to 7:00 on fresh arms and legs.... we shall see, we shall see!
At least now I have a true marker of my progress. The first month of swimming I could barely finish a 200m without being stopped by fear. Now, I'm doing the 400m staying calm and collected and in a decent time. Two more months and I should be golden!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, it feels so nice to not be the slowest at something! At least now I have more balance;I'm a slow runner, but not that bad of a cyclist, and can certainly hold my own on the swim! It's too bad the tri isn't performed in the opposite direction (run, bike, then swim), so I could actually finish it strong!
PS - No #2 workout today that I anticipate. I'm looking forward to some drinks and fun with the girls tonight. Sometimes a workout will magically manifest itself in the way of a fun dance class, but for now, I see nothing but margaritas and guacamole in my future!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Good Morning Sunshine!
03/17/09 - Yoga and Spin
#1 - Yoga
Interesting, but I couldn't get into yoga today. I did all the things she told us to do, but the whole time I was about a second away from laughing. I take yoga with my two besties in town, and we've come to recognize a few of the regulars in class. In particular, we can't help but notice the guy that takes FULL advantage of the wind releasing poses, every time! I walked into class today and my gals had already set up my mat and props, and I noticed that the "Wind Releaser" was right behind us. I was in suspense the entire time, just waiting for the moment when he'd do the deed, on my friend's head!
Needless to say, not really the best mind frame for yoga, but fun nonetheless! Even though I wasn't really mentally present, when it came time for the corpse pose, I was way into it. I lay down, relaxed everything in my body, and then all of a sudden my mind wandered to puppies. Yes, I was dreaming within about 1 minute! I was shooing a load of puppies through a door when I heard this loud, guttural sound coming from... myself! I was snoring! It shook me awake, and I spent the rest of the time wondering if anyone heard me. Quite the amusing class today.
#2 - Spin
Spin class is a great time. I'm one to sweat easily, it's in my genes, but spin really gets my pores going. Anything that leaves me looking like I just got out of the shower is a good workout in my book. Ha, might actually be a funny way to measure my workouts, my sweat-o-meter. Gross, but interesting.
We did a warm-up, some technique drills, and speed intervals today. A couple sets going 1 minute at 80%, 1 minute at 87%, and 2 minutes at 100%. Two minutes doesn't sound that long, until your in the smallest gear you've got, grinding the muscles at full force and full speed. I keep visualizing myself passing the people in front of me to help me get through the set. Of course, my bike is mounted on top of a 20lb apparatus, so I was going no where fast. Still, helps to imagine that I'm swerving through the pack, and pushing my way to the finish line!
03/18/09 - Swim and Cross Fit
#1 - Swim
Brrrr... the water was so cold this morning! I think someone forgot to cover the pool last night because this was the first time I jumped in and did the "I forget how to swim" freakout! Started with my usual warm-up of 100 each Swim, Kick, Choice, Pull, followed by 3x50's at tempo. Still cold, so I guess "warm-up" didn't really apply here today!
I'm still so impressed that I knocked 5 seconds off my time last week. I did a speed workout again today, and was able to stick to my new time again. Started with 7 x 100's at 1:40 each. Then did a 100 pull rest, and another set of 7 x 100's. This set I kicked it up, did the 100's at 1:35 each. Mostly because I was running out of time. I needed to get in the shower before 6:50am to beat the crowd, and I had just a couple minutes left. Missed my cool down today because of the time, but hey, I dropped another 5 seconds! It's like I'm transforming into a swimmer on an almost daily basis. It feels great! 2150m's today or 86 laps. Feeling a little tight now because I had no cool down, so I'll need to figure out the timing of my workouts better.
Everytime I'm in the pool, I have visions of my childhood years with the Loomis Basin Dolphins. I never took swimming seriously, contact sports were more my thing, but it was still fun. I try to recall all my instruction when I'm pulling, or kicking, or going for a flip turn. I might just have to hit up one of my family friends for his expertise. He's been a swim coach for years, and it'd be nice to have him observe me, and help me out with some tips. Let's face it, I'm not doing triathlons to win them, but I'd love to actually say that I'm good in one of the categories. Most triathletes are weak swimmers, so I might just have to capitalize on that!
#2 - Cross Fit
Same old, same old.... well, actually, I haven't even gone yet, but I'll tell you what we're going to do. Hundreds of weighted squats, followed by hundreds of lunges, gut wrenching core, military push ups, running stairs, arm work, and then top it all off with ab work and more squats. That's it in a nut shell. Listen up for tomorrow when I complain about how tight I was during my next workout! HA!!
