Not Giving Up

I am not giving up the fight to stay healthier in my sickness than my husband.

I ended up not going to work yesterday and today, but I hope to hop on my bike downstairs for a little spin and then hop on the treadmill for a walk (or vice versa).  For at least 30 minutes.

You see.  I actually signed up for an indoor triathlon that is a WEEK FROM TOMORROW.  Egads.  Bad timing.  Won’t do that again at this point in the semester.

I wrote down all of the events I’ve signed up for, and I’m in awe of my insanity courage

February: Frosty Bike Ride (15 miles) and Indoor Triathlon (Sprint)March:  State Farm 5k
April:  O’Rourke Sprint Triathlon
May:  Glow Run 5k
June:  Topeka TinMan Sprint Triathlon [and I become a granny]
July:  Vacation in Wisconsin –with lots of open water swims!
August:  Mini Triathlon and likely another 5k
September:  Olathe Women’s Sprint Triathlon
October: Trek Breast Cancer Awareness Ride (25 miles)
November:  a 10k, where ever I can find one!
December:  I HIT FABULOUS FIFTY!

In other words, this is going to be an amazing year for me.  I am hoping I can announce another major change.  Waiting is H-A-R-D!!  I am not a patient person.  Y’all may have picked up on that. . .

But one thing is official:  CHECK OUT WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL YESTERDAY!

 

 

 

 

 

[and yes, I realize it says that I am an official member of "Adult"--ignore that.  I refuse to act my age]

Survived Another

Phew!

I survived another week.  And what a week!  My last week before “official training” for the O’Rourke begins:  my 13 week training schedule starts on Monday.  Funny schedule it is–if I use the one from last year (which I doubt I will):

Last year called for

• Monday Swim: 2×25 drills, 25 fast, 25 relaxed, 2x25CD (total 150 yards!)
• Tuesday Off
• Wednesday Bike: 5 miles easy (!)
• Thursday Swim: 25WU, 150, 25CD (total 200 yards!)
• Friday Off
• Saturday Run: 10 min walk WU, 1.5 relaxed jog, 10 min CD
• Sunday Off

Egads.  I cannot do that little or I will croak.  I’m at 1200 yards in the pool (although I could easily do more, I’m using the 10% increase a week so I don’t hurt my tennis elbow again).  I’m at 3.5 miles running, and I just did a 14 mile bike ride.  No, I’ve got to adjust these.  Perhaps I’ll do far more distance, but just train in the zone?

Nah, I’m going online to look for more training programs.  Scads of them exist.  I’ll put on a ton of weight again this year if this is all I do!

In the meantime, my hubby is sick and I’m avoiding him like the plague!  I don’t have time to get sick.  So, I swam alone on Tuesday and ran yesterday afternoon on the treadmill.  My one mile recovery.  Not much recovery, I had to do 15:–minute miles to keep in Zone 2.  I hope I’m not getting sick, usually it’s not *that* bad.  I wonder if we have mold downstairs or something from last year’s water in the basement. . . .that is causing me to have increased asthma attacks on the treadmill.  We’ll see.  Tonight I’m hitting my bike in the basement for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, the wind chill has been down to -20 below zero–not any sort of weather for outdoor training!  Nevertheless, I’m scheduled to do that Frosty Ride (15 mile bike ride) on Sunday and I’m going to go sign up for the State Farm 5k momentarily!  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Overdue!

The first week back to work is always hard.

My throat is dry from all the yabbering, I’m usually overwhelmed by all of the new faces and names (that I know I will have to memorize soon–we’re a small university and we care about names!), and I usually forget something at home every single day.

We’ve been staying up too late and sleeping until 7:30am, sometimes causing us to rush out the door.  Yesterday I didn’t even have time to shower–nor take my dog outside.  So, she came to school with me instead.  I think she’s going to try to stay quiet from now on in the mornings so I will oversleep.

Nope.  Yesterday my honey and I had a heart-to-heart:  What Is Our Workout Schedule This Semester?

A very important conversation.

Mondays will be our off day.

• Tuesday:  Swim
• Wednesday: Run
• Thursday: Bike
• Friday: Swim
• Saturday: Run
• Sunday: Bike

We will also lift during the week, too, but I haven’t determined that schedule.  He likes running outside, so on those days I go to the gym alone.  Yesterday he swam because today it’s supposed to hit the mid-40s!  He will run outside at the end of the day.

