2/26/09 - Core
Last night I headed to a core and strengthening class that's part of the Nu2Tri program. This class is taught by Ken Dobberpuhl, a fitness guru and athletic director for an SC college. Ken has A LOT of tri experience and really focuses this class on strengthening for our particular sports.
It's such a great class! Arriving early means you get to spend some time digging out any muscles soreness with a foam roller, it's painful and magical all at the same time. We complete a series of exercises with no rest in between the sets. The pull-ups, plank leg lifts, military push-ups, squats, and so much more have been speaking to me lately. I'm feeling strong, especially in my arms. Something is going on in that region, that has me day dreaming about toned triceps and wondering just when they'll surface.
2/27/08 - Swim and Dance?
#1 - Swim
Had a great swim this morning! I jumped in to find my arms feeling stiff after last night, but they quickly warmed up and started feeling strong again. Started with 100 each of Swimming, Kicking, Pulling, and Choice (I chose freestyle, how imaginative!). Continued the warm up with 6x25's of our body position drills. On to the interval set. Today focused on getting some distance, so that's just what I did. I did a series of 4 x 250's (250 is 10 laps), with 15-30 second rest in between. Followed it up with a 200 pull cool down.
I actually felt that this workout was a little on the easy side for me. Next time I'll speed it up a bit and add another 250. I was just trying to focus on gaining calmness, fluidity, and pacing during the workout.... it all seemed to come together really well. I actually surprised myself with those 250's. The thought was daunting, but once I started swimming, it was second nature.
Hands down, best part of the workout was the hot shower and a quick breakfast with Cristy. I am not really a morning person, or at least I don't have spare time in the mornings, so having an opportunity to sit and eat, chat about our week, was a true treat! We stopped at the Chill Out Cafe in Santa Cruz for some organic breakfast burritos. If there is such a thing as burrito heaven, then we found it. My burrito was complete with eggs, dill potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, onion, peppers, cheese, and homemade tomatillo salsa! That salsa had my head spinning, it was so good.
I ate half of the buritto and brought the other half to the office to share with my vegetarian workmate. This buritto was just too good to not let others try it out!
#2 - Dance
Tonight we're hitting the dance floor for a hip-hop Zumba class. This is obviously not part of triathlon training, so isn't included in our schedule. This is just for fun. I'm going with my girlfriends to shake it for an hour or so, and then off for a couple of drinks.... I'm trying to find the life-balance in all of this, before I become a completely boring person!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
On the move
2/24/09 - Yoga and Bike
#1 - Yoga
I have the most amazing fortune to work in a place that promotes and supports physical activity. Not only does my favorite boss allow me to bend my schedule around my training, but UCSC offers a host of FREE fitness classes during the week to it's staff. Being one to never miss a bargain, I capitalize on these free moments. Lucky me, two a week squeeze right into my training schedule.
Yesterday afternoon, instead of my normal ritual of heading to the beach with my packed lunch (I know, life is good), I spent an hour stretching, twisting, and exhaling in a wonderful yoga class. Yesterday's class particularly impacted all my little muscles that had been twisted into balls with my incessant coughing. Now, I have no more cough, and no more knots in my hips and back! By the end of class, I felt like a limp noodle, and was slowly drifting off to sleep in the corpse pose. What a joy!
#2 - Bike
After work, it was time for some more serious work! I was slated to head over to Spin Class, but all of the trainers were reserved. A trainer is a device that holds the back wheel of your own bike in place, so that you can ride in-doors. It's such a great device, one of the many things I wish I had thought of first! It's really nice for those of us training, because you can do an hour or so workout on your own bike. Great way to get acquainted with it, without any risk of falling off!
At any rate, no trainers meant it was time to hit the road, or cause serious risk to others in our spin class! Cristy met me at my house and we braved our first inner-city bike ride. We tried to head out into the country, which is really easy where I live, but realized that we were poorly lit! It was about the time where I was at the bottom of a hill, looking for Cristy, calling for her, and finally I headed back up the hill to find her, that I realized we needed quite a bit more visibility! If I couldn't see her, then cars could definitely not see her! We probably only got to ride a total of 6 miles, but thought it was better to head back than to chance getting hit by a car.
