Funny Triathlon Stuff . . .

I've got nothing interesting to say. Well, I did do an hour indoor Spinervals training session yesterday in my new Ironman room. Since I took my trainer home from Maramarc I was finally able to turn my dining room into the Tri Training room that I wanted (because, really, who needs a dining room? I'm working so hard lately that I'm eating right out of the fridge anyway!). My bike is set up on the trainer facing a big picture window and I have a few Spinervals DVD's that are geared toward Ironman distance races.


I put on the DVD, crank my mp3 and it's a pretty good workout. It's still not as fun as an outdoor ride or a ride with the gang at Maramarc but it gets the job done. I also have my treadmill in there and some weights and bands. Sometime this week the motivational Ironman posters that I ordered will be here and will be displayed somewhere in the room to give me the extra push I need during workouts. I know it sounds crazy to turn your dining room into a training room -- particularly since we have a spare room on the third floor! But, having it right here, in the center of the home, will remind me that I made a commitment to put myself first this year. Which, by the way, is A LOT harder than I anticipated. But that's a story for a whole different blog.

Today I also got in my 4 mile Tempo run thanks to the great company of TG Lynn and TH (TriHubby) Derek. Seriously, you should ask Lynn to show you her Chi run. It's quite inspiring! :D

Okay, so anyway, I really wasn't going to post anything today but someone sent me this e-mail and it was truly scary how many of these things are true!!



TRANSLATION OF A TRIATHLETE'S VOCABULARY:

"I am an outdoors type of person." Really means: I train in any type of weather. If its raining, snowing, 90 degrees w/100% humidity, or winds gusting at 30 mph. I don't want to hear any complaints because I will still train in it and you're just a big wuss for complaining about it.

"I enjoy riding my bike." Really means: with or w/o aero bars, alone or in a peleton, I don't care. If you can't do a spur of the moment 30 miler then you're not my type. I will let you draft, but if you can't hang and I drop you - I will see you later.

"I enjoy jogging." Really means: Lets run hills until we puke. I have just as many shoes as you only mine are better because they are functional and all look the same.

"I enjoy dining out." Really means: I enjoy eating out, in or anywhere else I can find food. Don't be shy because with the amount of food I eat, you can have that main entree instead of a salad and you will still look as though you eat like a rabbit in comparison. Don't get your limbs too close though as I may take a bite out of you. Most importantly don't expect any taste off my plate unless you can bring something to the party like more food. Oh, and don't ask me any questions during breakfast, Mid Morning Lunch, Lunch, Afternoon lunch, Dinner or Recovery Dinner as it does not lend to efficient food intake.

"I enjoy quiet walks on the beach." Really means: Walks on the beach warming up into an 8 mile run and then plunging myself in the ocean for a 2 miler. If you get in my way youre going to find out what mass start is and let me assure you that you don't want to find out.

"I find fulfillment in charitable work." Really means: If I am not racing, I am volunteering and I expect you to be there along side me as I stand out in 90 degree weather for 8 hours handing out sports drink to cyclists going 20 mph. Just stick the ol' arm out there and hope it doesn't get taken off.

"I enjoy sharing quiet moments together." Really means: It's taper time. Just back off because I am strategizing and in a pissy mood because I am worried about my "A" race and can't workout.

"I enjoy site seeing." Really means: Lets grab a bike and get our HR's up to 90%. There's plenty of time to look around on the descent as trees and bushes whiz by you at 40 mph.

"I like stimulating conversation. " Really means: while we are running, we can talk about food. Then we can talk about how we decided what to wear on this run based on the temperature at start time versus the temperature at the time we expect to finish, how horribly out of shape we are, how many miles we did last week, and how many we will do this week and next week. Then we can talk about food.

"I am an active person." Really means: Aside from my 40 hour job, and the 8 mandatory hours of sleep a night. 10 hours a week are devoted to me during the off-season and 20 during race season leaving us 4 hours. 2 of which are spent inhaling food and you not talking to me, so lets make the best of the 2 hours we will spend together on average each day. If you are a licensed massage therapist or doctor this would make the most optimal use of our time together. Nutritionist is also acceptable, but I probably already know just as much as you.