#1 - Yoga
Interesting, but I couldn't get into yoga today. I did all the things she told us to do, but the whole time I was about a second away from laughing. I take yoga with my two besties in town, and we've come to recognize a few of the regulars in class. In particular, we can't help but notice the guy that takes FULL advantage of the wind releasing poses, every time! I walked into class today and my gals had already set up my mat and props, and I noticed that the "Wind Releaser" was right behind us. I was in suspense the entire time, just waiting for the moment when he'd do the deed, on my friend's head!
Needless to say, not really the best mind frame for yoga, but fun nonetheless! Even though I wasn't really mentally present, when it came time for the corpse pose, I was way into it. I lay down, relaxed everything in my body, and then all of a sudden my mind wandered to puppies. Yes, I was dreaming within about 1 minute! I was shooing a load of puppies through a door when I heard this loud, guttural sound coming from... myself! I was snoring! It shook me awake, and I spent the rest of the time wondering if anyone heard me. Quite the amusing class today.
#2 - Spin
Spin class is a great time. I'm one to sweat easily, it's in my genes, but spin really gets my pores going. Anything that leaves me looking like I just got out of the shower is a good workout in my book. Ha, might actually be a funny way to measure my workouts, my sweat-o-meter. Gross, but interesting.
We did a warm-up, some technique drills, and speed intervals today. A couple sets going 1 minute at 80%, 1 minute at 87%, and 2 minutes at 100%. Two minutes doesn't sound that long, until your in the smallest gear you've got, grinding the muscles at full force and full speed. I keep visualizing myself passing the people in front of me to help me get through the set. Of course, my bike is mounted on top of a 20lb apparatus, so I was going no where fast. Still, helps to imagine that I'm swerving through the pack, and pushing my way to the finish line!
03/18/09 - Swim and Cross Fit
#1 - Swim
Brrrr... the water was so cold this morning! I think someone forgot to cover the pool last night because this was the first time I jumped in and did the "I forget how to swim" freakout! Started with my usual warm-up of 100 each Swim, Kick, Choice, Pull, followed by 3x50's at tempo. Still cold, so I guess "warm-up" didn't really apply here today!
I'm still so impressed that I knocked 5 seconds off my time last week. I did a speed workout again today, and was able to stick to my new time again. Started with 7 x 100's at 1:40 each. Then did a 100 pull rest, and another set of 7 x 100's. This set I kicked it up, did the 100's at 1:35 each. Mostly because I was running out of time. I needed to get in the shower before 6:50am to beat the crowd, and I had just a couple minutes left. Missed my cool down today because of the time, but hey, I dropped another 5 seconds! It's like I'm transforming into a swimmer on an almost daily basis. It feels great! 2150m's today or 86 laps. Feeling a little tight now because I had no cool down, so I'll need to figure out the timing of my workouts better.
Everytime I'm in the pool, I have visions of my childhood years with the Loomis Basin Dolphins. I never took swimming seriously, contact sports were more my thing, but it was still fun. I try to recall all my instruction when I'm pulling, or kicking, or going for a flip turn. I might just have to hit up one of my family friends for his expertise. He's been a swim coach for years, and it'd be nice to have him observe me, and help me out with some tips. Let's face it, I'm not doing triathlons to win them, but I'd love to actually say that I'm good in one of the categories. Most triathletes are weak swimmers, so I might just have to capitalize on that!
#2 - Cross Fit
Same old, same old.... well, actually, I haven't even gone yet, but I'll tell you what we're going to do. Hundreds of weighted squats, followed by hundreds of lunges, gut wrenching core, military push ups, running stairs, arm work, and then top it all off with ab work and more squats. That's it in a nut shell. Listen up for tomorrow when I complain about how tight I was during my next workout! HA!!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
03/12/09 - 03/17/09
Yikes! Been on a little hiatus, but not to worry, my workouts did not suffer that much! I'm not going to log them in great detail, because to be honest, I don't remember them all that well anymore! Ha! I went to Denver to visit my friends, family, and old college roommates. Dressed as a leprechaun, I hit the streets of Denver and a few of the thousands of bars that they offer, for their St. Patti's Day celebration. It was a wonderful time, I danced, drank, and laughed so hard that my abs hurt! (talk about an effective workout!)