We did have some great moments though. In that short amount of time, we practiced a lot of our skills, including clipping-in, hand signals, wiping glass from our tires to prevent flats, calling out obstructions, hills, speeding downhill, and coming to an abrupt stop! I'm pretty sure that even though we didn't go too far, this is some great and essential practice!
2/25/09 - Swim and Core
#1 - Swim
This morning my alarm went off at 5:30am, and the first thing I thought was "I'm late!" Thankfully I wasn't, I was right on time to head over to our local pool for a morning workout. I met Cristy at the pool at 6:00am, and we prepared to hit the cold waters before the sun was even up! I jumped right in to find the water cold, and my previous experience with morning swims as a child kicked in, and I was swimming without even thinking. I felt bad because I hadn't even discussed our workout with Cristy until after I had a good number of warm up laps under my belt, but I'm sure she figured out that the best way to get warm is to get moving.
I was worried about waking up so early to workout, but swimming doesn't have the same toll on me as pushing a run out. In swimming, you get to elongate the body and stretch your arms and legs as tall as you can go. It was soothing and invigorating all at the same time.
After warm-up, we started our workout with a series of 50m drills. These drills help focus on body position within the water. Next was 6 100's (4 laps=100m) with 15 seconds rest. I felt great and threw in another for good measure. 200 pull, another 50 for fun, and a 200 cool down. Through it all, we watched the sun rise over Santa Cruz, and walked out of the pool having swam over 60 laps before 7:00am!
#2 - Core and Strengthening
Tonight we boogie down in what we've come to coin as our "booty camp." We meet up with a trainer who loves, and I don't just mean he likes doing, no, he loves squats. He talks about them, he demonstrates them, he admires and calls out when someone has perfect form, and more than anything else, we DO them! This is an hour work-out of strengthening and core, set-up to keep our heart rates moving. Lots of squats (you guessed it!), weighted squats, lunges, resistance work, one armed push ups, military push ups, planks, weights, stairs... all in good fun I say!
I know, this really isn't a necessary part of our Tri training, but I just can't say no to it. I feel stronger every week with the weight lifting, and I've got to admit, those squats seem to be doing something very special to my backside!
#1 - Yoga
I have the most amazing fortune to work in a place that promotes and supports physical activity. Not only does my favorite boss allow me to bend my schedule around my training, but UCSC offers a host of FREE fitness classes during the week to it's staff. Being one to never miss a bargain, I capitalize on these free moments. Lucky me, two a week squeeze right into my training schedule.
Yesterday afternoon, instead of my normal ritual of heading to the beach with my packed lunch (I know, life is good), I spent an hour stretching, twisting, and exhaling in a wonderful yoga class. Yesterday's class particularly impacted all my little muscles that had been twisted into balls with my incessant coughing. Now, I have no more cough, and no more knots in my hips and back! By the end of class, I felt like a limp noodle, and was slowly drifting off to sleep in the corpse pose. What a joy!
#2 - Bike
After work, it was time for some more serious work! I was slated to head over to Spin Class, but all of the trainers were reserved. A trainer is a device that holds the back wheel of your own bike in place, so that you can ride in-doors. It's such a great device, one of the many things I wish I had thought of first! It's really nice for those of us training, because you can do an hour or so workout on your own bike. Great way to get acquainted with it, without any risk of falling off!
At any rate, no trainers meant it was time to hit the road, or cause serious risk to others in our spin class! Cristy met me at my house and we braved our first inner-city bike ride. We tried to head out into the country, which is really easy where I live, but realized that we were poorly lit! It was about the time where I was at the bottom of a hill, looking for Cristy, calling for her, and finally I headed back up the hill to find her, that I realized we needed quite a bit more visibility! If I couldn't see her, then cars could definitely not see her! We probably only got to ride a total of 6 miles, but thought it was better to head back than to chance getting hit by a car.
We did have some great moments though. In that short amount of time, we practiced a lot of our skills, including clipping-in, hand signals, wiping glass from our tires to prevent flats, calling out obstructions, hills, speeding downhill, and coming to an abrupt stop! I'm pretty sure that even though we didn't go too far, this is some great and essential practice!