And, my personal favorite:

"I enjoy road trips and leisurely drives." Really means: You have your choice of Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, California, Arizona, and New York, but don't expect to do much site seeing. If I get enough support from you we might be able to include Hawaii in there.

I survived the dreaded sprints. Yes, I knew I would yet it still seems like I've battled some monster in doing so!! I want to go around for the rest of the day telling people, "You know, I look like the average girl but do you know that I did a timed mile and 6 flippin' sprints today??? Followed by a 2 hour bike ride. Yeah, I kinda kick ass like that." Good God! Imagine what I'll be like after Ironman. I'm telling you right now. The tattoo is going on my forehead. With arrows pointing to it. And, maybe some blinking lights.

So, anyway, back to reality. Sprints suck BUT PR's are damn FANTASTIC!

Times:

1 mile timed: 7:32 (fastest ever! I know, I'm like a Kenyan, huh? Okay, maybe a Kenyan baby, but a Kenyan nonetheless!)
1/2 mile 1 - 3:38
1/2 mile 2 - no time
1/2 mile 3 - 3:45
1/2 mile 4 - 3:48
1/2 mile 5 - 3:53
1/2 mile 6 - 3:58

I was very happy to keep the rest of my 1/2 mile sprints under 4 minutes. That's quite an accomplishment for me. Particularly since my Thursday run was the worst ever. I actually had to stop by a friend's house during my run to beg some water and a banana! She was shocked and asked how far I'd been running. She expected me to say some really cool Ironman-like training distance like 9 miles or something. She almost fell over when I told her 1.67 miles!! HAHAHA!! That's pathetic! Oh well, there are good days and there are bad days. Or, as Booger likes to tell me, "Sometimes you're the pin and sometimes you're the ball". Clearly, that day I was the ball.

The only other workout I did this weekend was a swim tonight. I actually sort of got the rhythm of the butterfly. It's still not pretty but at least it doesn't make the lifeguards go on alert. The rest of the swim was uneventful. I swam hard but didn't have the energy that I needed to really put forth 100 percent. I really need to focus on swimming during the week. That is the one part of training that I tend to skip the most. Also, I have REALLY got to get back into strength training. So, that's my goal for this week. Incorporate swimming and make sure to strength train. We'll see how that goes. . . .

Counting down . . . .

the official countdown to the dreaded sprints has begun. (By the way, I'm completely addicted to this Blingy Blob thing that Trimom turned me on to! Soon you guys will witness the countdown til lunch, til the kids come home from school, til I brush my teeth, etc.) Anyway, this is the way it works for the next couple days until sprints: I will think endlessly about how much they suck. I will run conservatively today in anticipation of the energy sucking sprints. I will then eat my face off all day tomorrow to 1) pretend that I need to load up on energy and 2) force myself into a guilt ridden stupor so that I feel I HAVE to do the sprints just to make up for the crap I ate. When I have finished the final sprint on Saturday, I will think, "hey, that really wasn't so bad" and vow not to get so worked up about sprints the next time. And, then the entire cycle will repeat itself again about 2 days before the next Saturday sprint workout. Yes, I am driving this crazy train and, apparently, I'm (unconsciously) enjoying the ride!

On a completely different note, do you ever wish you could be on whatever drug it is that kids seem be be born with? My 5 year old (I call her Booger -- you don't want to know why -- let's just say she enjoys the fact that she carries salty little "snacks" in her nose) anyway, right now Booger is running around the family room, wearing just a pair of pink panties, laughing as she's spinning around making herself dizzy. Soon, she'll collapse on the floor and let the dog, Cali, tickle her with doggy kisses. Can you imagine feeling that free? Maybe I'll have to try that one day (minus the doggy kisses). Oh, wait, I forgot, I'm trying to balance the whole training/drinking thing! You all better watch out the day after Ironman, though!