I ran yesterday (3.1, using the Galloway method to stay in my Heart Rate Zone), and today I swam.  I did 6×200, stopping to stretch my arm at the end of every 200.  I was my typical slow self, having only been back in the pool a couple of weeks.  2:10 average for 100s.  Surprisingly, my 800-1,000 stretch I checked my Garmin and I actually did 1:54.  Explain that to me?  I wasn’t trying to go fast, and I’m not even sure what I did.  Maybe I was more efficient with my turns?  Maybe it’s the 200 where I tried stretching out more and not looking in front of me.

[NOTE:  I read an article yesterday that said conventional wisdom now suggests a new head position in the swim, looking perpendicular to body, down, instead of in front. . . the change in head position improves level body/buoyancy.  We'll see]

Hubby and I decided that we might hire a swim coach, just to make sure we’re not slipping back into our old habits.  I feel good in the water, but then again, I did last year, too.  And I looked pathetic swimming.  Seriously.  Legs all over the place.  Head coming up to the moon when I took a breath.  Arms flailing perpendicular to my body on every stroke.  Much better now, I think.

But my asthma is back.

I have found another Triathlon I might want to do this summer.  The Topeka TinMan.  Short course, is pretty short.  400 meter swim.  But, it would be good for me to do a Co-Ed Triathlon again.  And, my hubby could do the Oly distance.  That’s a lot of Triathlons, huh?

And one of my friends just wrote and told me I needed to do a Half Marathon with her in May.  She said I have time to train (I think she forgot I’m also doing a Triathlon two weeks before that!).   Is it possible to train for a half marathon at the same time I train for a Sprint?  Or is that too much?  [yes, there I am again, afraid of failure.]

What do you think?

In the meantime, look what came in the mail yesterday!  The major award [I received a framed certificate in November and thought that was really cool--had NO idea this was coming!]

So, don’t forget you can help me get the next book done:  CLICK HERE!

Post Race Letdown

Okay, the race is over.

Many new athletes might ask, “What now?”

Without a goal, a race that they’ve paid good money to do, it can be hard to stay motivated.  Don’t let the lack of a race cause you to lose your edge or stop your training!  Keep motivated!  Remember how good you felt after that one mile recovery run?  Or that long four mile grueling (even if it might have been slow) run?  But one thing you don’t remember is the guilt because you did not make time to run, or bike, or swim.  Right?  It’s because you had no guilt!

Let the joy of exercise overwhelm your less active side, and let go of any guilt by getting up and doing something today!  Every day!

What have I done today?  Nothing yet, but my husband has taken the car and is bringing my bike for me to ride home.  It’s so beautiful out, I plan to take the super long way home.  I’ll go several miles out of my way so that I can hit more than the typical mere 4.5 mile commute.  I also plan to forgo “Girls Night Out” (golf league ended, but we still go out every Tuesday) tonight in lieu of a nice long and brisk walk with my Dulcinea.  She will love me and we will both sleep well tonight.

With the Triathlon almost 10 days behind me, I have taken a little break from the longer and more serious workouts.  I’ve ridden my bike to work, done a little one mile recovery run, walked my dog.  I haven’t gone swimming yet, but it’s only due to lack of time.  This past weekend I took my Environmental History class camping.  It’s a lot of planning. . .

Sunday I went jogging, a couple of miles.  Monday I rode my bike to work.  Today I ride the long way home.  Tomorrow is swimming in the morning, golf tournament in the late afternoon.  Thursday I meet with USA Projects in order to get funding for a research project I hope to do–oh, and then jogging again.  Every day I hope to walk my girl at least a mile or two.

In the meantime, I did actually sign up for a 5k on the last Saturday in September.  It’s my first stand alone 5k.  Why that makes me more nervous than doing a 5k at the end of a Triathlon I will never understand.  I’m already trying to figure out my off-schedule training for the O’Rourke next April, the Pleasant Prairie Danskin, and the Olathe Women’s Triathlon again next year.  I also plan to do a 10k next year.  My big goal.  Something I will achieve.