2/25/09 - Swim and Core
#1 - Swim
This morning my alarm went off at 5:30am, and the first thing I thought was "I'm late!" Thankfully I wasn't, I was right on time to head over to our local pool for a morning workout. I met Cristy at the pool at 6:00am, and we prepared to hit the cold waters before the sun was even up! I jumped right in to find the water cold, and my previous experience with morning swims as a child kicked in, and I was swimming without even thinking. I felt bad because I hadn't even discussed our workout with Cristy until after I had a good number of warm up laps under my belt, but I'm sure she figured out that the best way to get warm is to get moving.
I was worried about waking up so early to workout, but swimming doesn't have the same toll on me as pushing a run out. In swimming, you get to elongate the body and stretch your arms and legs as tall as you can go. It was soothing and invigorating all at the same time.
After warm-up, we started our workout with a series of 50m drills. These drills help focus on body position within the water. Next was 6 100's (4 laps=100m) with 15 seconds rest. I felt great and threw in another for good measure. 200 pull, another 50 for fun, and a 200 cool down. Through it all, we watched the sun rise over Santa Cruz, and walked out of the pool having swam over 60 laps before 7:00am!
#2 - Core and Strengthening
Tonight we boogie down in what we've come to coin as our "booty camp." We meet up with a trainer who loves, and I don't just mean he likes doing, no, he loves squats. He talks about them, he demonstrates them, he admires and calls out when someone has perfect form, and more than anything else, we DO them! This is an hour work-out of strengthening and core, set-up to keep our heart rates moving. Lots of squats (you guessed it!), weighted squats, lunges, resistance work, one armed push ups, military push ups, planks, weights, stairs... all in good fun I say!
I know, this really isn't a necessary part of our Tri training, but I just can't say no to it. I feel stronger every week with the weight lifting, and I've got to admit, those squats seem to be doing something very special to my backside!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
And I'm Back!
2/21/09 - Bike Ride
It's been raining cats and dogs here in Santa Cruz, but Saturday morning there was a small break in the rain. I grabbed my bike and met up with Cristy at 8:30 for our first, full-fledged, small wheel, clipped-in road bike ride! We jumped on the bikes, ok, really we fudged around for 10 minutes trying to figure out the clips and then made it to the first traffic light. With a little luck, and a whole lot of screaming "TURN GREEN, TURN GREEN!" the light was green and we didn't have to clip in and out quite yet.
Our first stop was a nice open parking lot where we practiced and practiced the art of the clip-in. I would get up a good amount of speed and then imagine little children or small animals that defenselessly happened in my way. Quickly I'd throw on the brakes and come to a complete stop, all the while unclipping and resting my foot on the ground. I did it, I spared my imaginary object's life! Hooray for me!
After our triumphant practice, we hit the road and head out to the beach, and talked about how wonderful road biking is! It's quiet, fluid, and on that morning, fresh from pneumonia and a week's worth of rain, with the sun popping over the ocean, it was almost Zen.
2/23/09 - Track
Back to track and I couldn't be happier! We started out with about a mile warm up, and then a quicker paced set called 1-2-3-2... that's 100 yd tempo, then 100 rest, 200 yd temp, 100 rest, 300 yd tempo, 100 rest, and 200 yd tempo, 100 rest. I'll be speaking in this lingo when referring to track, so I thought it best to get it out of the way. Next was some fast 500's followed by a 4-3-2-1, and cool down.
Oh it felt great to be back. Cristy and I arrived a little late because of my inability to leave work in a timely fashion (sorry C). But, on this night, it was just our luck. We ended up meeting a great gal, who we chatted with throughout our workout and seemed to have comparable paces. It made the 4 or so miles just fly by! Truly though, besides getting out and stretching my legs again, the best part of our track practice has to be our fun-loving, inspiring, and overwhelmingly posititve coach, Rod Heskett. As an elite athelete, you might expect an intimidating demeanor from him, but I've encountered nothing but encouragement and excitement. Rod is also a life coach, and from my perspective, has done a great job of seaming these two careers to form one great coach. As a newer athelete, it's great to feel his strength and I can't wait to see where it takes me. Here's his website if interested: http://www.selfquestconsult.com/index.html
I'll have to try and start bringing the camera around to post some pics, as my mom informed me last night that she's a visual follower!
