Sammy Seeking New Limits

Marine Corps Marathon

2011-10-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

I owe you guys a race report! ...Or two. And maybe a mountain climbing report. I will get to those posts eventually :)

Yesterday I completed my first (and maybe only) marathon. I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC with TNT (official time- 5:49:31, but minus the LONG WAIT for a bathroom break at mile 12, like 5:37). I am so glad I chose this one as my first marathon as the support was AMAZING. There were all kinds of bands- rock bands, a bluegrass band, a bunch of marching bands, and countless spectators who cheered the whole time. There were only a few desolate/lonely places along the 26.2 mile route and those parts were rough. I can't imagine doing a whole marathon along a lonely route. But more on that later.

What went right:

- I ate enough breakfast to not be starving at any point during the race. Cause I HATE THAT.

- I hydrated enough, too. I only felt thirsty (and had no water) around mile 21.

- I picked the right gear and was warm enough during the race. This race was on the coldest morning we've had this fall (by far), so I was kind of clueless as to what I should wear- since they always say NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!! and our long runs had always been on days where temps were in the 70's. My race day attire was more like- EVERYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!

What went wrong:

- I maybe ate too much. I had 2 Clif bars and a banana. For the first 12 miles I felt sort of heavy and almost bloated or something. I need to figure out a better breakfast- I had done the 2 Clif bars before my 20 miler a few weeks ago and that time it worked out fine.

-Maybe I should have done a longer long-run. My longest was 20 according to our TNT training schedule and those last 6 were really a killer. I wish I had done 22 or 24.

- My Garmin. Battery died around mile 8. This wouldn't have been THAT big of a deal except that I had worked out a perfect run/walk ratio (4:1) and had certain goals that I wanted to meet to complete the race in a time I'd be happy with (10 miles by 1:50-2:00, 20 miles around 4:00, etc.). Saturday night, I was certain that the Garmin had been sitting on the charger on my computer since my last run on Thursday. Before bed on Saturday, I thought, "I better go get my Garmin and set it out with my race gear so I don't forget it." But I reassured myself that SURELY I would NEVER, EVER forget my precious Garmin!! So I went to bed with worries about the Garmin haunting me all night. Turns out those worries and bad feelings were there for a reason. I should have gone in to get it, because I would have seen that it wasn't on the charger, and I would've plugged it into a wall outlet to charge all night. I hadn't hooked it up to charge on my computer on Thursday because I thought "I don't want to leave it there, then unplug it and have it sit for days and then have to charge it again. I'll just plug it in on Saturday." And I forgot. HUGE FAIL.

Race Report-
Sunday the 30th of October was our coldest morning this fall, by far. The day before the race it WAS SNOWING which is UNHEARD OF for here in October. I really bundled up (and planned to shed various layers- the clothing that is shed along the race route is gathered up and cleaned and donated to charity). The forecast said it would be around 32º all morning and maybe hit 45º in the afternoon. For this race I got myself a new Under Armour shirt (this one!) that has a fuzzy lining on the inside, then put on my TNT shirt, then my hydration belt, and a coat that I had planned on donating anyway. On the bottom I had 2 pairs of socks, cold-weather running tights and a crappy pair of generic black exercise pants over those (which I also planned to shed (but never did)). Also a fleece hat, TNT neon green visor, and fleece gloves. I tied a fleece around my waist in case I hit some chilly parts of the course after shedding my coat.

We got to the Pentagon around 7:00am and started making our way to the corrals. I made it into my corral (5:00-5:29) about 10 minutes before the race started. It was so. so. so. cold. There were SO many people lined up that it took me a good 15-20 minutes just to cross the start line!!

Around .5 miles I shed the coat, and still felt a little cold in the wind, but was plenty warm under my new shirt. At mile 1, I stepped off to the side of the road and shed my extra pair of socks (adding another couple of minutes to my time!! D'oh!).

I knew early in the course there would be 2-3 hills, which intimidated me a little. Turns out they were really nothing. One was sort of long, so I took a scheduled walk break-my Garmin was still working at that point and I had skipped several walk breaks already.

Since I knew I wasn't going to finish in 4 hours or anything, I decided to treat this race as more of an experience than a race (especially after the Garmin crapped out!!). I would have loved to finish in a time I was proud of, but I also wanted to make sure I enjoyed myself. So I tried to keep up with my walk-breaks even when I didn't feel like I needed them. I made sure to high-5 everyone and anyone along the course who was standing with their hands out. Other people around me did the same- it was super fun and kept me smiling through most of the race :)

I think it was around mile 13 or 14 that I got to see a proposal! I heard some people scream and cheer sort of randomly, and as I approached the screaming I saw all these people standing around with cameras. I realized one of the guys I had been pacing with on Team Malaria No More was down on one knee with a very surprised looking girl standing in front of him holding his hand. I guess she said yes because I heard a bunch more screaming and cheering just a few seconds later!

I didn't start hurting much until about mile 16. I've had plantar-fasciitis issues for about a year now, so my feet had been hurting since literally my first step out of bed in the morning (just like every morning). But they reached a plateau around mile 4 where there was a solid constant pain that wasn't getting any worse, so it was easy to deal since I've gotten used to that. What I wasn't counting on was my knees hurting so early on- I haven't had issues with them in forever! Walking didn't alleviate that pain at all, so I was able to keep running as much as possible. I did keep factoring in some walk breaks because I had learned a while ago that doing so makes me feel a whole lot better after a long run. I kept hoping to see someone handing out salt packets somewhere since I forgot to bring some, but no such luck :(

I reached the infamous "Beat the Bridge" mile 20 and was feeling sluggish- but at the beginning of the bridge was a really fun band with high energy who had on cool outfits and were dancing around and cheering. They really gave me the boost I needed, plus I was excited about the whole mystique behind beating the bridge anyway- and passing mile 20 was a great feeling since thus far my longest run was 20 miles. I had so much energy!..... for the next half a mile.

Then things became empty and desolate. That bridge is a helluva long way. No scenery. No spectators. No bands. Nuthin'. Just concrete and more concrete. Cars driving by on the other side honked once in a while but that was it. By now most of the people around me were doing a lot more walking than running and I found myself falling into the same pattern around mile 21.

That must have been "the wall" for me. Not only did my feet hurt (expected) and my knees, (unexpected), but my hips were REALLY hurting. I could feel them sort of popping when I ran, yuck. They were the one part of me that felt noticeably better with walking, which is why I started doing more of it, unfortunately.

At that same point, I started to feel a little dizzy when I looked around. I had a gel I wanted to take (by then I had emptied my gel flask, which had 3 honey-stinger gels in it plus honey plus a couple teaspoons of water to make drinking it easier), but no more water, and I knew there wouldn't be water until mile 22. I got some clementines out of my belt and took a walk break to eat them. Of course afterward I had to walk some more since I kept getting stomach pains after eating. But they were just what I needed- I had a little more energy and didn't feel dizzy or thirsty and finally made my way to mile 22 where I replenished my water bottle with some Gatorade.

Miles 22-25 throughout Crystal City were very, very cold. Just before mile 23, I met up with a couple of TNT girls from New Jersey who were walking and I decided to walk with them a bit. It turns out one of the girls had injured her calf around mile 7 and had been walking since about mile 10. She really, really looked devastated. I felt so bad for her. As we talked it became evident that she had a goal in mind and wasn't going to come close to making it, and she looked close to tears. I tried to offer up that she's still going to have a better time than a lot of people who aren't injured (like me, since I'm sure she passed the start line long before I did due to her placement in the corrals with what sounded like an ambitious goal in mind). I doubt it made her feel better, but it was all I had to offer :( I walked with them some more to make small-talk and try to take her mind off the race (and her disappointment). I doubt that worked either.

At mile 24 I was feeling pretty good (after all that walking I guess) and wished them a good race and decided to start running again. I took a couple of breaks but the running didn't feel too bad at that point. I knew I was almost done. As I was going over another bridge, a man came up and tapped me on the shoulder. He said, "I just want you to know that I was just diagnosed with Myeloma. What you're doing today could be saving MY life. So thank you." I almost cried, but he quickly ran on past and I saw him go up to another girl in TNT purple to likely tell her the same thing. That was pretty awesome.

As I came around one bend, some people on an overpass were announcing that the white tower up ahead was the 26 mile marker, which was super exciting. I was walking at that point and thought I'd run again at mile 26, but since the mile marker was within sight, I decided to start running then and finish it out.

As I approached mile 26, a random TNT coach came up beside me and ran with me. It turns out he was the coach of the two girls I had been walking with from NJ. He ran with me (and went just a little faster than I had been going... which was nice since I wanted to keep up with him!) and as we passed the 26 mile marker, he said "The finish line is just up that hill, and you'll go around that corner and see it. I expect you to kick it up into a higher gear once you get around the corner and finish strong." I told him I'd do my very best and thanked him for running with me.

As soon as he split off, I started sprinting. I ran as hard as I could. At this point I had fully expected to have NO energy for a strong finish, especially up a (small) hill, but I knew I was almost done and I wanted to give it everything I had. It felt kind of cool since in the last 0.1 mile of the race, most people around me were walking or shuffling along- so compared to that I felt like I was flying :) I am obviously not used to passing people. I heard my husband and his sister cheering for me, and I turned and saw them and waved, then finished the race feeling both awesome and awful (soooo much pain!).

It was extremely humbling after the race to have a Marine place a medal around my neck. I felt weird about that, thinking, "these guys are the ones who deserve the medals and attention, and here they are putting medals on us just for being here and running...." Plus this guy looked about 7' tall, and I am maybe 5'4" with running shoes on, which made me feel even more leettle.

The enthusiasm from the crowds really REALLY made a huge difference (for me) in my morale throughout the whole thing. Just when I'd start to feel crappy, I'd see a funny or relevant sign. At mile 17 there was one that said "Pain is temporary, 26.2 is forever"- I saw that one at the exact time that I needed it! I ran over to the lady holding it up and told her the sign was perfect! There were also a few bag-pipers out there and I loved hearing that as well. There were folks with speakers and loud music playing, and lots of bands. All the different bands were so awesome. I especially enjoyed the marching bands, and the Schoolhouse Rock kids really impressed me, too. Can you imagine getting up super early and setting up all your equipment IN THE FREEZING COLD by 7:00am and standing there singing/playing just for the benefit of people running past?

I was so miserable with foot pain during this training that I was positive this would be my only marathon. But now I've ordered some custom orthotics, which I've heard will help IMMENSELY and should completely take care of the plantar-fasciitis issues. I sure hope so because I feared I would have to give up running altogether after this race, or at least for a few months, if I wanted my feet to get better at all. The orthotics are guaranteed to help within 2 weeks of getting them.

And then I thought, who knows, maybe next June or July, I will train for another one and try to earn a better time- one that I can really be proud of. On the other hand though...... who cares? I'll care about my time for probably another week, and then be like,
"Wha-eva!! I finished a damn marathon!"

Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run Race Report

2011-04-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

"I did the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run and all I got was this teeny tiny crappy picture."

Just kidding, sort of. I had hoped to get to see a Finish Photo, it even conveniently says "PROOF" on it, like, HERE'S PROOF I ACTUALLY FINISHED THIS THING. But all I got was a few shots of me in the background of others' photos, and I really had to hunt for them.
Put my internets-stalking-skillz to good use at least.
Yeah I stalked myself...... what of it?

Oh right. There is a race to be written about. To heyll with the paparazzi.

Overall thoughts on the race: SOOOO CROWDED. So my time totally sucked. Kind of a bummer. It was still cool to be a part of this bigass race though, and get to run all around our nation's capital and all that good stuff. Even though I grew up in this area, I didn't get to the capital all the time or anything, but obviously got to see it probably more than most people. I STILL get excited to see the Monument, Capitol, White House, and all the cool buildings.

Oh right, the race, the race.

Um, as you can see, other than seeing cool sites, I guess there wasn't a lot to write about the race. I got 'er done! My time (including a 5 min bathroom break) was 1:46:33. My goal time had been 1:35 (I had done a similar course 2 weeks before the race and completed my 10 miles in 1:38).

The disappointing part was that due to the huge crowds, the lines at the potties WERE HUGE and I missed my wave start. I started in a wave slower than mine and my time suffered greatly as a result. At the first mile I looked down at my Garmin and it said something like 11:01. Ridiculous. I threw my goal time of 1:35 straight out the window, or threw it into the outhouse toilet, which applies more accurately in this case.

I don't remember what my time was at 5 miles, but I remember thinking "I'm halfway done with this bitch and I'm not even tired." Like, not even a little out of breath. The pace was just SO slow all around me. Even when I would get a chance to surge forward, I would get stuck behind someone slow-going immediately after.

Around mile 8.5 I got pretty darn tired, I think because I'm used to running at a relatively steady pace, but during the first 7 miles of the race I kept having to surge forward, pass, slow down, pass, weave, etc. I'm not really used to all of that. It might be good to practice more of that before my half in June.

That's about it!

Oh... I signed up with TNT again! My husband and I are doing the Marine Corps Marathon together in October. Very excited! I figured since I am doing a half in June, might as well finish what I started and do a full too, right?
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/corps11/sgallagm0a

First 8 Mile Run...

2011-02-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

I suppose at this point I'm well into my training for Cherry Blossom (10 mile run, April 3.). I've been trying to run 3x a week; one of those being a long run. Each week I try to add 1/2 mile to my long run, will get up to 10.5 miles, then do some sort of taper before the race. I've got a couple of extra weeks to play around with in case some of the long runs don't go as planned.

For example- last week I attempted to do an 8 mile run but construction and re-routing along my path all kinds of messed up my route and it only ended up being 7.3 miles... which was fine because my knee was back to hurting again. I had to limp a lot the last mile home.

I took 3 or 4 days off running before attempting my 8 mile run a 2nd time.

I also made a whole bunch of changes to my plan.
- I planned a different route. This seems to help me immensely when I've got a new distance goal, it keeps things a lot more interesting. I hate running the same route over and over and over. This new route would also avoid the construction.
- I decided I'd stop and stretch my hamstrings/calves after every mile to hopefully help with the knee pain.

- A friend and I had been discussing nutrition recently- she's doing the half marathon with me in June. Up until now I wasn't sure if I'd really NEED nutrition for the 10 mile race- I'm hoping to be finished in about 1:40, give or take 10 minutes. That's not long to go without food. But if I don't eat, I'm probably going to at least want to DRINK something. Not just water, some kind of sports drink. I thought about my previous attempt at an 8 mile run and how awful I felt toward the end, not just the knee pain, but during my long runs I always seem to fall apart at the end. I figured some fuel couldn't hurt and may even help with my end-of-run suckage, so I grabbed a big handful of gummy bears and threw them into a baggie to bring with me.
- I added in a half-mile cool down at the end. Instead of my "finish line" being at my street, my finish line would be at 8 miles, which I planned to finish half a mile from home. Depending on how I felt, I could either walk or jog that last half mile... but it's the part of my route that I ALWAYS dread the most, and I'm not sure why because it's the most beautiful part of the run. I just always feel crappy and I think most of it is slightly uphill, plus there are a couple little tiny hills that I hate, too.

My changes brought me great success! High five!
I think stretching every mile was overkill, so that part I'll leave out.
I did have an epiphany while I was running. After the first mile my knee was already hurting and I was pissed. I stopped to stretch it, ran my 2nd mile, did the same, ran a 3rd mile and nothing was helping. I had been intentionally taking it slower than normal, trying to pace myself- the Free E-Training plan says to go at something like 60 seconds slower (per mile) than your 10k pace during your long runs. That puts me around 10:55 or more, but I was shooting for around 10:40 miles. I guess if I start off slow I'll stay consistent and not slow down at the end?... well, whatever.

After 3 miles of knee-hell I realized that stopping to stretch was a period of rest, so I could push myself faster each mile and even if I was tired, stopping to stretch would give me enough rest to do another mile a little faster than my normal long-run pace. Screw the training plan.

I ran my 4th mile at 9:40 and felt significantly less pain in my knee.
The 5th mile was 9:37 and no pain at all.
From there I did slow down some, not intentionally, guess I just got tired. But I never slowed back down to my original 10:40 pace and also had no more knee pain during the rest of my run.
Go figure!

I took time to eat a few gummy bears while I stretched at miles 3-6. I worried that they would give me side-cramps since I'm not used to eating and running, but that didn't happen at all. In fact, I had a slight side-cramp for the first few miles and eating some gummy bears seemed to HELP it!

Apparently they gave me a boost, because I felt strong and confident right up to the 8 mile mark. It was a beautiful day, just perfect outside, and my legs were pretty sore so I decided to take that whole 1/2 mile cool down and just walk home. Enjoy the weather, stop and stretch, etc. Instead of dreading that last 1/2 mile, I found myself looking forward to it... like a reward.

I think before my next long run I'll try to find some Clif shot-bloks and bring those with me- preferably the margarita flavor since it's not only amazing but has salt, too. I'll also have learn to drink during the run, so better start practicing that, too.

2011 is here!!

2011-01-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

And OMC is the shit!

Today I ran a 5k to kick off the new year. I beat my previous 5k (29:59) time by 46 seconds (29:13) which made me happy! (Edit: Extra happy, official time was 29:11, hehe.)
I don't know what I was expecting. I sort of wasn't expecting anything. I used my new Garmin and figured out how to make it give me my mile splits which was cool.

I kept glancing at it and seeing paces around 9:12 or 8:54 and a couple of times 8:30, so I actually thought it might be possible for me to PR today. BUT, that last tenth of a mile (for me) adds a whole minute to the time that I never even consider. I know that's dumb. I'm running, thinking "If I can keep up a 9 minute mile or so, I'll have this in 27:XX." Uhhhh, no ya won't. Because even at a 9:00 mile, you're still doing 1/10th of a mile in over 50 seconds- which MIGHT AS WELL BE a minute!

It was a fun little race, very informal. It only cost $5 to participate (all we got was our timing chip and a number which was irrelevant) and it started at noon. It was also on the way to my friend's house whose cat I'm taking care of while she's away for the holidays, so it seemed logical to take the Metro and combine the two activities. Plus, the weather was PERFECT. 50, cloudy, no wind.

I met a super nice girl right off the metro who came over to the map I was looking at and trying to find the start of the race. We walked there together and talked until we got there, then the stretching commenced and I took off to do a little warming up. I was SO glad that I did because as I ran just the very beginning of the course, I knew (mainly mentally) what I'd be in for at the end. The first 10th of a mile or so is allllll down a somewhat steep ramp of a pedestrian overpass. Which means... you guessed it, the LAST 10th of a mile- the very very end of the race when you're all tired- is right back up that steep twisty turny ramp! It was a good place to warm up and mentally pep-talk myself into NOT walking or being 'too tired' when I got to it at the end, but knowing how it would feel to run up it and finish strong. And when I finished the race, I re-played my warm-up run in my head and was able to keep pushing all the way up to the top, just like I had hoped.

I did laugh when I got back on the metro and checked my Garmin to see my mile splits. I was a little faster than I thought I would be, averaging about a 9:15 pace (DON'T LAUGH THAT'S FAST FOR ME DAMNIT) but the last split, just that last little 10th of a mile, up the ramp, pace went up to 10:33. HahahHahahA!

Anyway since the race was called "Predictions and Resolutions 5k" I thought a lot about that while I was running. I don't believe in so-called "New Year's" resolutions but I always believe in becoming a better person. Of course during race time I was focused on becoming a better athlete.
So,

I Predict that I'll keep up with my running and be in good shape (meaning I won't die) for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and the half in June. Even if I have to walk a little, I don't think I'll have to walk any significant distance.
I Resolve to make more of an effort to get to my gym- for class, weight training, swimming, whatever. Half the reason I don't go is because I'm not familiar with the place and get lost cause it's huge and feel like a dork and yes I would like some cheese with my whine. Well dumbass, you're not going to get familiar with the place IF YOU DON'T GO! Right!! I figure even though it will be hella crowded this time of year with the New Years Resolutions people who will drop out after February 17 because they'll get a shitload of Valentine's Day candy and eat it all while they watch The Biggest Loser and decide it's a lost cause, I can blend right in with those n00bs and not feel like AS much of a nerd at least. Dorkery loves company!
I Predict that I'll get bored of my usual running routes since I have total ADD and could never stay on a treadmill, much less run the same route over and over, and get hopelessly lost at least once or twice and get pissy and call my husband for a ride home. Or a cab = less embarrassing. And therefore,
I Resolve to make cue sheets for myself when plotting a new complicated route. I did that a week ago and it actually worked out well, only took one wrong turn and that was because the road made a sharp right and changed names or something ridiculous like that.
I Predict that since I cleaned out the basement yesterday (YAAY!), I'll set the trainer up soon and try to do some sessions on there.
I Also Predict that I will get bored of that after 10 minutes. Thus,
I Resolve to put a TV or at least the teeny portable DVD player somewhere downstairs to alleviate some of said boredom.
I Predict that my cute new athletic swimmin' bikinis will arrive in the mail next week and I'll be all OMGWTFICAN'TWAITTOGOSWIMMIIIINNNNNNG! and will go to the gym to try out their pool for the very first time, and get in and go OMGIT'SCOLDIT'SCOLDIT'SCOLD and still try to swim anyway and have 0 endurance and gasp and flail and say "Bleh this suuuhhh-HUCKS" and be done in 20 minutes. 30 minutes tops.
I Resolve to not completely blow off swimming this year. I haven't been in a pool since August. I also haven't signed up for any tri's this year due to travel plans this summer and no idea when stuff will be happening, but I KNOW it's very VERY valuable cross training and will help me with my running. And I have a lot of running I'd like to do!! And if I do stick with the swimming, who knows, maybe I will be confident enough to end up doing another tri this year.

Santa visted me....

2010-12-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

Sammy must've been a good girl this year (I guess from raising all those moneys for charities and whatnot). At least it seems like Santa thought so because he brought me lots of new goodies to encourage me to do even more races next year.

So far I've only signed up for two and both are running events: The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in April (it was a lottery and yours truly made it in!) and the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon in June- thanks to my friend Lisa. I'm hoping the Cherry Blossom run will get me well on my way to being prepared for the half.

Ohhh! Anyway. So I've got these new goodies and I'll have to post reviews about them in the coming weeks/months as I use them. Here they are, in no particular order:

YAKTRAX-PRO!!

In case I haven't made it apparent... I will take outdoor running pretty much any day, in any given weather (I live in DC; it's generally pretty mild) over running on a treadmill. The temptation to hit that big red STOP! button is simply too high and there are so many fun other things to do (and see) at the gym. But if I'm outside doing an out-and-back or loop run, I've got to make my own way back home somehow. Doing that when there were a few inches of snow on the ground in Harrisburg proved that I'm an even bigger klutz than I could've ever imagined and need all the help I can get in the coordination department. That's where these come in! Hopefully now when I'm running on half-ass-plowed-snowy roads I won't feel the need to pussyfoot around at breakneck (literally??) 14 min/mile pace.

Runner's World RUN LESS RUN FASTER:

While there is an entire section of this book dedicated to qualifying for the Boston Marathon . (and to it, I say, BWAhAhAhAhAHAHAHAHAhAhAhaAAAA!!!!) I already finished reading this last night before heading off to sleep. The gist of this training program is 3 QUALITY runs per week plus 2 cross-training days (so... we meet again, tri-training). And here I was thinking I wouldn't be able to convince myself to get back into the pool.... now this book is telling me that if I do at least two non-weight-bearing activities a week I'll gain the speed I'm looking for. Their top picks for these activities include rowing, biking, and swimming.
I was a little sad when looking at the charts for my 3 quality runs (for the most part they are based on your 5k time) and finding 30:00 at the. very. bottom. of the chart.... But you've gotta start somewhere.

I'm thinking about running a 5k on Jan 1 to get an accurate recent time.
(Ok really I'm hoping that the base I've been trying to build has gotten me down to a sub 30 5k. We'll see.)

GARMIN 305 FORERUNNER WITH HEART RATE MONITOR:

My husband surprised me on this one by recommending it to his family as a Christmas gift for me. I had added it to my Amazon.com wishlist, but I kind of doubt he ever saw that. Anyway after reading a bunch of reviews, it seemed like most people consistently really liked this one and it was affordable, which is why I added it to my favorites and must have been why he picked it, too. I'm hoping to put an end to my constant clicking around on Google Pedometer to plan out routes or re-trace where I've been upon returning home from a run. And since this has a heart-rate-monitor, I guess I'll be learning how to train using that information, too. Fun!! I plan to take it out for a test-run later this afternoon.

BIKE BOOTIES (OR BEWTIES):

I have been wanting a pair of these since the Central PA TNT cycling coach showed them to us in a bike workshop last spring. What a great idea! Bike shoes have so little padding and my feet were always freezing in them when riding in temps of less than 60 degrees. I'll be using the trainer for the next month or two but hope to get outdoors once we find a good place to ride, and I look forward to having warm feet when we do!

AXIOM USB Rechargeable LED BIKE LIGHTS:

My awesome sister-in-law picked these out for me since my husband's family does a sibling secret-santa-gift-exchange since there are 6 kids in his family. I've been wanting a set of these (I have both the white front light and the red-rear light) ever since thinking I was going to die after LIVESTRONG when I crashed in the pouring rain. My husband has bike safety lights and I thought they were nice but unnecessary for me since I don't ever plan on riding at night cause I'm a huge scaredy and this teeny-tiny-personnel.