Regret.

So, on Saturday I ran 13.14 miles at West Creek -- which, for any of you who are not familiar with West Creek, is pretty damn hilly. I felt great until Mile 11 and then miles 11-13.14 felt pretty brutal. But, I was really proud of myself when I was finished. The .04 made it my longest run ever so I hit my own little PR. Now, herein lies the problem: the post-run celebration. That evening Derek and I had a poker party to go and that usually means a late night, lots of drinking and a smoky room. But I'm a soon-to-be Ironman now so I figured I would have a drink or two, play a few hands and go home early to rest my weary legs. Did that happen? No. The reality was that I had WAY too many drinks, was there until 3 am and smoked!(which I only do when I've had WAY too many drinks!) So, yesterday, I felt like I was run over by a truck. I think I was caught up in the excitement -- you see we have a pretty serious poker group in our neighborhood and we were playing tournament style with about 50 people -- primarily men. And, in true Tri-Girl style, I ended winning the entire tournament against all these guys (who think girls can't play poker) and taking home a nice cash purse of $180. So, really, I've now got 2/3 of my wetsuit paid for thanks to my night of drinking!! The only problem is the guilt I carry around for letting out the steam the way I did. Particularly the smoking. UGH! I don't even like the smell so it boggles my mind that I revert to my old 20 year old party ways when I have one too many. You'd think that I would know better by now. And, what makes it worse is that my disappointment in myself totally overshadows by PR run. Bummer. I know that summer parties and get togethers are going to tempt me into throwing caution to the wind. I will just have to remember my ultimate goal this year and try to do a much better job balancing the socializing and the training. Oh, well, at least I get my wetsuit out of my weekend of regret.

What the hell is the deal with sprints?

Why do I dread sprints for days beforehand? I count down the seconds until I actually have to commit to doing them (the commitment actually occurs about 2 seconds before I actually start the first sprint). Yesterday's sprints killed me. I got through them -- barely. It was just a bad running day. My goal this year really is to learn to love running. Or at least be on speaking terms with it. I think I don't like it because speed completely eludes me. I read in the back of the Total Immersion book (thank you, Tri Girl Kate T!) that there is a running book called Chi Running by Danny Dryer that is supposed to tweak my running in the same way that TI did my swimming. But, the thing is, swimming came too easily for me. I never had to work like I do when I run. I was not on a swim team growing up. I mean, I played in the pool -- but it was more like diving for rings and pretending I was a mermaid. Four years ago was the first time I used the pool for anything but to cool off if I'd been in the sun too long. After 3 workouts I was keeping up with the faster girls and by the end of the season I could hold my own with the fastest in our group. So, really, the fact I could swim really shocked the heck out of me. The same thing sort of happened with biking. I rode a bike as a kid but until 4 years ago, stationary biking was all I did. I wish that running would just drop into my lap like that.

I remember after my very first run, I called my husband at work and told him to stay on the phone with me because I was sure I was going to pass out and he was going to have to call 911 -- and I had only run about 3/4 of a mile! At that particular moment I really regretted all those days I skipped running track in school because I always told them I had cramps! And now I'm running 13 miles tomorrow. Wow! Isn't it amazing when you think about how far you've come?

Someone said something to me the other day that really blew me away. They called me a "natural athlete"! It's hard for me to consider myself an athlete, much less a "natural" one!! Isn't it funny how people perceive you? I was NEVER even remotely close to an athlete growing up. Actually, I was a very overweight couch potato until I was 17. My sister was always the little, athletic one. I was considered the chubby smart girl. It's not that I was picked last in teams -- it's that I didn't play at all. I was sort of paralyzed by my weight. In my late-teens/early 20's I lost the weight but I was left with a pretty brutal eating disorder which I had to learn to overcome and manage through the years. Until triathlons I always worked out to lose weight -- now, I still battle my demons, but when I'm training I FEEL like an athlete and my focus is on being stronger and healthier -- not smaller. How GREAT is that?! It's really helped me show my girls that healthy means doing great things for your body. If you treat your body right, it will be whatever size and shape it is supposed to be and that in itself will be beautiful!