It's been raining cats and dogs here in Santa Cruz, but Saturday morning there was a small break in the rain. I grabbed my bike and met up with Cristy at 8:30 for our first, full-fledged, small wheel, clipped-in road bike ride! We jumped on the bikes, ok, really we fudged around for 10 minutes trying to figure out the clips and then made it to the first traffic light. With a little luck, and a whole lot of screaming "TURN GREEN, TURN GREEN!" the light was green and we didn't have to clip in and out quite yet.
Our first stop was a nice open parking lot where we practiced and practiced the art of the clip-in. I would get up a good amount of speed and then imagine little children or small animals that defenselessly happened in my way. Quickly I'd throw on the brakes and come to a complete stop, all the while unclipping and resting my foot on the ground. I did it, I spared my imaginary object's life! Hooray for me!
After our triumphant practice, we hit the road and head out to the beach, and talked about how wonderful road biking is! It's quiet, fluid, and on that morning, fresh from pneumonia and a week's worth of rain, with the sun popping over the ocean, it was almost Zen.
2/23/09 - Track
Back to track and I couldn't be happier! We started out with about a mile warm up, and then a quicker paced set called 1-2-3-2... that's 100 yd tempo, then 100 rest, 200 yd temp, 100 rest, 300 yd tempo, 100 rest, and 200 yd tempo, 100 rest. I'll be speaking in this lingo when referring to track, so I thought it best to get it out of the way. Next was some fast 500's followed by a 4-3-2-1, and cool down.
Oh it felt great to be back. Cristy and I arrived a little late because of my inability to leave work in a timely fashion (sorry C). But, on this night, it was just our luck. We ended up meeting a great gal, who we chatted with throughout our workout and seemed to have comparable paces. It made the 4 or so miles just fly by! Truly though, besides getting out and stretching my legs again, the best part of our track practice has to be our fun-loving, inspiring, and overwhelmingly posititve coach, Rod Heskett. As an elite athelete, you might expect an intimidating demeanor from him, but I've encountered nothing but encouragement and excitement. Rod is also a life coach, and from my perspective, has done a great job of seaming these two careers to form one great coach. As a newer athelete, it's great to feel his strength and I can't wait to see where it takes me. Here's his website if interested: http://www.selfquestconsult.com/index.html
I'll have to try and start bringing the camera around to post some pics, as my mom informed me last night that she's a visual follower!
Friday, February 20, 2009
A Helping Hand
As a new runner, I quickly learned the value of encouragement. When training, it can make the all the difference in the world to have someone next to you, helping you forget about the pain. When in a race, hearing someone cheer your name can drag you out of the pit of no return and give you a renewed attitude.
Today I learned a new lesson; it's wonderful to have those hand-holding moments when you're not training, and for me, maybe even more necessary. I woke up this morning feeling pretty down. I know the physiological effects of having to rest, you don't get those endorphins that you start relying on, so you start feeling a little dumpy. Well, dumpy was the best way to describe my attitude when I realized that while everyone else was out running, biking, and swimming, (or heaven forbid going out on the town!) I'd be sitting my fat butt on the couch watching "Wheel of Fortune" or something else non-productive tonight!
I was doing a great job feeling sorry for myself, and dragged my feet to my desk this morning to find the most amazing note from one of my girl friends. She just helped remind me that I'm making the right choices, and that rest is also part of being healthy. Thanks to her for her kind words of encouragement, I don't know if she just had a sense that I needed it, but it couldn't have come at a better time. Thanks to my super-amazing fiance as well, for all my many cups of tea... and for toning down how great your runs are each night! I can see you brimming with excitement, but you just keep saying that it was ok, and diverting my attention to how I could totally win if I was a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune".
I guess it's a good sign in my development as an athlete that I now need more help resting than I do getting out and running for 2.5 hours!
Today I learned a new lesson; it's wonderful to have those hand-holding moments when you're not training, and for me, maybe even more necessary. I woke up this morning feeling pretty down. I know the physiological effects of having to rest, you don't get those endorphins that you start relying on, so you start feeling a little dumpy. Well, dumpy was the best way to describe my attitude when I realized that while everyone else was out running, biking, and swimming, (or heaven forbid going out on the town!) I'd be sitting my fat butt on the couch watching "Wheel of Fortune" or something else non-productive tonight!