But on those long summer rides you just can't plan for everything, and these lights are every bit as useful in the rain as they are in the dark. I look forward to actually being seen by drivers next time I'm stupidly riding on a road with no shoulder and too many cars flying by at high speed in the pouring rain.

Oh wait, didn't I say I was never, ever doing something that stupid again?
Nevertheless, being seen is always good, these lights will definitely help with that! :)

Hmmm, if there is anything I'm forgetting, I'll have to post a review after I use it.

Since I also got some cash moneys for Christmas, I treated myself to a couple of athletic bikinis from athleta.com. They have free shipping when you spend over $50 and right now they're doing 20% off everything with promo-code WINTER20. So I got two bikinis for $68, pretty good deal! And even though the items I bought were on clearance, if they don't fit I can still return or exchange them for free! Not many companies will let you do that with sale items!! :)

Mental Notes on Layering...

2010-12-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

A list to remind myself, since every single winter I go through this....
I look outside and see the temperature and take a guess at what I should be wearing and almost ALWAYS over-dress!!
So these are just notes to me from me.

*If it's over 70 and not some weird day with a random cold wind, just go in shorts and a sports bra. You get hot like a mofo in anything more, although when you first step outside you will second guess this choice.

*Under 70, tank or tee shirt and shorts. Easy peasy.

* If it's around 50, thin long sleeves or even a t-shirt on a sunny day is fine. Light pants or shorts will work.

* If it's just below 50, long sleeves or a very light fleece and probably pants.

* If it's closer to 40 and sunny, pants are preferable- depending on sun/wind/etc. Light fleece is enough. No heavy fleece! It gets much too hot. You will sweat your ass off! (Actually your ass will be cold but that might be the only part that stays cold.) Fleece gloves optional.

* If it's 40 and rainy as hell but not too windy (that's how it was today and what sparked me to write this), water-proof athletic pants, waterproof jacket, light shirt underneath that... NOT a heavy fleece! And just one pair of socks, not two, since once they get wet you might as well not be wearing any. An ear warmer is nice paired with a running hat, but your head will probably get too warm. Fleece gloves may help but eventually your hands will be all wet and get hot, the gloves will end up coming off.

* If it's 35-40 and sunny but very windy, a t-shirt under a heavier fleece, or under armour cold gear and warm pants is good: Running tights or the athletic pants. DO NOT layer running tights with your athletic pants, silly, or your cold gear with a fleece-- much too much and overkill. You. Will. Be. Damn. Hot. And. Pissed. About. It. Use your ear warmer and some fleece gloves and probably a scarf.... to blow your nose in.

* If it's below 35 it will feel chilly but NOT THAT chilly. Don't you remember anything from all that winter running in Harrisburg? Two winters?? You can't tell the difference between 20 and 30. So be bundled but don't go crazy with it. Depending on wind and other factors you can layer your pants, use your under armour cold gear and a fleece on top. Hat and/or ear warmer and gloves, of course. If you need a nose blowing garment.... you know the drill.

I haven't run in temps below 20 so once I figure that out I'll update this little note to myself to let me know how much I need to put on!

Uh oh.

2010-12-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

WHAT,
just...
WHAT
have I gotten myself up into?
Last week I signed up for the inaugural Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon.

I *also* signed up for the lottery to run the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run here in DC. Yeah, that's right- if you 'win' the lottery, you 'get' to run 10 miles. Uh huh. I can't really remember how I got talked into that, but I've run 6 miles before, so what's another 4? I've got a few months to prepare (Cherry Blossom is April 3rd). I signed up for the half so if I don't get picked for Cherry Blossom, I have at least one long race to train for.

I haven't signed up for any tri's because I haven't been in a pool since August. And can't muster up any motivation to get back into the water. And can't stop feeling like a loser every time my husband does something in half the time it takes me to do it. Talk about frustrating.

I'm trying a new running schedule where I'm doing 4 miles every other day (I've been sticking up to it up until today) and once a week going a little more, like 5 or 6 miles. Instead of continuing with speedwork, since my shins were not all that happy about doing that AND ONLY THAT 3 times a week, I decided to just take it easy and build up a nice base. At this point I'll just be happy to finish the 10 mile run and/or the half (13.1 miles).

I was supposed to go running today but unfortunately I think I'll stay home and continue nursing this hangover. Which sucks because tomorrow it's supposed to rain all day, ew.

Ogling girls at the gym

2010-12-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

Guilty as charged.

Going from biking 70+ miles a week to.. uh, 0, has really taken a very negative toll on me.
Welcome back to Skinny-Fat!

I hit the gym tonight for my first REAL workout, even though I've been a member for 2 months. I'm intimidated by the unfamiliarity of the place, the 'trainer' I saw when I first joined made me feel like a dumbass/waste of time like I was hopeless beyond all help, and, shit, the parking garage/entire building for that matter is CONFUSING AS HELL.

But there I was doing my workout..... and........ all around me were these REALLY fit and very pretty chicks. Damn. I tried not to stare (it must really suck to be a dude at the gym), but man it would be nice to look that good. I was trying to see what kinds of exercises they were doing. One was doing yoga, one was doing some exercises with weights, and another was using some piece of equipment I see all the time on The Biggest Loser, like a half-ball thing with a flat side on it... I have no idea.

And even though they were all working out solo, it made me really wish I had a workout partner..... preferably ONE OF THEM! I thought, those girls really look like they know what they're doing! I'd sure as hell love to train with them!

*Sigh*
Oh well.

Rockin Holmes Run

2010-11-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

Or, rockin' the plastic like a man from the Catskillz.

Ok, notsomuch.

I finally FINALLY successfully completed one of the workouts from week 4 of the couch-5k plan with my new goal pace time. I felt like it was going to KILL me though...
today I did:

3 mins @ goal pace

Walk 1 min 30 sec

5 mins @ goal pace

Walk 2 minutes

I just realized that according to the couch-5k that 2nd walk recovery interval was supposed to be 2 and a half minutes.... oh well, whhhhhhatever. I guess doing the workout with less recovery time is a good thing, right?

I attempted this workout at least one other time, maybe twice, and failed miserably. Sore shins, frustration at the hills in my 'hood, etc. One of my best friends who I've known since we were 10 told me "Even if you can't hit your goal pace, keep running those hills. Keep trying to hit your goal pace on them. They'll make you stronger and when you get to a race that's flat, you'll be even faster!" Easier said than done, right? But I kept that in mind today and forced myself to do 2/3 of my workout in my neighborhood and then hit the local running path for the last couple of intervals.

I got home and my husband asked how the run went. I said ok- I had marked some places on Google Pedometer measuring .625 mi (how far I should be going in 5 minutes) and the first one I did in 4:47, the 2nd one took me 5:08. Who knows how the hills factored into all of that. I told him those 5 minute intervals are just about killing me though- it's all I can do to finish that 5 minutes at that pace.

He said "If you're working hard, that's probably a good thing. You're going from, what, a 9 minute mile to an 8 minute mile?"
"More like a 10."
"A 10 minute mile to an 8 minute mile? We talked about that before; that's a significant jump. The workouts should be hard!"

He's got a point, and it's not like I'm under some time crunch here. I'll keep plugging along, going up and down the little hills in my neighborhood, and I'll keep repeating this workout until the 5 minute intervals aren't necessarily easy, but hopefully in the next workout or two I'll look forward to being able to do them with confidence rather than wondering each time "am I going to be able to keep this pace for that long????"

Finding a Balance

2010-11-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

So far the couch-5k seems to be working well for my speed training!
I'm really having a blast with it and look forward to each workout since it helps me set actual achievable goals (they are hard though!).

The last two workouts I've done, I decided to go from 30-35 minutes to 40-45. I have (or h ad) a decent running base of 6 miles, so why am I working on doing only 3? I know that for a 10k I'll have a slower pace than a 5k, and my goal was a 24:xx 5k, so that's what I should be working on. And although at the end of my intervals I'm tired, at the end of my workouts I haven't been.

I changed up the recovery intervals a little too. My coach suggested that for speed work, your recovery interval should be half the amount of time as the speed interval. Obviously he knows what he's talking about, *but* I also know that I've done the couch-5k plan before and it worked. I have faith.
So I combined my coach's advice with the plan, a little any way. Instead of doing this:

on Day 1 I did the workout as laid out here but with 90 second recovery after both the 90 second and 3:00 speed intervals. 3 minutes of recovery seems crazy to me, even with the longer intervals.

On Day 2 (yesterday, World Run Day!) I kept my recovery intervals at 90 seconds but instead of doing 90 second and 3:00 running intervals, I alternated between 2:00 and 3:00. Why? Cause those 3 minute speedy runs were HAAAAAARD! (I know they're supposed to be.) But the 90 second ones were almost too easy and seemed... well... silly. By the time my 43 minutes were done, I was VERY tired, but in a good way. I did a couple measured-distance intervals, too, to make sure my pace is still on target and so far, so good.

Tomorrow will be my last day of week 3 and then it's onto week 4.... when I'll go up to a 5 minute interval. Just need to get past the mental block because right now, since 3 is kind of a struggle, I'm wondering how I'm going to be able to almost double that.

What will really excite me about that week is that 5 minutes used to mean half a mile... but when I start the new workout I'll (hopefully) be doing a half mile in just 4 minutes :)

Somethin' brand new for dat ass

2010-10-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why Coolio popped into my head while I was trying to think up a title.

From all the Bud Light with Lime?

Well anyway.

I've done two of the Week 2 C2-5k workouts, staying pretty much on schedule (3 hour drive yesterday + dentist appt + work + family who eats dinner HELLA early meant no run on Thursday). These were intervals consisting of: run 90 seconds, walk 2:00, repeat for 20 minutes (I've been doing 30 or 35).

Tuesday I used my pre-measured .125 distances for the first 60 of my 90 second intervals and then kept up that same effort for another 30 seconds.
Today I used the treadmill at my mom's house because it was windy and just plain weird outside. It was reassuring to enter 7.4 MPH for my running intervals and see "Pace: 8:06," especially since at the end of the intervals I didn't feel like I was absolutely going to DIE or anything.

Plus their treadmill is unlike any other in that I don't get tired of being on it. It has fans built in and one-touch-speed-control. You hit a button and it bumps up to whatever MPH you want. LOVE it. I might have to look for one.

So for the 3rd workout in week 2 (Sunday) I think I might extend my running intervals, at least a couple of them, to two minutes. Because I'm a planner like that.

Next week (so, Tuesday if I stay on schedule) here's the new workout I'll be doeeeng:

Fun! I'll no doubt do 3 repetitions of it instead of two.

I love when the Couch-5k goes into intervals of several minutes or more because I can start picking out songs to run to, since it's pretty easy to find songs that are at least 3 minutes.

I guess 400 yards is about the same as 1/4 mile? (According to week 4 it is; see the next picture below.)

And even more exciting, the following week is:

Look, actual measurable distances.

I also need to work on squeezing in some distance runs somewhere in my schedule, too- my hip flexors are always so sore after speed work though.

Yay! Success :)

2010-10-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yaaay! Today I completed my first speed workout that I can measurably call a success! I was going to do a speed workout yesterday but my husband took me to the Smithsonian for my birthday, so I nixed my running plan.

Today was my 3rd day of week 1 workouts of the couch-5k running plan- this has me doing intervals of running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds. If my goal is to run an 8 minute mile I should be running 1/8th of a mile (0.125) in that 60 seconds then, n'est ce pas?

So before I went out today, I used Google Pedometer to measure out a bunch of 0.125 lengths between various roads in my neighborhood. Even though I kept alternating between the same 4 or 5 stretches of road for the running portions, it didn't get boring at all and it was great to have a solid goal to work toward.

Another challenge was that some of these lengths were not flat! So my very first interval was slightly uphill and ended up taking me 1:04 which made me a little mad, but I figured with the incline that wasn't horrible. The next couple of times I ran up it, I just made myself work harder and thus met my goal. There was one steeper place where I just couldn't hit a minute, I kept getting 1:05 or 1:06.... but considering when I came DOWN that stretch I was hitting 1/8th in 45 or 50 seconds, I didn't feel bad about it :)

The couch-5k week 1 workout has you exercising for 20 minutes (not including WU and CD) but I do at least 30 minutes because I enjoy it so damn much. Reaching goals feels friggn' good.

Also before I left, I looked up what the week 2 workout is that I'll have to be doing in 2 days and was a little scared: 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of recovery:

Going from 60 to 90 seconds seems like a big jump- 50%- but if it's too hard when I try it the first time, I'll keep trying til I can do it. No biggie.

So with that in mind, I decided for my last running interval to stretch it out for 90 seconds: starting with one of my measured 1/8ths in 60 seconds and then maintaining that pace for another 30 seconds. I really was certain it would kick my ass... but it actually wasn't bad, so I'm really looking forward to week 2.

And here's something to keep me motivated:
If I'm able to keep up with the workouts and somehow get myself to maintain this pace, I'll be doing 2 miles in 16 minutes by the last week of November! :o

Today was a gorgeous day to be outside running and I sort of wished I had planned instead to do a long run today, but I really really needed to get in another speed run since my plan is to do 3 of them a week (according to the couch-5k). Plus the weather for the rest of the week looks phenomenal too, so I don't feel like I missed out by doing a shorter length of time today.

Honey Stingers.... they're heeeeere!

2010-10-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

Back in August at Livestrong, I got to try a Honey Stinger energy bar (Berry Banana Buzz) at one of the rest stops. The Honey Stingers were big at Livestrong since Lance Armstrong has partnered with them. It was by far the best energy bar I'd ever had, beating out both Clif and Powerbars. (I still like a lot of Clif products; thing is after 8 months of training, I had just sort of overdosed on Clif Bars of almost every flavo(u)r.)

When I got home from Livestrong I went online to ~~stalk them~~ check them out. A lot of their products are organic. They have: Energy Gels (which seem like they are mostly honey, which I've tried as an energy source prior to running before), Energy Chews, Protein Bars, Energy Bars, and recently released a new product called a Stinger Waffle. Everyone on their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/HoneyStinger) has been raving about these things so last week I finally broke down and ordered a box of the Stinger Energy Bars and Stinger Waffles.

They arrived this past Monday night. OF COURSE I couldn't wait until actually going for a run or workout to try one- shit, after I got the email notification Monday morning that they were on the truck for delivery, I had been haunting my front door all day.... peeking outside multiple times an hour, waiting for them to arrive!! I had see what it was I had been missing.

I opened up a Stinger Waffle to take a bite and... holy hell. These things are every bit as good as everyone's saying. They taste just like the honey Teddy Grahams. Think of two very thin cookies/grahams with honey spread in between them like a sandwich and you've got a Stinger Waffle.

The next day I went for a run and about an hour before I went I had one of the energy bars. It was good, but not quite like I remembered. Don't get me wrong, the bar was still FANTASTIC, it was more the texture that I didn't remember so well. It just wasn't as crunchy as I remembered- I'm a big fan of crunchy stuff. Which is probably why I'm not exactly thrilled with most energy bars.

BUT I still enjoyed the bar and felt GREAT on my run (it was a speed intervals workout). I'm very happy with my purchases so far. I also ordered some of the Peanut Butter & Honey energy bars (which I've heard taste like a Butterfinger) and also ordered two of the Apple Cinnamon ones, but they messed up my order and sent me two more Berry Banana ones instead :-/

I hope more stores will start carrying the bars soon so they'll be easier to obtain! Of course having to place orders for them isn't necessarily so bad, either.

You can order yours here:
http://www.honeystinger.com/index-1.html

SpeedWANT- a faster 5k

2010-10-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

When I decided to start caring about my finish time at a race, I set my sights on an 8 minute mile. Oh the glory. I weaseled my way down to about a 9 minute mile at some point but the training slacked, and back up past 9:30 I went. I'm averaging 9:40 right now.

I did a speed workout last week with an 8 minute mile as my goal. From the advice of a training plan on Active.com, I hopped on a treadmill last week and did intervals of 0.15 mile at my target pace (which I think was like 7.4 or 7.5 mph), then slowed back down to a jog for about a minute. I wasn't recovering enough though and after just a few intervals I had to start slowing down to a walk. I did about 2 miles and called it done.

After the 5k this weekend, walking back to our house, my husband and I were chatting about my goal of an 8 minute mile. He pointed out- since he's a nerd and good at math (but sadly, I had already done the math myself) that shaving a minute and forty off my mile pace is pretty significant (I think about 15%). He suggested shooting for an 8:30 mile pace, at least to start with.

My NEW plan for speed workouts is to start over on the Couch-5k. (I KNOW, right? I already DID that, like 5 years ago (and then, again, 2 years ago). And I can go 6+ miles. Why start over?) Because #1 it's a great interval training program and #2 I have so much faith in this program since I used to HATE running; the fact that this program set goals that I could meet made me LOVE it :)

The original plan was this time instead of doing the training at a 10 minute mile pace (the way the program is written: "Jog 1 mile or 10 minutes"), I'll do it this time at an 8:30 mile pace; then instead of walking during my recovery time, I'll jog. The program is set up with intervals that gradually make you run longer and longer, running 3x a week.

My plan was to do 60 seconds of hard (for me) running (but not quite as hard as it felt doing that 8 minute mile pace last week), and recover for 90 seconds of jogging (which would be at my normal pace). For 30 minutes.

That was the original plan.
I went out and did it last night and called it a success. I had my stopwatch on and my phone with SportyPal which tracks your time and distance with GPS. I did wonder if I was hitting my goal pace; however, at this point- which is still very early on in the process- I really felt that just making myself go much faster than normal was a good thing.
When I was running fast I felt great. I could tell my stride was longer and I was using different muscles... or just using them more than I'm used to. I remembered this article about why stride length is important:
http://www.active.com/running/Articles/How_to_improve_your_foot_speed.htm?cmp=17-6065

When I got home and looked at my SportyPal graph it showed I was at about 7mph when I had been picking up my pace- which did, in fact, meet my 8:30 goal.

HOWEVER,
My superfast friend over at In Training For Life suggested instead that I push myself for that 8 minute mile pace and walk to recover instead. (Here I was thinking that I worked soooo hard to be able to RUN 3 (or more) miles, that I should keep running- even if just jogging- for recovery.) Then he went into this whole business about heartrate and where you want it at different times and all this. I am pretty clueless about heartrate and how I can use it to make me faster, but Foges does a < 20 minute 5k and just finished a marathon in 3h 40 so I think he knows what he's talking about :)

Tomorrow when I do workout 2, I'll go switch running fast to OMG I THINK I'M GONG TO DIE pace, then walk my recoveries.

When I get to week 4 of the program I can actually figure out where a quarter mile is (or maybe by then my husband and I will have found a track to use) and make sure I'm hitting my target pace exactly... or just suck it up and try to use the treadmill again (UGHHACKBLECHBARF).

5k FAIL & rethinking speed work....

2010-10-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekI visited www.runningintheusa.com and found out on Saturday there was going to be a 5k race just a mile from my new house. My husband and I signed up and I was pretty excited about it since I haven't done a 5k in a while. The last one I did was the Pasta Run in Harrisburg and I did TERRIBLE! I figured it must have been a fluke because it really was pitiful- my time was around 30 minutes. Since I did so much cross-training this summer, and at both sprint triathlons I did, my 5k at the end was my normal race pace. I figured that meant if I went out and JUST did a 5k, my time must have improved.

So I set a goal for myself of < 28 minutes; I wanted a PR and a 27:xx time. If I could maintain right around 9 minutes/mile pace, I'd do it.
My stopwatch stopped working during my move but I figured it was just the battery. I went out and got a new one on Friday night and took the watch apart, replaced it, did a lot of swearing at it when I couldn't get it back together... then my husband took over and had it back in one piece in less than 5 minutes.
Of course. :)

Saturday we walked to the race site and arrived about half an hour before the race started. We picked up our free loot- which we weren't expecting, found a place to stash it, warmed up some, and the race began.

I pushed myself... hard. I tried to keep up with the crowd. My lungs felt super tired. I glanced down at my watch.......... and only 5 minutes had gone by!! Ugh! When I finally got to the 1 mile marker my watch said 9:40.
Well that's not good.
The next time I looked at my watch was at mile 2, when it said 18 and change. I was pacing a little over a 9 minute mile and thought if I REALLY pushed it on that last mile, maybe, maybe I could pull off an 8 minute mile.
It felt like we still had soooooo far to go.
As I neared the finish, I looked down and saw 28:46.
There goes that. My current PR is 28:12.
I didn't completely give up but I didn't exactly have much motivation to try and keep pushing myself either.
I saw the clock up ahead and read 28:48 and thought if I sprinted I could at least get in under 29 minutes.
Except that as I neared the thing I realized it didn't say 28:48, it said 29:48 and I crossed the thing at friggin 30:03.
My actual time was 29:59.

Pathetic.

A huge wake-up call. I know I've been slacking but was at least trying to keep up with my running. For a while I was only going once a week and doing 4-6 miles. Since moving last month I've gone 2-3 times a week but only been doing 2.5-4 miles. I don't know the area well and have no idea where a 6 mile loop would even be.

And now I've got to find a way to do some speedwork because I tried recently on a treadmill and that was pretty awful.

free training session at the new gym

2010-10-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

Meh.

Most gyms will offer you a free personal training session or two when you join. When I joined my new gym last week they asked if I wanted to set up my free session- You damn right I do, who doesn't like free stuff?

But compared to my training sessions at other gyms... I feel sort of... confused. It was valuable, even though I left feeling like a moron.

At the YMCA we had a few sessions with a trainer and got a lot out of them. He was very knowledgeable about triathlon training and since my husband and I were already doing plenty of swimming and biking and running (on our own and at least weekly with TNT), he tested our flexibility with the FMS test (did I mention at the time of the test I had the top score of the whole Harrisburg YMCA? That's RIGHT!!! and no I was not the only one who had taken the test at that point, and it wasn't just a bunch of obese people taking it either, smartasses) and then gave us a couple versions of a useful core workout that we could do- a lot of it we could even do at home.

At another gym to which I used to belong, they had this separate little room with a few machines that was "For Women Only." I didn't really care about it not being co-ed, what I DID care about was when I would go for my daily 1pm late-lunch workout, if I went into the Women's Only section, I'd have the whole place to myself for the whole hour I was there! Which meant I got to play TV Remote Commander In Chief. And at 1pm, the Family Channel used to run two back-to-back episodes of Boy Meets World.
HELL YEAH that's where I'ma be working out!
Since the Women's Only section wasn't used enough to justify keeping it separated (go figure), they turned it into daycare space and turned their former daycare into a spinning room. For the ladies they knew who would often partake in the Women's Only gym, they offered some free training sessions as a constipation prize. I took them up on it. I worked with a trainer two or three times and each and every time he kicked my ass.
Good stuff.

I was sort of expecting either a workout or a fitness assessment today. I got a little of it... the rest of the session was me sitting with him at a desk feeling like a dumbass. It wasn't *quite* as belittling as being picked last for every team in PE class from 6th-10th grades (aside from HOCKEY when I was picked first!!!). But I did feel like the dumb kid in class. I've only felt like that one other time, in some law class, where even the half-stoned surfer kids did better in class than me.

We started off by talking about what my goals are (goals?... to not get fat? I don't know), what my current nutrition and workouts consist of, what's most important to me as far as fitness (I answered cardio and strength) and "is your current lifestyle any way to get where you want to be?" (No.) My workouts, since moving, have kind of come to a stand-still. Sad but true. I try to run a couple times a week, but it staggered down to once a week- and now I seem to have overcome allergy hell so I've got no excuse not to do more.

He asked if I knew anything about heart-rate-monitoring. I said no and he stared at me like I had 3 heads. "Cardio is one of your top priorities but you're not doing anything to monitor your heart rate!??!" Raawwwrrrr!

He asked what I knew about stretching and why it's important. I said I know it's important for preventing injury, and there are static stretches and non-static ones (like I know the technical terms for this shit) and static is better for after working out, non-static is better for warming up. He looked like he was listening to Portuguese and just sat there. Pause. Pause. Pause. "Is that right?" I asked. He then said a few terms and then it was my turn to sit there like he was speaking Portuguese.

He asked "How many carbs do you eat each day? How much protein?" I gave him my brief history on protein and how I don't get enough and had to add in more with little things like fortified cereal or soy-milk in my coffee instead of crappy creamer. When I said my average was probably about 17 grams he kept saying "GRAMS!?? GRAAAAMS?" and I had to sit there wondering "Well WTFelse do you measure protein in?" so he wrote down this bigass 0. I was hoping if I didn't know the answers to how much I ate, he could give me some indication of what I SHOULD be getting. He told me it's important to write down everything you eat, monitor your calorie intake, and with cardio training, to monitor your carbs. Not crabs. Carbs. If I had to eat a lot of crabs, that would be pretty awesome. Maybe since I need to eat more protein I do need to eat a bunch more crabs? Anyway I was clearly stupid-as-can-be in regards to nutrition and was hoping to get a little information here, but I got nothin'.

