Goose here. Oh my goodness, for a split second there I forgot what my blog persona name was! It's indeed been too long since I posted!
I figured I'd better make a post quick before the new year starts or we'd come across as the proverbial cliche, resurrecting our workout mojo as some kind of pitiful attempt at a resolution.
So what have we been up to? Turning into piles of mush, of course...you?
No, not really. Iceman finally got her 5th sweet baby fully cooked and is now 6 days into reclaiming (as much as you can with a nursing newborn) her body for herself. I have no doubt she will turn into a crazy machine in a few short weeks, though I figure she will have to give up sleeping in order to figure out how to diet and exercise amidst 5 children under age 8, homeschooling, and those high maintenance newborns- darn lucky they are that they are so helplessly cute or we might question our sanity in procreating so often. I must admit, since baby iceman was born, I have been looking at my almost 6year old baby and wondering why she is so big. But what does that have to do with wewawo anyway? So enough about that. We believe in you iceman!!!
(just as an aside, I am posting on an iPad and when I type wewawo, it wants to autocorrect it to weasel. Hahahahaha.)
As far as I know, maverick claims mush, although can you blame those poor people? They have, like, 27feet of snow up there! Not only would I not be working out, I'd probably be dead in that wretched environment! And for the record, she looks pretty good to me in the pics I've seen of their Christmas celebrations.
Oh, merry Christmas by the way. I'll throw in a hearty Happy New Year while I'm at it, since I'm positive I won't be posting again in the next few days. Let's face it, people, with my track record you'll be lucky to hear from me again by spring.
Anyway. It's true, after a solid year of nonstop workouts and race training, I have not moved my body in one single way that goes beyond me merely getting from point a to point b in an entire month. I thought I might come up with some introspective post about what I was learning about my non moving sabbatical (or would that be a moving sabbatical?) but I didn't post soon enough and now I am just getting downright disgusted with myself.
It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that, while I breezed all the way from thanksgiving to Christmas eve on the low end of my self imposed acceptable weight range thanks to an extra measure of stress in my life (I tend to respond to stress with a total loss of appetite, which actually worked out well for me since I have not been working out) I have now not stopped eating since Christmas eve, could it? I mean, really, a mere 5 days ago I weighed 4 lbs less than I did today...can you believe that is even possible??? And I can tell you exactly what happened...on Christmas eve my home became filled with all kinds of chips, cheeses, chocolates and baked goods as well as goodies like homemade mac&cheese, potato casserole, quiche. All sorts of yum and all resolve left me!
But I have smacked some sense back in to myself. I perused early feb/mar runs to sign up for to get me motivated and am going to aim for a 10k run in feb or mar, and possibly a duathlon (run/bike/run) in April in preparation for the sprint triathlon season in which my goal is to compete in three this coming year. I am very loosely pondering a half marathon, but we will see if I am able to get back in to my workout routine adequately.
Of course, my trusty sidekick, H, has continued to faithfully workout like a freak and send me taunting text messages while i sit watching my thighs turn to cellulite while snarfing chips and cheese. Here is a lovely example of a text she sent me today:
H texts: "I rode like a lion...1hr5min, 20 miles! Do you want to know what it feels like to be me?"
At least the skinny, muscled freak is good for a laugh, hahaha! :) And its only because her even more freakish husband rides for at least 2 hours a day and so she feels a little "pressure" hahaha. But enough about my beloved H or I will have to give her a moniker here and allow her to post snark about me! :)
So bottom line for Goose...the month long gooberfest is over! We will be back in the 60's here by tomorrow, so I plan to see if I can even still run 3 miles without stopping and then dust of my trusty 30 day shred and get back to work uncovering my 6 pack abs and freakishly strong arms :).
I look forward to hearing how maverick and iceman plan to pull themselves together in the new year after they tunnel out of all the snow they live under.
Goose-Out
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
400 pound slob
I felt this blog was a little lonely. I mean nothing posted since July? Have we fallen that far? I know Goose did a second triathlon in early September. Nothing about that? I know Iceman is pregnant so she has a brief pass but we will all look forward to her words of inspiration soon.
So I thought I would contribute again. Just to keep it going.
I am a 400 pound slob. Or at least I would secretly like to be one. I really want to give into the lazy, gluttonous person inside me, sit down on the couch with a pint of ice cream and never get up again. I never want to go on another run, never want to lift another weight, never want to do another sit up. I don't want to push myself. I don't want to work exercise into my schedule. I don't want to think about what to eat or not eat. Just mindlessly pop whatever is in front of me in my mouth. That is what I want!
Then again I see people who have given into that same desire and I wonder. How can they go around like that? Don't they know how unhealthy they are? Don't they know they are shortening their lives? Don't they know they don't have to be sick or unhealthy? Don't they know they can look and feel good? Isn't it worth it to them? Aren't they worth it to themselves? I saw a woman walking into Target the other day that was quite obese. You know when the fat starts hanging down from the lower part of your stomach? She wasn't that old. And I just wondered if she was doing anything about her weight or if she had just given up and was living like that.
I don't want to give up.
I realize on the one hand there is a lot of distance to cover between the 130 pounds I would like to be forever and the 400 pounds that would have me with fat hanging down to my knees but on the other hand is there really? Just like staying thin is a daily decision to control portions and drag myself out of bed for a morning run or a yoga video becoming an unhealthy person is a daily decision not to. I loose weight one day at a time and I gain weight one day at a time. Gaining weight is as much of a decision as loosing weight. I either decide to do something or I decide to do nothing.
Lately I have been deciding to do nothing with exercise. After such a great year last year and the triathlon I have sort of fallen apart. I kept up most of the summer but this fall it all fell apart. The eating has been better and kept my weight balanced but I know it is time to put them both together again. To decide that my health is worth the effort. I am worth the effort. I don't have to kill myself. I am not training for anything right now but I do need to keep going.
Actually I am training for something. After Goose and her friend H had done their second triathlon together the continued their morning work out routine. One morning Goose's husband came by and asked, "what are you training for now?" H replied, "Life". That is what I am training for now. Are you training with me?
So I thought I would contribute again. Just to keep it going.
I am a 400 pound slob. Or at least I would secretly like to be one. I really want to give into the lazy, gluttonous person inside me, sit down on the couch with a pint of ice cream and never get up again. I never want to go on another run, never want to lift another weight, never want to do another sit up. I don't want to push myself. I don't want to work exercise into my schedule. I don't want to think about what to eat or not eat. Just mindlessly pop whatever is in front of me in my mouth. That is what I want!
Then again I see people who have given into that same desire and I wonder. How can they go around like that? Don't they know how unhealthy they are? Don't they know they are shortening their lives? Don't they know they don't have to be sick or unhealthy? Don't they know they can look and feel good? Isn't it worth it to them? Aren't they worth it to themselves? I saw a woman walking into Target the other day that was quite obese. You know when the fat starts hanging down from the lower part of your stomach? She wasn't that old. And I just wondered if she was doing anything about her weight or if she had just given up and was living like that.
I don't want to give up.
I realize on the one hand there is a lot of distance to cover between the 130 pounds I would like to be forever and the 400 pounds that would have me with fat hanging down to my knees but on the other hand is there really? Just like staying thin is a daily decision to control portions and drag myself out of bed for a morning run or a yoga video becoming an unhealthy person is a daily decision not to. I loose weight one day at a time and I gain weight one day at a time. Gaining weight is as much of a decision as loosing weight. I either decide to do something or I decide to do nothing.
Lately I have been deciding to do nothing with exercise. After such a great year last year and the triathlon I have sort of fallen apart. I kept up most of the summer but this fall it all fell apart. The eating has been better and kept my weight balanced but I know it is time to put them both together again. To decide that my health is worth the effort. I am worth the effort. I don't have to kill myself. I am not training for anything right now but I do need to keep going.
Actually I am training for something. After Goose and her friend H had done their second triathlon together the continued their morning work out routine. One morning Goose's husband came by and asked, "what are you training for now?" H replied, "Life". That is what I am training for now. Are you training with me?
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Lumberjack 10 mile run-Stillwater, MN
I trained. I ran. I conquered.
I had a successful run last Saturday in the Lumberjack 10 miler. No, I didn't wow anyone with my speed but myself, and there are technically no bragging rights when you come in 898th out of just over 1,000 runners. But victory is in the eye of the beholder and this girl accomplished her goals in training and finished at the top of her goal range and is quite satisfied with herself! :)
I specifically trained for this race for 6 weeks, and my runs really ran the gamut as you saw if you kept up with my weekly training check-ins. The week had kicked off with the always awesome, 20 hour, two-day road trip of 1100 miles of driving (I drove it all) with four children and a grandma sidekick.
I decided to celebrate our arrival on Tuesday night with a bottle of wine to erase the experience from my memory. Awaking Wednesday morning and realizing I had a race to run in a few days and had done nothing in 3 days but sit on my ass (can I say ass here?) and consume a bottle of wine, I decided I better pull it together. I ran 3 miles, banished alcohol for the rest of the week and ate and hydrated like a purist until Saturday.
When I first arrived in MN, I could tell the weather was going to be much kinder to me than GA weather had been, as I could feel a nice breeze in the last two morning runs I did before the race (a 3 and a 2 mile) and felt like that would be a huge benefit to me in how I felt during the run.
The day itself could not have been more perfect for a long run. It had stormed in the night, so although the humidity was noticable, it was completely overcast and in the 60's for most of the run. It was hugely helpful to not have the sun beating down. Perfect, could not have asked for better.
We were bussed out 10 miles from downtown Stillwater, and I was so pleased to see that not only was it a gorgeous run along the St. Croix river, but it was very flat.
I really was not nervous, more anticipatory. Maverick had come with me to be there at the finish line and take pics, and my friend, Monica, was running with me. They were my security blankets!
One thing I noticed right away about the participants in this event compared to the sprint tri, was how fit everyone was! I was really surprised. I mean, there were 1000 people running this race, and every one of them looked like they could do it. In the sprint tri (granted it was called a "my first tri" so it did run the gamut of body types) you saw every type of person, young-old-fit-fat-muscley-flabby. Here, everyone looked like a serious runner with toned running legs. Did I fit in? Did I look like I belonged there? I wondered.
I learned something new about distance runs, and that is that they give you pace runners so you can follow a certain pace that you want to finish in. Nice! Monica and I decided to start the race back with the 10 min. mile pacer.
