Going to the big Dance!

Pretty good week training I must say. I actually got in 3 swims this past week...ummm that's almost unheard of for me! I went 2 times before work which only allows for 30 minutes but every little bit helps and I did get in a 45 minute swim this weekend. Only two rides in but that's ok one of them was OUTSIDE! Three runs just short ones as it's my last easy week before the 1/2 marathon. However I met up with a couple of people from BT and had a really nice time meeting them. I ran on my own for the first couple miles and then was joined by one of the girls and she kept me moving right along. It's pretty obvious to me that running with other people seems to be the key to bettering my run. She kept me at a good pace and I finished up the 5 miles with an 11:30 average which is darn good for me especially considering I was holding a conversation!

Speaking of BT and meeting up. Looks like we are going to try for a meet up this Sunday on the 20th. So any of you Colorado folks that might be interested check out the link or drop me a line and I will fill you in as plans are made...just let me say that there is talk of bottomless mimosas after the run. Several of us are planning for around 10 miles.

And now I just want to share an inspirational March Madness story. If you have a few minutes go watch this video it's about 5 minutes long and tells the story of a young man who has over come many obstacles to become the Big Sky Tournament MVP as well as First Team Academic All-American. He has helped to lead the Bears on their trip to big dance and has inspired many. Not only is he an inspiration but his mom who I have worked with for about 5 years is an inspiration. They have faced some really rough times and have come out on top. So I just want to say

GO BEARS!!!

Thoughts that are all over the place…

This is what my dash showed this evening when I drove into my drive. Any plans that I had for the evening went out the window as there was NO WAY I was going to pass up this opportunity to get out for a quick ride before the dark set in. It was GLORIOUS! 45 FANTASTIC minutes on my bike, not in my garage! Oh yea....

I’ve chosen a training plan. I decided on one of the BT ones. I find it quite handy to be able to load it into your calendar and use it for tracking all of your workouts. I’ve been using BT since the beginning of the year. And while there are some things I don’t like quite as much as Running Ahead where I tracked everything before, it does a much better job being able to track all 3 sports. And I probably haven’t played around in it is much since I have no old data. Now my question is this. How do you combine plans and/or train for other events along the way. My 70.3 plan is starting in the next week or so. Not much of a difference from the maintenance plan I’ve been following. What I did for the ½ mary training, was just develop a plan on Smart Coach and substitute that for the running in the maintenance program. This has worked pretty well I think. Now I’m wondering about how to put together the training for the metric century in May and the century in June. I found a “training” program for a century which really just shows how many miles you should get in for a week including how many mile your long ride should be each week. I’m thinking that I will just incorporate into my plan. I’m a little worried how this will all fall together but I think it will work well as long as I don’t burn myself out to early in the season. However since I LOVE being on my bike I don’t really think this will be a problem. And since the Oly isn’t until July and the 70.3 isn’t until August I think I will still have plenty of time to make sure I’m getting my running and swimming miles in. Wow much rambling there..I’ve not idea as usual if that made any sense.

I know why many people don’t like running…it seems that almost without fail that the first mile, mile and half always just sucks..so you need to be able to stick that out and then your golden. Or maybe that’s just me but it seems almost always I spend the first mile of any run thinking there is no way I’m going to be able to do __Insert any number here___ miles. But soon I’m just moving along and feeling good. I’m sure it’s all about just getting warmed up.

Heart rate training…how many of you use it? Or do you use it but only as a point of reference?

I confess that I’m somewhat addicted to blogs. I read several different types, but most are similar, food, training, diet, and some photography. Sometimes if I’m bored I find myself going through the random blogs from the dashboard. It’s like this little glimpse into other peoples worlds. So I’m wondering what are your favorite blogs either tri related or anything else that I might be missing. Please help feed my addiction by posting one or more of your fav's. :)

Who wouldn't run for cupcakes!?!?!?

Jason over at Cook Train Eat Race along with Christel at Silly Girl Running are hosting a virtual race. There will be drawings for cupcakes....you must check it out! I plan on doing the full as it will help keep me on track with my 1/2 training.

Let's see in another news training this week has gone pretty good. I got in 3 bikes and 3 runs but only one swim. Always a challenge to get those in.

Running- did speedwork on Wednesday 3 x 1600 @ 10:20 (I thought it said 10:15)
10:09
10:12
10:13
Nailed it and remember I'm slow so that is blazin' for me! It was good. Long run this week 9 miles felt a little rough in spots, I'll blame the hills that were at the start, but I got it done and am glad that this next week is a rest week on my 1/2 marathon plan.

Bike-all trainer miles..I was hoping for nicer weather this weekend as I wanted to get out and ride. Oh who am I kidding, it was in the 40's and dry I could have done it I just have this block when it comes to riding outside under 60 degrees. Maybe because I don't really have the necessary gear for riding in the cold although I know I could make do with what I have.

Swim-the single one I did, unless I get my butt over to the pool today, felt pretty good. It seems like just when I get in a groove though I need to turn around, I don't do flip turns and I don't think that would make much difference any way you still lose your rhythm with them. I'm really going to have to make the effort to get to the pool more often even if I only do 30 minutes as opposed to the 60 the plan calls for.