He asked if I've ever done personal training sessions on any regular basis and I said no. To which, of course, he responded to by asking me if I'm interested now. I told him due to budget limitations I can't just jump into sessions willynilly. He wrote down some numbers and explained what you can expect to get out of 6-12 weeks of training, or 12-24 weeks of training. Nice but WHAT'S THE COST? Yeah, almost $700 for the most basic of programs, not exactly in the cards now.

Then came the fitness assessment.
First I had to do some squats with my arms up in the air and try not to fall over. I wasn't terrible but wasn't great either. My knees turned outward, which means I need to strengthen something. (I have a list of exercises to do to improve that.)

Then I had to do a plank. Apparently my form is piss-poor. He kept saying to tighten stuff, but I was getting the same results as I would have, had I been trying to make my ass light up like a lightning bug. What muscles do I flex? How do I make this HAPPEN!1!???!?!/1/1/??

Then I had to do these walk-out push-ups. He asked how many push-ups I can do... I said at the moment somewhere between 15 and 20. He looked at me like "wha-EVA YOU PROBABLY DO THE WUSSY GIRL ON-YOUR-KNEES PUSHUPS", which made me quickly add "probably with bad form" and he still looked at me like a weirdo. Then he showed me what he expected me to do...
Stood there with his feet together, legs straight.
Bent forward, touched his toes, walked his hands out in front of him into push-up position.
Did a push-up.
Walked his feet back to his hands, keeping his legs as straight as possible.
Walked his hands back out.
Did two push-ups.
Walked his feet back to his hands, then stood up and said it was my turn.

WTF?

So I was going to do this feet-scoot-walk-then-push-up-thing for as long as I could, each time adding in an additional push-up? He said yes. I pointed to a nearby machine and said "Do I just go until I reach that thing?" He said "If you get to that machine I'll be very impressed."
Here we go.
I started off and did the walk, 1 push-up, walked my feet back in, hands walked out in front of me, 2 push-ups. I did the routine, adding 1 each time, and got to where I did about 7 and pooped out on that last one. Yeah, just SEVEN. That's IT. But I made it damn close to that machine and hoped maybe I had at least done SOMETHING that would make this guy think I wasn't a total loser at not sucking at fitness.

The last thing we did was a balance exercise. I stood on my right leg, bent the left knee with my foot up in the air, not allowing my knees to touch each other. Then I squatted straight down, and used my left hand to touch the outer part of my right foot. I did that 10 times on one side, then switched and repeated on the other side. When I was done I stood up and looked at him, waiting to hear what was next (or that I just sucked too much to even attempt anything else). He just looked at me like he was waiting for ME to do something.
Uhhhhh....?

"So, how do you think you did?"
"I almost fell over a couple times and I sucked."

That was that.

There wasn't really much feedback, a lot of him making weird faces at me or staring at me like I was possibly the dumbest person {in regards to fitness} on earth.

There's probably a reason for this "technique," or else I'm just too thenthitive and that's just his personality- obviously I don't know him at all. Maybe the dumber you make someone feel, the more they'll feel like they need your help, and the more eager they'll be to sign up for training sessions.

After everything we talked about, he would ask "Do you have any questions?" I could think of questions but of course I knew the answers would just result in MORE questions. So I said "No." He would stare at me and go "REALLY??? YOU HAVE NO QUESTIONS?" so I'd think of a couple of obligatory ones, but didn't feel like I was getting straight answers anyway. So what was the point.

I just don't know what to think??

Meh.

New House = New Running Path

2010-09-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, FINALLY, I went for a short run on Sunday. At the end of our street is a trailhead into one of the many local parks and I wanted to see just what that park had in store for us :)

For being SO close to DC, the park was surprisingly scenic and beautiful. I knew this area has a lot of woods, so that part didn't surprise me so much.

What did surprise me was the creek. I knew from satellite imagery of our property that there was some sort of tiny river or creek very nearby. I wasn't expecting it to look like THIS!

So fun!

After crossing the creek I had the option to take the Urban Route or the Scenic. I opted for the scenic which quickly went from a paved path to a dirt one.

Eventually it became a very narrow (but also clearly well-used) 6-inch-wide little path that went back in the direction I had come from, but across the creek. I'm not a trail runner and never did Cross Country since I couldn't even run a mile til I was 27 years old. I didn't end up with any twisted ankles or anything though, and the trail felt nice under my feet.

Seems the last few times I've been out running I've ended up with sore hip-flexors the following day... ugh. I think I am just out of practice :(
I'm signing up for a 10k down in MD in my hometown on my birthday next month, I've got a lot to do if I want to try and get my time down.
AND
Either my $7 stopwatch has a dead battery or else is yet another casualty of the move :( I'm hoping for the former since even though the people who handled our belongings clearly sucked, come on, how would movers manage to mess up a watch!?

I'm Still Alive!!

2010-09-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

I still have REALLY limited internet access, but our stuff is now all at our new house (except my art show stuff, which is all down here at my mom's house in MD for Artsfest this weekend!). I've been doing a little bit of running, did about a 10k on Sunday because it's been a long time since I did anything over 4 miles and wanted to make sure I could still get 'er done. She got did.

I went for this beautimous run from my family's house, down route 249 in southern Maryland in the Piney Point area, onto St. George's Island. It was dark and gray and rainy and cool outside... perfect. I went through a small residential area with a bunch of cute little homes, crossed a bridge, ran past a beach, saw a black cat that looked identical to one that I used to have (RIP Midnight :::pours out a 40:::), then got to a part of the island where everything was flooding since it had been raining all day. The island was super marshy, and there was some property for sale that said "WATERFRONT" on the real estate FOR SALE sign in the front yard. I wished I had a camera with me because the sign was standing in about a foot of water which made me laugh.

As far as the new house goes... we closed on Thursday! We went there that night and cleaned a few things- I cleaned a bunch of crap in the kitchen since I knew once our stuff arrived we'd want to put it away as quickly as possible (since I would be ripping apart boxes like a mad woman looking for my coffee maker once again, since I accidentally sent it with the movers). Plus thoroughly cleaning all the cabinets/drawers always takes FOR. EV. ER.

I took Friday off and mopped all the ceilings- the walls of this place were super gross and needed to be painted, BADLY. I put a few things away that I had brought with me. I also immediately proceeded to flood the basement with the washer that had worked just fine at the walk-through the day before. WTF. Luckily we have a home warranty, but that mofo is still pending, so they can't send anyone out to look at it yet.

Friday I went back to MD so I could work on a friend's mural for her nusery on Saturday, then Sunday was her baby-shower. Monday I went back to work, then back to VA with my mom Monday night so we could paint. Our crap was going to arrive Tuesday so I knew I needed to take that day off, and probably Wednesday too.

We started painting around 8pm and by 1am were still wide awake, so we kept going. The next time we looked at the clock it was around 5am... I had been thinking it was maybe 3. Oops. At that point we were STILL wide awake and going strong so why bother going to sleep when the movers might be arriving at 8 or so?

We got pretty much the whole master bedroom done and a lot of the guestroom painted before they showed up around 10am.

And what. a. mess.
Furniture is damaged.
Boxes have been crushed.
A box was brought into the house marked "Cookbooks, Glass, Decor. CP (which stands for Company Packed)" My mom saw this box and thought, "I can at least help out and start putting her cookbooks away for her." As soon as she opened the box, the first thing she pulled out was this little figurine that plays music... she gave it to me probably 10 or more years ago. Broken. She stopped unpacking the box.

What should have been a fun and exciting time, instead, turned into my heart just sinking and me fighting back tears most of the day. Our stuff was all in crates and each time a crate was opened, I saw more crushed boxes. I couldn't understand the movers, they didn't really speak much English. I was frustrated that I couldn't communicate with them; they were frustrated that they had to keep repeating stuff to me and my mom could see they were visibly pissed every time I told them some thing had to go *gasp* 2 floors (it's a split level, so they are short flights of stairs!!) down into the basement.

This post is long enough now, but it's been a long week. I look forward to getting back to VA after the art show this weekend and continuing to unpack and fix up our new place, but I also dread what we are going to find in those boxes :(

I has a sad.

2010-09-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

You know that feeling after a relationship has recently ended... everywhere you look, you see happy couples doing romantic crap? That's how I feel right now.
Except not about my husband.
About my bike.

My bike is in storage and I'm none too happy about it. Frankly I'm pissed! I thought for just a week and a half I'd be fine without it. But the possibility of being here longer than that without it is starting to freak me out.

Everywhere I look..... I see bikes. Kids having fun riding around. Some guy on the main road with one hand on the handlebars and the other hand on his phone texting (WTF!?) going against the flow of traffic. Cyclists using the bike paths around where I work. Bikes on cars. Empty bike racks. Road bikes. Mountain bikes. Bikes, bikes, bikes.
I feel spite.
Jealousy.
Envy.
All negative things.
I WANT MY BIKE BACK!!!

We had the movers take it because like a complete dumbass I didn't just bring it to my mom's house when I was moving the art and plants down here. I left it because my husband said we'd put them on the bike rack and bring them down. Monday when the movers came he was all "Ugh, I don't have anywhere in DC to put them, Let's just send them with the movers since they're already here."
Noooooooooooooo.........

The bike rack we have, a Bones 2, is supposedly made to fit both our cars. But he's not so sure it seems safe on my car on crappy PA roads going 80+ MPH on the interstate on long trips. So we pretty much just use it on his car.

This can't happen again. Thus, I'm going to do some research to find what kind of rack I can use safely on my car and then commence haunting the hell out of some Craigslist!

I owe you guys a crash post!

2010-08-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's been 4 days since I crashed my bike after the LIVESTRONG challenge and am STILL finding new bruises on myself every day. I'm not complaining though cause it could be a whole lot worse... which is why my picture in the previous post said " Not Dead :) ".

I had written in the ride report that it sounded like a great idea to ride our bikes to the race site. I had also pointed out that at 6:00 am on a Sunday the roads were pretty desolate.

We left the event party around 3pm and the roads were a whole different animal. One main road was a whizzing busy highway with cars flying past at 50+ mph.
It started to rain again, a downpour. BAD. So now these cars going 50+ mph can't even see us.

The road had a shoulder, maybe 2-feet wide or a little less. Of course in the downpour that shoulder was FULL of rushing water and you couldn't see the ground for bat-turds. You couldn't see if there was a pothole, debris, nothin'.

At one point I thought to myself, "This is a terrible idea. This is one of the dumbest AND scariest things I've ever done in my life. Riding on a busy road, in the pouring rain, I know these drivers can't see us. Man I hope we get off this road quick."

NOTE: If you find yourself ever thinking something like that, it's probably best to STOP what you're doing!

There was a raised little ridge right where the shoulder joined the road. My wheel hit that and ricocheted off- I lost my balance and tumbled.... toward my left.... INTO the busy road.

In the .02 seconds before I hit the ground a lot went through my mind.
It's kind of amazing how relaxed and logically my mind was working- not panicked and scatterbrained like you think you'd feel during a personal crisis.

I didn't want to be attached to/tangled up in the bike and managed to unclip myself.
I knew that as soon as I felt my body hit the ground, I had to spring up again and out of the road. I thought if I could get at least my upper-half out of the road, I'd be ok. If my leg (or legs) were still in the road and got run over, that would be ok cause I probably wouldn't be dead.

I sprung up as soon as I could but it still didn't seem fast enough. Everything was in slow motion. I felt like I was baaaaaarely creeeeeeeping out of the road and a car would come flying up and smack into me :(

Somehow I got out of the road without being hit and grabbed my bike which was laying there, looking all sad on the ground. After getting a once over from my husband (and myself), I was happy that not only did I not have to be pried from someone's bumper, nothing even seemed broken. Even my bike was OK. Luck doesn't even begin to describe it.

Later he said when I hit the ground, it looked like I landed in a position like I was doing a crunch. I think that was because even as I was falling I was already trying to direct as much of my body out of the road as I could. As per usual my defense mechanism was to curl up in a ball, roly poly style. That's what I do!

It was still pouring so we walked our bikes in the grass up to the next intersection. Then a teammate's husband saw us, he had just dropped off his wife and a couple other teammates at the hotel and he came back for us!
My husband and I went with him (I felt like a wuss) but our coach insisted on getting in those last 3 miles and riding back to the hotel.

So that was my adventure. Everyone crashes on a bike at some point and I'd say I was pretty damn lucky.

Not dead!
Not in the hospital!

Yay!

Philly LIVESTRONG Challenge Ride Report

2010-08-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Background info (so very important):
In the winter when my husband and I signed up for Team in Training, we had to pick an event in which to participate. I picked the Sprint Tri because it wasn't too much of any one sport (I thought that would help me remain injury-free). It was a tough choice between that and the Olympic Tri, but in the end, a shorter swim won out since I was clueless in that area.

We were also presented with the options of a marathon or a century (100 mile) bike ride in the mountains and I remember thinking, WHO would WANT to do either of those!?!??!! There isn't any sport I like enough to WANT to do for 4 or more hours straight.

NO THANK YOU.

Yet in April after the Team in Training picnic (AKA the SCAAAARRRY BIKE RIDE THAT WASN'T SO SCARY) when invited to ride with Team Coup de Cancer in the Philly LIVESTRONG Challenge, I found myself saying, "Sure, why not?" Had I gotten cocky after not having to walk my bike up any hills that day like I thought I was going to?

So, about the actual ride....

If you're reading this (you know I survived), you can read about my training rides (here and here) if you haven't already.

We got to Philly on Saturday night and had dinner with our team. My stomach was all pissy during dinner but that happens most of the time I go out to eat, so nothing unusual to worry me for the following day.

When we got back to the hotel my husband had to change his two flat tires. I just realized I never blogged about that, but that's his story, not mine, so anyway. I took a shower and went to bed since my stomach was still kind of angry. I slept terribly, awake and tossing and turning all night- but that's pretty normal for me before an event. I don't lay there worrying about the event itself, I lay there thinking, "Crap!! I'm only going to get 6 hours of sleep at this point. Come on, sleep! I need you!" an hour later "OH NOOOO! Now I'm only going to get 5 hours IF I fall asleep RIGHT NOW and stay asleep solidly for the rest of the night." etc.
Even with my typical lack of leep, during an event I always feel fine.

The next morning we got up at 5:30 and I skipped my usual coffee because a teammate who has done this ride before said the worst thing about it is standing in the corrals for what seems like ever, needing to pee soooooooooooo bad, and just standing there.... then you finally ride out and of course, the first few rest stops are PACKED with people and you still need to pee.

I checked the weather forecast and radar: "Scattered thunderstorms, some may be severe. High of 83." I wasn't too keen on riding in storms, but cloudy and 83 sure sounded ideal.

After I got dressed (in a team mate's borrowed jersey from last year!), I looked at my husband's bike and saw... a flat. Shit. I called him to look at it and either he had messed up the tube putting it in or it was defective in the first place, but he had to change another flat in the morning. Poor guy! :(

After all this, we checked out of our room and checked our bags in the hotel front desk closet and met up with our team. Since apparently parking is hell at this event, we rode our bikes the 7 miles to the event site. Sounded like a great plan to me, away we went!

At 6:15 am on a Sunday it's pretty lonely on the streets. We had most of the roads to ourselves and it kind of spoiled us. Even though there weren't any hills (maybe some tiiiiny inclines) and it was only 7 miles, I felt awful the whole ride. My legs felt really heavy and I just felt tired, not how I usually feel on the bike at all. I wondered how I was going to contend with the HUGE hills up ahead after the 70 mile turnoff. I knew if I felt bad enough I *could* turn off for the 70 mile ride, but that's not what I came here to do! I came here for the Century damnit! I said something to my husband about how terrible I felt and he thought it was because we were only awake for about 30 minutes before getting on our bikes- we're usually up for more like an hour or two. And we hadn't gotten breakfast. We had each thrown a bigass bagel into our jersey pocket to eat once we reached the event site. All of that made sense, but didn't comfort me very much. I wanted to feel great and ready, not sluggish.

We arrived at the event site without any incidents and I decided not to reset my computer so when we got back to the hotel, I'd see my exact REAL miles logged for the day! :) I knew I'd be looking at around 112-114 when all was said and done and I was pretty excited... considering my previous PR was just 73!

After a team picture we headed into the Century corral and listened to someone speak, then the National Anthem, and Lance got up and talked. Then they set us loose, damn near the 7:30 am start time they were aiming for.

I had been warned (by sweet MaryAnn who loaned me her extra jersey) that the first 10 miles or so would be crowded and claustraphoic and slow-going and chaotic- a lot like when you do a 5 or 10k race. Everyone's all jammed together at the beginning, eventually some of the quick ones will peel away, the slow ones will fall behind... you just have to deal with it until the crowd thins out. 10 miles sounded like a LOT of putting up with crowds, but sure enough she was right on.

After about 15-20 miles of riding I started to feel a little better. Still not great, but I felt optimistic. It had been sprinkling on and off, just enough to wet your skin and keep you cool... It was nice.

We did see Lance as we were riding. He was out on the course and of course, in his Team Radioshack outfit. I think he rode 40ish miles and at about the 20 mile mark we saw him (on his return trip to the event site) and his posse: an SUV and 2 motorcycles escorting, along with other cyclists in bright yellow LIVESTRONG jerseys. I wasn't sure if those were his teammates or if they were the select few fundraisers who raised enough moneys to actually ride with Lance!

Then came... the rain. It was heavy, and I was thinking "It can't rain much harder than this." But of course, then it did. Doesn't it always?? For some reason I enjoyed it. A lot.
I enjoyed hearing the loud THWACKS it was made as it hit my helmet.
I enjoyed the big drops hitting my legs so hard it stung a little.
I enjoyed the occasional soft "Ping!" I heard as it ricocheted off my bell.
I enjoyed the fans/support who stood out in front of their houses with their umbrellas, ringing their bells and cheering loudly for us as their children ran about in wet puddly yards and cheered us on, too.
I enjoyed riding through the puddles and feeling big warm gushes of water on my ankles.
I found it HILARIOUS.
I laughed a lot.
Life was good.

Eventually the rain did let up.

We rode past the first few rest-stops (they were super crowded) and finally took advantage of one around mile 35. I think it wast about 10am? But I WAS STARVING!! I ate a PBJ, a banana, the rest of my Clif-Shot Bloks and headed to the potty line. It was long as hell but went really, really fast. While in line, a guy in front of me asked if I wanted a Margarita. I said "You're damn right I would!" It was in Shot-Blok form, and it was pretty awesome. All of the Shot-Bloks I've tried are great.

After I was done in the potty I found my husband again and he was eating a Honey Stinger bar, which I had never heard of or seen before. He said it was SO good and offered me a bite.... probably laden with roofies.... but he was right. Delicious and a great texture (CRUNCHY), too. I headed over to the snack tent to get my own. Apparently Lance Armstrong has partnered with this company, seems like a pretty trustworthy endorsement.
It made me think of my friend Doris, who suggested trying honey instead of the Gu's and Clif-Shots that were upsetting my tummy so. Honey, like just about every other bee-product, has tons of great stuff in it. This company seems to have picked up on that and run with it since all of their products are honey-based.

We took off again and I realized that while hanging out at the rest stop, I had gotten damn cold. I was drenched, my clothes were dripping, and the wind felt very cold. I started to shiver, even though it couldn't have been less than 70 degrees outside. The rain started to come again and I shivered more. The road we were on was terrible and between my shivering and the vibrations caused by the nasty PA roads, I started to get fairly uncomfortable. My forearms were getting very crampy and fatigued.

On our 73 mile training ride a couple weeks ago, I did find a way to slow down without tiring my hands and arms out so much. If I get down in my drops, I've got MUCH better leverage on my brakes and my hands don't get tired. That came in really, really useful for this ride since just about everyone was going pretty slow on the downhills. They were curvy and dangerous and with all the water on the roads it was impossible to really see where any pothole or debris might be. I felt a little safer since I wasn't the only one going slow on a downhill- I didn't have to worry that if I rode my brakes, I might cause an accident, since everyone else in front of me was riding their brakes too. The crowds seemed to have a nice flow together that way...

BUT
On the up hills? This is the one reason I probably wouldn't sign up to do this ride again. People were stopping all over the place (meaning, not off over to the right or anything) to get off their bikes and walk. Many chains were dropped, or, as people stopped on purpose and tried to unclip, they got wobbly and fell over (which is one of the reasons I won't get off my bike and walk up no matter how tired I am... it's just really difficult to stop yourself AND unclip smoothly going up hill!). That seemed incredibly dangerous to me, even though you're not going at break-neck speed, it's still tough to go around people when they're doing really unpredictable things.

We started seeing signs that the 70 mile turnoff was up ahead. I knew this was when I would have to make my decision- and that I would be heading out for the 100 :)

We reached the 70 mile turn off and....

Everyone.
Was diverted. :(

Event staff at the intersection pointed for everyone to make the turn and announced, "Storms! 100 mile course is closed!!"
:(

I had a sad. I knew there was nothing that could be done, but still. Now I'm gonna just do another 70 mile ride? I've already DONE that. Maybe I cried. I was raining on my face so it was hard to tell.

I knew that with my miles to and from the hotel, I'd still get over 80 miles logged. Still a PR. But still disappointing.

Miles 50-60 were pretty lonely.

I had told my husband to just go, because up until then he was riding with me and I HATE holding him back. I'd see a group of riders pass him who I KNEW he could keep up with. But he'd fall back and wait. I'd see him turning his head to look back for me... Yes... here I am... still chugging along....
"Let's finish this together!" he said. If we were doing the Century, I would have been all for it. I would love to ride it all and finish together. His company was nice (that's why I married him, duh?). And he said he didn't care about going fast. But now that it was 'just' the 70 mile ride, he didn't have to save any energy for those extra 30 miles, or HUGE hills that we were supposed to climb. He could go as fast as he wanted, stop (or not) at stops when he wanted, etc. He stuck with me for a bit but in my cranky state I think at that point I was going EVEN SLOWER than I normally would, so off he went.
Which made me feel a little better.

He caught up to me after I passed him at a rest stop. I wanted to skip the rest of the stops; I just wanted to get the ride over with. Isn't that sad? I know that's a really shitty attitude. I was just tired of being cold and soaked (aaaaaand it downpoured on us again, too). I did think about WHY we were doing this: It will eventually lead to a death-blow to Cancer!! And I felt like it was cool to be able to participate in that. It did make me feel glad to be there, glad to be doing the ride.

BUT(T)...
let me tell you a little something about cycling shorts. Months ago when I was shopping for some, I opted for the cheapest ones I could find, which were STILL $40! The pad in them is made of fleece- either really thick fleece or just lots of layers of it. It served me well on one or two long rides. Well, I'm pretty sure that fleece is rendered useless when it's soaked through (with rain, not pee, this isn't an Ironman). Just my theory- fleece needs air to be fluffeh. Air replaced with water = no fluff. I hit a couple bumps early on in the ride, and I hit them HARD. My sit-bones were never quite right after that. The last few long rides I've had no problems with being uncomfortable, but after hitting hard bumps early on, I knew it was going to be a long and painful ride. The wet shorts didn't help. I'm hoping now that it's the end of summer, maybe MAYBE cycling shorts have gone on sale at Dick's and I can find some with gel padding to wear in the rain from now on.

My husband and I rode together for a little while longer, then he pulled into another rest stop when we had like 10 miles to go. Ugh!!! Then he bitched about there only being peaches to eat there but had one anyway. I whined about wanting to get going, so we did. He was gone again pretty quickly, on the first downhill or so, and I didn't see him again until after I was finished.

The sun started to peek out a little during the last 10 miles.

I found a group of riders to stay with, which was nice since a lot of the intersections no longer had police or support directing traffic. We followed all the traffic laws, called out when it was clear, pointed out hazards, typical group-ride stuff, and it was nice. I didn't really talk to anyone much, but it was still pleasant to have some company and not be totally alone (but sometimes that's nice, too).

By the time we got to the last mile of the ride, the sun was out, it was warm, and we were all smiling. Spectators were lined up all along the finish, though I never saw an actual Finish LINE, just some girl with her hands up going "Dismount! Dismount!" But everyone smiling and cheering and ringing bells is always so uplifting and exciting. I looked for my husband but didn't see him. But it's not like running a race where you can look all around you as you finish, being on the bike was totally different. The guys in front of me slowed to like 2mph which seemed excessively slow, and I was more paying attention to what they were doing.

After all was said and done I logged a total of 84 miles, which should have been 87, but due to a crash (which I'll blog about soon) on our way back to the hotel in the dumbest conditions imaginable, I accepted a ride back from a teammate's generous and kind husband. If not for that I am prettty sure I would've insisted on riding another 13 miles, sore ~~butt~~ body and all, just go get my triple digit count.

Oh well.

MC Pee Pants

2010-08-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Y'all.
Livestrong is Sunday. THIS SUNDAY FOR REAL! My fundraising is DONE and kennel reservations have been MADE.

It's ON like DONKEY KONG!

However.... I'm not sure my 9.6 miler on Sunday was enough to prep for it.
~ BUT ~
I'm also not sure if at this point I should be doing some sort of taper???
Hmmm.

I do know that the cyclists we rode with a week and a half ago mentioned that when TNT does the Century Ride in Lake Tahoe, the bikes are shipped 2 weeks before the ride. So team members don't get to ride for about 2 weeks before the BIG GIGANTIC MOUNTAINY CENTURY RIDE!!!!