We were off! I felt good right from the get go, and pretty soon I had passed the 10 min mile pacer and then even the 9.30 min. mile pacer...my goal was to stay very steady because I really wanted to run the whole race without having to walk.
The first 3 miles went very quickly and easily for me and I remember thinking, I've already done a 5k and still have a ton left in me! There was a water station about every two miles, and as my marathon friend advised me, I slowed down and took 2 cups at each one, one to drink and one to pour over my head to keep me cool.
Here are some things I learned during this long race: running is not a pretty sport--especially for men. During the run I had the pleasure of watching a man right beside me blow his nose in his hand and wipe it on his shorts. Another great experience was when I ran past a man who stopped right on the side of the road and pee'd. That was special. And then there was the man who made some coughing, wretching sounds and I wanted to suggest that he might want to throw up on the side of the road and not in the middle of it.
There was also a variety of spitting going on, and I passed one horrifically sweaty, shirtless man who eminated an odor that I quickly sprinted past. It was also really fun running alongside a woman I couldn't seem to get away from for awhile who had the strangest running stride where she dug her toes into the pavement so every stride was loud and obnoxious. I am a smooth runner and I could not understand why she was making so much noise with her shoes.
I also couldn't help but spend some time wondering about the few women who ran in just sports bras with their tramp stamps showing, when really, it wasn't there best look. Do these people not have mirrors? husbands? friends that care about them? how does it happen that people walk out of their house like this thinking, yea, I'm totally rockin' this look??
I also enjoyed pondering the type of person that ran marathons and used this race as a training run. There were a handful of people that chose to run the 10 miles out to the starting point instead of being bussed out there, and then they ran the 10 mile race. There were also a few that I passed on the run that were heading back to the start point, so clearly they had already finished the 10 miles and now were running back. These were clearly marathon trainers. What posesses a person to want to run this much? I know how much time I have had to devote to training for the tri and this 10 mile run...I would have no life at all outside of preparing my body if I were to train for a marathon (which, mark my words, I will NEVER do!)
Anyway, back to my run...
After mile 3 I heard people saying the next 2-3 miles were the worst because it was a gradual incline, mostly on a dirt packed, gravely road. I honestly didn't even notice the gradual incline until the end when there was one steep hill that was pretty short with a water station right at the top so I thought it was fine.
Then I started hearing talk that it was "all down hill from here", and from mile 6-10 it was a gradual downward slope into Stillwater. Again, I didn't significantly notice the gradual downgrade, but I am sure it helped to make it a pleasant race.
At one hour I remember thinking, wow, I've run a whole hour already! And then thinking, wow, bummer, I still have to run for a good 40 more minutes at least. I think I lost a little steam with that realization and had to push through until I felt like I hit a new breathing stride right before 7 miles.
I felt good again until I hit 8 miles and then I was like, ok, I'm good! I'm done! I was bored and tired and over it. I started questioning why I do things like this and how I will never, ever run a 1/2 marathon, let alone another 10 mile race because I am not a distance runner and why in the world did I let H talk me into another sprint tri in Sept because I hate this and its not fun and I am bored and tired and I hate this!
I let myself wallow in that manner for a couple minutes and then I pulled myself back together.
I reminded myself that it was a ten mile race and I'd already gone 8 and we were talking less than 20 minutes of running left and I would be done, I could sooo do this, I had trained well and really I was not nearly as spent as I had felt in the run leg of the sprint tri and I had kept going then. I was just getting a little bored. I knew that I would be disappointed in myself if I didn't keep running.
So Forrest kept running. Finally I hit the 9 mile mark. Do you know how long 1 single mile is when you have already run 9 and all you want to do is cross the finish line and get it over with? Oh my goodness, so long! The last mile felt as long as the first 9 miles! I could see the general finish area. I had been running in between the 9.30 and 10 min mile pacers nearly the entire time so I knew I was right in front of my top goal of 1 hr. 40 min finish.
The last 1/4 mile I hear the 10 min pacer behind me, closing in! I tried to pick it up but I just couldn't. She closed in on me and I literally crossed the finish line with her, but that was a-ok with me...it meant my time came out literally exactly 1 hour 40 minutes and I was very proud that I ran the whole thing and maintained an average 10 minute mile stride for the entire thing.
Right as I crossed the finish I heard my sis, Maverick, call out to me, and then I see our friend, Brian, with my 7 yr old on his shoulders! What a special surprise! She had been camping with Iceman and her family nearby and they had come in to Stillwater and my girl got to see me cross the finish line after watching me work my butt off all these weeks running and working out. The specialness is most probably lost on her at her age, but hopefully when she is older she will remember how her mom worked for a goal and she got to watch me achieve it.
I really needed a mental minute right after finishing so I walked off a bit and stood in a water spray they had going. The set up was much better than the tri and there were bottles of water, chips, bananas, bagels, protein bars for us to replenish with, and I got to sit with my sis-maverick, my sil-iceman, my brother, friends Brian and Monica, one of my daughters, and four of my nieces and nephews for a while and just enjoy the end of the experience. It was really great and really special!
I really thought I'd be more sore, but I recovered nicely and even water ski'd the next day. I did not run for 3 days, but this morning I told myself that I needed to get out there and do it, don't get slack just because the race is over. So I headed out and did 4 miles and was very glad it wasn't 10. :)
Thanks for sharing in the 10 mile journey with me, its been a fun learning experience. Now, onto the next event!
Goose-Out
I had a successful run last Saturday in the Lumberjack 10 miler. No, I didn't wow anyone with my speed but myself, and there are technically no bragging rights when you come in 898th out of just over 1,000 runners. But victory is in the eye of the beholder and this girl accomplished her goals in training and finished at the top of her goal range and is quite satisfied with herself! :)
I specifically trained for this race for 6 weeks, and my runs really ran the gamut as you saw if you kept up with my weekly training check-ins. The week had kicked off with the always awesome, 20 hour, two-day road trip of 1100 miles of driving (I drove it all) with four children and a grandma sidekick.
I decided to celebrate our arrival on Tuesday night with a bottle of wine to erase the experience from my memory. Awaking Wednesday morning and realizing I had a race to run in a few days and had done nothing in 3 days but sit on my ass (can I say ass here?) and consume a bottle of wine, I decided I better pull it together. I ran 3 miles, banished alcohol for the rest of the week and ate and hydrated like a purist until Saturday.
When I first arrived in MN, I could tell the weather was going to be much kinder to me than GA weather had been, as I could feel a nice breeze in the last two morning runs I did before the race (a 3 and a 2 mile) and felt like that would be a huge benefit to me in how I felt during the run.
The day itself could not have been more perfect for a long run. It had stormed in the night, so although the humidity was noticable, it was completely overcast and in the 60's for most of the run. It was hugely helpful to not have the sun beating down. Perfect, could not have asked for better.
We were bussed out 10 miles from downtown Stillwater, and I was so pleased to see that not only was it a gorgeous run along the St. Croix river, but it was very flat.
I really was not nervous, more anticipatory. Maverick had come with me to be there at the finish line and take pics, and my friend, Monica, was running with me. They were my security blankets!
One thing I noticed right away about the participants in this event compared to the sprint tri, was how fit everyone was! I was really surprised. I mean, there were 1000 people running this race, and every one of them looked like they could do it. In the sprint tri (granted it was called a "my first tri" so it did run the gamut of body types) you saw every type of person, young-old-fit-fat-muscley-flabby. Here, everyone looked like a serious runner with toned running legs. Did I fit in? Did I look like I belonged there? I wondered.
I learned something new about distance runs, and that is that they give you pace runners so you can follow a certain pace that you want to finish in. Nice! Monica and I decided to start the race back with the 10 min. mile pacer.
We were off! I felt good right from the get go, and pretty soon I had passed the 10 min mile pacer and then even the 9.30 min. mile pacer...my goal was to stay very steady because I really wanted to run the whole race without having to walk.
The first 3 miles went very quickly and easily for me and I remember thinking, I've already done a 5k and still have a ton left in me! There was a water station about every two miles, and as my marathon friend advised me, I slowed down and took 2 cups at each one, one to drink and one to pour over my head to keep me cool.
Here are some things I learned during this long race: running is not a pretty sport--especially for men. During the run I had the pleasure of watching a man right beside me blow his nose in his hand and wipe it on his shorts. Another great experience was when I ran past a man who stopped right on the side of the road and pee'd. That was special. And then there was the man who made some coughing, wretching sounds and I wanted to suggest that he might want to throw up on the side of the road and not in the middle of it.
There was also a variety of spitting going on, and I passed one horrifically sweaty, shirtless man who eminated an odor that I quickly sprinted past. It was also really fun running alongside a woman I couldn't seem to get away from for awhile who had the strangest running stride where she dug her toes into the pavement so every stride was loud and obnoxious. I am a smooth runner and I could not understand why she was making so much noise with her shoes.
I also couldn't help but spend some time wondering about the few women who ran in just sports bras with their tramp stamps showing, when really, it wasn't there best look. Do these people not have mirrors? husbands? friends that care about them? how does it happen that people walk out of their house like this thinking, yea, I'm totally rockin' this look??
I also enjoyed pondering the type of person that ran marathons and used this race as a training run. There were a handful of people that chose to run the 10 miles out to the starting point instead of being bussed out there, and then they ran the 10 mile race. There were also a few that I passed on the run that were heading back to the start point, so clearly they had already finished the 10 miles and now were running back. These were clearly marathon trainers. What posesses a person to want to run this much? I know how much time I have had to devote to training for the tri and this 10 mile run...I would have no life at all outside of preparing my body if I were to train for a marathon (which, mark my words, I will NEVER do!)
Anyway, back to my run...
After mile 3 I heard people saying the next 2-3 miles were the worst because it was a gradual incline, mostly on a dirt packed, gravely road. I honestly didn't even notice the gradual incline until the end when there was one steep hill that was pretty short with a water station right at the top so I thought it was fine.
Then I started hearing talk that it was "all down hill from here", and from mile 6-10 it was a gradual downward slope into Stillwater. Again, I didn't significantly notice the gradual downgrade, but I am sure it helped to make it a pleasant race.
At one hour I remember thinking, wow, I've run a whole hour already! And then thinking, wow, bummer, I still have to run for a good 40 more minutes at least. I think I lost a little steam with that realization and had to push through until I felt like I hit a new breathing stride right before 7 miles.