So, just a quick run down.... got in a run and core on 03/12/09, about an hour in the the gym on 03/13/09 with my friend Sarah. She's training for a fitness competition, so we shared some secrets with one another, ran, lifted weights, did core, and laughed about how sweaty I get. 03/14/09, no workout today, but several miles of walking, a whole lot of jigging, and even more laughing left my abs in bits. It felt great! A short run in on 03/15/09, and then tried to swim on 03/16/09 but the pool was closed. Instead I spent the day walking with my fiance and headed to the beach.
Back to the grind today with yoga and spin class!
All in all, a wonderful trip away. Even better is that I got some exercise in, so I don't feel totally amiss from my workout schedule.
Yikes! Been on a little hiatus, but not to worry, my workouts did not suffer that much! I'm not going to log them in great detail, because to be honest, I don't remember them all that well anymore! Ha! I went to Denver to visit my friends, family, and old college roommates. Dressed as a leprechaun, I hit the streets of Denver and a few of the thousands of bars that they offer, for their St. Patti's Day celebration. It was a wonderful time, I danced, drank, and laughed so hard that my abs hurt! (talk about an effective workout!)
So, just a quick run down.... got in a run and core on 03/12/09, about an hour in the the gym on 03/13/09 with my friend Sarah. She's training for a fitness competition, so we shared some secrets with one another, ran, lifted weights, did core, and laughed about how sweaty I get. 03/14/09, no workout today, but several miles of walking, a whole lot of jigging, and even more laughing left my abs in bits. It felt great! A short run in on 03/15/09, and then tried to swim on 03/16/09 but the pool was closed. Instead I spent the day walking with my fiance and headed to the beach.
Back to the grind today with yoga and spin class!
All in all, a wonderful trip away. Even better is that I got some exercise in, so I don't feel totally amiss from my workout schedule.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
So Sleepy!
03/11/09 - Swim & Booty Camp
#1 Swim
OK, I'll say it, I'm so tired! I'm pooped! I think my impending vacation is causing me to just want to drop it all and relax with my girls. Or, it could be that waking up at 5:15am after the Daylight Savings time change has really rocked my world. Who cares what it is, I need some more sleep!
Got to the pool this morning, with my eyelids half cracked, not quite remembering driving there. It was frigid, about 30 degrees, so I was actually looking forward to jumping into the pool. It felt warm in comparison to the cold air! I started my 400 warm up and just couldn't muster the motivation. Sorry if I'm a little bit of a Debbie Downer right now, but I didn't have it in me. Finished my Swim, Kick, Choice, and Pull, and decided to skip the body positioning drills and just do some tempo 25's to try and boost up my spirits and heart rate.... 6 of those, and I was ready for my drills.
I did 2 sets of 6 x 100's. Even though my mind is sleepy and slow, I kept time really well, and actually finished each 100m 5 seconds quicker than I did last week. Previously, I had been doing these on the 2 minutes, meaning, I swim the 100 in 1:45 and then rest 15 seconds. Today I dropped that to swimming the 100 in 1:40! Funny, how the body can just do it's own thing, even though the mind is in neutral. I of course was unintentionally racing the speedy guy next to me, so that could have something to do with it. This new guy was faster than me, but not by much.
I'm pretty sure that I did a 100 pull after each set, and then a 100 cool down. Seriously, this whole workout is such a blur to me now. Was I even really there? The smell of chlorine drifting from my body and tickling my nose is my only remaining clue that yes, I did actually swim this morning. A total of 2050 meters to be exact, or 82 laps. Too bad that I can't really remember my longest and quickest swim workout to date!
#1 Swim
OK, I'll say it, I'm so tired! I'm pooped! I think my impending vacation is causing me to just want to drop it all and relax with my girls. Or, it could be that waking up at 5:15am after the Daylight Savings time change has really rocked my world. Who cares what it is, I need some more sleep!
Got to the pool this morning, with my eyelids half cracked, not quite remembering driving there. It was frigid, about 30 degrees, so I was actually looking forward to jumping into the pool. It felt warm in comparison to the cold air! I started my 400 warm up and just couldn't muster the motivation. Sorry if I'm a little bit of a Debbie Downer right now, but I didn't have it in me. Finished my Swim, Kick, Choice, and Pull, and decided to skip the body positioning drills and just do some tempo 25's to try and boost up my spirits and heart rate.... 6 of those, and I was ready for my drills.
I did 2 sets of 6 x 100's. Even though my mind is sleepy and slow, I kept time really well, and actually finished each 100m 5 seconds quicker than I did last week. Previously, I had been doing these on the 2 minutes, meaning, I swim the 100 in 1:45 and then rest 15 seconds. Today I dropped that to swimming the 100 in 1:40! Funny, how the body can just do it's own thing, even though the mind is in neutral. I of course was unintentionally racing the speedy guy next to me, so that could have something to do with it. This new guy was faster than me, but not by much.