Whatever. I'm ready. I'm trying a new strategy- thinking positive rather than being all scared and expecting the worst and then being happy when the worst doesn't happen. I was all stressing over not being able to do the 70+ mile ride last week and I did fine...
so.

Free Video Hosting

The BEST Ab Workout EVER.

2010-08-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to work out today. I decided to ~~be lazy~~ rest my foot some more. It's going to be a lot cooler outside the next few days; therefore, I really want to run again soon- with NO pain!!

BUT
in the meantime, I have the perfect solution for when you can't (or just don't wanna) make it to the gym. Get ready to bookmark this blog post because I present to you:

My Patented Ab Workout.

Just watch each these videos a few times- They're short!!! I'm pretty sure your abs will be sore tomorrow if you're laughing as hard as me. And if heavy metal is what motivates you, even better.

Oh my god! Brutal Death Metal Camels!!!!

Holy HELL Headbanging Parrot!

The one who started it all... THE ORIGINAL DEATH METAL ROOSTER!

I can haz metal kitteh??

Just for all the Megadeth fans out there (you know who you are!!)

Today's Run....

2010-08-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

is brought to you by sore feeties and some guy.

I intended to go out and run this morning before it got too hot out, but failed, of course. I made it outside around 10:00 and planned to do my usual 6 mile loop, nothing fast, just wanted to go slow and get the miles in.

The first 4 miles were pretty great, but soon after that, I started getting this sharp pain in the arch of my right foot. I had the same pain during the 10k race that I did, but during the race I was able to keep running and get rid of it (like I was going to stop running in the race, please) but today as I continued to run it got worse. And worse. I stopped and did some stretches, that didn't help. I walked a bit and pushed back into a slow jog, that didn't really help. Even just walking on the damn thing hurt. I tried to keep myself at least jogging most of the rest of the way home, but then could feel myself rolling toward the outside of my right foot to avoid the arch-pain and that, of course, was doing bad things to my shins and posture all around. I walklimpshufflejogged the rest of the way home.

About half a mile from home I was waiting at an intersection and I crossed paths with a guy who said something. Thinking he was talking to me, I looked at him and said, "Hmmm?" he scowled at me and responded "I was telling that guy to put on a shirt!" I picked up my pace and started jogging again, noticing that just ahead of me was, indeed, a gentleman out running with no shirt on.

I wondered if the guy was thinking about telling me to go put on a shirt, too, since technically I wasn't wearing one either. (I learned this year that if you go out running in Harrisburg wearing a sports bra, rednecks don't chase you down like they will in southern MD.) I didn't stick around to find out. From the angry look on his face, I'm guessing yes.

I continued jogging/limping the rest of the way home, thinking about how much it must totally suck to be the sole authority on who can wear what, and when, and be responsible for actually telling people what is appropriate. He's probably a really busy guy and I bet it's a thankless job. Next time something bad happens to me (like when I have foot pain that I'm unhappy about), I'ma think of him and how hard his life must be... to constantly be burdened with worrying about what everyone else is wearing.

73 Mile Training Ride

2010-08-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another LIVESTRONG training ride. 73 miles in about 7 hours, including the official rest stops and then miscellaneous other stops. According to my computer it was about 5 and a half hours of actual riding.

I was scared when we got to the ride site and were handed the cue sheet. The 2nd column on the cue sheet included TWO BIG LONG climbs. Ugh! That, plus the fact that it was going to be the longest ride I've ever done, and the fact that southern PA/northern MD is hilly enough without the two huge climbs being thrown in on purpose, AND the hard parts were during the 2nd half of the ride when I worried I would already be spent, had me pretty nervous.

Yet my nerves were calmed almost as soon as we started. I felt great. Even though that morning I had been sooo tired and wasn't sure I was in the mood to ride all day, just a few miles in I knew there was nowhere I'd rather be. It was a perfect day, starting out cloudy, a (mostly) cool breeze all day (which sometimes did turn into a headwind but it wasn't so bad), and not ridiculously hot. The ride was really hilly, but I enjoyed it. Like a masochist I found myself wishing for MORE hills! I was even looking forward to the two huge climbs still ahead.

One reason for that was because I employed a new strategy that enabled me to climb steep hills without sounding like Fatty McGee. Not that I'm fat; I'm just not athletic. If you haven't ever heard Fatty McGee, you can listen here (it's a skit):

But I LIKE the stairs! They're fun!

When I've had to climb the big hill at Pinchot, halfway up I usually sounded like this. (Ok, maybe not quite that bad.... orrr maybe worse?) I was always afraid if someone was out in their yard and heard me wheezing and gasping they WOULD call an ambulance anticipating an apparent imminent heart attack.

I learned that if I take a few HUGE deep breaths as soon as I start climbing, and keep breathing really deeply all the way up, I don't have to gasp for air like I usually do. I wanted plenty of hills to practice on and make sure it wasn't just some weird fluke, and it consistently helped immensely.

Finding the best way to breathe comfortably seems to be different for everyone. You'd think after being around 31 years I would have figured it out by now but I'm still learning. My best friend told me when she used to run, she found that chewing peppermint gum (which cooled down her throat) was the only way she could breathe comfortably and go more than a mile. Who would've thought of such a thing?

God I'm laughing so hard listening to the Fatty McGee skit now. Anyway...

At the first rest stop at 29 miles we paused for bottle refills and food and bathroom-breaks. Our spread of food was hilarious. I always thought it was funny to read recaps of other people's long bike rides- they're always stopping and eating junk food! Here are these cyclists who are amazing athletes and I'm envisioning them as the perfect picture of health- whole wheat bagels and peanut butter, fruit, trail mix, energy bars. Um, no. And yesterday it was likewise for us- I saw people eating candy bars, chocolate donuts (that was me), Funyuns, chips, everything I would NOT picture an athlete eating. Hilarious. I like to think we were eating purely crappy food just because we can. According to Daily Mile I burned almost 3,000 calories on the ride yesterday. (And, even after eating nothing but crap, I felt awesome all day!)

After that rest-stop the 45 milers turned back and the remaining 7 of us 70 milers were on our way.

The two huge climbs were just that, of course, huge and time consuming, but not absolutely horrifying. A lot of the remaining ride was on country roads between corn fields and sometimes the air blowing out from the corn fields felt like it was coming out of an oven. Soooo hot in there.

Around mile 62, one of our ride leaders got a phone call- another participant was having some bad cramping issues in his legs and opted not to finish the ride. We had SAG support, but our SAG driver had to drop a rider off at home (due to time contraints) and it was a while before the SAG could pick up our other teammate. My husband and I were told to press on and finish the ride ourselves and not wait. It seemed a little wrong not to wait, but there was a small group behind us, so no one was out riding alone.

I thought I sucked at reading cue sheets, but the last 10 miles of the ride I had to rely on it and I learned that not only am I capable of reading one, but I can even rig it up ghetto style by folding it over my computer wires and keep it there for convenient and easy reading. My husband was all "Oooohh, where'd you get that clip to hold your cue sheet?" I had to laugh. Does he think I'm that sophisticated?!

So we navigated our way back and finished the ride with 73.12 on our odometers. Now I'm really looking forward to the LIVESTRONG 100 even though I know it's going to totally kick my butt!

Big Thank You

2010-08-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

to Hugh :)

I'm not sure how else to contact you, but if you're reading this.... thank you SO much.

Let me know when you're doing a charity event :) Send me the link to your page and I'll try to return the favor.

Thank you so much again!
-Sammy

New Running Goals...

2010-08-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Besides to quit bein' lazy just cause it's hot out and today you ran out of time because you had allergy shots and a haircut, and now your hairs all did and look pretty and you don't want to go mess them up, even though no one's even gonna see you for days. And even though your hair stylist used to be a badass cop downtown and just got done telling you all these scary stories about it.

But seriously- I found a program for speed workouts (running) that I'm desperately trying to find time to do, so it's time to set some goals so I can try and stick with it!

Here is my current leeeest:

[X] Run 3.5 miles (no rests)
[X] Run 4 miles (no rests)
[X] Run 4.5 miles (no rests)
[X] Run 5 miles (no rests)
[X] Run 5.5 miles (no rests)
[X] Run 6 miles (no rests)
[ ] 5k race < 27 mins
[X] 10k race
[X] 10k race < 60 mins

Look at that!
The only one without an X through it is running a 5k in under 27 minutes. Could I do that now? Doubtfully... buuuut maybe. In order to find out I've got to find another 5k to do relatively soon. I'm not scheduling anything else before my LIVESTRONG ride on August 22- too much going on with moving and having to keep up with everything else. So in September or October I'll have to look for one.

After I finished the 10k on Sunday, one of the first things I thought was "Great! Now next year I can go to MD and run the 10k in the Hospice Run with my husband!"

And where did my mind go next? Yes.... hardware. Wondering... Could I? Would it even be remotely within reach?

So I looked up last year's 10k results for the women (there were a lot more participants than I realized):
http://www.runforhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/2010_10k_women.txt

Hm. Well, the good news is if I finished the run at my current 10k time of 59:40 or whatever, I'd be in 37th place for the women. Not horrible.

And now, the awards!
http://www.runforhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/2010_10k_awards.txt

The 3rd place finisher in my age group had a time of 52:22. That's a pace of 8:26 per mile. Can I get there by April??

We'll see.

At the moment I don't feel a lot of pressure to add distance to my running- I'm not training for a marathon or even a half marathon, after all. So my next set of goals will be mostly speed related.

Grings Mill 10k Run

2010-08-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

** PREPARATION **
Back in the spring I decided in August I wanted to run my first 10k race. I was gradually increasing my mileage and having a target race date in mind would make me get to where I wanted to be.
At the end of June a friend of mine mentioned the Grings Mill Run and that IT WAS FLAT AND SHADED and usually nice and cool. I looked at my calendar and saw that my husband would be out of town that weekend (doing a race himself- Muddy Buddy in Illinois- with his brother), so I had nothing else going on.... and no excuse NOT to do this race. I signed up.

I had about a month to get ready for it... a month of heat and humidity and sun and all the things that make me really suck at running. Not once did I complete a 6 mile run without walking. There was one morning I had a nice run and the only time I walked was after drinking, to let the water settle. But I still ended up with a pace of 11 minute miles!... Ugh!!

As July trudged on, so did I, occasionally attempting to throw in some "speed" work (which for me is under 10 minute miles, ha), but never got in a good run. I either walked more than I wanted or didn't go as far as I wanted or was slower than I wanted to be. Wah, wah, waaahhh.

The lofty goal I set for myself was to finish the 10k in an hourish. I was betting on about an hour and 4 minutes- if I was feeling good. Since the day before the race I was doing an all-day art show, I was NOT expecting to feel good (usually after art shows I am exhausted and every single muscle in my body hurts), so I sucked it up and prepared to be the last one across the finish line.... but I'd finish. However, a few nights before the race, I dreamed that I finished in exactly an hour. That was a good sign since 99% of the time when I dream about relevant things going on in my life, they come true.

** THE RACE ITSELF **
Of course when I got up on Race Morning I was exhausted. My eyes were ridiculously puffy... Allergies were in overdrive... I got lost on the way to the race... but managed to get there in plenty of time to pick up my number (and cool bag and tech-shirt!) and hang out with my friend and his family and do some warming up before the race.

The race started, and they were playing some cheesy but fun music over the loudspeakers. Some BEP song. I'm not a huge fan of theirs, but their music is really great for working out and running especially, so it was a nice way to start the race. The realization set in that I was actually running my first 10k! The race I had been scared to death of for the past month.. and now it's here... and hopefully in an hour it'll be over.

During the race I surprised myself by not walking at all- on the way to the race (the trip was just over an hour) I told myself over and over that I was NOT going to walk. A couple of weeks ago my husband told me he doesn't think I'm pushing myself hard enough. He said I just think I'm pushing myself, but I'm not. That was kind of a weird thing to hear, but also a motivator, because it made me wonder what WOULD happen if felt exhausted and continued to push myself harder, rather than letting up a little?

When I got to mile 4 and hadn't felt even the slightest urge to take a walk break, I knew I could finish without needing any rest. Between my husband's comments and me feeling like the entire month of July was nothing but mental blocks, being in a race helped me overcome that. It was obviously totally different than just running in the park by myself. There was a guy in a fluorescent orange shirt that I managed to keep up with until about mile 5. After that he took off- maybe he's one of those people that saves just a liiiiiittle bit for the end of the race. I wasn't saving anything. For a few minutes I tried to keep up with him but didn't want to waste myself when I was so close to finishing and still feeling good about the effort I was making.

I didn't stop to drink. I wasn't thirsty (drank a crapton of water the night before and the morning of the race) and didn't want to have to walk after drinking.

When I got to the turnaround, I started counting people going the other way- partly to get an idea of where I was in the finishing order and partly just to give my mind something to do other than focus on the race itself. I easily counted 30 people right away, which made me happy- I was fully expecting to be in the bottom 10. Then a few more people.... and more... and more. I stopped counting around 65. There were a couple of people after that, and I passed a few people, but surprisingly- VERY surprisingly- no one passed me.

Somehow I managed to finish the race in (barely BUT TECHNICALLY!!) under an hour! The race board said my time was 59:42. I saw that 4 seconds had gone by when I crossed the start line, so I felt I could subtract that :) According to the official race results page online, my time was 59:46... Whatever.

My average mile pace was 9:37. I have absolutely no clue how I managed that. At the first mile I was next to a guy who called out "9:55!" At the time I thought, I'll be happy if I can keep up 10 minute miles throughout the race.

Aaaaand now I see that I can check 2 more goals off my list! Yay! Time to think of some new ones.

I ♥ BeginnerTriathlete.com!

2010-07-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

I've been doing pretty well meeting my goals but I've still got a long way to go. Isn't that is how it always is though? I should be happy with my progress thus far, but always compare myself to others who are more advanced/faster/stronger than me.

Both my cycling and running need work in the speed department. But at this point, what needs the most work is my swimming! Of course that makes sense since I've only been doing it (with any semblance of proper form whatsoever) for 7 months now. Plus I became so dependent on my wetsuit and lost all endurance. You'd think since my swimming is so lacking I'd be in the water 3-4 times a week working on it. Hopefully soon that'll be the case; I've got my 10k race this Sunday and then LIVESTRONG is August 22, so the last month and a half has been spent concentrating on biking and running.

Fear not; BeginnerTriathlete.com to the rescue! They've got articles and swim workouts for the most beginningest of beginners! Since I have been doing SOME swimming for the last 7 months, I wasn't quite at the total-newbie end of the spectrum, but I do get damn tired after a measly 100 yards in the pool. Ugh!

So the first article I found geared toward beginner swimming was this one.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=528
First the author expresses his own frustration regarding his lack of endurance- of course I immediately identified with him. Then he gives readers form, endurance, and speed workouts of 400, 800, or 1200 meters. I did a modified version of the 1200 tonight and only did 1000 because I was starving and could barely do 100 meters at a time. Meh. But when I left the pool I felt tired, in a good way, and like I actually accomplished something.

Here are a few more great articles for beginner swimmers! There's a 3 month plan that I'm going to try to follow- here are the articles so you can have a look, too.

Month 1:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=755

Month 2:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=777

Month 3:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=801

Hmm, correction- based on my current level I may be starting on month 2 or 3, or doing some modified version of month 1 if I start there.

Speed work, kind of.

2010-07-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

I saw this farticle posted by Active.com on Facebook and added it to my bookmarks to get started on it ASPCA:

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Target_pace_training.htm

It's a 16 week plan to help you achieve a target pace goal.

As much as my 5k pace could definitely use some work, I'm following the plan geared towards 10k and up. See.... I'm all giddy about being able to run 6+ miles now...

(why? Why is 6 such an important number? Because whenever my husband goes out running, that's how far HE goes. And he's a way, way, waaaay better runner than me. He's been running forever! And last year when I was working on just being able to go ONE mile without knee pain, and graaaaadually increase my distance, I though 6 miles seemed INCREDIBLE. But unachievable. Something I never thought I would be able to do, ever. If that's how far my husband the super athlete is running, then 6 miles must be BAD. ASS. So the fact that I, me, Little Ms. I-Can't-Do-That can now do 6 now is a HUUUUUGE MILE(literally)STONE for me)

...so I'm trying to stick with that 6 mile distance and work on having a comfortable base. Because in the heat, I find I still have to take a walk break around mile 3 and/or mile 4- and I hate that. I'm sure my body will eventually adapt if I keep at it. I'm also sure it's all mental.
Currently my pace at this distance is about 10:30 per mile.
Earlier this year my 5k pace was around 9 minutes per mile.

So I'd loooove to be able to get my 10k pace down to 9 minute miles (preferably less of course) and my 5k pace down to 8 (again, preferably eventually less, but considering my PR for a 5k is currently like 28 mins or something, I'll try to be happy with 8 for a while if I can get there).

From the article:

If you're training for an intermediate distance event (10K to half-marathon), your target pace training should take the form of longer intervals that become progressively longer as you build fitness. Here's an example of a target pace interval workout progression for a 10K runner in a 16-week training plan:
Weeks Workouts
Weeks 1-4 4-5 x 1K @ target pace 3-min. jogging recoveries
Weeks 5-8 3-4 x 2K @ target pace 3-min. jogging recoveries
Weeks 9-12 3-4 x 3K @ target pace 3-min. jogging recoveries
Weeks 13-15 2 x 4K @ target pace 3-min. jogging recoveries

Weeks	Workouts
Weeks 1-4	4-5 x 1K @ target pace 3-min. jogging recoveries
Weeks 5-8	3-4 x 2K @ target pace 3-min. jogging recoveries
Weeks 9-12	3-4 x 3K @ target pace 3-min. jogging recoveries
Weeks 13-15	2 x 4K @ target pace 3-min. jogging recoveries

Pretty cool, eh?

Today I was going to go out and do week 1's workout... But I decided to do something different.
I went running at a local park (my usual place, where I know pretty accurately where the 1, 2, and 3 mile marks are along the path). Since I don't know where the 1k mark is, I decided to do 4 x 1 mile intervals tonight. I know at this point speed work isn't going to help me out any for the race this weekend, but now that I have a plan I want to get started! My mile times weren't horrible (for me) considering it was hot and sunny outside (I brought along my husband's stopwatch):
1st mile was 8:41
2nd mile was 9:02
3rd mile was 8:50
4th mile was 9:11.

I walked for a few minutes in between miles, mostly messing with the songs on my phone, trying to find something to motivate me. I started off with Type O Negative and it felt good to finish running a mile before the damn end of a song! I guess that's not so impressive when the song is 11 minutes long. Eventually I settled on the Sopranos soundtrack, my old stand-by. I haven't listened to that during a run since the winter. It brought back memories of running along the barely shoveled sidewalks with snow piled on either side of me and trying not to slip on patches of ice. Today was like, the opposite of that.

I want to get in a 6 mile run before the 10k on Sunday just to have SOME idea of what time I should be shooting for (my ultimate goal would be less than an hour, but with an outdoor art show all day the day before, I'll be lucky to not be dead last to be honest). Last week I did 6.5 miles in an hour and 7 minutes, so even at that pace maybe I won't be the last one done. And in the morning hopefully it'll still be right around 70 degrees, which should definitely give me a boost :)

EDIT:
DAMNIT! While I was looking online for a picture of Type O Negative, I came across the sad news that apparently Peter Steele died earlier this year. So now I'm really pissed off and depressed.
I'm going to bed.

:(

Motivational Monday

2010-07-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

PUKE!

Puke is, like, THE WORST motivator. It's a DEmotivator. And thanks to puke, I didn't get to run today like I wanted. (Damn you blogger for having a nice puke green color available for text before and taking it away) Being stuck in the office most of the day plus a 3 hour drive didn't help in matters of fitness.

What is motivational about this?

On days you really, reallyreally want to include a workout, and have to work all day, try to schedule any potential puke for when you're in the office. Then not only are you a successful multi-tasker but you can probably just go home. You can puke during your workout too, if you want.

This post was brought to you by the color puke pink and the number 4, like the amount of times I puked last night, and the number 12, which is a score on a scale of 1-10 of how sore my abs are from a core workout yesterday combined with all the stomach heaving.

And now for some puke hilarity.
Seriously. It's puke. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Some of the best from Tosh.0!!!

Tosh.0

Where's the Puke?

www.comedycentral.com

Tosh.0 Videos

Daniel Tosh

Web Redemption

50 Mileah Make Yo Quads Hollah

2010-07-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

And your hip flexors and your feeties.

Sunday my husband and I participated in our first official LIVESTRONG team practice with the "Attack On Prettyboy" Reservoir 50 mile ride. I think they called it an attack because the ride was more like an attack on us; there were CONSTANT hills. Up. Down. Up. Down. I hated the down (yeah that's right! I'd rather climb!!) because most of the time we were in the shade, which was great, but the sun filtered down through the trees making a dappled pattern on the roads. It was hard to see where a pothole might be lurking :( And these were mountain roads, not busy at all, but still- they were curvy and of course you had no idea what was ahead, if there was gravel or a cow in the road around the next corner. So at the 35 mile mark my hands and forearms were damn fatigued from using my brakes :(

At the first rest stop (17 miles in) I heard one experienced rider who was familiar with the course say, "If you can handle these hills you can handle anything." That made me feel pretty good for even attempting to do this ride!! At that point we had a choice: To turn back and do a 35 mile ride or keep going for the 50. I still felt great and knew I would be pissed at myself if I turned back feeling this good, so I continued on for the 50. OF COURSE! THAT'S WHAT I CAME FOR!

It was very leisurely; I think we averaged like 12 mph. It was a no-drop ride, and we periodically did stop and wait for everyone at different intersections from time to time. We even had a sag wagon, how sweet is that?

We rested again at the same stop at mile 33. The stops were good for eating/stretching/peeing/bottle refilling, but were a little too long for me. I figured since it was my first 50 mile ride though, I shouldn't try to rush it- the last thing I wanted was to feel completely pooped at mile 40, and that last long ride I did (45 miles), the last few miles were HELL. But I also had no food on that ride either and I think that played a huge part.

I felt damn good after this ride. I was not the fastest by a long shot, but not the slowest either. And when we finished my husband asked me how it felt to be one of only 2 girls that did the entire 50 mile course? Honestly that was kind of cool. I have no doubt that the other girls could have done it- if I can do it, anyone can, really- but I think several were under time constraints etc. But yes, on the last leg of the ride I did realize it was in fact, just me and one other girl... and that did feel like some sort of accomplishment anyway :)

And getting out of those cycling shoes felt awesome. It was like my feet had taken ecstacy. EVERYTHING felt amazing to them... Carpet. Grass. Dry grass. We were sitting around on the grass having a picnic after the ride and I had to stop rubbing my feet on the grass because I was afraid the teammates would either think I was high or actually getting some sort of obscene pleasure from it.

Well WHAT IF I WAS!? It felt SOOO damn nice!!!!!!!!!
Don't judge me!

Another long run...

2010-07-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

Completed my 2nd run over 6 miles so far today!! I went up to 6.5 today with just one walk break which was after I had some water around mile 4. I hated the idea that I'd start running too soon after drinking and end up with pains in my side, thus having to take more walk breaks, so I opted for just one long-ish (a minute or two) walk break instead. I felt incredible out there today. I love a REALLY good run like this. Lately with all this heat I've had many frustrating runs.

The good thing was that I only walked once. I stopped to fix my hair at one point on the way back, and then had to stop at 2 busy intersections. Those things increased my time a little, but I was probably doing about 11 minute miles... which felt like a snail's pace, but I was trying to keep things slow and keep my heartrate down and not have to *GASP* for air constantly like the last few runs I've done in the HEAT! I did my best to find a pace that felt like I could've gone on forever. And truthfully today I was just glad to get the miles in. I am hoping to do a 6 mile run like this once or twice a week just to get my body used to it. Having my phone with me meant I could listen to music and occasionally pick up the pace during certain parts of songs- It isn't much but it's better than just being slow the entire time.

Can't remember if I already wrote this, but one of my goals this year was to do a 10k race. After my husband did the 10k for Hospice down in MD (I did the 5k), I felt 6+ miles was really impressive- a lot more impressive than just 3, and the crowd gathered for the 10k finishers apparently felt the same way. It was exciting to be in the big group and watch and cheer on all the 10k-ers as they crossed the finish line.... but I bet it was more exciting to be one of the runners in the 10k race.

For whatever reason a few months ago I decided that one goal of mine for this summer was to race in a 10k in August. I don't know why I picked August, especially with all the cycling miles and PR's I'll be doing for LIVESTRONG. Eh, why not? I had some fliers for a couple of local 10ks in August (or later) but figured we would have moved by the end of July, so I threw all those away. A friend reminded me of a 10k on August 1 that is said to be "the prettiest race in PA" so I signed up. My husband will be out of town for Muddy Buddy that day, so I might as well go do a race too, right?

Motivational Monday

2010-07-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

Oh noes!

I haven't been very good about posting motivations on Mondays like I was supposed to.

A little while ago I was thinking about speed workouts and endurance workouts and how I often use music to try and help me find a good pace for either. Even when I don't have headphones and music with me, I'm usually thinking of a song, and 99% of the time when I'm biking alone or out of earshot of anyone else I'm also singing.... But sometimes music isn't enough motivation.