I felt good again until I hit 8 miles and then I was like, ok, I'm good! I'm done! I was bored and tired and over it. I started questioning why I do things like this and how I will never, ever run a 1/2 marathon, let alone another 10 mile race because I am not a distance runner and why in the world did I let H talk me into another sprint tri in Sept because I hate this and its not fun and I am bored and tired and I hate this!
I let myself wallow in that manner for a couple minutes and then I pulled myself back together.
I reminded myself that it was a ten mile race and I'd already gone 8 and we were talking less than 20 minutes of running left and I would be done, I could sooo do this, I had trained well and really I was not nearly as spent as I had felt in the run leg of the sprint tri and I had kept going then. I was just getting a little bored. I knew that I would be disappointed in myself if I didn't keep running.
So Forrest kept running. Finally I hit the 9 mile mark. Do you know how long 1 single mile is when you have already run 9 and all you want to do is cross the finish line and get it over with? Oh my goodness, so long! The last mile felt as long as the first 9 miles! I could see the general finish area. I had been running in between the 9.30 and 10 min mile pacers nearly the entire time so I knew I was right in front of my top goal of 1 hr. 40 min finish.
The last 1/4 mile I hear the 10 min pacer behind me, closing in! I tried to pick it up but I just couldn't. She closed in on me and I literally crossed the finish line with her, but that was a-ok with me...it meant my time came out literally exactly 1 hour 40 minutes and I was very proud that I ran the whole thing and maintained an average 10 minute mile stride for the entire thing.
Right as I crossed the finish I heard my sis, Maverick, call out to me, and then I see our friend, Brian, with my 7 yr old on his shoulders! What a special surprise! She had been camping with Iceman and her family nearby and they had come in to Stillwater and my girl got to see me cross the finish line after watching me work my butt off all these weeks running and working out. The specialness is most probably lost on her at her age, but hopefully when she is older she will remember how her mom worked for a goal and she got to watch me achieve it.
I really needed a mental minute right after finishing so I walked off a bit and stood in a water spray they had going. The set up was much better than the tri and there were bottles of water, chips, bananas, bagels, protein bars for us to replenish with, and I got to sit with my sis-maverick, my sil-iceman, my brother, friends Brian and Monica, one of my daughters, and four of my nieces and nephews for a while and just enjoy the end of the experience. It was really great and really special!
I really thought I'd be more sore, but I recovered nicely and even water ski'd the next day. I did not run for 3 days, but this morning I told myself that I needed to get out there and do it, don't get slack just because the race is over. So I headed out and did 4 miles and was very glad it wasn't 10. :)
Thanks for sharing in the 10 mile journey with me, its been a fun learning experience. Now, onto the next event!
Goose-Out
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Week 5 - Into the home stretch 10 miler training
WHOA!
What a fun surprise! I just logged on to post and see that Iceman has been busy sprucing up our little blog!! Very nice and well done, Iceman! :)
But back to business...
I RAN 9 MILES TODAY! IN 1 HOUR, 26 MINUTES!
I am feeling it, it will probably take the next week until the race for my legs to recover. But it went well. E is in the middle of the 3 day GA state swim meet and the last two mornings we have had to be at the pool at 7am, so I wasn't sure how I was going to get this 9 mile run in because I can barely tolerate the heat/humidity when I run at 7:30am, I would never consider running in the middle of the day when we get home from the meet session.
But today I had the genius idea to call my girlfriend with a gym in her basement and asked her if I could come over and run for a very, very long time on her treadmill. Wow, what a difference an indoor treadmill run is compared to the rugged outdoors, the weather elements, changing elevations and raw, pounding asphalt and concrete! I have worried that I am not much of a runner as each outdoor run is different and I never know if its going to be hard or easy when I head out.
This climate-controlled (air conditioned room with ceiling fan), 0% incline, smooth running surface with a tv in front of my face, towel for wiping sweat, and jumbo water bottle within reach run was like a filet mignon run compared to the bologne on wonder bread sandwich outdoor summer runs I have been doing. Not to say it was easy...I mean, I ran 9 miles people. It took me almost 1 1/2 hours. That is a lot of running. I was dripping with sweat, my legs felt a little crampy at the end and my toes were bothering me.
But I was very pleased with myself. I ran at 6.5 mph for the first 6 miles, then I slowed to 6 mph for mile 7 and then I was wanting to get finished and felt good so I kicked it up to 7 mph for mile 8, then down to 5.5 mph for 1/2 mile and then 6 mph to finish out the last 1/2 mile. And the treadmill told me I burned over 1,000 calories, can that be possible? No wonder you can eat whatever you want when you run!
Now, if I can only hope for a smooth, relatively flat run course in Stillwater next weekend, I should be able to get through it. However, I hear Stillwater is pretty hilly. That will be a killer for sure.
Didn't Shred even once this week, just couldn't make it happen I guess. One more day of state swim meet tomorrow, and then Monday morning bright and early I am hitting the road with the girls for a 1000 mile road trip up to MN from GA. Luckily I am supposed to take it easy this week...I think 2 days sitting in a car qualifies. I am only supposed to run a 3 and a 2 before the race next Saturday.
Have I mentioned that H did wrestle me to the ground and convince me to sign up for another sprint triathlon with her in September? So I guess there will be a new countdown ticker on the blog after the race next weekend. But that is it!! That is all I am doing until the spring...I will get into an easier groove of normal 3-4 mile runs and work on some new strength training through the winter.
So this weeks workouts...
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 5 mile run, abs and pushups
Wednesday: 3 mile run with my biking sidekick, Sarah, abs and pushups
Thursday: 5 mile run, abs and pushups
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 9 mile run
Sunday: OFF (maybe shred, but I doubt it)
Next weeks update will be about the race!
Goose Out
What a fun surprise! I just logged on to post and see that Iceman has been busy sprucing up our little blog!! Very nice and well done, Iceman! :)
But back to business...
I RAN 9 MILES TODAY! IN 1 HOUR, 26 MINUTES!
I am feeling it, it will probably take the next week until the race for my legs to recover. But it went well. E is in the middle of the 3 day GA state swim meet and the last two mornings we have had to be at the pool at 7am, so I wasn't sure how I was going to get this 9 mile run in because I can barely tolerate the heat/humidity when I run at 7:30am, I would never consider running in the middle of the day when we get home from the meet session.
But today I had the genius idea to call my girlfriend with a gym in her basement and asked her if I could come over and run for a very, very long time on her treadmill. Wow, what a difference an indoor treadmill run is compared to the rugged outdoors, the weather elements, changing elevations and raw, pounding asphalt and concrete! I have worried that I am not much of a runner as each outdoor run is different and I never know if its going to be hard or easy when I head out.
This climate-controlled (air conditioned room with ceiling fan), 0% incline, smooth running surface with a tv in front of my face, towel for wiping sweat, and jumbo water bottle within reach run was like a filet mignon run compared to the bologne on wonder bread sandwich outdoor summer runs I have been doing. Not to say it was easy...I mean, I ran 9 miles people. It took me almost 1 1/2 hours. That is a lot of running. I was dripping with sweat, my legs felt a little crampy at the end and my toes were bothering me.
But I was very pleased with myself. I ran at 6.5 mph for the first 6 miles, then I slowed to 6 mph for mile 7 and then I was wanting to get finished and felt good so I kicked it up to 7 mph for mile 8, then down to 5.5 mph for 1/2 mile and then 6 mph to finish out the last 1/2 mile. And the treadmill told me I burned over 1,000 calories, can that be possible? No wonder you can eat whatever you want when you run!
Now, if I can only hope for a smooth, relatively flat run course in Stillwater next weekend, I should be able to get through it. However, I hear Stillwater is pretty hilly. That will be a killer for sure.
Didn't Shred even once this week, just couldn't make it happen I guess. One more day of state swim meet tomorrow, and then Monday morning bright and early I am hitting the road with the girls for a 1000 mile road trip up to MN from GA. Luckily I am supposed to take it easy this week...I think 2 days sitting in a car qualifies. I am only supposed to run a 3 and a 2 before the race next Saturday.
Have I mentioned that H did wrestle me to the ground and convince me to sign up for another sprint triathlon with her in September? So I guess there will be a new countdown ticker on the blog after the race next weekend. But that is it!! That is all I am doing until the spring...I will get into an easier groove of normal 3-4 mile runs and work on some new strength training through the winter.
So this weeks workouts...
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 5 mile run, abs and pushups
Wednesday: 3 mile run with my biking sidekick, Sarah, abs and pushups
Thursday: 5 mile run, abs and pushups
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 9 mile run
Sunday: OFF (maybe shred, but I doubt it)
Next weeks update will be about the race!
Goose Out
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Another training week finished--week 4
So this week started out with the 4th of July holiday. I tested my theory from last week that it seems I can eat whatever I want when running this much and I ate like a pig...all week--there were left overs that had to be eaten, of course.
Just so you believe me, in two days over the 4th, me.myself.and.I. ate an entire bag of Lays Salt and Vinegar potato chips. The whole bag. Just me. All by myself. In two days. Did I mention my period came this week, too? Hmmm, maybe there is some correlation there.
I also drank wine nearly every day this week and had margaritas with a friend one afternoon after the pool. Oh, and I had made these yummy cookie ice cream sandwiches, and well, of course, we had to finish them all this week. Basically I have had my years quota of hot dogs, ice cream sandwiches, and potato chips in just a few days.
The day after the 4th I did step on the scale and was about 1.5 lbs up, but attributed that to the bag of potato chips (ya think?) and figured I'd pull it together for the rest of the week.
As you can see from above, I did not, but somehow, someway that I cannot understand myself, when I weighed myself yesterday prepared to be like 3 lbs up, I was actually 3 lbs down from the day after the 4th. I stepped on the scale 10 times to make sure it was reading it correctly and then used another scale in the house to confirm it. The body is wierd. Oh well, I'll take it. :)
I felt a litle lackluster and unmotivated during my workouts this week, but I managed to get them done. So today was supposed to be 8 miles. Actually yesterday was supposed to be 8 miles. I have been having trouble sleeping the last couple days and the night before last I was up until 4am with extreme insomnia, so I decided to not get up early and run.