Okay, enough self-reflection for today. I've got to get to bed so that I can try to take on those West Creek hills on my run tomorrow! AAH!

What a BEAUTIFUL day!!!!

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith

Today was a lucky day. Don't get me wrong -- my run time was not good, I forgot my Garmin so I was 4/10ths of a mile short on my run and I was suffering from some serious allergies. But, it was in the 70's. I got to ride and run outside. AND I got to do it with my best friend and supporter -- Derek. There was one point on the run when the sun was just beginning to go down that I looked up at the sky, felt my legs underneath me and thought, "How lucky am I?" I have no idea what I did to get so blessed but I will try not to ever take for granted the amazing life that I have.

So many days of tri training are about how to fit it in, how long, how fast, how much better did I do, where was I lacking, what can I do better. Sometimes it's easy to wonder why you are doing it. Why you just can't accept life in it's non-self-challenging form. But then there are some days that you go out and your spirit literally answers for you: because you are blessed with the strength, determination and perserverance that many have learned to live without. And, I suppose, this is why I tri.

Many times when I'm training -- particularly when I'm running -- I get caught up thinking "This sucks." "I hate running." or, "Dear God how much more." When that happens, I go through my mental checklist of thanks (thank you that I have legs to feel this pain, thank you that I am slow enough to appreciate all that I am passing by, thank you that I have someone to run to instead of run from) Today, I also remembered a quote that says something like "The ultimate goal is being able to do your best and enjoy it." Today was that day.

Catch up . .

I've found that catching up after a short hiatus is becoming increasingly harder. Maybe it's just my age beginning to peep through.

Last week I was in Oklahoma for my sister's wedding and tried very hard to keep up with my workouts. I managed to hit one cycle class and get in a grueling 10 miler around a local lake. The run was SO hard that the day of my run I almost decided to throw myself in front of oncoming cars or drown myself in the lake I was running around!! It wasn't the distance that bothered me -- it was running into a 35 mph headwind that killed me! When I woke that morning, my sister told me that they had severe wind warnings and asked if it was okay to run in that kind of weather. I replied, "Of course. I mean, I'm a bad ass tri-girl. I can take it." Uh, no. No, I can't.

I spent the first 3 miles running into the headwind. It was killing me but I figured where there's a headwind, there's got to be a tailwind somwhere. And, as luck would have it, I spotted a water fountain. Yay. If there is one water fountain, there's bound to be others so now I could throw away the cumbersome water bottle that I was carrying. This wasn't going to be so bad after all. I made a turn onto the top of the dam and smacked right into winds that can really only be described as tornadic -- they seemed to change direction constantly and whipped me all over the place. I then made another turn expecting to catch a tail wind -- but lo, and behold, I was only blessed with a crosswind. Luckily, I spotted another much needed water fountain. Hmmm. That's funny. I push the little button and no water comes out -- must be broken. That's okay, I can make it to the next one. At mile 6, I see another. Dammit. Broken too. At mile 6 1/2, I make a wrong turn and reach a deadend. Dammit again. I backtrack. At mile 7, I see another water fountain. Hallelujah. I was starting to wipe white salt from my face so I knew I was getting dehydrated. But, that water fountain was also not working. By now, I'm cursing the entire state of Oklahoma. I made it to the final turn back to the starting point -- and again into the 35 mph headwind. I finally reached the car AND water. When I got back to my sister's she informed me that they usually turn the water off in the winter months because of the ice in the pipes. Guess I should have asked about that. I have to say it was by far THE WORST run of my life!! But, I did it!!!! So, I feel stronger and ready for anything! There's always a positive, I guess!