That's when you have to use your imagination.

Here are some things you can think about/pretend during your workouts that will help you go further.
Or faster.
Or both!

- You are pretty sure you just saw the guys from Deliverance in the woods.

- The homeless guy who throws bricks at people NOW HAS A CHAINSAW!

- You just robbed a store and you're being chased by the cops!

- The local serial rapist just got released from prison to make room for a chick who got arrested for doing a u-turn in a bank parking lot.

- Tear off your shirt, let your hair down, and start taking slow, giant leaps like you're running in slow motion. In your best falsetto start singing, "Under the bridge downtooowwwn..." You are Anthony Kiedis.

Shock me like an electric eel.

2010-07-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

It is hot.
It is humid.
Running is not even enjoyable and I am sweating like a mofo.
It is gross.

But there is hope.

You can try to distract yourself from thinking about how hot it is and how much you're sweating and how you can't get your heartrate to come down JUST A LEETTLE DAMNIT and seriously they haven't invented some kind of sports bra with a big ol sweat band in there that can just soak that shit up? Disgusting!!!!

Last year when I was *finally* running again I listened to a whole lot of MGMT. Admittedly I'm not impressed with their new album but here's a favorite off their old one.

Enjoy it.

Run to it.

DO IT!

Another long one.

2010-07-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

That's what she said.

Yesterday we opted for a 45 mile bike ride with our always-up-for-extra-training tri coach. We were originally shooting for 40, but when my husband and I got back to the parking lot from which we left, our trip was something like 44.45 and damned if we weren't going to make it an even 45. We spent the last few minutes doing figure eights or SAR patterns or whatever else in the parking lot.

On my recent 30 mile ride I had brought some Clif shot-bloks (I found these are definitely my preferred fuel while exercising, they've never made me feel sick after eating them, ever) with me and stopped to eat a couple of them every 10 miles or so... I also used that opportunity to stretch. I quickly realized that this ride wasn't going to be that kind of ride- stopping is for wussies, after all- so I figured this would be the perfect time to ~~totally waste a bunch of perfectly good shot-bloks~~ learn how to open a package of food and eat it while remaining in motion.

Technically the opening of the wrapper was a success, as I did manage to eat two of them. But all the while this was on a gradual downhill, so my coach and husband were getting further and further away (because I don't weigh enough for gravity to have much impact going downhill, ugh!). I'm trying to pedal my ass off (and I'm STILL falling further and further behind!!), and open the packaging, and not fall, and drink. I see them making a turn up ahead, so I reach down to hit the brakes a little before I make the turn and OF COURSE, down goes almost a full package of shot-bloks. If I wasn't already lagging so far behind I would have stopped and gone to pick them up...
And I never even really caught up to them ANYWAY until they had stopped at some country store for a drink. Blahst!

Little did I know what a difference those things must really make. My 30 mile ride was uncomfortable at the end but not excruciating. The last 5 miles of this 45 mile ride SUUUHHH-HUCKED and if my legs were screaming after 30 miles 2 days before, after 45 they were ready to engage in nuclear warfare. I was kind of scared how long it would take them to feel normal again. At the end of the ride I would try to coast as much as I could and take the workload off them for a bit, but after a few seconds they would actually feel worse and I would go back to pedaling, a cycle I kept repeating until we made it back to the parking lot.

However, I did find a miracle cure. It is ARBY'S!!!!
3 roast beef sandwiches, much water, and a jamocha shake later, I was able to make it up the 4 flights of stairs to finally get a shower without much protest from my quads.

2 goals met.

2010-07-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

I was just about to post this earlier today, however as I was giving it a final proofing, my husband came in and told me.... Surprise, surprise, the house we (I) loved had an offer put on it BY SOME OTHER SH#THEADS and it appears to have been accepted.
Ugh!!!!!!!

Now that the crying and puking and crying in the shower and then crying in curled-up-roly-poly-position seem to have subsided in exchange for excessive consumption of alcohol, I can hit "publish." Grammatical errors and run-ons be damned!!

----------------------

Yesterday I DID manage to cross 2 goals off my list!
Unfortunately the swimming wasn't one of them.

We went to the lake at Pinchot around 5:30pm, hoping that most people would have spent the day there and gone home. HA! The amount of people in the roped off section of the lake would have made you think the were giving away free moonshine in there or something. I swam a little bit, and it was good practice for sighting, but then even staying as close to the edge as I could, I'd end up in the middle of damn football tossing or some shit. In the past my face has proven to be a magnet for footballs, basketballs, soccer balls... I was OUTTA there.

I was excited to go start my bike ride. I planned on doing at least 30 miles- a new distance record for me :)
When I told my husband I expected it might take me a little more than 2 hours, he said "That's only like 13 or 14 miles per hour!? Is that as fast as you go?"

Um.... maybe?

My usual average speed for this course is somewhere around 14 mph.... which does sound slow as hell. So I decided to not only go for distance, to go for speed, and try my damnedest to push those big gears AND keep my cadence up in an attempt to complete my 30 miles with an average speed of no less than 15 mph.
WANT!!!

I hadn't ridden my bike in a week and a half, and I hadn't ridden this course in a very long time but I've done two laps there before, what's a third? Plus since I was going for distance and speed, I made the decision to.... skip one of the big steep hills on the course which would add a little bit of extra distance to each lap. Not much, but some.

The first lap went great. I felt good, was able to drink a lot, and for some reason even though I hadn't been on my bike in a while, I felt much more comfortable on it than usual. I can't explain it, it was just like something clicked. I felt stable and balanced and not clumsy at all... for once. I also figured I'd use this trip to get used to being down in the drops more since I was going for speed.

I checked my computer after the first lap and I had completed it at about 15.7 mph. Sweet!

The 2nd lap was okay... nothing to write home about. However, on one section of the course I did manage to hit a new top speed- 36 mph. I started down the long hill and pedaled hard at the top, then got down low. I glanced at my computer as I approached the bottom and saw 34 mph. I figured I could do better than that. I crouched down just a leeeeeeettle bit lower and when I glanced down again my computer said 36.7 mph.
Nice :)

And then there was the 3rd loop. My legs were screaming, not to mention my back was hurting too. But I realized that I was finally going to meet my goal of a 30+ mile bike ride and that encouraged me a little. I felt like a little snail crawling up most of the hills. I kept telling myself this was the only way to make my legs stronger and it helped me push a little harder.

I finished the 3rd lap and had 28.4 miles on the computer with an average speed (from the whole trip) of... 14.8. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

So in that last 1.6 miles I knew I had to go fast and furious to get my speed up.
WAAAAAAAANNNNNNNT!!!!

Even though my back and legs hurt like hell, somewhere I found the energy to push as hard as I could in the bigger gears. It was only a mile and a half and I knew I was almost done, plus I knew going back into the park would be all downhill so I'd gain a little speed and give my legs a rest then. But I wanted my average speed to be 15 before I hit that last downhill.

I kept glancing down at my speed those last few minutes and eventually it crept up to 15.0... 15.02... 15.04. Ahhh. And then I was back at the park entrance.

I finished my 30.5 miles at 15.04 mph average... whew! 2 PR's in one day, not bad.

I plan to check 1, maybe 2 goals off my list today.

2010-07-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ambitious? Probably.

My husband and I are going to the park to do some swimming and biking. Our summer schedule is getting kind of crazy and I'm not sure how many bike rides we'll realistically be able to fit in before our LIVESTRONG race on August 22.

Plus there's a sprint tri in MD that I want to sign up for happening on August 8 (pretty sure husband is doing the Olympic distance one that same day). It's 750 yards of swimming, which I can do.... with a wetsuit.

I've been practicing with a wetsuit for the last few months, so I seem to have lost *all* endurance without it. At least from my last couple of experiences at the pool! I can go about 100 yards and then I start to feel pooped... But I also think there is somewhat more of a mental block at the pool, that whole getting to the end of the pool and feeling like you're done. I don't know.

Anyway at the lake, there's a buoy that's 150 yards away and I plan to swim to it and back twice... maybe add in a little more to get to 750. Even if I have to flip over and do the backstroke because, let's face it, I'll probably find myself doing that on race day... as much as I hate to admit it. I always want to try to keep up with the faster swimmers at races, which of course exhausts me in a hurry and I have to either flip over or just slow way down and check my speed to find a comfortable pace. Ugh! But if I fail miserably today, I know I have quite a ways to go before August 8.
*whine*

After the swim I plan to bike the Pinchot race course 3 times- whatever it will take to get me over that 30 mile mark. Husband and I are going to do a 40 mile ride, most likely on Monday (no clue where though) and I haven't biked in over a week.

Yeah. Today's gonna be FUN!

My entire week

2010-07-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

My husband and I have been house hunting in the DC area (northern VA) for a couple of weeks. Anyone who knows anything about that area knows once you get over sticker shock and OMGWTFEVERYTHINGHASLEADPAINTINIT!!! and you start actually finding places that you can see yourself living in day, you better jump on that shit because it moves fast!!!!

We found a house that we love. It's been on the market for a year. It probably needs a new roof. (Who knows what else?) But last week we saw it and actually canceled the last house we were supposed to see that day because that POS was going to need at least $100k sunk into it just to be able to live in it.

We decided to put an offer on this awesome house. SASDFKJDSFKLJAHDSFKJHSADFKJDS SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!

We got the paperwork on Saturday (it was emailed to my husband) while we were in Philly for his tri. Me being a completely delusional optimist, or just a dumbass, thought sometime Sunday afternoon after his nap and whatnot we'd be able to check out the paperwork via email and if it looked okay, sign and send it away!
WHEEEE! New house here we come!

OF COURSE not.
But that's ok.
Because it would happen Monday! We both had taken the day off and just had the drive back to Harrisburg with nothing else scheduled all day!
YAAAYYY!!! So Monday then! Monday, Monday, MONDAY!

LET'S DO THIS.

But that didn't happen either. We'll skip the rest of the details- most of the week has consisted of me waiting for my husband to do stuff regarding the paperwork after I've exhausted all I can do with it. Of course here I am thinking we're excited and this is a HUGE PRIORITY so it will be done first thing in the morning because we are so excited we might simultaneously pee our pants and go into conniptions if we must wait any longer!!

Like seriously AS SOON as I wake up, I'm ALREADY excited about the house.
This has been me. Every day.

I usually sleep in a little.
But not THIS week!!!

I get out of bed and get dressed (so what if it's still in PJs half the time; don't judge) and immediately can barely contain my excitement.
"We're putting the offer on the house today!! Maybe they'll take it! Maybe the inspection will *just* reveal that it needs a new roof... and we're cool with that. Yay! Ohpleaseohpleaseohpleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaassssse"

I brush my teef.
Cause where I live, you have teef. Not teeth.
Like seriously this evening when I took the dog out I heard 4 of what I can only assume were gun shots because what else sounds like THAT. And no, it wasn't just backfire from that shitty van that has "FREE CANDY" painted on it. And 2 minutes later some guy was all prowling around by the Amtrak fence. Wonderful.

I walk downstairs to start making my coffee and have breakfast.
All this training makes a ho damn hungry first thing in the A.M.

"I hope the coffee is done REAAAAAALLLLLYYYYYY SOOOON so maybe I can stop thinking about the house for the 5 seconds it takes to add my sugar and soy milk."

I have been enjoying my coffee.

And the rest of the day-- waiting for an email or phone call or text message or smoke signal or singing telegram but seriously i would prefer a candygram (not from that van, though) or even a strippergram would be funny but whatever, from my husband, indicating that the offer has been now made official and the wheels are in motion!!!!!!!-- goes something like this:

Still stuck in the hood.
Damnit.

has a very big sad

2010-06-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my wonderful husband and a bunch of our awesome fellow teammates raced in the Olympic distance Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (approximately 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride, 6.2 mile run). In the HEAT. It was about 90 degrees and extremely humid by 7am, when the race started. Luckily for most of the morning it was cloudy and overcast.

I was meeting my husband's family around 6:30am so we could all ride over to the course together to watch him compete.

Around 6am I got the following text message from my husband- he was already at the race site setting up his transition area and getting ready:

    Duathlon today :(

Then the next message:

    They can't find one of the swimmers from yesterday.

My heart sank.
The day before, the Sprint distance race was held which is roughly half the distances of the Olympic tri. 

It's hard to be cheerful watching a race when right behind you there are search boats out in the water, and you see a lot of offial-looking guys in suits and ties walking around the course with leather notebooks and clipboards.

While I waited for a glimpse of my husband passing by and finishing the first run leg of the race, I checked the local news websites on my phone to find the story (hoping to read that the swimmer had been rescued and was maybe dehydrated and tired but otherwise fine) and found out the swimmer was a 40 year old man. His wife and kid were there at the race to watch him. They never saw him get out of the water. Race officials realized via the timing chips that he didn't finish the swim portion of the race and immediately began a search.
The 20+ lifeguards patroling the water in kayaks looking for swimmers in distress saw nothing out of the ordinary during the swim.

All day I kept checking the local news websites hoping for a positive ending to the story.
But yesterday evening a sad story was posted that they had recovered his body. 

40 years old. So young.
Two kids.
Apparently no known health issues.
He was a first time competitor.
Was he struck by another swimmer in the big huge flailing pack at the front of his wave and couldn't get back up past the bodies for air?
Did he have a heart attack or some other issue?
Was he struck by debris in the water? A lot of big storms had recently gone through the area and I heard the water was quite precarious.

Here was a family who had come to the race to have a good time and while most of the racers were celebrating victories, his family was making funeral arrangements.

I just can't imagine.

My heart just aches for them. I just can't stop thinking about this.
Be careful out there.

Group Bike Ride

2010-06-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

AKA the bike ride that seemed a leeetttle bit intimidating to invite myself along for but was nevertheless something I was looking forward to but still ended up pushing me way out of my comfort zone a couple of times due to random things I did not expect andplusalso I made these vegan tacos (even though I am not a vegan), they are strange, I can't decide if I like them.

I'm going on vacation in a couple of days and really wanted to get in a good 20-30 mile bike ride this week before I leave since I'll miss team-training this weekend and be bike-less for 4 whole days... ohhhhh nooooooo!

One of our coaches sent out an email today about a group ride over near Mechanicsburg at 6, but it is Jubilee day and I wasn't thinking I could get over there from the East Siiiiiiiiyeeeeede very easily.

Then a friend of mine who may or may not read this blog so I better be careful what I say ;) sent out a reply that he and another teammate were doing a ride on East Siiiiyyeede at 5:30. I had the impression this was a big group ride but no, it was just the two of them. I would normally have felt like a douche just inviting myself along, but he sent out the email as an invitation.... and, ok, admittedly I was intrigued to try and ride and keep up with who I think are two of the best guys on our team. I mean everyone is faster than me, but even my husband has mentioned trying to keep up with these two guys...
and then I am trying to keep up with my husband...
so, yeah.

I must have come across as a big ol' scaredy (who, me??) in our emails back and forth because shortly into the ride I realized they were riding way slower than normal cause of me :(
I hate feeling like I'm holding anyone else back.

I never know the best way to handle that, because I totally get that it's out of courtesy. But I was wishing for a little more speed because if I don't push myself and train fast, how will I ever become better and faster and stronger?... Kanye WHERE ARE YOU?

Then they suggested I lead and set the pace, but if I'm leading, I don't feel like I will push myself as hard as I do actually seeing someone up ahead of me who I'm trying to catch or keep up with. That's a big ol' motivatah. So on the way home I think they pushed it a little more, which was great. I realized I should have done a much better job of communicating that from the beginning :(
Oh well. Maybe if I am nice they will let me come along on another ride and follow them around...

So if super-warp-speed did not push me out of my comfort zone, what did??

First of all...... drafting? Helllllz to the no I have never done it, I am constantly looking out for gravel/ rocks/ glass/ potholes/ roadkill/grass/ millipedes/ poop/ syringes and now you want me to stare at your back wheel and blindly follow? Hahhhhwww haaawwww haaawww I guffaw. What if you suddenly swerve and my reflexes are sucking because all I ate today was a banana and an airborne and an ice cream and some tylenol?
What if you hit your breaks and I am RIGHTHERE!
What if you fall and take me with you?
But I did manage to maybe get the idea of it for .02 seconds, long enough to realize what it feels like to have someone block the wind for you. Cool, I guess, except I wanted a workout and wasn't gonna make someone else do all the work :)

And then there was..... this truck. At a stop light.
We're coming up behind it to the red light too, and I was just going to stop back behind all the cars, and let them nicely and peacefully go about their business since they are bigger and faster, and then I would do my thing whenever somewhere behind them.
Somehow I managed to be in the front. I DON'T KNOW WHY!!!!!!!!
And my friend is yelling to me, "Noooooooo! ...Don't stop! Just go up beside the truck! Go up to the red light!"

DO. NOT. WANT.

There was like this much room:
|----------------------------------------------|
between the truck and the mound of grass along the side of the road.
And I was supposed to fit in there.
There's a "That's what he said" joke in there somewhere.

I was scared right the shit out of my mind because what if the truck started moving beside me and at that same moment I swerved or wobbled?
The truck would have NO idea I was right there (and might have been kinda pissed about it?).

But obviously I am home, and typing this, so I survived.

And if you think this is bad, want to see something funny? Cause THIS is how scared I USED to be about riding my bike:
http://sammytheseeker.blogspot.com/2010/03/tnt-training-picnic.html

I'ma go back to my tacos now. I decided I like em and will have a couple more.

Motivational Mondays

2010-06-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

If I am to have any motivation to post on this blog on a regular basis, I should probably try to come up with other ideas for posts besides this recurring theme of

"I still SUCK but I am gradually getting better."

even though the point of starting this blog in the first place was to sort of document that whole 'gradually getting better' process but I digest. Mmmm, pizza.

I thought having to come up with material for Motivational Mondays would not only be a fun ongoing subject for the blog, but after researching the material itself I would feel like getting up off my ass and doing something.

Today I'll share some music that always motivates me to get out and get moving. A. R. Rahman is a f#cking AMAZING composer and one of my all-time favorite albums to put on when I'm running is the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack.

It's hard to pick a favorite track from this album as pretty much the whole entire thing (with maybe 1 exception) is perfect for running (and spinning, or biking, but you shouldn't bike with headphones on, why not ride with your helmet unbuckled while you're at it?!!?).

For fear of running out of ideas for Motivational Mondays too quickly, I'll pick just one song for today:

Mausam & Escape. (You can click that to have a listen)

Or go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHtI-PQh5go

Give it a minute to start rocking out.

And here's a sweet live version too.... daaaamn!!!

I dare you to listen to this and NOT want to get up and go do something, and
SPRINT IT OUT AT THE END!!!! Especially if you've seen the movie like 4738920 times like I have and can picture the kids running for their lives through the slums, or Salim and his fellow gangstas chasing down Latika who is thisclose to being in Jamal's waiting arms....

Multisport Training: The good and the bad...

2010-06-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about multisport training is since there are so many aspects of it, you can easily adapt your training plan to fit your schedule on any given day. Not much time to work out? Do a quick run from home in the morning. Got a couple hours? Go on a nice long bike ride and/or do a brick. Raining? Go to the (indoor) pool or do some strength training indoors, or go running if you love to do so in the rain (and need practice at doing that, like I obviously do).

One of the bad things about multisport training is that when you're switching back and forth between activities so much, it's almost hard to gauge how much improvement you need in a certain area. You stay so busy, you feel like you're doing something all the time, and something is better than nothing, and if you're constantly training you MUST be getting better.... right?

Not necessarily. I still feel like I have so far to go in all 3 activities!! Not to mention I hardly ever seem to find time for strength training << piss poor excuse, I know.

And then there is fitting in your different types of workouts for each sport. You have your distance workouts and your speed workouts and probably a bunch of others that I know nothing about since I'm new to this; so new that I rarely deviate from the "ugh just get it done" workout.

We've had some pretty crazy weather today. Nothing extreme like tornadoes of fire or a giant oil spill in the Susquehanna (that anyone's noticed). But it's gone from downpour to sunny in < 20 minutes, at least 3 times already (TODAY).

It's 5:30 now and when my husband gets home, we're going to head over to Pinchot for some training. Looks like for the most part (according to the radar) the rain is probably done for a couple of hours.

Yesterday was spent house-hunting (yay!) and Friday was spent, by me, driving around PA and MD all day. So I haven't trained in a couple of days.

Now I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want to do tonight. Husband plans on doing a triathlon. I could do the same, but I've really wanted to get in a long bike ride for a while now, and I could try doing 3-4 laps of the Pinchot course. (And kick my ass.) I kind of need to get my biking in gear because I desperately need to start getting ready for Livestrong in August, 100 miles in the mountains. Uhhhhh.... I'm pretty unprepared for that and it's about 2 months away.

Or tonight I could just do a long swim (with a wetsuit, thanks to all the rain) and then some biking, maybe a short jog afterward.

Or do a bike and a run and test out my new running software on my cellular device.

The 5k Pasta & Noodle Run

2010-06-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

I've got another sweet race shirt to add to my growing collection. Score! Especially cause all my old t-shirts seem to be way too short. I've damn near obliterated the blobtacular that was creeping up on me but I'm too old for friggn belly shirts. Maybe that's what happens when you buy t-shirts from the kids' section because they're cheaper and you's a po' broke ho.
Whatever.

Also, if you're keeping track: That's 2 races in one week!! Just watch for me on A&E's next season of INTERVENTION.
But really, a race 2 blocks from my house, a little 5k run, it cost me $25 which went to a great cause (the American Lung Association) and I got a huge dinner out of it. How can I not participate in that?
^^
is that me in denial???

So if you're curious about the race, you can read about it here:
http://www.mrsnv.com/evt/home.jsp?id=2986

The website states that the race will take place rain or shit. -
Ha ha ha! That was a typo, but I'ma leave it. Because given the forecast, there was no chance of shine today. So our only choices were literally rain or shit and we got a combo of both.

local radar map

It was kind of random to hold a 5k race on a weekday in the evening but it also seemed cool. It rained and rained all day so a lot of huge puddles accumulated and if I had brought my bike I could have considered it my 3rd triathlon for this year versus my 3rd 5k. All day I looked forward to racing in the rain- I figured it would be a nice break from the sun and heat; since it was only 60 degrees I'd be able to breathe normally.

Racing through virtual creeks sucked a little bit. I kept getting behind small groups of people, mostly women, and whenever we'd all come up on a big puddle they'd screech like banshees and slow wwaaaayyyy down to feebly pussyfoot around the damn puddle like it was lava. Every time. And most of these puddles were on a skinny path with a huge foliage-covered hill on one side, and concrete stairs leading down into the Susquehanna on the other. Aaannnnd it was the part of the course where we crossed paths with runners going the opposite direction, so we were really limited on how much of it we could use at any given time. So I'd get stuck behind these groups for a while, not being able to pass anyone, and I'd think "It's ok, I'll slow it down and recover a little and then I WILL COME FROM OUT OF NOWHERE LIKE A FART ATTACK AFTER YOU EAT FIBER ONE CEREAL AND I WILL PASS THEM ALL!!!!!!! YEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!

Nooooooooo.

Sure I was able to pass some, but not enough, and having to keep slowing down like that must have just killed my pace. I never did settle into a really comfortable pace. I'd try and go really fast at times to make up for getting stuck behind slower crowds, then I'd get stuck behind another slow crowd- or some person with their dog taking up the whole path- and have to slow right back down again. Why do people have to bring their dogs everywhere!

Apparently I was pushing myself pretty hard though because my kneecaps were really hurting after this race, which my doctor warned me they will start doing. The whole drive home (you know, the two blocks) every time I had to use the clutch I was all:

I don't know yet what my final time for the race was because I only hung out long enough to eat 3 huge heaping plates of pasta (after the race announcer ENCOURAGED us to go and gorge ourselves multiple times) and a salad and a couple of those giant soft pretzels and a handful of cookies. When I left the times still hadn't been posted, and I didn't feel like waiting any longer since I was soaked and cold and possibly on the verge of trench foot. But there wasn't a mat at the start line, and when I crossed the finish line I saw 30 minutes on the clock and felt too pissed to bother with looking at the seconds.

The last few months I've been really excited about going further and further and finally making my way up to being able to run a 10k. Not fast, but being able to do it. But I have totally neglected working on my pace. I'm thinking it may be in my best interest at this point to suck it up and go use the treadmill where I can see and control my exact speed.

Keystone Warrior Memorial Triathlon

2010-06-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

I've not yet written up my race report on BeginnerTriathlete.com because as soon as I got home and showered, I got in the car and drove to Virginia to spend the weekend with my grandparents. The race was really nice though and I had fun during my 2nd tri :)

I also got to enjoy my very first ever Red Bull on my way to VA since about 15 minutes into the 4.5 hour car ride I was dozing off. (Verdict: I highly recommend Red Bull for long trips- it didn't make me jittery at all and kept me awake without a racing heart the rest of the trip. It also didn't make me have to pee a lot/real bad.)

My overall feeling about the race was a little disappointed, initially and also still a few days later, although I'm not sure why. I think I have no real reason to be disappointed in my performance given where I'm coming from. In my age group, I finished 14th out of 22 people. I feel like that is kind of terrible, but I really don't know.