So this morning, I had slept a bit better but still could not drag myself out the door until 8:20am, which was too late as it was already very hot and humid and sunny. I just felt so stiff and hot. At about 4.5 miles I could tell I was getting dehydrated. Why do I get dehydrated so easily?? It is frustrating. I was feeling crampy and light headed and really wanted some water.
So I walked for about 5 min and then decided I'd run past my house to get the little bottle of water I had put in my mailbox. By the time I got there I had gone about 6 miles and I just knew I was done, I don't want to push myself to a point where it is not healthy when I can tell I am sluggish. I was walking and drinking the water and had chills even though I was sweating profusely, which is how I felt at the end of the triathlon, so I figured I needed to just call it quits.
I got home, had a huge thermos of cold water and laid flat on my back under the ceiling fan and started to feel much better. I am sure my bad eating and also my period this week helped to make this an off week for me. I am going to really concentrate on my water intake this week. I feel like I drink a lot of water and eat a lot of fruit normally, but I think this week I had a lot of caffeine which I normally do not have, as well as more alcohol than I normally have in a week, and that threw off my hydration or something.
So this weeks workouts:
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 4.5 miles, pushups and abs
Wednesda: 3 miles with Sarah along biking next to me, pushups and abs
Thursday: 4.5 miles, pushups and abs
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Shred
Sunday: 6 miles
This week my mom comes into town and E has her state swim meet Thurs-Sun, and then we hit the road for MN. I will be busy, so hopefully I can get up early and get the runs in before the day begins.
Goose Out.
Just so you believe me, in two days over the 4th, me.myself.and.I. ate an entire bag of Lays Salt and Vinegar potato chips. The whole bag. Just me. All by myself. In two days. Did I mention my period came this week, too? Hmmm, maybe there is some correlation there.
I also drank wine nearly every day this week and had margaritas with a friend one afternoon after the pool. Oh, and I had made these yummy cookie ice cream sandwiches, and well, of course, we had to finish them all this week. Basically I have had my years quota of hot dogs, ice cream sandwiches, and potato chips in just a few days.
The day after the 4th I did step on the scale and was about 1.5 lbs up, but attributed that to the bag of potato chips (ya think?) and figured I'd pull it together for the rest of the week.
As you can see from above, I did not, but somehow, someway that I cannot understand myself, when I weighed myself yesterday prepared to be like 3 lbs up, I was actually 3 lbs down from the day after the 4th. I stepped on the scale 10 times to make sure it was reading it correctly and then used another scale in the house to confirm it. The body is wierd. Oh well, I'll take it. :)
I felt a litle lackluster and unmotivated during my workouts this week, but I managed to get them done. So today was supposed to be 8 miles. Actually yesterday was supposed to be 8 miles. I have been having trouble sleeping the last couple days and the night before last I was up until 4am with extreme insomnia, so I decided to not get up early and run.
So this morning, I had slept a bit better but still could not drag myself out the door until 8:20am, which was too late as it was already very hot and humid and sunny. I just felt so stiff and hot. At about 4.5 miles I could tell I was getting dehydrated. Why do I get dehydrated so easily?? It is frustrating. I was feeling crampy and light headed and really wanted some water.
So I walked for about 5 min and then decided I'd run past my house to get the little bottle of water I had put in my mailbox. By the time I got there I had gone about 6 miles and I just knew I was done, I don't want to push myself to a point where it is not healthy when I can tell I am sluggish. I was walking and drinking the water and had chills even though I was sweating profusely, which is how I felt at the end of the triathlon, so I figured I needed to just call it quits.
I got home, had a huge thermos of cold water and laid flat on my back under the ceiling fan and started to feel much better. I am sure my bad eating and also my period this week helped to make this an off week for me. I am going to really concentrate on my water intake this week. I feel like I drink a lot of water and eat a lot of fruit normally, but I think this week I had a lot of caffeine which I normally do not have, as well as more alcohol than I normally have in a week, and that threw off my hydration or something.
So this weeks workouts:
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 4.5 miles, pushups and abs
Wednesda: 3 miles with Sarah along biking next to me, pushups and abs
Thursday: 4.5 miles, pushups and abs
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Shred
Sunday: 6 miles
This week my mom comes into town and E has her state swim meet Thurs-Sun, and then we hit the road for MN. I will be busy, so hopefully I can get up early and get the runs in before the day begins.
Goose Out.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Ten Miler training--Week 3
Whew! I may just be, finally, getting my groove thang on with this distance running training!
I am very excited after my 7 mile run this morning! It went so well! It helped immensely that after a 20 day exile of non stop temps in the 90's and 1000% humidity, some relief finally broke through in the south. When I headed out this morning it was 68 degrees!! Holy cow what a difference it made!
I just ran and ran and ran, didn't even look at my watch until I had already been running 45 minutes. I ran for 1 hour and 10 minutes and felt very proud of myself. I may, just maybe, actually be able to run this entire 10 miler...whodathunkit?
Training this week:
Monday: 4.5 mile run, abs and pushups
Tuesday: Shred dvd
Wednesday: 3 mile run (I had the pleasure of Sarah riding her bike with me during the run, she was so pleased with herself for riding 3 miles and it was nice to have the company) abs and pushups
Thursday: 4.5 mile run, abs and pushups
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 7 mile run
Sunday: OFF
Only 3 more weeks to go. I think I can keep up this pace for 3 more weeks. Still contemplating one more sprint triathlon with H in September, but haven't signed up for it yet.
Incidentally, not that I would keep up this kind of weekly mileage unless training for a race, but as a public service announcement, I thought I'd let you know that I have learned in the last 3 weeks that if you run nearly 20 miles a week you can eat anything at all that you want and you won't gain a pound!
Until next week...
Goose, Out
I am very excited after my 7 mile run this morning! It went so well! It helped immensely that after a 20 day exile of non stop temps in the 90's and 1000% humidity, some relief finally broke through in the south. When I headed out this morning it was 68 degrees!! Holy cow what a difference it made!
I just ran and ran and ran, didn't even look at my watch until I had already been running 45 minutes. I ran for 1 hour and 10 minutes and felt very proud of myself. I may, just maybe, actually be able to run this entire 10 miler...whodathunkit?
Training this week:
Monday: 4.5 mile run, abs and pushups
Tuesday: Shred dvd
Wednesday: 3 mile run (I had the pleasure of Sarah riding her bike with me during the run, she was so pleased with herself for riding 3 miles and it was nice to have the company) abs and pushups
Thursday: 4.5 mile run, abs and pushups
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 7 mile run
Sunday: OFF
Only 3 more weeks to go. I think I can keep up this pace for 3 more weeks. Still contemplating one more sprint triathlon with H in September, but haven't signed up for it yet.
Incidentally, not that I would keep up this kind of weekly mileage unless training for a race, but as a public service announcement, I thought I'd let you know that I have learned in the last 3 weeks that if you run nearly 20 miles a week you can eat anything at all that you want and you won't gain a pound!
Until next week...
Goose, Out
Friday, July 2, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ICEMAN!
It's Iceman's birthday today!
Iceman is currently taking a break from wewawo training because she is cooking baby #5 in a short 8 year period! Iceman works so hard in between these baby cooking sessions, and I just know that this time next year on your birthday you are going to be back at it full throttle and I look forward to catching a race with you next summer!
Maverick and I are lucky gals to have such an amazing SIL! If I had been able to hand pick my own SIL I don't think I would have done as good a job as my brother did in choosing Iceman for himself and our family!
Not only is she a wonderful sister to me, minus the "inlaw", but she is an amazing wife and mom and an inspiration to many with her commitment to always strive towards healthy living, homeschooling her brood, tolerating and loving our wacky family and loving and living for the Lord while she does it all.
Happy Birthday, Iceman! I love you very much and hope this new year of life is an exciting and blessed one for you!
xoxo Goose
Iceman is currently taking a break from wewawo training because she is cooking baby #5 in a short 8 year period! Iceman works so hard in between these baby cooking sessions, and I just know that this time next year on your birthday you are going to be back at it full throttle and I look forward to catching a race with you next summer!
Maverick and I are lucky gals to have such an amazing SIL! If I had been able to hand pick my own SIL I don't think I would have done as good a job as my brother did in choosing Iceman for himself and our family!
Not only is she a wonderful sister to me, minus the "inlaw", but she is an amazing wife and mom and an inspiration to many with her commitment to always strive towards healthy living, homeschooling her brood, tolerating and loving our wacky family and loving and living for the Lord while she does it all.
Happy Birthday, Iceman! I love you very much and hope this new year of life is an exciting and blessed one for you!
xoxo Goose
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Ten Mile Training--week Two
Week two finished.
I was telling my friend H that I much prefer knowing I only have to keep up this pace for 6 weeks. We had, like, 6 months to train for the Triathlon, and granted I was starting from sedentary so needed that time, but it seemed to go on forever. I much prefer knowing that I only have to run 20 miles a week for the next 4 weeks now and then I can switch up my workout routine again.
So this week...
Monday - 4 mile run, pushups and abs
Tuesday - Shred
Wednesday - 3 mile run, pushups and abs
Thursday - 4 mile run, pushups and abs
Friday - Shred
Saturday - OFF
Sunday - 6 mile run
I left the house for my 6 miles this morning at 7:30am and noticed that the humidity was not as thick as its been the last couple weeks. Also, I had a more shady route planned. I also put a small water bottle in my mailbox to run by and grab a sip at some point.
I headed out and felt....good! Wow, I don't know what the difference is from day to day, but the first 4 miles felt, dare I say...easy? I just felt good the whole time. I really needed this mental boost, as I have been feeling discouraged with my running, wondering why even a 3 mile run has felt so taxing lately.
I realize more and more that the mental component of athletics is almost every bit as important as the physical component. I really see this in play with my super star swimmer, my 11 yo daughter, E. She is as much a mental competitor as she is a physical competitor. She stays so calm and cool...steady. I want to be like her when I grow up. As a side note, this weekend was the prelims for the county wide meet in our area. My girl is #1 in her events in the county going into finals tonight. I think I am more nervous for her to hang on to that spot than she is!
Anyway, back to mental strength. It is important. Your body can have the ability to get through the exertion of whatever you are putting it through, but if your mind is not strong and determined to get through it with your body, then you won't make it. Sometimes the body does give out before the mind, but more often I think the mind gives out before the body. Food for thought.