In the meantime, I will take the awesome advice I learned earlier this year.  Run for fun, swim for the joy, and bike because it’s fun.  Make these things a lifestyle choice

What’s your next big goal?

Little Brick

With my triathlon in less than a week, I’m into taper period.

In the past, however, I have learned that the old I get, the less I should taper.  Us old folk lose muscle mass waytoo fast to really stop moving.

Everyone Can Tri!

My race is 500 meters open water (and the host area just got 6″ of rain yesterday which means the lake will be in good shape, but it also means lots of yucky run-off from neighboring farms.  ewww), then a 10.6 mile hilly bike ride, then a 3 mile run.

So today, my husband and I headed out to the route we do on Sunday mornings at various times.  Straight out and back (someone from Alaska asked me, “Why are your roads so straight?”  Well, ,there’s nothing in the way.  Sigh).   I just did a medium effort bike ride of 8.31 miles (just 14 mph, but frankly I usually only go 16 mph), then I popped off and did a .5 mile run.  For some reason, my Garmin unit recorded .47 mile run, but the Garmin Training Center states .14.  Stupid Garmin Training Center.

I stretched and waited for my hubby, who ended up hitting 18 miles today.

In the end, I really enjoy training.  But like my friend over at Transventure said, learn to transition these workouts into a lifestyle.  Leave the Garmin at home and run to just run.  Bike to just bike.  Swim to just swim.  Find the joy!  Indeed!  (after the triathlon

In the end, I have to say, I miss my Team-In-Training family. . . I think I’ll sign up for a 10k next year, or maybe a half marathon.  We’ll see.

What a Week!

Phew!

It’s almost over, this very challenging week.  First week of classes, new windows installed, university politics (they say the fight is nastier when there’s less at stake), and oh yes, learning the names and faces of over 70 new students!  Egads.

And trying to figure in my workouts, too.  So here they are, sad as they might be:

Monday:  stress panic work windows
Tuesday:  SWIM 3x50WU, 750 straight, 3x50CD
Wednesday:  RUN, .3 mile WU, 3 miles straight, .23 CD (may have been .25)
Thursday:  CYCLE, commute (4.14 each way).  Note to self: don’t ride when it’s going to be 99 outside.
Friday:  off, walked my dog about 2 miles
Saturday:  SWIM, not sure when though.  It’ll be 95 today with a million kids at the pool, perhaps at suppertime.  It’s my plan anyway.
Sunday:  CYCLE

In the meantime, I am trying to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to classes, meetings, and more.  I hope I am doing okay.  One of our field trips (Niobrara National Scenic River, with a two-night stay at the Nature Conservancy’s bunkhouses and a day-long paddle down the river) was cancelled by the outfitters and NC due to the ravaging wildfires.  I have to come up with an alternative.  I hoped Ponca State park in the northeast corner of the state, but that’s the Missouri River Expo and they have no open campsites.  It may be an extended day trip. 

And Now, Here Are Some Stats from the Endomondo Challenge

Nebraska:  3rd place over all (1. Vermont, 2. Wisconsin)
Lincoln:  9th place overall (1. Huron, SD!) out of 674 communities

Employers: 1st University of Nebraska-Lincoln (10th nationally and 2nd nationally for large universities)

Lincoln had 890 riders, 99 teams. We rode 397,686 miles saving $105,481. 364,035 CO2 was saved from being released

In the meantime, my triathlon is one week from today!  Seven Days!  I’m ready, but as always, nervous.

Yikes

Holy crap.

Ten Days Til Triathlon

Yikes.

I swam today, just 3×50 WU, 4×100, 2×50 CD.  Just trying to keep my proper stroke, practicing proper breathing, not getting overtired.  I was surprised how “out of shape” I felt.  I just swam 950 yards on Friday last week, I shouldn’t feel like this.  I have been nursing a sore shoulder for about 3 weeks and it did get worse (as did my tennis elbow) up in the Boundary Waters.  In fact, at the massage therapist last week, she commented about all the knots in my forearm.  But still, I felt sluggish and tired.  I need to reevaluate my nutrition and sleep, I think.  I did do respectable enough, albeit slow.  I just want to make sure I can go the distance in 10 days.

Ten days. Yikes.