When I crossed the finish line I saw something like an hour and 55 minutes had gone by and I wanted to scream,
"ALMOST TWO HOURS!!!?? THAT'S BULLCRAP!"
(more at myself than at the clock.)
Well, it was, indeed, bullcrap, because my husband reminded me to subtract 6 minutes.
That gave me an hour and 49 minutes, still.
I must have read something wrong though, because my final time according to the chip (doesn't Shakira say "chips don't lie" or something?) was an hour and 45.

9 minutes longer than my first tri. Also factoring in a longer swim (I think the first tri swim was 650 meters, which=685 yards. This swim was 750 yards). And a longer but much easier bike ride (first was 11 miles, two significant hills, this one was 15.5 miles and some small rolling hills). I knew my run was going to take longer than the first one because that grass really slowed me down.

Aaaand it's been only two weeks since my first race. I've been training, but nothing hard core. Even if I had been going all out, in just two weeks, how much was I really expecting to improve???

--

Swim:
The good:
- No snapping turtles. Yay!
- The water was warm, but not TOO warm since I decided to wear my wetsuit. (I haven't practiced without it in over a month and 750 yards without it would probably feel like about 750,000.)
- I felt a lot more confident during this swim, kept my focus on buoys ahead of me and getting to them. I did remind myself to go relatively slow and take my time.
- Oh, and I broke the rule of "nothing new on race day" with a new pair of goggles THAT DIDN'T LEAK, THANKYOUVERYMUCH. But at that point, with that piece of equipment, what was the worst that would happen? They might leak? Ohhh nooooo.

The not-so-good:
- The bottom of the lake felt like about 4 inches of slimy muddy seaweed. Eeeeewwww! Near the end of the swim, most of the girls around me were standing up and wading their way out of the water. Oh heyylllllll no. The less contact my feet had with the bottom of the lake, the better. I was still worried about snapping turtles.
- The last 50 yards of the swim smelled like a sewer! Double eeeeeewwwww, and talk about not wanting to put your face into the water. I guess that's why they were standing and walking out.
- Reminding myself to go slow was totally unnecessary. I kept getting stuck behind slower (what? ME calling any other swimmer 'slow'!?!?) clusters of 2-3 girls together breaststroking or something. I wanted to pass them but their kicking was erratic, not to mention they were going in different directions- i.e. not straight ahead, but various diagonals and whatnot. It was frustrating not being able to easily find a way to go around them. Had they been freestyling (or at least doing a flutterkick) I would not have been so worried, but breaststroke + feet flying out from behind = maximum-getting-kicked-in-the-face-potential.
NO. THANK. YOU.
So I'd have to hang back and try to see WTF they were doing before I made a move to go around. Since I'm pretty slow myself, I never anticipated having to formulate a plan to go around anyone.

Bike:
The good:
- I set a goal to keep my damn average speed over 16 mph. At the end of the ride my average speed was 17.87. Yay!
- It rained most of the bike ride but wasn't as bad as I was afraid it would be. Actually it was kind of neat.
- I played leapfrog the entire time with another girl, but she wasn't in my age group, so no pressure there. Each time we passed each other one of us would say something. The comradarie and atmosphere at both the races I've done has been really sweet and pleasant amongst the girls around me :)

The bad:
- Sooooooo many turns. I still suuuu-huuuck at cornering!

Run:
The good:
- I didn't collapse into an injured broken heap anywhere on the grassy areas? There wasn't much good about the run other than that.

The bad:
- I am slow enough as it is but the grassy paths made me soooo much slower. (I was relieved later when my husband said the same thing about his run.)

Within 10 seconds of hitting the grass running, I landed wrong on my left ankle. Twice.

I got all pissy and pouty about it and thought "FINE, I'll just WALK on the grassy parts and go faster on the roads, no big deal." Except it was sort of a big deal because a LOT of the run was on grass. It was my worst (slowest) run all year at slightly over 32 minutes, UGH! That included my transition (I think) but I kept that ridiculously short, no excuses there.

I almost thought about suggesting to the race people that maybe next year moving the run to a different area, then realized that *every* race is going to be slightly different, different kinds of terrain, etc. I didn't see the grass as being unfair or specifically to my disadvantage, just seemed like anyone could've easily gotten injured. But you can get injured during the swim or bike too, or any run for that matter, so no reason for them to change it. Just have to be careful and be smart about it I guess.

So tonight it's off to the pool for a non-wetsuit-swim where I hope not to sink like a rock!

Damn storms

2010-06-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's official: The Kayenne goggles just don't fit my face no matter how hard I try. I fooled around with them last night, trying to FORCE them to stay in contact with the skin around my eye sockets with no luck.

So today I went to good ol' Dick's with a coupon and got a new pair of Speedo goggles. When I got home and opened them, I was immediately happy that if they don't work, I can exchange them, because they seem to be made pretty cheaply. (Well, they were the cheapest pair, but they were also labeled as "competition" goggles- obviously you don't want your goggles goofing up during a race- so I figured they'd be fine! They just seem like they will fall apart easily.)

I need to test the goggles before I rely on them for tomorrow's race. Nothing new on Race Day!!

I grabbed my bag-o'-swim-crap and headed to the local lake (1/2 hour drive) for a quick swim. I had exactly half an hour to get in the water, test out the goggles and hopefully swim about 900 yards before my race tomorrow. Yesterday, if it hadn't been for the goggles (and constantly watching for other swimmers coming at me head-on, I hate that! At least in a race we're all going in the same direction for the most part), I would've gotten into a much better rhythm.

Today I really wanted to get a feel for actually going some measurable amount of distance and feeling good the *entire* time... for once. Ever.
When I arrived at the park there were quite a few dark clouds around. I checked the weather on my cellular device and sure enough, SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING. Damnit!!
I looked down at the lake and saw people playing in the water and breathed a sigh of relief that they hadn't been called out of the water yet. I happily toted my bag-o'-swim-crap down to a table and debated on whether or not to put the wetsuit on, or just run down there and put my face in long enough to see if the goggles worked. Of course if I went down there and got in the water, I was going to want to swim, so I elected to begin the process of wiggling into the wetsuit. I lifted the wetsuit out of the bag-o'-swim-crap, turned it right-side out, looked up and..........
who do I see?
Friggn park ranger.

Same (extremely sweet) lady who kicked us out yesterday.

I knew what it meant, but had to ask.
"Is it lightning?"
"Yup," she responded.

AAAAARRRRRRRGH!

She informed me that the thunderstorm watch was only for another 20 minutes, but that we had to wait until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike in the area to get back in the water.

I didn't have that much time :(
Sadly I packed up and went home.

Now I have to go get ready for an art event that starts at 6:00.

Apparently I will have to test my new goggles in the bath tub :(
AND TRY NOT TO FORGET THEM TOMORROW!

First Triathlon: What have we learned?

2010-05-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Since I already posted a link to my race report, I don't need to bore you with more details on that. But there were some things I learned and hope in my next race (already signed up for another one in a week and a half!) I'll remember them:

Swimming:
-Not everyone is out for blood.
I had a few reasons for thinking that was actually the case.

(Most are not like this.)

After repeatedly listening to one of our team coaches and a mentor discussing their way of "dealing with" slow swimmers they encounter from the previous waves (it involves swimming over top of them from feet to butt to head), I was scared because..... hello?? I'm one one of those swimmers! I really don't want to be in your way (and if I know you're coming up behind me I will do everything in my power to get the *#@# out of your way BELIEVE ME!).

Then Active.com posted an article on Facebook written by some swimming/triathloning champion chick who actually advised ladies to grow out their nails so they can just slash and claw their way through the flailing crowd of bodies. Real nice. Made me think I had really gotten myself into the wrong kind of sport.

I knew in advance not to put myself near the front of the crowd because there would be body parts (apparently including talons) going in all different directions fighting for space. I put myself comfortably in the back and found that I was surrounded by *gasp* girls much like myself. As we swam out to the start, everyone around me was bumping into each other a little (you couldn't help it) and I heard all around me "Oops! Sorry!" or "Ohh, sorry 'bout that!" etc. Yes... apologies filled the air. It really lightened the mood and made me (and others, I think) a lot more relaxed, knowing all the serious and possibly blood-thirsty girls were up near the front where they belonged.

Throughout the swim, I stayed toward the back, not toooo far to the outside. Near the end, when I sensed people from the next wave coming up behind me, guess what?... I moved over. They went on their way, I went on mine, no one was clawed or dunked or peed on or had lake water snot spit on them or whatever other defense mechanisms people use in triathlon swims.

And all was well in the land...

-Go into the water before the race starts, if you can.
The announcer was really harping on this, but not being a swimmer at all, I didn't see a need to get in there before I had to. I'd just go in, feel the water temperature, okay... now what?

Well, for one thing, you'll know what kind of water you're dealing with. I'm used to swimming in a lake where you can't see your own hand in front of your face. The water at Beltzville was CLEAR AS COULD BE! I think if I had made a mental note of that before the race, I would have settled into a rhythm because I wouldn't have been so worried about suddenly coming up on another swimmer and getting kicked in the face before realizing there was a body nearby. You could see all around you, but I'm so used to constantly looking for people, I kept that on my mind through my swim and it was distracting.

Biking:
-The computer WOULD have been nice.
One mistake I made- forgot to put my computer on the bike. I realized it walking out of transition. It was right there in my bag on my bike. It crossed my mind to quickly put it on but figured, fuggit. Well, it would have been really nice to know I was only averaging 14 miles per hour! Then again it might not have changed anything, who knows. But it might have encouraged me to use my BIGHUGEGIGANTIC gear since I think my legs are probably strong enough for that now (I've heard a general rule if you're new to biking is to wait 250 miles until you use that one to make sure you don't blow out a knee or some shit).

Running:
-Run the course ahead of time.
We attempted to do this as a group like a month ago, but no one knew what the hell was going on. We knew enough that the run was going to be on trails, and in the woods. What none of us knew was that the first half of the run was almost all uphill. In just the first mile I felt soooo slow and tired. I was bummed that I took a couple of quick breaks to walk since I was starting to feel like I might have breathing issues. Then we get up to the turnaround and head back and- surprise!- the 2nd half of the run was almost all downhill. If I had known that ahead of time I wouldn't have felt soo bad about being as tired as I was the first half and wouldn't have felt so discouraged and disappointed in my performance. Plus on the way back, I didn't know if more hills were ahead so of course I tried to save a little, just in case. Finally spectators started appearing along the last half mile or so, and I knew the finish was close, so at least I was able to pick it up some for that.

And finally...
Look around and enjoy the friggin scenery. Beltzville is a BEAUTIFUL place and on my way home I sadly realized I didn't look around even once during any of the 3 sports and just take it in. My husband said "That's cause you were in the ZONE!" and maybe I was, but I wasn't out for blood either....

FIRST TRIATHLON PICTURES!!

2010-05-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

How nice!

Apparently CGI hired photographers to provide official race documentation.

Quick Race Report

2010-05-23T09:15:00.001-07:00

I wrote up a race report on BeginnerTriathlete.com:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=209278

Hope that linky works.

I promise to post something more (with pictures) about my first tri in the next couple of days! I have been putting off a lot of things in order to get ready for the race and have a lot to catch up on today. I've got this year's first art show coming up this weekend and have a painting underway that I'd really like to finish today.

The short, short version:
Overall I would definitely say I had a lot of fun! And my goal was to finish < 2 hours; my final time was 1:36. Woo hoo! The swim was just meh. It wasn't worse than expected, because that would have meant a kayak actually having to come rescue me- so my expectations were to get it done and not wear myself out trying to keep up with everyone else. I do wish I could've done better considering the water was BEAUTIFUL and I won't get many opportunities to swim in water like that! It was warm (65) and clear- you could see people from far enough away to avoid running into them and there were beautiful plants and sealife at the bottom of the lake.

The bike was a BLAST and apparently I was showing it. I couldn't stop smiling on the bike and even as I was coming in, I heard a lot of people saying things like "Wow, she sure is smiling!" or "She looks really happy!" which I took a as a compliment.

My run was [surprisingly] my normal pace, but it seemed soooo slow. The first half was all uphill and it FELT like it. I was tired as hell and had a sad because people were passing me left and right- but on the bike it was me who was passing a lot of people (which I am totally not used to).
I've already got speedwork on my running agenda so hopefully eventually I'll become a little faster.

Pre-Race stuff

2010-05-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

So... here I sit at Country Inn & Suites, Lehighton, in my smoking room. Bleurgh! I can't believe I had to use the word Bleurgh two days in a row but I digest.

Got my packet and went to the pre-race meeting, then checked out the lake (with totally perfect water by the way) and transition area. A scary thing happened while surveying the course. I did not feel nervous. I felt excited. The swim doesn't look as intimidating as I thought and there aren't that many bike racks to add to the confusion. I'm sure tomorrow I will feel differently. But from past experiences, I know when I let my guard down, things don't go as well as I think they will. *That* is the part that has me nervous.

I know technically I can do the distances and also know I can do this difficult bike course (twice if I had to!). But it seems like my swim-bike-run practice was soooooo long ago, yet it was only last weekend.

It kind of reminds me of a competitive dance troupe. You learn a routine and practice it for months and then you perform it. Hopefully at multiple competitions. Sometimes it goes perfectly but sometimes you mess up. Life goes on. Hopefully if any mess-ups affect me tomorrow they are my own, not someone else's, and not while I'm flying down some hill on my bike. Actually it's the uphills where I'm worried about the other cyclists....

BLEURGH!!! The Swimming Sinus Factory

2010-05-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

It's official!
It's not Clif Shots.
It's not Gu.
It's not.

Snot! is what caused the stomach distress on my swim-bike-run practice. And will most likely be what will cause it again in 2 days.

When I swim in a lake OR a pool, I inadvertently end up getting water in my nose. This results in my sinuses going into OMGWTFBBQ!!! mode which causes all kinds of disgustingness going on in my head and the upshot is a very upset stomach.

I guess this means it's time to try and finally master the snot-rocket... Or master the art of puking while cycling.

Puke to the right, pass to the left!!

So now it's confession time.
Last night I tried to teach myself to do snot rockets in the shower after swim practice. What better place to learn, and I had a full ammunition cache.
Miserable FAIL.

The rocket got its engines going.
We had ignition!
The sinuses began to generate thrust!
Prepared for liftoff...
and then just sat there stuck to the launch pad.

Eeeewwww!!!!! I know endurance races aren't the most glamorous events in the world but this will not do. Not at all.

Have you mastered the snot-rocket???

Timely article from active.com

2010-05-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

All this time I had been assuming that sports-specific drinks/bars/gels/whatnot are just an expensive gimmick- That I could get the nutrition I needed from water and carbs (CHEEZITS) and protein post-workout.

Looks like my initial instincts were correct, according to this article- you CAN obviously get all you need from regular real food.

http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/Engineered_Sports_Foods__Convenience_or_Necessity_.htm?cmp=959&utm_source=sendible&utm_medium=feed

But after some recent blah practices and suffering through recovery times that seemed waaaay too long, I sought out these gels and Gatorade. There is a lot of science that goes into those products. People wouldn't be using them if they didn't work. Right???
Experts will tell you to "listen to your body" and mine was telling me I have to give it something more. I've got no issues pre- or post-activity with food. But if I want any kind of fuel or nutrition mid-workout, it's not like I'm going to eat anything with substance. A sports drink seems like the obvious solution.

So I found out that now they've got all different kinds of Gatorade. There's a Gatorade for BEFORE your workout and one for DURING and one for AFTER. I ended up picking up some of the #2 (aaahahhahahahhaa) for performance during your workout. I'll be drinking anyway during most activity, why not deliver some nutrients to my body that it can use?

A friend of mine also suggested watering the sports drinks down. She was told all the "stuff" in Gatorade and similar products can be too harsh for your stomach to handle all at once. I tried a half-water-half-Gatorade this past weekend (mostly because I'm cheap) and found it was MUCH more refreshing as a watered down version!

Some more energy buzz:
As per the comments section, I'm adding this real quick at the end. My original aversion to gels (other than clif) was that I didn't know what the hell was in them. But a friend reminded me that a while back, I read that honey's a great food to consume during workouts. I've been reading a few articles today on honey, raw honey, and bee pollen and eventually may experiment with those as well. I'll update after I've tried them out!! (Probably in a few weeks or more.)

Taking back what I said about Clif-Shots

2010-05-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

I used 'em on a bike ride yesterday and they were fine. I ate one way waaaaaaaay before I started biking (it took longer to find a place to ride than we thought it would) and the gel had a very loooong time to sit in mah bellah, so I'm still unsure if I'm going to use them pre-workout, exactly how much, and when. I don't think I'll be using them for my race... Maybe post-race to help with recovery (lately I've been concerned about recovery after #*@#ing up my back a couple weeks ago).

Yesterday my husband and I set out for a bike ride in a new place, exhausted of our usual routes. He found (online) what sounded like THE perfect place to ride, but when we arrived (which took fo'eva) it was a dirt road- not ideal for our road bikes. We did a little exploring (via his car) of the area and eventually found what seemed like a fine place to ride- and as we got further and further down the roads we found even better places to ride, and there were LOTS of hills!

Here's the loop we ended up doing (after venturing in a bunch of directions and making u-turns and whatnot):
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/pa/dauphin/172127410922979668

Back to the Clif-Shots, I was probably not on my bike and riding until an hour after I had taken one, so I have no clue if it had any effect at all. "Effect" meaning more energy. Sunday I obviously didn't swim immediately before riding, but after Saturday's experience of feeling SOOOO tired on the bike at first (after swimming), I wondered if taking a gel would help alleviate that.

We were riding around for a while and at each stop sign, we'd deliberate on which way to go, sometimes grabbing a cell phone to check out a map of the area and see what was around. Midway through the ride I was FRIGGN STARVING and my husband had brought along a Clif-Shot for himself. So we shared it- this was a Razz flavored one, and was much better than strawberry. I gulped it down and chugged some water. All seemed fine, and while not meant to be a meal replacement, it made me feel better for the 2nd half of the ride. Definitely didn't sit in my stomach feeling like a heavy acidy rock, so I would guess Saturday it was more the lake water/sinus issues (most awesomest thing about allergies).

I've been playing around with Gatorade, gels, and post-workout chocolate milk for the last week or so because I do not think I've been recovering adequately after training/working out. After 5+ months it seems like that's catching up with me. I thought the rule was generally protein + carbs at some point post-workout = good recovery (and I always just drink water, water, water, no juice or sports drinks), but there are times when my muscles are sore for DAYS. Makes me feel like I am still just too damn weak. I know that until I resort to the 'roids (of the ste-, not the hemor- variety, besides the latter would've been spelled "rhoids"), getting stronger is going to take time.
Yes I'm impatient :P
But I did consider that maybe there is something to Gatorade, gels, et. al. They are popular as hell and there is actual science that goes into creating that stuff- a lot of science- and now that I'm learning more about nutrition I'm thinking just a bunch of water post-workout and a trip to Neato Burrito 2 hours later isn't going to cut it.

First Swim-Bike-Run practice...

2010-05-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

What do you call that? I think a brick is just if you swim-bike or bike-run. A practice triathlon?

Today was... strange.
I'm not 100% sure why.

I *think* it's because I am used to doing more miles on the bike. Lately each time I ride, I've been doing around 20 miles with some hills. Today I did only 10. I'm used to feeling VERY tired off the bike (with just enough energy to run). Today, except for my belly feeling bleh, I felt fine off the bike... Which makes me wonder if I should've pushed harder?? I could've done 2 laps on the bike instead of just 1, but the race for which I'm preparing has an 11 mile bike and I wanted to simulate that as closely as possible. I know that sounds like a total cop-out, but I'm glad I did it this way. After I was done, I don't think I was nearly tired enough, which means next week I need to push myself (now that I know what a shorter bike ride feels like) and not save so much for the run. Anyway since I wasn't completely wiped out when I finished, it seemed almost... anti-climatic??

----
I started with my normal pre-training breakfast.
(If you're wondering: A cup of coffee with soymilk and agave nectar, and 2 slices of toast- one with peanut butter, one with Nutella because it's so damn bad for you I only treat myself to it on hard workout days)

The other day I picked up a bunch of energy-gels to try out & possibly use on race day. I got Clif-Shots, Clif Shot-Bloks, & some Gu. All the packages say to eat one 15 minutes before you begin activity, then every 45 minutes during activity. Since I noticed that the Clif-Shot has caffeine in it (maybe Gu does too??) I decided to try that one to start with. GROSS!! I had never tried a gel before; to say the texture is something you have to get used to would be quite the understatement. I seriously couldn't stop feeling like I was squeezing the insides of a giant caterpillar into my mouth. And I LIKE bugs... but have no desire to eat them.

That is one thing I did differently today that may have been an issue.

My swim went fine. Slow as usual. I tried to go faster/use my upper body more, thinking "Psshhht, I won't need THAT later, screw YOU arms and shoulders!! Get me done with this!!" but then I just ended up tired, so went back to my usual easy tortoise pace ;)

Oh, one thing I did learn today: I will use a different moisturizer/sunscreen on race day. The one I used today had my goggles sliding all around on my face, NOT cool. This is a new pair of goggles that has me looking like a reject cyborg, but I've used them twice and they are comfortable... so ahoy, matey robots! 01100001011010000110111101111001 001000000110110101100001011101000110010101111001 00100000011100100110111101100010011011110111010001110011!!

This was also the first time I swam before biking. On the bike I felt good but slow as hell. I'm not sure if I was just more tired or if there was more wind today than I am used to. I was blowing around all over the road. Oddly enough I made it up the big hills just fine- maybe faster. But the flats and smaller rolling hills were what seemed to be killing me. I just couldn't stay in a decent gear without starting to feel my legs wearing out. I know I had it in easier gears for the most part because my computer said my cadence was 5 over my usual average (which has been 79 when I do a hilly course, but today I was averaging 84).

So 10 miles on the bike. I briefly contemplated doing another lap just to get in extra miles, but I wanted my run to feel good and wasn't sure if after 2 laps of this tough course AND a swim, I'd be up for it. So I completed my T2 and off I went.....

To pee.

This could be another reason I didn't feel so great today. I never have to pee mid-practice. I was pissed (haha!) that I had to take a break for that. But I took that damn Clif-Shot and you have to drink a bunch of water with that- so I did- and I was drinking on the bike, too- something I've only recently learned to do. While I was putting on my running shoes I wondered if I really NEEDED to pee and thought, if it was race day, and there was a port-o-potty with no line.... would you? I decided that yes I would, so I did. I probably could've made it through the run but I wanted to enjoy it, not be miserable the whole time.

And off to the run. Man... by this point, my belly felt TERRIBLE. Like there was just a heavy acidy rock in there. It was one of 3 things:
-The Clif Shot?
-Accidentally drinking lake water during swim? (which is nowhere near as gross as MD river water by the way)
-Constantly runny sinuses from really bad allergies today?

I felt awful. I half-hurled a couple of times at first started to feel more normal after a mile or so.
There is a hill on this course, I did what I usually do- ran to it, walked up the hill, then pushed harder to the end. So other than the tummeh, my run was fine.

It was a great practice and I do feel prepared for my 1st race a week from today. Now I know I should push my legs harder on the bike, and during the swim I can try all I want to be fast but I'm just gonna get tired!

Yay! I met one of my running goals...

2010-05-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

And it certainly wasn't something I went and planned to do.

Yesterday, for the first time, I ran for 50 minutes! If I was doing 10 minute miles then I would've gone 5 miles, but lately I've been a little faster- closer to 9:30, I think- so I'd guess I did between 5.25 and 5.5 miles. For 2 reasons I didn't (couldn't) measure distance- #1 I no longer rely on CardioTrainer (it once told me I was doing 1 and a half minute miles WTF!!!!), and #2 I ran throughout the city thinking it would be safe. Thus, my route was all over the place: looping around blocks, changing direction based on the traffic lights, ran over the ped bridge a couple times, etc.

I probably could've run 5 miles before now, just never tried. When I did 4.75 with the team back in February, my knee really bothered me (I've got arthritis in both my knees) during the 2nd half of that run and a few days afterwards, so I've decided to take it suuuuuper sloooowwww ramping up my distance. The good thing about that run- besides going further than I ever had- was that I learned how to get my knee feeling better within a few days, so now I know what it needs and won't lose too much time when it has issues.

I didn't exactly plan to go out and have this super-awesome run or anything. As I was getting ready to change and start warming up/stretching, a Poe song got stuck in my head (this one: http://bit.ly/c8O8Z6 ) and thought, "I haven't listened to her in a while... I should put that album on for my run today." I checked my Itunes for times and the album is 50 minutes {and some seconds} long. I realized, "If I can run through this whole album, that'd be my first 50 minute run and would cover at least 5 miles!"

It seemed slightly ambitious but I thought, "what the hell? At least go try. If I get too tired or my knee bothers me, I'll do my usual distance and go home." Nothing lost by trying, and I would still have gone out and done something which is almost always better than nothing.

One mistake I sort of made- finally, the song that I thought was last on the album came on and I got all excited that I was almost done and, YAAYYY! I'm going to do it!!! so decided to push harder through that last song. Maybe about 4-5 minutes. Right before the song ended I realized... Awwww crap, there is another song after this... I'm not done yet. But rather than continuing to push myself (I was pretty close to home by this point anyway), I decided to keep running but slow it down a bit and use that last short song as a cool down.