I'm pretty sure that I did a 100 pull after each set, and then a 100 cool down. Seriously, this whole workout is such a blur to me now. Was I even really there? The smell of chlorine drifting from my body and tickling my nose is my only remaining clue that yes, I did actually swim this morning. A total of 2050 meters to be exact, or 82 laps. Too bad that I can't really remember my longest and quickest swim workout to date!
Relax for Speed
03/10/09 - Spin
I skipped my Tuesday yoga class today to run some errands. I'm getting ready to leave town, and it's pretty hard to wedge in all the things I need to accomplish, and still have time for double workouts. I reviewed my schedule, and figured yoga was probably the most expendable.
Finally, though, after several weeks of trying to obtain trainers, which has involved begging from my tri club and borrowing trainers that don't fit my bike, I got lucky, and got a trainer for Spin Class! I was in business to see what this class is all about.
I arrived early to fumble around with getting my bike onto the trainer. Being so new to the process, I felt clumsy and awkward, but everyone was willing to help each other with this essential step. After getting my bike situated, I hopped on, clipped in, and started a nice smooth and easy pace.
It took probably about 1 minute for me to remember how bad my seat is hurting me. It's not placed in the right position on my bike and I don't have the tools to move it. It's too far forward, so the large part of the seat is sitting in the middle of my pelvis, and my actual bottom is kind of hanging off the end. OUCH! This causes some immediate pain to some important areas, and I'm finding, that it's cutting circulation off to my legs and feet. Need to get this fixed asap!
That aside, this was a fun class. It's such a nice way to practice biking technique without the risk of running off the side of a road. Our instructor really helped us focus on relaxing for speed; opening our bodies while riding, letting go of the shoulders and arms, to allow for strong, powerful, and easy movement. She also suggested finding words or phrases to call upon during the most difficult moments, that would help remind you to regain that fluid body positioning. I've got my Beastie Boys little diddy all set for these moments.
We did a bunch of 3 minute sets, building our speed with each minute. 1 minute at 80% effort, 1 minute at 87% effort, and 1 minute giving it everything you've got! I'm pretty sure I mentioned it yesterday, but I just love these little short bursts of energy. They make me feel strong and successful! I hopped of the bike at the end, and felt like I could have done a whole lot more. I think that's the feeling I should be going for, seeing as how in a race, I'll be getting off the bike and will start running!
I skipped my Tuesday yoga class today to run some errands. I'm getting ready to leave town, and it's pretty hard to wedge in all the things I need to accomplish, and still have time for double workouts. I reviewed my schedule, and figured yoga was probably the most expendable.
Finally, though, after several weeks of trying to obtain trainers, which has involved begging from my tri club and borrowing trainers that don't fit my bike, I got lucky, and got a trainer for Spin Class! I was in business to see what this class is all about.
I arrived early to fumble around with getting my bike onto the trainer. Being so new to the process, I felt clumsy and awkward, but everyone was willing to help each other with this essential step. After getting my bike situated, I hopped on, clipped in, and started a nice smooth and easy pace.
It took probably about 1 minute for me to remember how bad my seat is hurting me. It's not placed in the right position on my bike and I don't have the tools to move it. It's too far forward, so the large part of the seat is sitting in the middle of my pelvis, and my actual bottom is kind of hanging off the end. OUCH! This causes some immediate pain to some important areas, and I'm finding, that it's cutting circulation off to my legs and feet. Need to get this fixed asap!
That aside, this was a fun class. It's such a nice way to practice biking technique without the risk of running off the side of a road. Our instructor really helped us focus on relaxing for speed; opening our bodies while riding, letting go of the shoulders and arms, to allow for strong, powerful, and easy movement. She also suggested finding words or phrases to call upon during the most difficult moments, that would help remind you to regain that fluid body positioning. I've got my Beastie Boys little diddy all set for these moments.
We did a bunch of 3 minute sets, building our speed with each minute. 1 minute at 80% effort, 1 minute at 87% effort, and 1 minute giving it everything you've got! I'm pretty sure I mentioned it yesterday, but I just love these little short bursts of energy. They make me feel strong and successful! I hopped of the bike at the end, and felt like I could have done a whole lot more. I think that's the feeling I should be going for, seeing as how in a race, I'll be getting off the bike and will start running!
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