Wednesday I’ll run the 5k.  I’ll bike Thursday, then Friday just do major stretching.  This coming weekend I’ll do as my coach suggested and begin the taper.

I can do this, I have done it before.  So why does it make me so nervous every time?  Relaxation and calming exercises or techniques, anyone?  I welcome all!

Slow “Run” with Dulce

SO glad to get this run done!

My schedule actually said 3.75 miles (but I had bumped that up .25 miles a couple of weeks ago, knowing I’d be losing 10 days of training), but for some reason, it freaked me out.  After a few trips to the bathroom, I pulled on my big girl Danskin Tri Shorts with pretty pink flowers and loaded up the puppydog and headed over to my favorite running place:  Holmes Lake.

And no, that’s not me. Duh.

If you want, you can check out my run below (Sandi, did you get your 310xt yet?).  I don’t like sharing these if I leave from home, but I don’t mind if I start from another location.

I talked myself into each mile, one at a time.  Starting out slowly, to keep my heart rate down and to pace myself, Dulce and I headed out on our run.  What a beautiful day, no wind until 15 minutes into the run, mid-60s, sunshine.  Beautiful.  Simply gorgeous.  There is one hill that kicked my butt about 16 minutes into the run, and admittedly I did walk up it for 331 feet, but then I kicked it back in and started jogging again.  I kept playing through all of those interviews of Olympic athletes, how they got there because they’d train through the pain, the burning, and the exhaustion.  So I just kept going.

I told myself I was going to make to it mile 2.5, then at 2.5, I said just another .5.  At 3 miles, I actually felt pretty good.  I straightened up and quit looking at the GPS.  My HRZ alarm went off only 3 times today–all three times when I was heading up hills.  I tried to take it easy on my poor little heart.  It’s been through a lot this past week.

When I finished the 3.5 miles, I felt good, tired, a little sore, but a huge sense of accomplishment.

In the meantime, my step-daughter and her husband are in Iowa, riding their bikes on a 40 mile bike ride to see the bridges of Madison County.  I understand she’s never been the type to work out, go to a gym, or anything other than walking (which is awesome), but I gave her my 1997 hybrid Giant and she LOVES it!    Here’s to happiness!

How Absolutely Beautiful Are They?!

Thanks everyone for your support, especially my new follower who sent me the most supportive message (which I really appreciated!).  Here’s to happy endings!

Slow “Run” with Dulce by yakkergirl at Garmin Connect – Details.

Bloody Brickidity Brick.

I had to switch things up a little bit the past couple of days for my triathlon training.  Why?  My area desperately needed blood donors and on August 4, I became eligible again.  You see, I donate double red so I can only go every 16 weeks.

I never thought I’d donate blood.  I get light-headed and queezy when I get needle pricks.  But when I did NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, November 2010) where I wrote a 50,000 word novel in one month as a challenge, I met a woman whose granddaughter was born with a blood disorder.  She was not even 8 years old and has had many blood transfusions.  I saw a photograph of her once, just as she was admitted into the hospital for another.

Abigail.
She’s why I donate.

I looked at that photograph and cried.

“Dammit.  If she can go through blood transfusions, I can sit for 30 minutes 4 times a year and donate blood that may save lives.”  So, I hit my first gallon last year and will hit two gallons in November.  My husband is at 11 gallons.  Talk about an easy way to save lives and show love for others.

In the meantime, I didn’t get up early enough to go on my bike/run brick on Wednesday.  I switched out the brick with my Thursday swim, which I altered (of course–adding yardage).  4x25WU, 600 straight, then 4x50CD.  A few hours later, I donated blood.

I tried to hydrate as much as I could, to help the process, but apparently didn’t do a good enough job.  With my iron just .1 over the low limit, I did the double reds.  Brrrrr, the sensation I get when the return starts is unnerving.  I just keep remembering Abigail.  And my friend and former student Nick, for whom I did my first triathlon this year (April).  Blood cancers such worse than being cold and having a bad taste in your mouth.

Double Red means you lay in a chair
they hook you up to this machine, then
you get cookies and juice afterwards!

By the time I left, I had a thudding headache.  The rest of the day, I was wiped out.  I tried to take a nap, but couldn’t.  I tried to go to bed early, but kept getting awakened.

Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much and woke up incredibly fatigued.  I had a piece of toast and headed out for my brick anyway.  I will lose 10 days of running/biking training soon.  During my peek week, unfortunately.  So I couldn’t skip my workout.  Tomorrow is an off day, it’s all good!

The brick called for 8 miles biking and 1 mile running.  I did the biking fine, although the first mile gave me fits in my legs.  I overcame the pain and pushed on, and I found my groove.  With a north wind at my back, I wondered how much slower my time would be heading back.  Downhill, but into a 15 mph winds.  I will never know.  I accidentally hit my lap button on the GPS and it sent me into the “transition” mode, dammit.  Oh well.

I Love My Garmin.

I got back to the parking lot, hopped off the bike and tried to trot to the car.  Nah, I’d be walking.  I had to lock up the bike, so my transition ended up quite slow.  I threw on my running shoes and headed out.  I started out with the wind, up the slight increase, enough extra stress to put me over my HR Zone (into 4).  Oh well, it’s a brick, right?

Wow, I couldn’t keep running!  I ended up doing 5 minutes running (faster pace, it turns out, than usual), 1 minute walk, then I could only do 3 minutes running, 1 minute walk.  Then I got mad at myself and ran the rest of the way.

Yes, fast people out there, you’re thinking, “Hey, that’s slow!  10 minutes and she’s not done?!”

Well, I’m out there trying.  That’s more important than speed.  In the end, I did the mile.  I stretched.  I drank 2 bike bottles of water and a smaller one of Poweraide, then drank more water when I got home.  I just did not feel good during my run at all.  I felt fatigued during my bike.  I could feel my heart pumping through it all.

Maybe next time I will donate blood I will plan a rest day the next day.  Good plan?

A New Day

Yesterday my husband lost his best friend, his companion of nearly 15 years.

He brought Hannah home as a little puppy during his first sabbatical, and she made it through two more.  She sat outside in his front yard when he worked in his carport before we were married.  Content to sit for hours as he worked.  When they moved into my home, she hated my wood floors, but spent most of her time on our couch anyway.

Dulce behind Hannah, laying on my coat
(she always has to lay on something of mine)

And she loved being goofy on a warm winter day.  She loved her toys, oftentimes falling asleep with them in her mouth.

When we bought our house together, she delighted in hanging out in the backyard while he worked in his shop.

Hannah, with her papa in the background in his shop

We miss her, but are trying to get back on track.

So, yesterday I walked Dulce a couple of miles.  Later in the day I got a little burst of energy and rode my bike a 7.2 mile round trip to the store to pick up a pair of birks.

Today, Dulce and I headed over to the lake to hit the 2.4 mile trail.  Knowing I needed to work on speed, I took a friend’s advice (skinnypinkninja.wordpress.com) and did the Galloway method (run 4 minute, walk 1 minute).  The idea for me is to increase my speed, knowing that I have little recovery periods in between.  It worked!

Instead of running my typical slow 13:11 (0r worse) minute miles, I ran an average of 12:25 min/miles! 

I was giddy.  Total mileage including WU/CD:  3.27.  Interval training 2.77 (run 2.42), and WU/CD .5 miles.

Thankfully, I am again excited about swimming tomorrow.

Monday Swim:  4×25, 5×100 straight, 4×25.  I will probably bump that to 6×100, but we’ll see.
Tuesday Run:  10WU, 1 easy, 10 CD (recovery run)
Wednesday Brick:  Bike 9 easy, Run 1
Thursday Swim: 50 WU, 600 straight, 50 CD
Friday OFF
Saturday Bike:  13 (1 WU, 4F, 4S, 3F, 1CD) –that’s Fast, Slow
Sunday Run: 10 WU, 3.75 miles, 10CD

Not sure about the following week (Week 9, which SHOULD be one of my Peak Weeks), as I will be taking a group of students to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for a 10 days before classes begin.  It will hurt my training for the tri, so I may have to bump up my training this week and the few days after I return to try to compensate.  The good thing is that I can get in lots of open water swims (assuming that it’s not raining–warming up after a swim is important in the wilderness).

Typical training for intermediate athlete

We’ll see how it goes.

On a final note:  Tell people you love them, hug your pets, smile at strangers, and be a positive presence in the world.