Upon returning to Richmond, I was busy catching up with "life" since I'd been away, fighting some nasty allergies and some stomach bug thing. I was out of commission for a couple days but was ready for action by the time we hit our sprints on Saturday. Well, at least I thought I was. The first sprint was a pretty nice 3:39. Followed by a 3:48. Then a 3:52 -- but I was dead beat by then. The third sprint I paced with TriGirl DB and felt much better at a 4:07. Number five was 3:58. Okay, I was going to leave it all there on number 6. I felt like I was flying. I was sure that Kenyans couldn't catch me and my bad-ass stride. I really felt that I was going to have some sort of kick ass PR in that final sprint. Woo hoo! Last hill toward the finish point and I look down at my Garmin. Woah. 4:09. But, hey, wait a minute -- I thought I was flying! It reminded me of when our son tried roller hockey. He was about 8 and was out on the rink with kids ranging from from 4 years old to 12 years old. We watched him shuffle around the rink while 4 and 5 year olds whipped past him. We figured he would get off the rink feeling defeated. But, when he finally scootched around to us, he said "Mommy, did you see how FAST I was going!!!!" I replied, "Yeah, baby, you were so fast you were like a blur!!!" Oh, well, my flying time of 4:09 gave me a really good laugh at the very least! We then biked for a boring 2 hours that was only made bearable by the company of Tri Girl Lynn and Suzy Q. Thank God for Tri Girls!

Tonight I went to Som's six o'clock swim where I heard that some fast girls had been last week. Rumor has it that they were kicking some serious swimming booty. And, it was no lie!!! New Tri Girl Courtney kicked my butt!!!! And, I loved every minute of it! Totally inspired me to try harder. She was extremely fast and also super nice. I think if I have to try to keep up with these girls I am sure to be swimming like a champ by the end of the season!

Now, I'm off to bed with my final glass of wine. I'm hoping to adhere to all of my workouts this week!! And try to figure out what the heck I'm going to do to replace the 1/2 marathon that the rest of the TriGals are doing next Saturday. Wish I would have signed up but now it's too late. Oh well. Next time.




be

Dummy . . .

This is so dumb! I started a blog and COMPLETELY forgot my username and password and have yet to figure out how to recover it!! This must be why Tri Girl Devil Face suggested I start a blog and wait to announce it after I've seen whether I want to keep writing on it. Can't really write on it if I can't get to it, huh? So, here I am starting a new one.

Here's the cut and paste of my first blog post!

I know I have much to talk about but putting it down on paper is much more difficult than I thought!! Who would have thought I could be at a loss for words????Well, I guess I should start from the beginning for those of you who don't know what my training regimen has been. I'm training with TriGirls and am LOVING every minute of it!!! Well, I actually hate the Saturday early a.m. sprint workouts but at least I'm loving those around me. I'm discovering that I actually do have the power to wake up before the sun actually rises. Basically I've got two half Ironman races this year and then the big one in November. Right now, our training is focusing on preparation for the June Eagleman Half Iron in Maryland.I took a day off from training today -- not by choice, simply by circumstance. I'm getting ready to go to Oklahoma on Wednesday and I've been busy getting stuff packed and mapping out the area so I can fit in my 8-10 mile run that I'm supposed to do. Tomorrow I will do a 4 mile run and an hour ride and then I'll be off again until Thursday. UGH! I hate forced non-workout days! I've found a gym in OK that will give me a one week membership for $25 so I can swim and cycle. I've also found a 10 mile loop around a lake that supposed to be a hot spot for runners in the area. I'm actually really looking forward to that. In the meantime, I'm simply stressing over what kind of wetsuit to purchase, where I'm going to stay for Eagleman and how the heck I'm going to get in a proper schedule while in Oklahoma. Really, my thoughts should be on what is in my suitcase or whether I've packed underwear for the girls -- but my mind is once again on triathlon. Selfish little hobby this is. Good thing I've got a good man standing by me who understands!! I got a personalized license plate today! It ways IM4TRI. That was basically all they had left -- except LUVTRI but I worried that some wacko would think that I was trying to say I loved threesomes or something :D Well, maybe that's pretty good for my first post. Perhaps I'll get the hang of this the more I write. Or, perhaps this will be the last you hear from me. We'll just have to see I guess.