Then took my dog for a walk for my real cool-down :)

Ambitious... Bike Love

2010-05-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

Since currently my longest ride has only been about 23 miles (and I plan to increase that very, very soon; hopefully my back will not protest too much), I thought a century ride later this year would be a blast. But originally I planned to make it easy on myself- small goals are good goals- I'm trying to have fun with this, remember? So I considered signing up to do the Seagull Century Ride over in Salisbury in October of this year. Having the whole summer to prepare seems like it would be enough, and everyone says the ride is flat as can be, so I'm confident I'd be able to handle it.

But now look what I've gone and done.
http://philly2010.livestrong.org/samanthagallagher

I've signed myself up for a century ride, indeed. In August. It's for a great cause- LIVESTRONG, another cancer fighting charity- so why not?? I'd like to raise at least $300, if not more, in my fundraising for this.

To look at the website you might be thinking, "Philly- that's a city, it's not like it's Denver... so it would probably be super easy." But you'd be WRONG! From what I heard at the TNT picnic a couple months ago (when this ride was initially brought up to me), it's tough. Tougher than the Tahoe Century Ride (WTF??). I haven't spent much time in or around Philly so I really have no idea how that can be possible, but that came from someone who has done both rides. According to the website, there are 4337 feet of climbing for the 100 mile course!!

With a move to DC in a couple of months, I'm not sure how we're going to prepare for this. Our team will be up here in central PA so I imagine on weekends we'll make the trip up for training rides with the group, and a couple rides on our own during each week. That seems do-able.

Speaking of do-able, behold my list of cycling-related goals on the right of the blog... Notice I've got them all X'd off now! I think the only one I had been missing was taking a drink and not falling off the damn bike. I should've added below that, "Put the water bottle back into the cage without friggn dropping it somewhere."

So a new race on my schedule means a bunch of new goals I'll have to set for myself in the meantime. I think my first list of goals was pretty good. Considering I knew *nothing* about cycling, I was still able to keep them realistic and within reach.

Since I'll be changing them soon, here was my first list (hey now; remember I'm a NEEEWWWWBIIEEEE!):

[X] Bike 10 mi
[X] Bike 15 mi
[X] Bike 20 mi
[X] Bike >10 mi w/hills >80 Cadence
[X] Take drink from water bottle & not fall off bike
[X] Bike the hills at Pinchot
[X] Two laps of Pinchot course
[X] Bike the hills at Pinchot without feeling like I'm gonna die

Party All The Time

2010-05-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am dying laughing... You KNOW it was a good training day when I'm singing Eddie Murphy. (Or when Eddie Murphy is helping me climb a hill as The Nutty Professor.)

Today a bunch of us TNTers went up to Lehighton, PA to scope out the Black Bear (sprint) bike course. We've all heard it's a doozy- 11 miles of hell- but of course wanted to see for ourselves. Plus familiarizing yourself with a course prior to race day is invaluable!! For me personally, not the competitive aspect, but just to get to know the course: Where are the biggest hills? Where are nice long flat stretches where I can take a drink? Do I get to recover at the end, or will the course be merciless all the way through?

The course is an 11 mile single loop for the race but today most of us did it twice. As we started, I had no intention of doing it twice since I had heard that it's AWFUL and I am not a masochist, but about a third of the way through my first loop I decided since I was already there, might as well make the most of it and do a 2nd loop. By the end of the first loop I was excited and looking forward to it!

Since I'm nice, I'll tell you what I learned in case you stumbled upon my blog looking for Black Bear info :)

* Big hills: Lovitt St (or Rd or Dr or whatever it is) and Jefferson.
* Lots of recovery between the hilly parts! Yaaayy!!
* Some crazy descents (obviously). I didn't fully partake in those today since the roads DON'T have shoulders, they are curvy mountainy back roads, and they were wet at the beginning of the ride. No idea how much traffic there will be on race day but I hope to take better advantage of the downhills then!
* And, yes, the end of the ride (after Jefferson) is super nice and relaxing and you'll get to recover.

Now I've got 2 weeks to work on my swim, which I'll be doing on weekends and maybe once or twice during the week. Funny now that the race is so close, that adds up to only about 6 more swims! If I can get myself more comfortable in the water and at least feel confident in completing the distance (open water is SO much more exhausting than being in a pool), I'll feel great when I Dare the Bear on May 22!!

I entered the course into MapMyRide.com - here it is:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/-lehighton/431127336280827540"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;2010 Black Bear Sprint Tri Route&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/pa/-lehighton"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Lehighton, Pennsylvania&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

http://www.mapmyride.com/add_route_to_blog.php?r=431127336280827540

Soooo unbelievably angry.

2010-05-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/0510/733410.html

Apparently now I have to find a new place to go running.
Or partners.
Or both.

A woman and her friend were walking near one of my favorite places for a good run and got attacked. During the day. In a busy area of a local park.
F*#@ING@$H#L3M#TH@F##K2$.
And a similar incident happened last week.

Once in a while instead of running in the park I was running right in the city: around various blocks, on sidewalks, whatever- but CardioTrainer on my phone wasn't always accurately recording my distance, so I thought it would be better to stay on a relatively straight path in a place I've always felt safe (except the other night when I went running later than usual, but that's a different story. The freaks really DO come out at night, ugh!). On a straight path if CardioTrainer failed on me, I could easily use good ol' Google Pedometer for distance and Time Calculator + my playlist to figure out time.

So I could write a blog post about my true feelings on this type of thing, and how mad it makes me that these days a girl can't seem to go out and do ANYthing by herself (or in this case even with a buddy!!) without having to worry about being harassed. But then I would end up eliminating most of the words I would need to use in order to accurately convey those feelings, since, for the most part anyway, this was intended be a family friendly blog (sorry if anyone's been offended by my occasional mention of shit).

I suspect it won't be long until my husband and I enroll in the self-defense classes we've been talking about doing together, or me arming myself with at least some mace and keeping it on hand while I'm running?? Which is obviously not even close to a perfect solution since I would need to have it pointed in the right direction and if caught by surprise would probably not even have time to react and use it in the first place. Not to mention my reaction to any of it blowing back at me.

So, in closing, to all the f***tards who have to ruin it for the rest of us,

S*$K&#(&*$&#*(#**(@#&(*Q@(@!!!!!###%!^##*#*!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rest Days.

2010-05-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

I know they are supposed to be a VERY important part of every training program.
But still.
I feel so useless and bleehhhh when I choose to take one.

I chose to take one today. Not even meaning a "light workout day" like it should mean, but a complete do-nothing-(except walk the dog) day. And since I have been genuinely enjoying each of the 3 sports in which I'm training, taking a break can only mean one thing thing...
I'm a-hurtin'.

Specifically my lower back, for about a week-week and a half. I went to the Y the weekend before last and did a core workout, 2 days later did it again (while I was still a lil' bit sore from the first one). Ever since then when I bend down or turn to the right, I get this dull pain. (So don't bend down or turn to the right!!) It hasn't been bothering me while I exercise, which is a relief. But it's stopped me from wanting to go do any core workouts in the mean time.

What I'm really afraid of is that I'll keep using it in this sore state, then finally stress it too much and really piss it off. It happened a couple years ago when we moved- I have (slight) scoliosis and packing/stress/moving/lifting for a friggin WEEK was just too much for it. Luckily the only things that resulted in excruciating pain were sitting or laying down for extended periods of time- so even if it does end up getting worse in the next couple weeks of training, at least I think it should be fine for the race. I hope I hope. In the mean time I'll be taking anti-inflammatories and staying away from Planks.... Ohhh noooo!

I came. I saw. I swam :)

2010-05-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

And I even exhaled. All it took was for me to relax and go slow about it and not compare myself to everyone else. I formulated my plan of attack, I prepared myself mentally knowing what I had learned yesterday, and made it work.

Tahhh daaahhh!!!

I'm sweeeeeeemin' in the rain, just sweeeeeemin' in the rain.
What a glooooorious feeling, I'm haaaaappy again....

Pinchot Lake: 1 Sam: 1.

Wednesday mine will become a 2.

Formulating a plan of attack...

2010-05-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

Pinchot Big Cycling Hill: 1 Sam: 3 HA!
Pinchot 50 Degree Lake: 1 Sam: 0 Boooooooooo.

Today I proceeded to get my ass kicked by Pinchot Lake in my first open water/wetsuit/50 degree water experience. I think what killed me the most was the mental aspect- namely, the fact that I wasn't worried. That's right. I let my guard down. Again. I learned not to do that at the cycling clinic we had a few months ago, I should have known better.

We were warned about this. Our coaches told us over and over this would be difficult.
Meh....
Murky water? I grew up playing in the Chesapeake Bay, BRING IT!
Wetsuit? Never worn one before, but tried it on, felt comfortable, and it kept me surprisingly warm in the cold water!!
Cold water you say? Sure- it actually wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
CREATURES??? I never think about creatures in the water. For better or worse.
Deep water that I can't see into doesn't bother me. It was even shallow in places. I could stand up most of the time; but when I couldn't, had no problem floating... even without a wetsuit.
Deep, dark, open water has never bothered me.

So.... what's the problem?

Would you believe the problem was THE most basic human function...... breathing? Specifically, EXHALING? What the hell!

When our group of 20 or so were all creeeeeping into the water, gradually feeling out the situation, one of our coaches kept yelling out "DON'T FORGET TO EXHALE!" as some were breaking away to start swimming. I wondered what the big deal was. We've all been swimming for a while. My first time trying to put my face in the pool back in January, I couldn't exhale. At all. Strangest damn thing ever. But that was months ago! I've moved past that NOW.
....Right?

Apparently not. What bothered me the most was that every. single. other. person in our group seemed to relax and get it and swim relatively normally after a few minutes. Me? I never got it. I could not get myself to exhale even ONCE in the water. I was doing breaststroke for a while, then back stroke, then swimming with my face out of the water- but the whole thing was pissing me off and I couldn't understand or accept why everyone else but me was doing just fine. I think that pressure- rather than all the other factors I listed above- was what got to me more than anything else. Seeing everyone else doing just fine, swimming further and further away.... and me starting to panic and feeling more and more like an outcast, trying harder and harder and just doing worse and worse... becoming increasingly more frustrated and pathetic.

This is the point when, years ago, I would have thrown in the towel and given up.
Everyone else can do it. Why can't I? *I* must not be good enough... So why bother? Fugit.
That's the old me.

The new me is determined not to be a wuss and is determined not to let anything stop me. Well, okay... maybe not anything, but I will not back down easily. I've surprised myself through this whole training process by many times, feeling frustrated almost to the point of crying (hello, today), then a few hours later having an extreme desire to go right back to what it was that made me struggle and conquer that shit.

So tomorrow I will do just that.

By now I've comforted myself by Googling "trouble exhaling in open water" and finding even half-ironman-triathletes who have experienced the VERY same thing (and some who occasionally still do), that there are actually biological reasons that it happens (your instinct is to gasp/inhale when you go into cold water, not breathe out), and now knowing hey.... I'm not the only one.

Tomorrow my plan is get the wetsuit on & go in gradually, get my head and everything all wet, just like today.
Then I plan to just warm up with some back-stroke or casual breast-stroke, no pressure.
If I'm still uncomfortable, I'll just stand with my head barely in the water and practice turning my face to the side and inhaling, turning down into the water to exhale, repeat. Until I feel okay with that.
Then maybe I'll put my face in deeper and deeper until I can breathe sort of normally.
Once I feel comfy I'll just do some dives forward and try to glide and exhale normally.
I'm hoping I can do all of this in about an hour, without getting too cold.
If all goes well and I take my time, I *hope* I can get myself to actually swim tomorrow.

The key word to my plan tomorrow is GRADUAL. Today I did nothing gradually. I felt like, I've been swimming fine for months now, what's the deal? I kept trying to go about it the same way I would've in the pool. And failed. A lot.

It scared the hell out of me that today was exactly like that first day in the pool in January, when I couldn't exhale. I've been busting my ass learning how to swim for almost 5 months. How can I be back at SQUARE ONE?? I've got 3 weeks until I have to race in open water!!!

But
There was some good news today :)
I did 2 laps of the Pinchot bike course and conquered all of the hills and never even had to think about walking any of them.

Pooparazzi

2010-04-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

AS IF I wasn't already self-conscious enough!! (Although you can see from the new blog header that I'm starting to overcome that, a little- see, that's the unflattering competitive style suit I referred to in this post.... anyway I digest.)

I had no idea that there are races out there that actually hire photographers (or maybe these sadists volunteer??) to document the event- taking pictures of the crowds when the race starts, of the athletes in various stages of the event, and each person crossing the finish line. When I ran the Hospice Run 5k a couple weeks ago, I did see numerous photographers throughout the race, and the other day I thought it would be neat to go on the website and see if I could find any pictures of myself or my husband or our friends.

Imagine my shock and horror when I saw this:

Ugh! I look like I'm power walking!!

NOT that there is anything at all wrong with that- but the fact that I know damn well I wasn't walking, I was very purposefully running (and felt exhausted by this point, but damnit, I WAS STILL RUNNING!) is what pisses me off because that sure doesn't seem to show in this photo.

Mortifying!

All that hard work and energy and effort and pride in PRing at this race, reduced to this one photo of me nearing the finish line looking like I'm barely moving along. I sort of think it's a matter of how they caught my stride- I think if it had been taken a split second sooner or later, maybe my leg and arm would've been up more, or something... I don't know.

And, Hello... Sun? Have I seen you this year? I'm not necessarily a fan of tanning... ok, I'm not a fan at all. I'm scared. to. death. of skin cancer... and the accompanying scars. At least my cycling-shorts tanlines aren't so obvious here as they are in real life. Also, I had no idea that a fabric hair band- which seems so practical at the time as it kept my bangs AND sweat out of my face- would look this ridiculous.

So now not only will I be worried about my performance when I race, but now how I look, too. Do I attempt to smile the whole time I'm racing? I've heard that keeping a smile on your face can lift your spirits and help keep you positive, so maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Or maybe it would just look goofy. And check out my fists, I look like I'm ready to punch someone. I know I don't keep my fists clenched while I run, but I've heard some people end up with their thumbs up while they run (my husband being one of them) because this helps make sure their hands aren't clenched in any way. So in a way that looks kinda goofy too, but in another way, it can look like as you're passing the camera, you're doing it on purpose- flashing a thumbs up to show you're okay and having fun.

Right.

So from now on during all training: Smile and thumbs up.

Check yoself before you wreck yoself... POOPARAZZI!

Just when I thought I couldn't love Brooks any more...

2010-04-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

I see THIS:
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/03/01/running-shoe-leading-race-sustainability?utm_source=sendible&utm_medium=feed

and THIS:
http://www.brooksrunning.com/Green+Room/Green+Silence/

They've released a new VERY eco-friendly running shoe....

O Hai:

If only I hadn't just bought a new pair of shoes! These are the same price (only $100) as the others I just bought.

Le Sigh.... This reaffirms what I already knew. I am in love with this company. ♥

It's a race, not a wedding.

2010-04-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

I keep getting all anxious and freaked out about my first triathlon next month....

I'm done with my fundraising (YAY!). Yesterday I biked 23 miles in small hills and then ran 4 miles (more than required in my race). I'm not too confident about the swim, but I know it's not like I am actually going to drown out there, either. I've spent enough time in creeks and streams and oceans and marshes to not be worried about sea life and (lack of) visibility. So I just need to focus on distance/endurance/breathing and get myself accustomed to the wet suit and cold water. No problem.

So why am I so worried?

I keep thinking about it as THE race. Calling it "my race." Singular. Like there is only ONE I am going to do... and THIS is it! I realized last month, hellooo, we're still in Spring here- it's early in the season! I can most certainly sign up for more triathlons. In terms of logistics (find race, sign up, go participate in race) it's no different than a 5k... and I've already done two of those this year.

Why put all of my eggs into one basket? Why do all this training and complete one race with nothing planned afterward?

I don't plan to stop running.
I don't plan to stop biking.
Ideally, I'd like to work more on my swimming or at least maintain all that I've learned.

So, if I don't plan to stop, why not do some more races?

OF COURSE I should plan to do more. I would like to do 3 or 4 triathlons this summer and actually get to a point where I feel confident and competent. In my first 5k (2 years ago), I wasn't trying to win. I didn't even care about PRing. I just wanted to go and do it and say I had done it... and I did. My first triathlon can be similar, where I go and experience it and prepare myself to do more.

It's not like a wedding when you spend months and months planning and- in my case- DIYing invites, seating charts, place cards, flowers, etc. You get to spend tons of time getting ready and then race again and again! Not only that, but you can continue to build on speed and distances as well. Gah, I can already feel addiction setting in....

Just watch for me next month on A&E's "Intervention."

Eco-Friendly Athletic Attire

2010-04-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here's your Earth-Day inspired athletic post! :)

Since it's quite obvious there are many healthy and active things you could be doing for Earth Day (taking a walk, planting a tree or vegetable garden or native flower garden, or going for a bike ride or a run outside), I thought I'd highlight some of the not-so-obvious ways to bring more eco-friendliness to your workout routine!

#1. Under Armour Green
Under Armour has a whole line of clothing made from recycled textiles! My husband found a couple of the shirts at Dick's Sporting Goods. At the time I didn't see any of those products in the Ladies' (or the Kids') section, I have gotten to wash his shirts a few times and the fabric feels *heavenly*! Nice and soft and light, great for being out on a hot day.
http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/ua-green-mission
See the products here:
http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/green-products

#2 NikeNike has gone green in quite a few ways.
One way is that they will recycle your old shoes! You have to go to their website and find the nearest location, then drop them off. I've got a bag of them I plan to take to Lancaster eventually. For more information and to see an neat video, check out this link:
http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
Another way Nike's gone green are with their Trash Talk Basketball shoes. The shoes are made from scrap material from Nike's manufacturing plant.To read more about them, go here:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/nike_talks_trash.php
You can find the shoes by going to Nike.com and searching for "trash talk."

3. Terracycle
Are you an energy-bar fan? (Or maybe candy or chips?) Head over to TerraCycle.net to learn about ways you can recycle your old energy bar/granola bar/chip/candy wrappers! They'll send you a collection bag (for free), and then when your bag is full, they'll send a shipping label (also for free). So... you pay nothing! Send in your old wrappers and select your favorite charity and TerraCycle will donate proceeds FROM YOUR TRASH to the charity.... how cool is that!?

These are just a few specifics- depending on your activity of choice, you can almost always find a way to make it more green. You can search for yoga mats made from recycled materials. You can always use a thermos rather than a brand new bottled water each time. If you're looking to bring your workout routine indoors, search for used treadmills or other equipment on craigslist or other local classifieds websites.

Hospice Run 5k: another PR!

2010-04-19T09:11:00.001-07:00

This past weekend my husband and I headed down to southern Maryland for the annual festivities of the Tiki Bar Opening. It's a huge event (and actually the place we met years ago!). We try to make it a tradition to return every year, but this year it wasn't those famous Mai Tai's that brought us back to the area...

This year it was a great opportunity for a fundraiser for LLS. (more on that in a later post.)

While we were in town for Tiki Bar Opening, the 15th annual Hospice Run & Fun Walk was also taking place. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to not only get in some training while we were away, but also support a great cause of course, and- for me- an attempt to beat my previous 5k PR of 29:06.

Allllllll day the day before the race (Friday), we had been on our feet fundraising- also dehydrated and hadn't eaten much at all because we were so busy (but that was a good thing!). When it was time to get up on Saturday my feet ached, my head hurt, and I was still exhausted. But after a banana and toast and coffee, I started to get excited about the race.

Plus I knew if we didn't go race, I'd regret it the entire rest of the day. And I HATE that.

I tried a different strategy in this race. I'm always tired after 3 miles, so thought I'd really really push myself in the beginning of the race, allow myself to walk a little and recover around the 2 mile mark (or whenever I felt I needed it), then try to push hard again at the end. After my last race I had already decided I'd try this- then I read this article earlier in the week and it solidified my decision:

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Run-Walk-Run_to_Faster_Times__Faster_Recovery.htm

This worked out perfectly in this particular race because there happened to be a decent sized hill just after the halfway mark... so when do you think I decided to walk? ;) I'd say I walked for less than 30 seconds, but even just a brief recovery period seemed to help immensely.
As I neared the 3 mile mark, I felt totally wiped out again. My chest felt tight, I was having trouble breathing- the air was FULL of pollen. I was pissed because I was sooooo close to the end! I didn't allow myself to walk any more, but I did ease off the pressure of PRing at this race. I made peace with the fact that I may barely get in under 30 minutes.

Just past the 3 mile mark, a guy was standing with a stop watch calling out times as we passed. We had only 1/10th of a mile to go and I heard him yell out, "27:45!" I wasn't sure if he meant that was my time as of that moment, or if it was an estimate of what our times would be by the time we got to the finish... But hearing that only 27 minutes had gone by gave me a HUGE burst of energy and I pushed it hard through the finish.
My final time was 28:28 (gun time) and my net time was 28:12. I had never seen the two different times accounted for before, but my husband explained with the timing strip we were using, it's a lot more accurate and when you start running in bigger races, you'll see more and more of those.

I couldn't believe I PR'd, as horrible as I had felt in the morning, but it made me extremely excited to have gotten my mile time to about 9 minutes... and hopefully I can work on getting it down even further!

PINCHOT, TAKE 2

2010-04-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

Today's one of those days when I realize I get inspiration from the weirdest places. But whatever. As long as I'm inspired and complete what I set out to do, right?

So tomorrow we're going out of town for a few days and I NEEDED to get in a good bike ride (preferably a brick workout) before we leave. Last week I had stated that I want to try the Pinchot course once a week- not sure if I'll start trying to do two laps or just keep it to one for now. Today I had to do just one, again due to time constraints.

I was DETERMINED to take my time and get up those hills without walking. I'm also pretty terrible at standing up to go uphill, so I wanted to try getting more comfortable with that, too. The best place to practice that, I found, was the 1/2 mile hill coming out of the parking lot. The speed limit on that road is 15 MPH so you know there aren't cars flying up from behind you, or at least ideally there shouldn't be. When I tried the standing I really sucked at it. At first it felt comfortable but then the bike started going from side to side, all wobbly, so now I'm trying to get up a hill AND keep the bike relatively still and under control. Ugh! Kind of a bit of a fail. I sat back down and rode the rest of the way up at a snail's pace.

The first 6 or so miles of the course are relatively easy...
Then came THE hill. The one where I dropped my chain last time and had to walk a little.

DETERMINED.
DAMNIT.

I was pushing my way up, trying sooo hard.... breathing hard, gasping, wondering if the people in the houses I was passing were going to hear/see me and call an ambulance. Just when I thought I might have to get off and walk again, I heard.............

Eddie Murphy.

Eddie Murphy??? Yup. The scene in the Nutty Professor when he's screaming out, "Yes... I... CAN! YES I CAN!" I can't even remember which scene it is exactly, but I think it's when Buddy Love is saying to him, "You can't beat me." Sherman responds with an emphatic (emphasis on the 'phat'?) YES... I... CAN!

So that's what I heard in my head each time one of my feet pushed down on the pedal.

YES
(right foot down)
I
(left foot down)
CAAAAAN!!!!!
(right foot down).

I just kept repeating it and finally got to the top of the damn thing. God it was slow.

So I've decided in the mean time to try and get to the spin bike at the gym a couple times a week, in addition to my sessions outside, and crank up the muhfugin resistance on that beeeeyotch and go hard for a few minutes at a time. I hope in the next month (that's right, 5 weeks til my first race) I can build up my leg muscles enough to get through those hills.

In the mean time, here's some more motivational video from the Nutty Professor... it's one of my all time favorites :)

After getting up those hills, I felt just like he did at the end of this video.... YEEAAAHHHH!!!

Timed Swimming

2010-04-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to try something new during my swim practice: I set a timed goal instead of distance. I wondered if I could swim for 1/2 hour without any breaks, doing as much freestyle as possible of course. Since I'm not a COMPLETE snail in the water (though I am slow, I know), I'm hoping the swim in my race next month won't take me any longer than 30 minutes... so I'm hoping if I can go 30 minutes non-stop at this point, I'll be in good shape.

During this session, I would occasionally flip onto my back mid-lap, then go back to freestyle before reaching the end of the pool- or throw in some random breaststroke (for sighting) too. Usually when I switch up what I'm doing, it's when I've reached the end of the pool and flipping over is easy. I'm not gonna have that luxury during the race (duh) so I better practice alternating strokes BEFORE I'm in the open water!

I think I only did the backstroke a couple of times to let myself recover a little, but I kept it very slow and didn't tire out as much as I thought I would. I couldn't believe it, but sure enough, I went my 1/2 hour with no stops and felt great! I actually felt like I could've gone longer, but was on a bit of a time constraint and had met my goal... so I felt satisfied.

The day before, I had timed myself for about 900 yards of swimming and including my warm-up and cool-down, completed it in 25 minutes. So I'm guessing for today's swim I went about 1000 yards.

Go, Speed Lacer, Go!