Dangerous conditions...

Cycling, we all know it can be dangerous, but one would think that bike paths would be safer, after this weekends ride and all the obstacles I encountered I'm thinking that the roads are safer. Let's just say the kids, the dogs and the other bike riders! I had run ins with each of them on almost 30 mile ride Sunday. There are definitely plus's and minus's to both riding the bike path versus riding the roads. I can't get over how much I enjoy riding. I never knew that I would enjoy spending hours on the bike and look forward to the day I will be be able to upgrade to a road bike. I'm hoping to at some time this summer do at least a 50 mile ride.

I debated Saturday night and Sunday morning about what I was going to do. I wanted to go do an open water swim with the team, I could have done (tired) a 1 mile open water swim (which I've never done and not sure that I can ) or just do some swimming inside the lanes, and then go for a ride up there. But I just couldn't get myself motivated to make the 30 minute drive to Boulder as well as the money to do the swim and get into the reservoir. So I just swam at the pool after my bike ride.
1 x 300 warm up
1 x 300 6.42
1 x 400 9.18
1 x 500 11.18
1 x 100 cooldown
I started out not feeling so good, but by the time I was 1/2 way through things were feeling really good.

Also got in an almost 5 mile run. My running partner. My dog Duke gave up at 4.88. After dragging him nearly the last mile at 4.88 he laid down and was not getting up again. So I decided we would call it quits then.

So my totals for the week
Swim 1600 yrds
Bike 28.9
Run 11.6
A little short of what I was trying for but not to bad.

I can't believe the Tri for the Cure is in just 2 weeks. I'm kind of bummed because then that will be it. I'm done. I don't want to be done for the year. I wish I could do another, but I guess I will look to a Duathlon I'm thinking of as well as another 1/2 marathon. I'm thinking about doing an Olympic rehearsal with the group. No pressure I can just do part if I want. But I really want to try a mile open water swim. I don't think the bike will be a problem if I can get through the swim, but I'm not sure about the 10k after the swim and bike. But you never know unless you tri right? And I would really like to do an Olympic next year. I had thought I would this year, but just don't feel I'm there yet.

Wow sorry for the long post, I guess I have a lot on my mind this evening.

Weekend workouts

Weekend started Friday with a nice ride with a couple of friends. We did the Neva loop that I've been doing in the rehearsals. These are the girls that had originally signed up to do the Tri for the Cure last year with me, trained with me and then both ended up having to drop out due to health issues the week before. S had a baby a few months ago and was on bed rest for 3 months and modified bed rest for a couple before that. And J joined CWW with me but after a few weeks of swimming lessons life got in the way and she hasn't been training much. So for both of them this was a pretty long ride. We took it pretty easy and it was just a nice ride. Rained just a little at the beginning but soon the sun came out and it turned in to perfect riding weather. We headed back to the reservoir and did a little swimming. We must have had the time mixed up for the training session as know one was there till about the time we were quitting. I really only did about 3 loops inside the ropes which I believe is around 200 yards. But it felt really good to just get some open water practice.

Yesterday I did a very short 2 mile run. Followed by a few short strides that almost killed me. It has been so humid here. We have had a ton of rain recently and humidity is something us Denverites just aren't used to. I was dripping and my heart rate just sky rocketed during the strides.

Today a very nice longish bike ride. And just to prove that we have had a lot of rain....

This one of the underpass's that I had to detour around because it was flooded. Only a couple were actually closed but quite a few others were pretty muddy/sandy. It was a really nice but cool ride. Got started a little before 8 and it was only about 60. I don't believe it really warmed up much at all. In fact I thought it would rain near the end but never did. Ended up being right around 27 miles in right at 2 hours. So I average 13.1 miles an hour which considering it was train and I was not pushing it I was very happy. The trails are nice, but there are lots of sharp curves and other obstacles. Felt really nice though, legs were just a little sore after. Had thought about throwing in some swimming too, but decided that being lazy with the kids just sounded like a much better idea. :)

Kind of pathetic

I was looking at my monthly totals and thinking I'm really not working that hard this year. So of course I decided to do the comparison to last year...and yep you guessed it...not working as hard.

June 2008
swim 6600 yards
bike 157 miles
run 38.07 miles

June 2009
swim 8550 yards
bike 117 miles
run 23.9 miles...yea like I said pathetic

So I'm making it a goal to do better in July. I want to make sure that my totals this month are higher then my totals for July last year so hear is the break down

July 2008
swim 8389
run 50.51
bike 149

Now to come up with a plan I figure if I
swim 2100 yards
run 12.5 miles
bike 37 miles
a week I can surpass last year. In so doing I will hopefully be more prepared and able to meet my goal of a PR at Tri for the Cure which is August 2nd.

Let the (more) serious training begin!

Flats, trains, and lots of water!