So, after running 4 miles I hit the giant hill in my n'hood. Last week I didn't even consider running it after 4 miles and was so spent I didn't know if I could even go on. But this morning I was able to run up it and it wasn't that bad. I got to my mailbox at 5 miles and decided to grab the water and take 30 seconds walking to drink it even though I was still feeling good and thought I could get one more running mile out of me. After I drank the water and started back up again it felt a little hard to get through that last mile. I thought the brief walk might give me a little boost, but it seemed to poop me out. Plus, nature was calling, so I just wanted to get through that last mile quickly. :)
So all in all, it really gave me hope and a boost to have a good run this morning. I may actually be able to do the 7 miles next Saturday.
So, the take away today is Mental Strength. It is important. Keep up the good work.
Goose Out.
I was telling my friend H that I much prefer knowing I only have to keep up this pace for 6 weeks. We had, like, 6 months to train for the Triathlon, and granted I was starting from sedentary so needed that time, but it seemed to go on forever. I much prefer knowing that I only have to run 20 miles a week for the next 4 weeks now and then I can switch up my workout routine again.
So this week...
Monday - 4 mile run, pushups and abs
Tuesday - Shred
Wednesday - 3 mile run, pushups and abs
Thursday - 4 mile run, pushups and abs
Friday - Shred
Saturday - OFF
Sunday - 6 mile run
I left the house for my 6 miles this morning at 7:30am and noticed that the humidity was not as thick as its been the last couple weeks. Also, I had a more shady route planned. I also put a small water bottle in my mailbox to run by and grab a sip at some point.
I headed out and felt....good! Wow, I don't know what the difference is from day to day, but the first 4 miles felt, dare I say...easy? I just felt good the whole time. I really needed this mental boost, as I have been feeling discouraged with my running, wondering why even a 3 mile run has felt so taxing lately.
I realize more and more that the mental component of athletics is almost every bit as important as the physical component. I really see this in play with my super star swimmer, my 11 yo daughter, E. She is as much a mental competitor as she is a physical competitor. She stays so calm and cool...steady. I want to be like her when I grow up. As a side note, this weekend was the prelims for the county wide meet in our area. My girl is #1 in her events in the county going into finals tonight. I think I am more nervous for her to hang on to that spot than she is!
Anyway, back to mental strength. It is important. Your body can have the ability to get through the exertion of whatever you are putting it through, but if your mind is not strong and determined to get through it with your body, then you won't make it. Sometimes the body does give out before the mind, but more often I think the mind gives out before the body. Food for thought.
So, after running 4 miles I hit the giant hill in my n'hood. Last week I didn't even consider running it after 4 miles and was so spent I didn't know if I could even go on. But this morning I was able to run up it and it wasn't that bad. I got to my mailbox at 5 miles and decided to grab the water and take 30 seconds walking to drink it even though I was still feeling good and thought I could get one more running mile out of me. After I drank the water and started back up again it felt a little hard to get through that last mile. I thought the brief walk might give me a little boost, but it seemed to poop me out. Plus, nature was calling, so I just wanted to get through that last mile quickly. :)
So all in all, it really gave me hope and a boost to have a good run this morning. I may actually be able to do the 7 miles next Saturday.
So, the take away today is Mental Strength. It is important. Keep up the good work.
Goose Out.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Summer Training with Maverick's Son
My teenage son is working to get into shape over here. He ran track for the first time this spring and really enjoyed it. Now that he has the bug he is motivated to get in better shape for next year. He is also a boy scout who love to hike and wants to complete a merit badge in Hiking. This requires him to do 5 10 mile hikes. I reason why not combine them into a 10 mile run/walk? And so I am encouraging him to consider joining Goose in the Lumberjack days run. He has also set his sights on West Point and there is a rigorous physical test he will need to pass for that. So many reasons to get into top shape.
I thought I would try to get him to share some of his thoughts and plans here with all of us. What goes through a young energetic mind when getting into shape? In order to best get the results I am hoping on this post I will frame it as a question and answer post rather than expecting him to sit down and actually write something for me.
Maverick: What do you enjoy about running?
Son: I couldn't really place it. In comparison to biking, for instance, I like feeling like I'm propelled under my own power. Also, I feel more in control of my motion while running.
M: Are there any tips you learned from track that you can pass on to help us improve our running?
S: Probably not long distance running, but I was taught to work the arms. It's actually amazing how much easier it is to run harder if you pump your arms more. Also, control your breathing and relax.
M: What was your best time this year in your events?
S: I don't remember, but I'll give my guesses
100 meter: 13.4
200 meter: 27.3
400 meter: 67.6 (Made that up completely. Somewhere around there.)
M: What do you listen to while you run?
S: I usually either space out or think while I run. Headphones and mp3 players are a hassle.
M: Where would you love to run?
S: Trails. I don't particularly like running on perfect flat surfaces, at least in comparison to a hiking trail or wooded path.
Thanks to Maverick's son for being a good sport about posting with us. Hopefully in August we will see him at the Lumberjack 10 miler.
I thought I would try to get him to share some of his thoughts and plans here with all of us. What goes through a young energetic mind when getting into shape? In order to best get the results I am hoping on this post I will frame it as a question and answer post rather than expecting him to sit down and actually write something for me.
Maverick: What do you enjoy about running?
Son: I couldn't really place it. In comparison to biking, for instance, I like feeling like I'm propelled under my own power. Also, I feel more in control of my motion while running.
M: Are there any tips you learned from track that you can pass on to help us improve our running?
S: Probably not long distance running, but I was taught to work the arms. It's actually amazing how much easier it is to run harder if you pump your arms more. Also, control your breathing and relax.
M: What was your best time this year in your events?
S: I don't remember, but I'll give my guesses
100 meter: 13.4
200 meter: 27.3
400 meter: 67.6 (Made that up completely. Somewhere around there.)
M: What do you listen to while you run?
S: I usually either space out or think while I run. Headphones and mp3 players are a hassle.
M: Where would you love to run?
S: Trails. I don't particularly like running on perfect flat surfaces, at least in comparison to a hiking trail or wooded path.
Thanks to Maverick's son for being a good sport about posting with us. Hopefully in August we will see him at the Lumberjack 10 miler.
The Very Lazy Triathlon
So I am signed up for the "Lazy Man Triathlon" at the YMCA. It started on June 1st and I have until July 15 to swim 2.5 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles. No problem I thought to myself when I signed up. My first triathlon landed in that time frame so I can count those miles as part of this other triathlon. Double triathlon duty, how great is that?
Of course Goose kindly passed on her sickness to me while I was down visiting (I still barely speaking to her for that) which somehow turned into me not exercising for over a week after the triathlon which means I need to step up the pace to finish this thing on time.
Including my 3 mile walk today (I am done running for the summer trying to get my knee working with me again) I have thus far done:
swim-2 miles (I did a full mile yesterday to try to get this part over with)
bike-31 miles
walk-10.1 miles
I have 3 weeks to complete my mileage. The swim should be a piece of cake. I will finish up next week in the pool. I am planning a 30 mile bike ride over the 4th weekend which will bring me half way through. I think this is the area I will need to focus on. I need to hit the trails for several rides over the next few weeks. I think I know my plan for tomorrow. It is 6 miles round trip to the Y so which I did Monday for body pump and I guess I will do again Friday for my other body pump class. And then I need more walking.
I guess for the next 3 weeks if you are looking for me you will find me either on my bike or wandering the neighborhoods.
Can I be done exercising after this????
Of course Goose kindly passed on her sickness to me while I was down visiting (I still barely speaking to her for that) which somehow turned into me not exercising for over a week after the triathlon which means I need to step up the pace to finish this thing on time.
Including my 3 mile walk today (I am done running for the summer trying to get my knee working with me again) I have thus far done:
swim-2 miles (I did a full mile yesterday to try to get this part over with)
bike-31 miles
walk-10.1 miles
I have 3 weeks to complete my mileage. The swim should be a piece of cake. I will finish up next week in the pool. I am planning a 30 mile bike ride over the 4th weekend which will bring me half way through. I think this is the area I will need to focus on. I need to hit the trails for several rides over the next few weeks. I think I know my plan for tomorrow. It is 6 miles round trip to the Y so which I did Monday for body pump and I guess I will do again Friday for my other body pump class. And then I need more walking.
I guess for the next 3 weeks if you are looking for me you will find me either on my bike or wandering the neighborhoods.
Can I be done exercising after this????
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Goose's first week of training
Well, I finished my first week of training for the 10 mile run.
Monday: 3 mile run, ab crunches and pushups
Tuesday: Shred dvd
Wednesday: 4 mile run, ab crunches and pushups
Thursday: 3 mile run, ab crunches and pushups
Friday: Shred dvd
Saturday: 6 mile run
Sunday: I am taking off!
I did today's 6 mile run at 8am this morning hoping to beat the heat and humidity, but no such luck down here in the south. And unfortunately the route I chose to run had no shade, so I may have to rethink that for next Saturday's long run.
The six miles was hard. I haven't run six in awhile and I couldn't do it. After 4 miles I had to alternate a couple minutes of walking here and there with the running in order to finish the last 2 miles. And all I could think about those last two miles was water. I have learned from my marathon friend, K, that I need a fuel belt for my longer runs. Small bottles of water fit into a belt that you strap to your waist. We'll see if I can work that in to the tight budget on the next payday.
It took me an hour to do the six miles. It was boring. I need a new headset for my ipod so I haven't been bringing it, but I think it is going to be a necessity for the long run Saturdays. I dread having to do 7 miles next Saturday already.
My marathon friend, K, wrote me up a 6 week training plan that I am going to follow exactly. So next week, I have to run a 4, 2, 4, 7. And I like to do the shred a couple times on the off days to keep up the strength training.
I am not sure I have the mental stamina to be a long distance runner in the long run. I'm really okay with a 3-5 mile run and being able to incorporate other things like swimming, biking or shred. So this 10 miler might be my distance One-Hit Wonder and I'll stick to 10K's or less after this, and maybe do a couple more sprint triathlons.
H has two more sprint tri's she wants us to sign up for. I am contemplating. My body feels beat up after 8 months of constant work. I am thin, fit, strong, toned, but sometimes I wonder if all this effort is worth it! Why does it take so much more work to stay looking good when you get older? Such a bummer.