I was doing a great job feeling sorry for myself, and dragged my feet to my desk this morning to find the most amazing note from one of my girl friends. She just helped remind me that I'm making the right choices, and that rest is also part of being healthy. Thanks to her for her kind words of encouragement, I don't know if she just had a sense that I needed it, but it couldn't have come at a better time. Thanks to my super-amazing fiance as well, for all my many cups of tea... and for toning down how great your runs are each night! I can see you brimming with excitement, but you just keep saying that it was ok, and diverting my attention to how I could totally win if I was a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune".
I guess it's a good sign in my development as an athlete that I now need more help resting than I do getting out and running for 2.5 hours!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A Rest Stop
I just got off the phone with my doctor. She called me at work to let me know that in addition to my respiratory infection, I have pneumonia! Lovely! In true fashion my first question for her was, "Can I work out tonight? I'm training for a triathlon!"
Here's how the rest of the conversation transpired following a brief moment of shocked silence:
DR: "NO! I highly suggest that you rest at much as possible, for at least a week. I don't know when your event is, but you must rest, and realize that you could face serious consequences including hospitalization.... you do know that pneumonia can be fatal?"
Me: "Mmm hmmm....." Still unsure if rest means no speed workouts, or just no long runs????
DR: "My advice is to start your new medications immediately and get into bed with a hot cup of tea. You're at home now, right?"
Me: "Oh no, I'm at work!"
DR: No reply, just laughter.
Me: "Well, I thought I was feeling better. Should I not be here, am I contagious?"
DR: "Sorry, it's just that I don't know many people with pneumonia that go to work. You should really rest or you will get worse. You shouldn't be contagious since you've been on antibiotics for a few days."
blah, blah, blah
So, instead of reporting on how many pull-ups, military push-ups, weighted squats and more I would be doing tonight in my core and strengthening class, I will just say I'm taking doctor's advice.... I can't do it, I can't bring myself to say that I have to rest, yet again!
I guess I will also spend my time tonight reflecting on how I can stop thinking of "rest" as a four lettered word. I'm feeling pretty defeated about my doctor's orders, but I guess I should follow them seeing as how I get sweaty and winded just walking to the restroom!
Here's hoping for a speedy recovery, and even more speedy re-build of my fitness!!!
Here's how the rest of the conversation transpired following a brief moment of shocked silence:
DR: "NO! I highly suggest that you rest at much as possible, for at least a week. I don't know when your event is, but you must rest, and realize that you could face serious consequences including hospitalization.... you do know that pneumonia can be fatal?"
Me: "Mmm hmmm....." Still unsure if rest means no speed workouts, or just no long runs????
DR: "My advice is to start your new medications immediately and get into bed with a hot cup of tea. You're at home now, right?"
Me: "Oh no, I'm at work!"
DR: No reply, just laughter.
Me: "Well, I thought I was feeling better. Should I not be here, am I contagious?"
DR: "Sorry, it's just that I don't know many people with pneumonia that go to work. You should really rest or you will get worse. You shouldn't be contagious since you've been on antibiotics for a few days."
blah, blah, blah
So, instead of reporting on how many pull-ups, military push-ups, weighted squats and more I would be doing tonight in my core and strengthening class, I will just say I'm taking doctor's advice.... I can't do it, I can't bring myself to say that I have to rest, yet again!
I guess I will also spend my time tonight reflecting on how I can stop thinking of "rest" as a four lettered word. I'm feeling pretty defeated about my doctor's orders, but I guess I should follow them seeing as how I get sweaty and winded just walking to the restroom!
Here's hoping for a speedy recovery, and even more speedy re-build of my fitness!!!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Filling In The Blanks
Ok, so I started the blog a little late because I joined Nu2Tri, along with my friend Cristy, on January 31st! I'll try and fill in the blanks until now, quite a bit has already happened...
1/31/09
We met at Cabrillo College for an introductory bike clinic. This was AWESOME! Even though I didn't have a road bike yet, I got the jist of things. I am super new to biking, so I learned all about shifting, starting, stopping, clipping in, panic stops, wiping glass from your tire, steering, turning, and a slew of other great topics. I know, some of it sounds just oh, so basic, but to have a group of professional atheletes teach you how they turn a corner really makes a difference. Now that I've done the bike clinic, I feel way more confident about actually hitting the road.