The start of the day was a little rough, but ended up being a really great ride today and yesterday. Yesterday's ride was a little more hilly and much on gravel, exploring a new trail that I had never ridden before. Got lost a few times but it was kind of fun just wandering. Ended up with about 19 1/2 miles and then a little run (1.38 miles) for a nice little brick. I really have to do more of those, my muscles are not used to that hole transition thing. But I can tell after just a few of them they are starting to remember. Done with that just shortly before a crazy rain hail storm blew threw town. Glad I wasn't on my bike!

Today out to ride again, but started by finding a nice flat on my bike. I had a spare, but prefer the ones with gunk in them and also would not have a spare on my if I used the one I had so....wait for the bike store to open and go for a couple of tubes. Change the tire ( YEA ME! ) it was the front so easy, but still only the 2nd time I've done it. So finally I head out toward a different trail that I enjoy riding. It has quite a few sharp curves and is crowded in spots so it's just a nice easy ride, however before I get there what should happen but I get stopped by a train, as I rest against the side walk the sprinklers come on and proceed to get me wet...Is this the kind of day it's going to be? Luckily the train was short and I was on my way. Then I hit the "lake" ok it was just a puddle, but it was about 7" deep.... to go around or go through?? I decided to take the mud which scared me, wasn't sure I was going to make it through (it was about 2") I had visions of landing in the water! But made it. (on the way back took the water and got pretty drenched!)

On my ride I stopped by this pool I hope to swim in. It's the only outside pool that seems to have lap lanes that I could find. Rode by both on the way and the way back and neither time did it seem to crowded so I'm really excited to give it a try! I don't plan to do anymore open water swims until the water warms up just a little bit. I can't afford to buy a wet suit this year but I'm going to be keeping my eyes open for a good used one. Last year I did my first open water swim July 4th so I'm hoping that I can get in the lake around then and I'm a step ahead of the game since I already did the open water swim during the tri.

So an ok week as far as training goes 2 decent swims, 2 decent bike rides and 3 runs. Although I must work on the mileage of my running it's been reallllllly low.

Then we had another freaky rain/hail storm. It's crazy springish weather. And on funny note, my sons play roller hockey, indoor, and because of the rain and roof that leaks like crazy, games both Saturday and today had to be reschedules! LOL!

Oh the joys of running....NOT!!!!

Sagittarius
It's important for you to get out and run around for a little while.

Today's horoscope...do you think 8 miles is enough. :)

Long run this morning was suppose to be 9 miles. I just couldn't do it. Ended up just over 8 with the entire last mile walked, and the other 7 very, very, slow...even for me! I'm not sure what was wrong but from mile one everything just felt hard. I'm not sure that my new shoes are working for long runs. the feel great for shorter runs, but last week I ran with an older pair and things just felt so much better. Or maybe this run just sucked. I so just want to be done with this 1/2. I really think I bit off more then I can chew with this one. Before I head out for these runs, I just have such a nervous stomach it's crazy, I can't imagine what I'm going to be like on the actual day. And I still can't imagine actually going 13.1......that's pretty bad when it's only 2 weeks from tomorrow!

Did a little bike looking again today. Went to the Trek store...oh my....I'm in love I really like both the 7.3 and the 7.5 leaning a little toward the 7.5. I'm going to do some more thinking and keep trying to talk myself out of a new bike.

Plans for tomorrow are to swim. I plan on joining the group although it is not suppose to be nice and we are now swimming in an outdoor pool, so I'm having a bit of trouble with that idea. After the swim is a transition clinic which I'm sure will be helpful. But the weather may just see me swimming at the rec center instead. But I really need to get a swim in. I'm going to commit right here and now to swim at least 2 times next week. I'm going to sit down and plan my week as I seem to do better when I have a plan and am not trying to just fit it in where I can.

Ah-ha Moments

Today was good...really really good. I really think some things clicked with my breathing and also with my stroke. I'm very excited about it. It seems I go from anxious about it to feeling pretty positive all in the same week. Today was good...really, really good. :) After swimming we did run drills. That's pretty interesting too. We kind of divide up into two groups walking and running. Well I'm at the bottom of the runners..pretty darn slow, I may drop down as the walkers do more running and we work more on endurance. Of course with any luck my endurance will begin to build back up too.

1/2 marathon training...what was thinking???? I'm so not sure about this. Would have been so much better had I continued to run during January and February. But it's going ok. I did a 7 mile long run friday morning. Somewhat hilly and very, very slow, like a 15 min mile pace. But I got them done. This week is any easy week.

I actually got out on my bike this weekend. ( We have not yet started any bike training with the Tri group. that will come in April I believe.) Can you say out of shape? My legs were not working as good as they did last season...hmm are we seeing a trend here...you need to keep the workouts up and not just quite for the winter months...would help with the extra pounds I'm carrying around also. It was a beautiful weather wise this weekend. I should have gotten out on my bike today too, but to tell you the truth I was pretty wiped out from the swim and run drills.

Speaking of extra pounds...I need to get serious about losing them. Things would be so much easier if I could just lose the 15 extra pounds from last year and that is still not as much as I need to get ride of.