I did finally drag my stubborn butt to the doctor a couple days ago, when after 2 1/2 weeks of being sick it still felt like I was swallowing glass. No strep, just a long and annoying virus. She did give me amoxicillian, but recommended I try Mucenix D first for a couple days to see if it loosens up the yuck and dries me up. That seems to be working well and so I have not taken the antibiotic. I also bought a women's multi-vitamin which I think I have needed for awhile and will probably help my energy level a lot. Trying to drink tons of water and stay hydrated and work out early in this heat and humidity.
Eating has been fine. I try not to think about it much. Some days are bad, but I think most days are good so it evens out. Running really keeps the weight off and you can still eat a good amount and splurge. I was down another pound today after this week of running 17 miles, and I am not even trying to lose now.
Well, that is all for now...I will let you know next week how my second week and the 7 mile run goes.
Goose Out
Monday: 3 mile run, ab crunches and pushups
Tuesday: Shred dvd
Wednesday: 4 mile run, ab crunches and pushups
Thursday: 3 mile run, ab crunches and pushups
Friday: Shred dvd
Saturday: 6 mile run
Sunday: I am taking off!
I did today's 6 mile run at 8am this morning hoping to beat the heat and humidity, but no such luck down here in the south. And unfortunately the route I chose to run had no shade, so I may have to rethink that for next Saturday's long run.
The six miles was hard. I haven't run six in awhile and I couldn't do it. After 4 miles I had to alternate a couple minutes of walking here and there with the running in order to finish the last 2 miles. And all I could think about those last two miles was water. I have learned from my marathon friend, K, that I need a fuel belt for my longer runs. Small bottles of water fit into a belt that you strap to your waist. We'll see if I can work that in to the tight budget on the next payday.
It took me an hour to do the six miles. It was boring. I need a new headset for my ipod so I haven't been bringing it, but I think it is going to be a necessity for the long run Saturdays. I dread having to do 7 miles next Saturday already.
My marathon friend, K, wrote me up a 6 week training plan that I am going to follow exactly. So next week, I have to run a 4, 2, 4, 7. And I like to do the shred a couple times on the off days to keep up the strength training.
I am not sure I have the mental stamina to be a long distance runner in the long run. I'm really okay with a 3-5 mile run and being able to incorporate other things like swimming, biking or shred. So this 10 miler might be my distance One-Hit Wonder and I'll stick to 10K's or less after this, and maybe do a couple more sprint triathlons.
H has two more sprint tri's she wants us to sign up for. I am contemplating. My body feels beat up after 8 months of constant work. I am thin, fit, strong, toned, but sometimes I wonder if all this effort is worth it! Why does it take so much more work to stay looking good when you get older? Such a bummer.
I did finally drag my stubborn butt to the doctor a couple days ago, when after 2 1/2 weeks of being sick it still felt like I was swallowing glass. No strep, just a long and annoying virus. She did give me amoxicillian, but recommended I try Mucenix D first for a couple days to see if it loosens up the yuck and dries me up. That seems to be working well and so I have not taken the antibiotic. I also bought a women's multi-vitamin which I think I have needed for awhile and will probably help my energy level a lot. Trying to drink tons of water and stay hydrated and work out early in this heat and humidity.
Eating has been fine. I try not to think about it much. Some days are bad, but I think most days are good so it evens out. Running really keeps the weight off and you can still eat a good amount and splurge. I was down another pound today after this week of running 17 miles, and I am not even trying to lose now.
Well, that is all for now...I will let you know next week how my second week and the 7 mile run goes.
Goose Out
Monday, June 14, 2010
Goose's new countdown
The new countdown you see is for me. We will be in MN at the end of July and I signed up for the 10 mile run in Stillwater for the Lumberjack days on July 24.
Ugh. What was I thinking??
Well, what I was thinking was that after the triathlon I needed another new challenge to work for to keep me motivated in my exercising. I knew 10 miles would really challenge me, as I have never run more than 6 miles at a time.
Truth be told, I am more worried about accomplishing a ten mile run than I ever was about accomplishing the triathlon.
Plus, the brutal run I had at the end of the triathlon, as well as the horrible recovery I had has messed with my mental strength and made me doubt that I am actually a runner.
I am finally at the tail end of my sickness...two weeks sick!...and have run three times since the tri last week, and all three times I stopped at 3 miles. Today is the first day of my actual training program that my friend who runs marathons recommended. It's actually not too bad. I am going to run Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and she told me to just run 3 miles, 4 miles, 3 miles, and then on Saturday do a long run, starting with 6 miles this Sat. and increasing a mile each week until the run.
Ok. Sounds do-able. However, I live in Georgia, and the opressive heat is already upon us. I have been trying to run early, by 8 or 9am, but when it is getting to the high 90's with massive humidity, even at 8 or 9am it is 80 with high humidity. This morning I went at 9:30am, and it was so hot! So hot! I don't want to drink much water before I run because then I will have to pee while running. I don't want to carry a cumbersome waterbottle while I am running. But it seems that after 3 miles I really need something to drink. What's a girl to do?
So this is my frustration right now. Staying hydrated in the heat, and pushing past this wierd 3 mile mental meltdown I have been having since the triathlon.
Oh, and I am going to get back to consistently doing the Shred at least 3 times a week in order to keep my core, leg and arm muscles strengthened.
H wants to sign up for 2 more sprint triathlons. One in August and one in Sept. I am not sure. Still thinking about it. I'd like to do the August one but it is only 3 weeks after the 10 mile run, so not sure I will have enough time to work on my biking, since I am planning on focusing on my running until the 10 mile run.
Ok, that is all for now.
Goose Out
Ugh. What was I thinking??
Well, what I was thinking was that after the triathlon I needed another new challenge to work for to keep me motivated in my exercising. I knew 10 miles would really challenge me, as I have never run more than 6 miles at a time.
Truth be told, I am more worried about accomplishing a ten mile run than I ever was about accomplishing the triathlon.
Plus, the brutal run I had at the end of the triathlon, as well as the horrible recovery I had has messed with my mental strength and made me doubt that I am actually a runner.
I am finally at the tail end of my sickness...two weeks sick!...and have run three times since the tri last week, and all three times I stopped at 3 miles. Today is the first day of my actual training program that my friend who runs marathons recommended. It's actually not too bad. I am going to run Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and she told me to just run 3 miles, 4 miles, 3 miles, and then on Saturday do a long run, starting with 6 miles this Sat. and increasing a mile each week until the run.
Ok. Sounds do-able. However, I live in Georgia, and the opressive heat is already upon us. I have been trying to run early, by 8 or 9am, but when it is getting to the high 90's with massive humidity, even at 8 or 9am it is 80 with high humidity. This morning I went at 9:30am, and it was so hot! So hot! I don't want to drink much water before I run because then I will have to pee while running. I don't want to carry a cumbersome waterbottle while I am running. But it seems that after 3 miles I really need something to drink. What's a girl to do?
So this is my frustration right now. Staying hydrated in the heat, and pushing past this wierd 3 mile mental meltdown I have been having since the triathlon.
Oh, and I am going to get back to consistently doing the Shred at least 3 times a week in order to keep my core, leg and arm muscles strengthened.
H wants to sign up for 2 more sprint triathlons. One in August and one in Sept. I am not sure. Still thinking about it. I'd like to do the August one but it is only 3 weeks after the 10 mile run, so not sure I will have enough time to work on my biking, since I am planning on focusing on my running until the 10 mile run.
Ok, that is all for now.
Goose Out
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Maverick's Big Day
Well the big day has come and gone. It was wonderfully challenging, full of excitement and adventures.
My day started off like Goose's with an early alarm, which I had long been awake waiting for, a banana and smoothie in hopes of getting the body doing its usual morning action. We dressed, packed up our stuff and headed over to the event. There we placed out stuff in the transition area laying everything out for the most efficient transitions from one activity to the next. Goose had done some reading on first triathlons and all the stuff you needed and had brought the checklist to be sure we covered all the bases. She filled up a cute orange bucket with water for us all to share so that we wouldn't be running or biking with that annoying grain of sand in our shoes. We then headed over to get our timing chips and have our number written on our bodies. I think the number is what made me feel really official, the kind of thing real athletes go around wearing on their bodies. Even today, 3 days later, you can still see faint traces of my number on my leg. (which I attribute to my dry skin which pulled the ink many layers into my skin.)
While Goose and her friend, H, trained like they were going to win the thing. And while Goose claimed her goal was just top half of her age group, she is competitive and as you have probably read, worked to win. I on the other hand had no thoughts of winning, placing or even thoughts of where I would be for my age group. I truly just wanted to finish. Which I knew when I stepped up on Saturday I would have no trouble doing. Because almost all my training was done indoors I really had absolutely no sense of how long anything would take me. So I went with the very un lofty goal of 2 hours. I might have shaved that down a little but because of my inability to run I decided to aim high in case I ended up not being able to run any of it.
I have to say I didn't really feel nervous. I mean, I knew I could do the swim, anticipated that it would be slow because of the people around me, knew I could do the bike and knew I could definitely walk if not run the last portion. This would be a no brainer for me. I just needed to do it.
So we get in the water, which was so warm compared to MN lakes at this time of year, and since I walked in with Goose there I found myself right in front. I did look around wondering if I should move back but then I thought maybe if I could start out front I could just keep out of everyone's way. Well that is exactly how it worked out for Goose but not so much for me. I was almost immediately enveloped by other swimmers and all the kicking around me I was either swimming over people or getting swum over. I seriously did not think I was going to make it at first. I thought to myself, am I going to have to quit before I even get started? NO, I would just keep going. I ended up flipping to my back and just kicking along. Then I would flip over and doggie paddle for a while. If it looked clear in front of me I would start to freestyle for a while but inevitable when i would finally look up I would be way off course and the time I added with that speed would be lost in re adjusting course. None the less I was amazed how quickly it went. As I had read in one web site, I panicked in the beginning but by the end had calmed down and was feeling fine. I ran out of the water and through the sand, then to a concrete stair that would lead me down a long path to the transition area. As I was heading up those stairs, surrounded by spectators, I tripped. Yep, right down on my hands and knees on the stairs. Heard a collective, "Oh". I hopped back up and as I headed out I heard one woman say, "that would be me." Nope it was me this time but I guess it happens to everyone. I was un hurt and kept moving.