2/1/09 - 2/7/09
Here's how my first week of tri training went:
Sun: 5 mile run around the Harbor with Patrick and Bandit
Mon: Track practice at Soquel High
Tue: Yoga at lunch and a swim at Simpkins
Wed: Rest, not by choice, but because of a cold.... damn it!
Thur: Core and stengthening class
Fri: Swim
Sat: 16 mile bike ride on Hwy 1 on our mountain bikes, no less. Stunning views! Then Cristy and I hit the road to go get our road bikes! I now have a Trek 1200 and Cristy's sporting a Lemond! A trip to REI was also in order as we quickly realized we needed some padding for our tushes!
2/8/09 - 2/14/09
Week 2!
Sun: Cabrillio College Swim Clinic. We learned some great technique, and I learned that I still have got some style in the pool. It felt great to finally not be a beginner at something! I did some timed 100's and I can stick rock a flip turn! Hell of a morning!
Mon: Track practice
Tues: Yoga at lunch and a swim at night
Wed: Fitness bootcamp with Carlos... lots of core and strengthening
Thur: Core
Fri: Spin Clinic. An intro to spinning. I got to try out the new bike and got some more familiarity with how to move on two wheels. Apparently spin class makes me sweat, A LOT!
Sat: Run Clinic. This was a great clinic on running form. I really benefitted from this, even though I've been doing quite a bit of running. Amazing what a few minute changes can do for your overall run.
2/15/09 - 2/18/09
Week 3:
Sun: Rest-day
Mon: Should have been track, but I've been hit hard by a lung infection. I'll be resting for a couple of days until I can kick it.
Tues: Should have been spin class, rest is still required.
Wed: Hopefully last day of rest... I can't handle the guilt!
So, not so impressive of a start with this respiratory infection, but I'm getting chest x-rays and have accepted the antibiotic treatment (I was hestitant until I was hit with a fever of 102!) Still, not too bad of a showing, and thankfully, we've only just begun!
1/31/09
We met at Cabrillo College for an introductory bike clinic. This was AWESOME! Even though I didn't have a road bike yet, I got the jist of things. I am super new to biking, so I learned all about shifting, starting, stopping, clipping in, panic stops, wiping glass from your tire, steering, turning, and a slew of other great topics. I know, some of it sounds just oh, so basic, but to have a group of professional atheletes teach you how they turn a corner really makes a difference. Now that I've done the bike clinic, I feel way more confident about actually hitting the road.
2/1/09 - 2/7/09
Here's how my first week of tri training went:
Sun: 5 mile run around the Harbor with Patrick and Bandit
Mon: Track practice at Soquel High
Tue: Yoga at lunch and a swim at Simpkins
Wed: Rest, not by choice, but because of a cold.... damn it!
Thur: Core and stengthening class
Fri: Swim
Sat: 16 mile bike ride on Hwy 1 on our mountain bikes, no less. Stunning views! Then Cristy and I hit the road to go get our road bikes! I now have a Trek 1200 and Cristy's sporting a Lemond! A trip to REI was also in order as we quickly realized we needed some padding for our tushes!
2/8/09 - 2/14/09
Week 2!
Sun: Cabrillio College Swim Clinic. We learned some great technique, and I learned that I still have got some style in the pool. It felt great to finally not be a beginner at something! I did some timed 100's and I can stick rock a flip turn! Hell of a morning!
Mon: Track practice
Tues: Yoga at lunch and a swim at night
Wed: Fitness bootcamp with Carlos... lots of core and strengthening
Thur: Core
Fri: Spin Clinic. An intro to spinning. I got to try out the new bike and got some more familiarity with how to move on two wheels. Apparently spin class makes me sweat, A LOT!
Sat: Run Clinic. This was a great clinic on running form. I really benefitted from this, even though I've been doing quite a bit of running. Amazing what a few minute changes can do for your overall run.
2/15/09 - 2/18/09
Week 3:
Sun: Rest-day
Mon: Should have been track, but I've been hit hard by a lung infection. I'll be resting for a couple of days until I can kick it.
Tues: Should have been spin class, rest is still required.