2010-04-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

Added two things to my shopping list:

-New running shoes
-Speed Laces

A couple of years ago I invested in my first pair of Brooks (a pair of Trances). I had been dealing with a lot of knee pain in the months prior, and my orthopedist suspected my first pair of running shoes might've been the culprit... so he suggested I get a better ($$) pair. With that, I proceeded to spend more on a pair of shoes (and insoles) than I ever have in my life, as I can RARELY justify spending more than $80 on something that just might land squarely in a pile of dog shit.

(The shoes didn't help with the knee pain, which turned out to be arthritis.)

I veeeerrrrry slowly got back up to running 3+ miles. As the miles racked up, the cushion on my poor old Brooks began to not feel as cushy, the tread began to wear down flat... so last week I decided it was time to start shopping for some new kicks.

I headed to a local shop (The Inside Track- figures just months before I move, I find a great little local running shop... oh well) and tried on lots and lots of different models. The very very helpful guy who worked there suggested I try the next model down from the Trance- the Adrenaline- as perhaps the Trance was overkill ($$$) for my needs. I tried them along with comparable models of Asics, Nike, Puma... and some others I don't even remember. The Brooks felt the best- by far- which was a HUGE relief since I had been fretting (and thus postponing shoe-shopping, seriously, WHAT GIRL DOES THAT???) that all the shoes would feel the same, I'd pick the cheapest pair and go home and end up with sore knees/shins/ankles after the first week (and after the $ was spent of course).

Great success! I have found "my" shoes and I'm sticking with them!

The Inside Track also carried ibungee speed laces, so I picked up a pair of those as well.

Since they're elastic and stretchy, I assumed I would have to make them really tight at first and they would loosen up as I broke them in. That doesn't seem to be how they work at ALL. I threaded the laces way too tightly at first and had to go back and loosen them up before my first run. Of course you don't want your shoes all flopping around on your feet, but even when kept relatively loose, these hold the shoes in place just fine.

Eventually I'll probably trim some off the ends of them (they're pretty long in this photo), but from the little bit of running I've done in them so far, I can tell they'll be just as comfortable as regular laces during my run, and greatly cut down on my time in T2 :)

Pinchot Course, single lap

2010-04-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

Pinchot Lake & the Race-Day Parking Area

After surviving an informal team bike ride last week where our coach had me scared sh#tless when, before we left, he announced, "This is a-no-foolin'-around-REAL bike ride! There ARE HILLS and there WILL be traffic and intersections!", I decided it was time for me to go do a course that would make me go HOLY CRAP... Today I went to check out what a few (including my coach) have referred to as the hardest-tri-bike-course in the area: Pinchot Park Triathlon.

It's about a 9 mile loop, and today due to time constraints I was only able to do one (the Sprint race consists of 2 laps). Notice two things: I'm here writing this post, so I survived. Also, I said, "I was only able..." which means I was able to complete the course :)

I am dying to get in as much hill practice as I can before my race next month- I am determined to prepare myself for the worst!

On that note, as soon as I got to the park, I went looking for Park Service or Emergency numbers (other than 911). I have yet to learn how to change a tube (shame on me, I know, I know) and I was by myself (strike two, I'm a dumbass, I know, I know). But I was biking during the day, in good weather, during park hours and prepared myself the best way I knew how:

#1 I drove the course first. I wanted to make sure it seemed like something I could handle. If any of it seemed dangerous at all I would either skip that part, walk my bike through that part, or just say screw it and go home. It also me get familiar with the course and various landmarks.

#2 I picked up a park pamphlet with the park phone numbers on it to bring with me, and biked during regular park hours. I hoped that meant if I did somehow get stranded in a non-emergency situation, I'd have someone to call and tell me where to go/what to do. Of course in an emergency I would call 911!

#3 I texted my husband right before I left and told him where I was/when I expected to be finished. I also told him I would text him when I was safely back to my car (and I did). If you're ever biking/running/hiking by yourself, which in general you probably shouldn't do (but sometimes we must), this is one of the best things you can do to ensure someone knows where you are and IF you may be in trouble.

#4 I brought my phone with me on the ride. Duuuuhhhh!! :)

So how'd it go?

Cons:

Took a wrong turn before East Camping Area road- got too excited and saw a park sign and turned there. No big deal, just added maybe 1/2 mile to my trip and gave me 1 more hill on my way out of the camping area.
East Camping Area Road starts out with a pretty decent hill. Halfway up I switched into granny gear and my chain slipped off. This hasn't ever happened to me before so at first I had no clue what happened- just that it was suddenly easy (too easy) to pedal and nothing was happening. Instead of trying to deal with it there on the hill where I would have had NO chance of being able to clip back in easily, if at all, I walked my bike down to the bottom of the hill. Since this has never happened to me before, it took a little playing around with it to figure out that I could very easily fix the problem, but what a relief it was to know I COULD fix it and was not stranded! So I put it back on, clipped back in, and started back up the ONE hill on the course that I was kind of dreading....
And couldn't quite make it. I had to stop and walk about 30-50 feet up to the top of the hill. My guess (hope) is that the mini-freak-out from the chain dropping off had my anxiety up a little more than it should have been, hence maybe I was hyperventilating a bit and couldn't breathe because of that. Bummer. But as I was walking up, I realized that even then I was probably not going THAT much slower than I was in my easiest of gears so... whatever.

Pros:

The 2nd big hill on the course I managed to do at a snail's pace of 7 mph, but hey... I was happy just to not have to walk again!
The course wasn't so so horrible that I lost all hope. It was fine.

Over all, a very satisfying bike ride (and short run afterward) and I feel more- not less!- confident about biking on hills. I say that now, and then go out with my team and end up totally sucking on the rides compared to everyone else. But it just takes time and I know I can only get better from here.

Fear sets in.

2010-04-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

On May 8, myself and fellow TNT Black Bear Triathlon participants are going up to check out the course. I'm not sure if that means actually get out and attempt to ride it (pleasepleaseplease) or just drive it. I definitely hope we can actually get out and play on it, but we'll see.

In the meantime, since I apparently enjoy the masochistic fine art of obsessively trying to prepare for things that scare me to death, I've been reading as much as I can about Black Bear. BeginnerTriathlete.com is a great site where you can search for a specific race and read members' reviews/race logs about specific races. You can find everything from water temperatures to road conditions/things to watch out for on your bike ride, and on what kind of terrain you'll be running.

Here are some of the comments I've read about the course from members on BeginnerTriathlete.com. Granted, some of these are from the now discontinued half-ironman (HIM) course, but they were still scary and a wake up call to GO DO MORE HILLS ON THE BIKE!!!!!

"This was a HILLY course! It had rollers and knock out steep climbers! People were WALKING the hills!!?! I felt good that I was not only able to do the hill but pass numerous people on each hill. Also my recovery time was quick and I was onto the next hill strong and fresh. IM training is paying off. " (member GP160) I really hope I'm not one of the ones who has to walk some...

"...Biking is usually my strongest leg and I was slower than last year's race. My knee was bothering me a bit, and I just wasn't focused mentally (I found myself slowing down for no reason). This was also the 1st time I did this (or any) really hilly course on my tri bike. I think I'd opt for the roadie next year as I needed lower gearing." (member jdevito20) I guess that's good news as I already have a road bike.

"Very hard, lots of hills, hit 44mph on down hill" (member zerovis) Hm, that was something I wasn't even thinking I had to worry about- the DOWNhill portions. Easy, right??? Except when you're inexperienced like me and scared to death of going anywhere over about 25 mph!! I've got to learn to take advantage of that free help from gravity/speed by race time.

"I may be training too much in the flats, but this course seemed pretty extraordinarily hilly to me. There were some screaming downhills, which were fun, but also a number of out-of-the-seat climbs. The first 7-8 miles and an out-and-back to a turnaround point were particularly difficult..." (member fenway) Yikes! Note to self: Practice standing up out of the seat a little more. So far when I have, it wears my legs out soooo quick... but I guess I better work on getting used to it!

The good news is that I keep reading rather pleasant things about the swim... other than it being cold.

What makes someone an athlete?

2010-03-27T15:23:00.001-07:00

I've been wondering this for quite a while now and still haven't come up with an answer.
Right now, I wouldn't call myself an athlete. Not sure why, and not sure if I'll reach a point when I would call myself an athlete.

Recently I stopped at a shopping center off the interstate... I was faced with an Ann Taylor on one side of me, and a Dick's Sporting Goods on the other. I found myself way more excited about Dick's than Ann Taylor- so maybe there IS an athlete hiding in here, somewhere.

I think the first time anyone ever called me "athletic" was about a year ago, some friends and I were chatting online and "The Amazing Race" came up in discussion. One girl posed the question to the rest of us, "If you were going on this show and could take one of the rest of us with you, who would you take?"
Shockingly TWO of the girls said, "Sam, because she's athletic."
I had to read that a few times to make sure I had read it correctly. I know I had mentioned before that I love to run, so maybe that's where that statement came from. No one ever called me athletic before.

The people I think of as athletes have such a long history of it that I'm unable to see them as NOT being athletes. They also pick up various athletic activities very easily and seem to be good at everything they try!

My step-dad is probably the most athletic person I know. When I met him, he played tennis at least a few times a week- and was always in tournaments, winning trophies. He didn't just play, he was GOOD! He also played basketball, later he started running a lot, and then took up biking, and he plays golf and bowls, too. I'm really not sure if there's anything he doesn't do or wouldn't be good at if he tried, and in my list above I'm certain I'm missing something. On the pedestal of athletic people I know personally, he's way up there at the top.

When I think of athletes, that's what I think of. Natural talent. Not someone like me who decides in their late 20's to maybe start running as a way to avoid getting flabby, and then a few years later signs up for a sprint triathlon. I see me as the non-athlete-average-person just trying to stay in reasonable shape and finish a race.

So what makes you consider someone an athlete? Do you consider yourself one? Why or why not?

Apparently I am not cute. Nor fashionable.

2010-03-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is according to my husband.

We were swimming at the pool together recently. At the end of our session I swam up to him and tried to hug him. He burst out laughing, slinked away, and said "you... are... NOT cute right now!!!"
"Not even just a leeeeeeeettle?" I asked, trying in vain to get close.
"NO!!!" he responded.
It's no wonder... I was in my white swim cap and clear goggles.
I lifted my goggles up and placed them on my forehead. Irresistible. I know it.
"How about now?"
"No. Still no. That swim cap makes you look like a grandma!"
Oof.
Somehow the ladies that I see in pictures wearing swim caps manage to look polished, glamorous, beautiful. And the ones with their goggles and swim caps on look super cool, almost a little menacing. Apparently that's not reality!

For Valentine's Day he and I decided to treat ourselves to a shopping spree at Dick's Sporting Goods. Pre-training was coming to an end and formal classes/training sessions with TNT were starting! We both (especially me since I've never done much of anything athletic) needed some new athletic gear. Temperatures were still cold (the snowiest February on record for Harrisburg) and I hoped that a bunch of cold-weather stuff would be on sale, since I prefer to train outdoors.

I was checking out the kids' clearance section since sometimes I fit into kids' shorts and shirts (in XL or XXL). I held up a pair of Under Armour shorts, then put them back saying that I didn't need MORE shorts.
It was then that my husband said this:
"You can wear smaller shorts, you know."
What's that? I'd gained a few pounds over the last couple of years and have felt EXTREMELY self conscious about it. It's easy for him to say I can wear shorter shorts when he hasn't actually seen me in any in a long time!
"But... I'm kind of embarrassed to wear little tight shorts."
His response?
"Well I think you're going to start feeling very out of place in classes if you keep wearing the stuff you've been wearing!"

Daaaaaamn!!! I had no idea he was such an expert on the latest in spin-class-fashion! ;)

Back in '07 when I was running, I did wear little shorts... I wore those cute little cotton Soffee shorts (and still have 6 or 7 pairs of them). The shorts were a ridiculously good deal at JC Penney- one of their "Buy 1, Get 1 for 1 penny" deals- and they came in EVERY color imaginable. What's not to like!? When I had to stop running and start using the bike at the gym, I became very aware just how short the shorts were and was not comfortable in them at all for that purpose. I opted for a couple pairs of long comfortable (and kinda baggy) cotton shorts from Old Navy.

I'd been wearing those long cotton shorts to training sessions to spare myself of embarrassment... but apparently I was embarrassing my husband and seemingly myself even more!

I ended up getting the UA kids' shorts. They were a little longer than the Soffe shorts, and I've seen plenty of women wearing that kind of thing under the little shorts.

Swimming Help/Motivation

2010-03-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'm very much a visual person so while learning how to swim properly, I've been watching quite a few videos. I really enjoy the videos from goSwim.tv on YouTube- they've been immensely helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/user/goswim098

I love sitting down and watching a handful of these videos before going to practice swimming. I have the fresh visuals in my head that I can try to picture and emulate while I'm doing drills or just doing laps.
Here are a couple of my favorites:

Another One Bites The Dust...

2010-03-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

No, not me!
...Another one of my goals!!

This morning I ran in the Vinny's Kids 5k on City Island in Harrisburg and met my goal of less than 30 minutes! My time for the race was 29:06.

Right before the finish line you cross the Walnut Street bridge. As I crossed it I was pretty damn tired, but wanted to go a little faster and finish strong; however, I could hear some raspy wheezy noises in my breathing... In the past this has been my body's signal not to push harder.
So I didn't.

Now I'm pissed at myself because if I HAD pushed just a little harder toward the end, I would've finished in just under 29 minutes! I know it's only a matter of seconds... but still. Damn you stupid raspy breathing noises!! Next time I'ma ignore your punk asses and see what happens.

Maybe I can find another 5k to do this upcoming weekend and beat my time?

TNT Training & Picnic

2010-03-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

AKA The SCAAAARRRRYYYY BIIIIKE RIIIIIIDE that wasn't so scary.

Today was our 2nd TNT Bike/Run training session in the Mt. Gretna, PA area. I did an art show last year in Mt. Gretna and remember 2 things: Farms & hills.
HILLS....
I have never biked on actual hills, just simulated them in spin class and SUCKED at it. I was pretty nervous- even though after the training session (which began at 8am, yikes for me on a weekend!) there was a picnic. Picnic = fun, right? Yeah, fun if I can make it back without hyperventilating climbing up a hill on my bike and passing out and tumbling down!!
(Can you tell I was nervous?)

I also assumed we'd be riding on trails, not roads, because roads are scary and have very big cars and SUVs on them that can take out a doofy wobbly cyclist like myself.

Yesterday one of our coaches forwarded the cyclists' cue sheet (first time I had heard that term, by the way) to the triathletes. I was both excited and intimidated as hell by this. Excited because I had more information which equals more excessive obsessive preparation by moi, intimidated because the cyclists were going 30something miles. Our coach DID say we weren't doing all of that, but didn't say how much! So are we doing 10? 20? 28? Ack! I MUST KNOW!

I made my way over to MapMyRide.com immediately and started plotting it out.
OMG.
It's roads.
ROADS, not safe traffic-free trails!
Ohhh nooo!!!
Where the hell were we going?
As I mapped out all the turns it became more and more apparent that I was going to get lost. Definitely. I would be the one straggling behind everyone else, dead last, struggling to get up the hills, then missing the key turns, ending up on the Turnpike.
Shit.
Even though I was going to print out the cue sheet and bring it with me- like I can read it while I am biking!!

6:45am, alarm goes off.
Lunches packed, weather checked, water bottles full, cue sheets printed, bikes packed into the car, we headed out.

We arrived at the location right on time, took out our bikes and assembled them, then joined the group for our mission moment, introductions, and an explanation of the course. Hmmm, I had assumed there'd be markers of some sort, but was reassured when someone told me that this was a "no child left behind" ride and we'd ride, single file, all the triathletes staying together, and doing 20 or so of the 30 miles.
I calmed down.

We headed out and I was surprised to find myself comfortable on the roads. It wasn't scary. There was a little shoulder for us, it was nice and smooth. Traffic was extremely courteous, giving us plenty of room.
I saw one of our coaches and some tri-teammates up ahead and kept them in sight. I surprised myself by being relatively close to the front of the "pack." Eventually the coach fell back some to check on those behind me, and I heard him yell to fall back. I was kind of isolated by that point, so figured I'd take the advice.
Our coach then went up ahead of me and every now and then I could glimpse his fluorescent yellow jersey so I knew I was on track. It seemed like I had been going pretty far though, and thought there would be more turns than this, but could still see him and a few others ahead on occasion, so I didn't worry.

I went up hills, down hills, the road narrowed and got a little more.. well, crappy. But surprisingly by that point I was comfortable enough with the whole experience that it didn't bother me (much). I saw a group of cyclists from the team stopped up ahead of me and I joined them. I figured they were stopped there waiting to point us in the direction we should go. It was then that I realized the yellow jersey I had been following was not that of our coach, but another teammate who, like me, and 7 or so others, had missed our turn. (cue scaaaarrry music!!!)

We had gone a little over 7 miles by then and some girls who knew the area knew that to keep going wouldn't put us on ideal roads at all. We decided to turn back, and most of the way back was uphill, so we'd still get a pretty decent 15 mile ride.

The ride back was nice, again. I was still surprised at how comfortable I felt on those roads (and even the hills) seemingly alone... I could see a couple people way ahead of me at one point and knew there were others behind, but no one close by. I thought I'd need the security blanket of following or being close to others... but it wasn't so bad at all.

Back at the picnic area, I parked my bike and changed my shoes and headed out for the trail run. The run was pretty uneventful and not something I was worried about, like the biking. It was slow going though. But I was so happy to have made it safely through the bike ride, and through hills, without feeling like I was going to die. What a relief! I was scared to death to do any hills at all but like most things... they weren't so bad.

Little jumps from lilypad to lilypad...

2010-03-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

eventually get you across the big pond!!
(That's a quote from Clinton Kelly from "What Not to Wear!")

I've got a column titled "Small Goals" over to the right. Today I was able to mark off my 650 yards of swimming with no rests!

There was recovery... but no actual stopping, and my actual distance was 700 yards. I did 75 freestyle then 25 recovery (sometimes less) for each 100 yards. I could've gone further, as I wasn't completely wiped out at the end, but I wanted to save a little energy for the 3 x 100's I planned to finish with today.

I still have 2 months before my race (May 22nd), so I'm happy with the fact that I know I can technically go the distance needed. My race includes a swim of 650 meters. My 700 yards today is equivalent to 640 meters.... Yes, there's a lacking of 10 meters but since I wasn't completely pooped after my 700 I think I could get through that extra 10 easily when it comes time!! :)

It may not be pretty, and I won't be at the head of the pack--which is more than fine by me since I would like to complete my first race without a bloody lip or nose or getting kicked in my post-LASIK eyes thankyouverymuch.

Triathlete = Shopaholic

2010-03-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

When you first sign up to participate in a triathlon there are a few obvious things you need:

Swimsuit: not a bikini, but any tankini or one piece will probably work.
Bike- hey, that old bike in the garage'll do just fiiiine. &
Helmet- I'll just use my old one, too.
Running shoes.

After you've signed up and have committed yourself, it's time to start training!! With that, you take a good look at the logistics of what actually needs to happen for you to finish the race. You realize maybe you need just a few more (or different) things to REALLY get started:

Competitive (a.k.a., unfashionable) Swimsuit
Goggles
Lightweight Road Bike (not some old heavy thing) and with it
New bike shoes/pedals meant for actual racing
Helmet
Running shoes
Running/Athletic socks

Now you've got the basics... you think.

You get a couple weeks' worth of practices under your belt and feel accomplished, but also realize there are a few things that you never thought you'd need but now you're well aware. So now your list of triathlon gear looks more like:

1. Competitive Swimsuit
2. Goggles
3. Swim Cap
4. Lightweight Road Bike
5. New bike shoes/pedals
6. New Helmet- a guideline is if yours has taken a fall or is more than 5 years old, time for a new one.
7. Bicycle Bag to contain your:
- extra tube
-a crap ton of other bike tools that I can't even remember right now
8. Biking gloves
9. Biking (or triathlon) padded shorts
10. Moisture-wicking clothes (for cold and warm weather)
11. Sunglasses (cheap & lightweight) to keep sun AND BUGS out of your eyes!
12. Running shoes
13. Running/Athletic socks
14 Arm-band for phone, iPhone, GPS, or whatever other device you're using to figure out your mileage (and/or listen to music)

And I still am probably not done!

Don't even get me started on all the miscellaneous gear for training outdoors! I can't stand being stagnant indoors on a treadmill or spin bike. Luckily I already had a lot of stuff, like a wind/rain resistant lightweight jacket, gloves I can use for biking (well, 2 pairs of warm thin gloves that I have to double up, ungh ungh), running pants, warm socks, and plenty of stuff to keep my head warm (like my fleece ear warmer and thin lined hat with a built in Balaclava). I did add a cold-gear Under Armour wicking shirt to my collection as well as a pair of wind-resistant pants. I'm still new to all of this and it still feels weird to me to go into a Dick's Sporting Goods- or ANY sporting goods store for that matter- and find myself really excited about it.

EDIT:
Possibly add a bike rack to that list too!
Ugh!

Friday's swim post: The conclusion!

2010-03-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

Determination does a body good.
(This being in response to my previous blog post....)

I surprised myself today by swimming 500 yards without stopping! I did alternate between freestyle & recovery, I don't remember how much of each, but made sure freestyle made up well more than half of it. I stopped before I was completely worn out so that I could make sure I had energy left for the 100-yard-freestyle-no-breaks goal I was determined to meet. Even having to defer to a recovery stroke, it felt so good to know that technically I will be able to swim the entire distance of my triathlon without having to completely stop...
or drown ;)

I gave myself a little mental pep-talk during my rest, pushed off to begin my 100 yds...

and

I

did

it.

Yes. I did it. I overcame my mental block.

I know to most people 100 yards of swimming is nooooooootttthhhhiiiiing... and some day I hope to be one of those people. But I remember so well from my days of the Couch-5k program, small victories are necessary to achieve the BIG VICTORIES.

I did a little bit of recovery and then attempted to go for 100 again...
the 2nd time was not quite so glorious.
The first time I made myself really take it slow and easy, kept reminding myself that I wasn't in a race, just need to get the distance done, not to overexert myself. It worked.

The 2nd time, at about 65 yards or so, I managed to take in a great deal of water on an inhale and started coughing a bit, flailed, and went for the side of the pool thinking "Man, f___ this!" No sooner had my hands touched the wall when internally I heard, "What are you doing, dumbass? Why are you reaching for the wall? This is ridiculous; go paddle around, do SOMEthing."
I quickly let go and began a bit of recovery, but inside was saying, "Wait... Oh, WHAT IS THIS NOW!? RECOVERY!?!? WHAT KIND OF BULLCRAP IS THAT! Come on, you JUST DID this not even 10 minutes ago, it's not that hard! You did it once! Get back into freestyle and suck it up, get this DONE! What's wrong with you!?"
and I was swimming again, reached the 75th yard mark, turned, and headed out for the last 25.

It was not pretty, nor was it graceful, but I managed to do it again- minus the small hiccup.

I came home feeling pretty great!...
And here's the song that helped motivate me:

Swimming... again

2010-03-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

When I first started swimming, even with my piss-poor form, I could do 50 yards (of freestyle) comfortably. I figured since I've been working hard for a couple of months on form, I'd be able to easily do 100 yards by now without a rest.
But not yet.

Maybe it's a mental thing- I'm swimming, counting how many laps I've done, and I know in the past my limit has been 50 yards... maybe I get to that 50 yard mark and think I'm more tired than I really am.

The last time that I went swimming (or attempted to swim) a few days ago, I did horrible. Seriously just plain awful. I could barely go 25 yards without needing to rest before continuing to do another 25, to get up to the 50 yard mark I've been stuck at for quite some time. What the hell!!! I can't go from being able to swim 50 yards with terrible form to 25 yards with improved form. It just doesn't make sense. Everyone has said as my form improves, distance will come. Why hasn't it?

On days like that, I end up stopping and going home much sooner than I would like. I'm in there feeling desperate, knowing I need to be doing more at this point, and I try to keep going and going. But of course, the more I swim, the more tired I get, which means I can only do even less distance. There I am trying to force myself to improve and instead doing worse and worse.

After I swam last time and sucked at it, I came home and did a core workout. I made it through it... barely. Then I sat down on the couch with some dinner and damn near fell over wanting to just sleep.

It occurred to me... maybe I was just plain tired. Maybe it was a bad day for swimming (or any physical activity). I would so love to be ON every day- but at this point maybe there are some days when I'm just not. I feel like that's a crappy excuse, and don't like to blame "tired days." I have read that you should include rest days in your training (not meaning NO activity- just light activity, or low-impact). I've even read that in 4-6 weeks of training, you should include a rest week in there somewhere. Again, not meaning you do nothing that week... just meaning you don't do your high-impact workouts and maybe shorten some of your distances or intensity, to rest and allow your body some recovery time. Maybe that was what I needed this week.

So I'm leaving now to go try to do some swimming again. I ate a good breakfast, I am energizing myself with a Clif Bar, I'm going to remember to use my inhaler, I have been telling myself over and over this week that on Friday when I swim, I will be able to do it... I AM DETERMINED TO GO 100 YARDS TODAY WITH OUT RESTS even if I have to cheat a little. Cheat meaning, swim on my side with my face up for a few strokes to recover a little here and there.

But I want to overcome this damn roadblock at which I've been stuck for WAY too long!