Swim time: 13:50
Once I got to the transition time I was standing a little confused looking for the landmarks to find our bikes when I hear Goose's husband and girls calling my name and telling me where to go. I ran over and started the process of getting ready. While Goose and her friend H were in special Triathlon clothes so they didn't have to change I opted for the more affordable swimsuit and shorts routine. I decided to bring my bike shorts and then change to my running shorts for the end. The bike shorts which are tight around my legs turned out to be a little more challenging to put on than anticipated while wet. None-the-less I got them on, put on my bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses, grabbed my bike and ran off feeling excited.
swim to bike transition: 2:57
Goose had borrowed me a real racing bike for the event from a friend of hers. I had brought my own clip pedals so I would know they fit my shoes and were set how I liked them. At first I was a little unsure when i saw the bike. I was intimidated by how fancy and official it is. I usually ride a nice hybrid bike which is heavier and has wider tires and handle bars that would look nice with a basket out front. But after a spin around the neighborhood I knew it would be a fun bike to ride in the event and I was right. I felt like a pro, I was flying through the course, I was passing people on hills like they were standing still. My power cycle class was really paying off. I was even wondering if I might catch Goose who I didn't think would be that far ahead of me. All the sudden I look up and I am being passed by H who swam in the age group behind us. Still her hubby is a competitive biker so it stands to reason that she would be an excellent biker as well. I knew Goose was on a hybrid bike and claimed biking to be her weak skill so I felt confident. I finally saw her on the other side of our out and back course and was amazed at how closely behind her I came to the turn around. I kept pushing it even though I was getting a little tired. Although I never did catch her I felt great knowing that I had made up some lost time on the swim in the bike.
Bike time 46:10 (faster than Goose)
I kept asking Goose's hubby how far behind her I was while changing shorts and shoes but he didn't seem to be grasping the question and just told me she had already come through.
Bike to run transition: 2:10
Run time: 37:57
It felt great to run across the finish line. As I was going across I heard the announcer call my name (and pronounce the city I live in, Edina, wrong.). I was official and everyone there heard my name called. I had completed a triathlon and so many, many people were behind me. Officially I was 38th out of 96 in my age group and 491 out of 856 total racers.
My day started off like Goose's with an early alarm, which I had long been awake waiting for, a banana and smoothie in hopes of getting the body doing its usual morning action. We dressed, packed up our stuff and headed over to the event. There we placed out stuff in the transition area laying everything out for the most efficient transitions from one activity to the next. Goose had done some reading on first triathlons and all the stuff you needed and had brought the checklist to be sure we covered all the bases. She filled up a cute orange bucket with water for us all to share so that we wouldn't be running or biking with that annoying grain of sand in our shoes. We then headed over to get our timing chips and have our number written on our bodies. I think the number is what made me feel really official, the kind of thing real athletes go around wearing on their bodies. Even today, 3 days later, you can still see faint traces of my number on my leg. (which I attribute to my dry skin which pulled the ink many layers into my skin.)
While Goose and her friend, H, trained like they were going to win the thing. And while Goose claimed her goal was just top half of her age group, she is competitive and as you have probably read, worked to win. I on the other hand had no thoughts of winning, placing or even thoughts of where I would be for my age group. I truly just wanted to finish. Which I knew when I stepped up on Saturday I would have no trouble doing. Because almost all my training was done indoors I really had absolutely no sense of how long anything would take me. So I went with the very un lofty goal of 2 hours. I might have shaved that down a little but because of my inability to run I decided to aim high in case I ended up not being able to run any of it.
I have to say I didn't really feel nervous. I mean, I knew I could do the swim, anticipated that it would be slow because of the people around me, knew I could do the bike and knew I could definitely walk if not run the last portion. This would be a no brainer for me. I just needed to do it.
So we get in the water, which was so warm compared to MN lakes at this time of year, and since I walked in with Goose there I found myself right in front. I did look around wondering if I should move back but then I thought maybe if I could start out front I could just keep out of everyone's way. Well that is exactly how it worked out for Goose but not so much for me. I was almost immediately enveloped by other swimmers and all the kicking around me I was either swimming over people or getting swum over. I seriously did not think I was going to make it at first. I thought to myself, am I going to have to quit before I even get started? NO, I would just keep going. I ended up flipping to my back and just kicking along. Then I would flip over and doggie paddle for a while. If it looked clear in front of me I would start to freestyle for a while but inevitable when i would finally look up I would be way off course and the time I added with that speed would be lost in re adjusting course. None the less I was amazed how quickly it went. As I had read in one web site, I panicked in the beginning but by the end had calmed down and was feeling fine. I ran out of the water and through the sand, then to a concrete stair that would lead me down a long path to the transition area. As I was heading up those stairs, surrounded by spectators, I tripped. Yep, right down on my hands and knees on the stairs. Heard a collective, "Oh". I hopped back up and as I headed out I heard one woman say, "that would be me." Nope it was me this time but I guess it happens to everyone. I was un hurt and kept moving.
Swim time: 13:50
Goose had borrowed me a real racing bike for the event from a friend of hers. I had brought my own clip pedals so I would know they fit my shoes and were set how I liked them. At first I was a little unsure when i saw the bike. I was intimidated by how fancy and official it is. I usually ride a nice hybrid bike which is heavier and has wider tires and handle bars that would look nice with a basket out front. But after a spin around the neighborhood I knew it would be a fun bike to ride in the event and I was right. I felt like a pro, I was flying through the course, I was passing people on hills like they were standing still. My power cycle class was really paying off. I was even wondering if I might catch Goose who I didn't think would be that far ahead of me. All the sudden I look up and I am being passed by H who swam in the age group behind us. Still her hubby is a competitive biker so it stands to reason that she would be an excellent biker as well. I knew Goose was on a hybrid bike and claimed biking to be her weak skill so I felt confident. I finally saw her on the other side of our out and back course and was amazed at how closely behind her I came to the turn around. I kept pushing it even though I was getting a little tired. Although I never did catch her I felt great knowing that I had made up some lost time on the swim in the bike.
Bike time 46:10 (faster than Goose)
I kept asking Goose's hubby how far behind her I was while changing shorts and shoes but he didn't seem to be grasping the question and just told me she had already come through.
I started heading toward the run start and was hysterical over the weight of my legs. I could barely flop one foot in front of the other let alone run! I decided to just walk for a minute or so to get my legs calmed down. Finally, although they still felt like bricks, I decided to run a little. In training I had only 2 times gone straight from my cycle class to the treadmill for a run. Both times I felt fine. My legs did not feel like bricks at all. However, both times my knees were hurting within a mile. I decided I didn't want to risk an injury that would keep me from the race so instead I simply avoided the run part of training figuring that I was getting enough cardio in other areas to get me through. While I was partly right, from a cardio standpoint I felt like I could run 10 miles, the strength in my legs wasn't what i would have liked it to be. I had decided to drug up before the race in hopes of possibly running the whole thing but I just wasn't strong enough. I did have some knee pain but not enough to stop me from running, although I walked up all the hills because they tend to be what causes the most pain. In the end I think the run was a disappointment for me. I wanted to finish feeling triumphant but having to walk so much of it I ended feeling like I couldn't/didn't give it everything. I am not sorry I didn't train more for the run, I would rather be healthy enough to finish healing and race again than to kill it now and be unable to exercise at all this summer.
I was turning the last corner of the run which would lead me to through the finish line there was a guy standing there yelling at everyone, "don't leave anything on the table!" While now done I wonder if I could have pushed it more in the run I specifically remember that as I passed him I said, "I have nothing left on the table." And I meant it. I think of that moment when I begin to doubt my effort. I did what I could do that day. I gave it my all.
Total race time: 1:43:02
My low expectations paid off, I exceeded them greatly and felt like I really kicked it. And with my knee injury hopefully resolved by next summer I will be able to shave even more time off.
When I ran across that finish line I have to say I wasn't thinking I would ever do this again. Mainly because of the swim portion. But the more I think about how small a portion the swim is and how quickly it went the less I dread doing it again. So what if I have to back stroke and doggie paddle for 15 minutes, that doesn't mean I am not a triathlete. I am a triathlete now and no one can ever take that away from me.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
I am a TRIATHLETE!--Goose's personal account
The alarm rang at 5:15am and the day dawned foggy, warm, and humid. My sister Maverick, my dear friend and accidental trainer H, and myself were in a hotel up near Lake Lanier Islands.
The night before we had checked in and driven the bike course and run course to get a feel for what we could expect. The bike course had several suprisingly wicked hills, but with the hilly route H and I trained on, and Maverick's mad spin classes she had taken at the Y all winter, along with the killer road bike I borrowed for her to use down here, we all felt pretty confident that although it wasn't an easy course, our training was sufficient to see us through it.
The run course, at the time, seemed pretty straight forward. A few hills, but nothing that H and I couldn't conquer, as we had trained on hills in our runs, and Mav was planning on walking most of the 5k portion due to her knee injury. So, bike-check, run-check.
We went down to check out the lake and the swim course, and it seemed doable, but what seemed crazy was the very lengthy incline, then straight up hill run to the transition area. I just kept thinking, gee, I am sure glad I am in good shape, I feel sorry for everyone who didn't train much for hills, because this will be a very hilly triathlon!
We had a carb heavy dinner at an italian restaurant and headed back to the hotel to practice our transition strategy and get in bed by 10pm.
Backing up a bit, I had been sick all week. I never get sick. It was such a major bummer to me. The weekend before I had flu-like symptoms of body aches, fever, swollen and painful glands, sore throat and beginnings of a cough. I laid low for about 3 days and thought I was feeling better by Tuesday. Then the cough really started kicking in once the other symptoms were gone, and my sinuses started to pack up. By Friday, with all the incessant coughing, I lost my voice. At that point I just had to let it go and pray that God would just give me what I needed to get through it because I worked so hard to prepare. I just decided it was mind over matter, and the sickness didn't matter!
So back to the dawning of the day. Alarm off at 5:15am. None of us slept well. Thankfully, God mercifully quieted my cough for that one night so I didn't drive H and Mav crazy. But I remember at one point saying out loud in case someone else was still awake, "maybe you could just hit me over the head with a frying pan so I could be out cold for at least a little bit of the night". Maverick answered.
I used my sleepless night to pray over my potential issues during the race, including my illness, stamina and energy, and, um, personal biological functions that can get in the way of runners. Especially runners who have had four large children. Ahem, I'll let your mind wander with what that means. I took the "no request is too great or too small for our God to care about" very seriously and prayed very specifically for certain things. Wouldn't you know, in the end, He gave me everything I asked for and needed on race day. He is cool like that. Yay, God.