Wed: Hopefully last day of rest... I can't handle the guilt!
So, not so impressive of a start with this respiratory infection, but I'm getting chest x-rays and have accepted the antibiotic treatment (I was hestitant until I was hit with a fever of 102!) Still, not too bad of a showing, and thankfully, we've only just begun!
The who, what, where, and why of it all.
Last year, I made a decision that continues to rock the life I slipped into over the past 10 years or so. I realized that something wasn't jiving with who I thought I'd be at this point in my life, or really, who I wanted to be identified as. So, with a whole lot of soul searching about to happen, I bought a pair of running shoes and joined Team In Training.
I knew that running would be hard, but I didn't expect all the many side effects of spending my nights running instead of lazing around the house. I faced a lot of personal insecurities, literally battling old demons on the road that had remained quiet for a number of years. The most interesting thing about facing them, is that they then seemed to dissolve. Before I knew it, not only was I running 20 miles a week, but I was happy.... truly happy!
I did a couple of half marathons and handful of smaller races, I raised some money for cancer research, and in the midst of it all, I realized that I am still an athlete and competitor. Now, don't get the wrong idea... I am an athlete only in the sense that I like to enter races, but I'm not "RACING"! I'm not trying to be first, or even to not be last, I'm just trying to finish. You won't hear me boasting about my times because they'd leave most people snickering. But, snicker what you may, they're my times and I'm proud that I have times! You have to race and finish in order to get any time all!
I recently caught word about the Santa Cruz Triathlon Association (SCTA) and a program they're offering called "Nu2Tri". This program is a 4 month professionally lead series of trainings and instruction that is designed for the first-time triathlete. I paid my entry fee, and am now on my way to completing my first triathlon... yes, that's one race in which I will swim, bike, and run!
The reason why I started running was simple enough, but why tri? Well, why not? Running filled me with a new attitude that I should at least try out any activity that crosses my path. I'll never know if I can do something unless I give it a shot. Plus, it sounds like a nice change of pace, a way to broaden my physical ability without getting too bored. Running is wonderful, but it can definitely wear on you when you're carrying around the extra weight. So for this season, I'll be able to mix up my workouts, and get myself in shape to compete in 3 different events.
For the next 4-5 months, I'm going to find out what it takes for a seemingly new athlete to prepare for a triathlon for the first time. I figure, if I'm going to willingly skip out on a summer filled with margaritas and lazy weekends, then I better write it down!!!
I knew that running would be hard, but I didn't expect all the many side effects of spending my nights running instead of lazing around the house. I faced a lot of personal insecurities, literally battling old demons on the road that had remained quiet for a number of years. The most interesting thing about facing them, is that they then seemed to dissolve. Before I knew it, not only was I running 20 miles a week, but I was happy.... truly happy!
I did a couple of half marathons and handful of smaller races, I raised some money for cancer research, and in the midst of it all, I realized that I am still an athlete and competitor. Now, don't get the wrong idea... I am an athlete only in the sense that I like to enter races, but I'm not "RACING"! I'm not trying to be first, or even to not be last, I'm just trying to finish. You won't hear me boasting about my times because they'd leave most people snickering. But, snicker what you may, they're my times and I'm proud that I have times! You have to race and finish in order to get any time all!
I recently caught word about the Santa Cruz Triathlon Association (SCTA) and a program they're offering called "Nu2Tri". This program is a 4 month professionally lead series of trainings and instruction that is designed for the first-time triathlete. I paid my entry fee, and am now on my way to completing my first triathlon... yes, that's one race in which I will swim, bike, and run!
The reason why I started running was simple enough, but why tri? Well, why not? Running filled me with a new attitude that I should at least try out any activity that crosses my path. I'll never know if I can do something unless I give it a shot. Plus, it sounds like a nice change of pace, a way to broaden my physical ability without getting too bored. Running is wonderful, but it can definitely wear on you when you're carrying around the extra weight. So for this season, I'll be able to mix up my workouts, and get myself in shape to compete in 3 different events.
For the next 4-5 months, I'm going to find out what it takes for a seemingly new athlete to prepare for a triathlon for the first time. I figure, if I'm going to willingly skip out on a summer filled with margaritas and lazy weekends, then I better write it down!!!
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