We needed to rack our bikes in the transition area between 6-6:30am, so we got our stuff together quickly, downed a cup of coffee and a banana and headed over. It was very foggy, but warm and already humid.
We found a spot between the bike start and the run start out of the transition and set up shop. Then we spent the remainder of the time worrying about our biological functions and going back and forth to the bathroom. :)
My husband arrived with my two older girls at 7:30am. They were our camera crew and they did a phenomenal job capturing the race. It meant so very much to me to have them there. My husband, especially, has been so supportive of all the time I've taken to work out and obsessively prepare the last 6 months.
30 minutes before start time I swallow a Goody's powder, which is Acetominiphen and Aspirin, 2 sudafed, and suck on a zinc lozenge.
It was time to head down for the swim. Maverick and I were in the 35-39 year old pink wrist band group, and H was in the 40-44 year old yellow band group. They were starting age groups in 3 minute intervals. About 100 people were in our female age group and when it was our groups turn to start we stepped out into the water and I went right up to the front. I knew this was going to be a good leg for me, as I am a strong swimmer, and I didn't want to get jostled around by the ones who didn't know what they were doing. My strategy was to get out ahead right away so I could have a smooth, unencumbered swim.
H was all nervous as this was her personal weakest event, although not weak by most peoples standards, just hers. We were trying to keep her calm before our group was called as she went after us. I felt calm, not nervous at all, more anticipatory and excited.
The countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7,...,3,2,1. I was off. I told myself, this is just a swim workout. Took me a couple moments to get used to the fact that I could not see in the water and there were no lane ropes guiding me in a straight line like in my practice pool, but very quickly I was out in front, unencumbered and got a great rhythm going. I actually caught up to the group that started right before us, and at that point I got kicked a couple times as I tried to find my own area to swim through some of them. I freestyled the entire 1/4 mile, never stopping once, felt very proud of that. My goal was to do it in under 10 min. I had started my stop watch right when we took off, and when I got out of the lake I glanced at it and it was just a little over 9 minutes! I was pretty sure I was the first pink band out of the water.
Now I had the crazy, long incline up to the transition area where my ankle timer would note my time, so the long run to that point was also included in my swim portion. As I ran through the sand up to the path, suddenly I saw my husband and girls, it was such a boost and I gave them a big smile and wave.
I started hoofing it up to the transition area in bare feet, which must have taken me 2 minutes, because my official swim time was...
swim portion. 11 min. 13 sec.
AND, turns out that was 2nd in my age group!! Very proud.
I run into the transition area and am disoriented for a second, but I remembered that my rack was under the 2nd light post, so I ran for it. Dipped my feet in the bucket of water I had set out to get the sand and gravel off, slipped on my socks, tied up my shoes, clicked my helmet into place, unracked my bike, and started running to the bike start point (you are not allowed to ride in the transition area). That transition took me...
swim to bike transition: 2 min. 6 sec. I think I could improve on that.
Out of the transition I hopped on my bike and away I went. I was feeling good at this point. A little out of breath from the swim and run to the transition area, but nothing terrible, more adrenaline than anything. I felt confident I could conquer this bike ride, though I knew it would not be easy after seeing the course the night before.
The bike was 12 miles and the first 6 felt harder than the last 6 miles to me. The hills were really killer and people were starting to get off and walk up them. I was surprised! I was so thankful that Holly and I had spent so much time biking hills the last couple months. When we got to the 6 mile point and turned around to come back I was pushing it and there were a couple pink band ladies that kept changing positions with me. I knew my swim was strong, so I was thinking, hey, I am actually in the top of the pink group right now! On my way back on the second 6, H calls out to me from across the road on her first 6. She is a rockstar biker and I told myself to see how much further I could get before she passed me. Not too long after passing H, I pass Maverick. I was so proud of her! She was nervous about how she would do on the swim, but she obviously had not done too shabby to be that close behind H.
My self talk on the way back to transition was mostly telling myself that I knew I could do this, it was no different than a typical bike workout with H, and I was totally prepared for it, so do it! Get up that hill! On the way down one long steep hill, I was surprised to see that nearly everyone at that point on their way up it was walking it! I wanted to yell, get on your bikes and ride, people! But they were really hard hills.
By the time there is about 1.5 miles left, I am really breathing heavy. I had drank water from my bottle about four times trying to stay hydrated. But I was sweating profusely and the sun was hot and the humidity was bigtime.
I ride up to the transition and dismount, anticipating that my legs would feel heavy and jello-y for a minute or two, as H and I had done bricks where we biked and then ran, so I knew what to expect. But it turns out I really didn't know what to expect.
12 mile bike time: 47 minutes, 31 seconds
I leaned heavily on my bike as I sort of limped/ran back to the rack. I was really breathing heavy, and although I had planned to drink some water at that point, I forgot. I quickly took off my helmet, clipped on my number belt, put on my visor and away I went. Husband and the girls were there snapping pics, but I was in such a zone that I didn't really wave and smile or anything. I ran to the run start. That was a very fast transition...
bike to run transition: 56 seconds.
I run through the run start and immediately I am thinking, are you kidding me? This is a little 3.1 miles, normally an easy run for me, and I felt like death! I ran really slow trying to shake off the heavy leg feeling from being on the bike and trying desperately to get my breathing under control.
I kept telling myself, the first mile is always the hardest, once you get past it you will be in your groove. Not too far into the run I see boxes of bottled water set out. I quick grab one and twist it open while running and take a couple quick gulps and pour it on my head, chest and back, and then throw it in the grass, knowing that I am not even capable of handling the extra weight of a water bottle at the moment. I wasn't the only one, as many half drank bottle were on the ground. Turns out, to my and many others surprise and dismay, this was the only water offered on the entire run route, and I heard that the bottled water did not last very long either and many later runners got no water. Not good. At this point it was blazing hot, and so humid, and we had already swam 1/4 mile and biked 12 miles of hills.
After the first mile, I did briefly think I was getting my breathing under control. I was having a hard time figuring out where my breakdown was happening. Was it physically with my legs, or was it cardiovascularly with my breathing? Probably both! I was majorly self-talking myself through it. At the 1.5 mile mark where we turned around and headed back I seriously thought about walking a bit. I was getting chills and goose bumps and feeling a little out of it in my head, so I knew I was getting a little dehydrated. I was dripping wet from sweat. I kept telling myself to keep running, this is no different than a typical run workout, just keep running. I gasped and grunted a bit, told one guy alongside me that I felt like walking, just to give him an opportunity to pump me up. He did not disappoint, he said, no, you've got this! Don't stop running!
I didn't stop running. At some point I started channelling the Biggest Loser contestants. I saw Daris running that marathon in 4 hours, and Michael losing 250 lbs and enduring the killer "last chance" workouts. I kept saying to myself, if they can do that, you can do this! Do it!
Again, I thought of walking, but was afraid if I did, I wouldn't be able to start running again. I felt delirious in the mind. I could not believe how hard this run was. It was the worst run of my life. I told myself that this clinched it, I would never do a triathlon again in my life. I also wondered what in the he!! I had been thinking when I signed up for the 10 mile run in Stillwater, MN at the end of July. Clearly I am not a runner! I cannot do this!
I kept running.
I thought around the bend it was the end and I kept visualizing the finish line. I got around the bend, and NO, it was still further! I felt like crying. At that point I started praying, because I really thought I might pass out, and I wanted to get my ankle chip across that finish line to record my time before it happened, because I felt I had done well in the swim and bike, and I didn't want to crash and burn in this stupid run, which I never anticipated would be a problem. I prayed, Lord, please, please, let me cross that finish line before I pass out. Please get me there!
There was a pink band lady that seemed to have been stalking me a bit towards the end. She'd fall back and fast walk a bit, then power up and pass me, then fall back, then power up and pass. She was really keeping close to me right at the end and I thought, she is going to try and blow by me at the last second! I just kept running. In the end I did cross before her. Hah!
Anyway. There was the finish line!!! My body was on total auto-pilot at this point as I sprinted to the finish. I couldn't believe I made it! As soon as I crossed someone said, hand me your ankle timer. I looked down at my ankle and looked at them like they had spoken a foreign language. Luckily a more seasoned worker swooped in and said, here let me get it off for you, I know its hard to bend over right when you finish.
I was finished! I was a triathlete!
3.1 mile run time: 32 minutes, 5 seconds
I stumble forward and someone hangs a medal around my neck. All I can think about is sitting down and guzzling water. Suddenly H is there hugging and congratulating me and I see husband and I motion with my hand to my mouth that I need water.
I see a table with cups of water and I start grabbing them and guzzling and pouring them over me. I am hanging over the table as people are reaching over me. I keep guzzling and pouring over myself. I am out of my mind at this point and can't remember how I got over to a curb. I kept saying I needed shade and to sit down. I say I don't feel right and can't get a grip on my breathing. I sit down and lay back and immediately my husband and another guy are pulling me back up. They won't let me sit! I have to stand until I can prove that I am not about to die, then I can sit down.
Turns out, the guy helping me did the race last year and when he finished he blew his heart and ended up with a pace maker!! So he is hovering over me, making me eat this nasty gel, and drink gatorade which I hate, and guzzle water. I cannot tell whether I am going to pass out or throw up. I just wanted to sit down! Somewhere along the line, Maverick finishes and finds us. I am so bummed I was too out of it to see her finish. I was so proud of how well she did!
We go under the covered pavilion and I sit on the concrete. Then I lay back, but then I get afraid that I will get dizzy and pass out, so I sit back up. Sweat is pouring out of every orrifice of my body. I just cannot get it together. I am wanting to find out my standing in my age group, because I think I did pretty good. I keep telling myself that the reason I feel so horrible is, number one I am sick, and number two I left nothing on the table. I maxed out every event and did the very, very best I could have hoped to do. So feeling like death is worth it.
After about 30-40 minutes we get up to start walking over to gather our stuff from transition, but I am still leaning on my husband and feeling dizzy and out of it. We see two ambulances and 5 emt's standing outside of them in the parking lot. I say to my husband, you know, since they are there, maybe I could just get a little oxygen, because I should be feeling more normal by now after this long.
So we walk up to them and I tell them I am just not feeling right. My voice, of course, is gone, and I am producing horrid sounding coughing fits. I tell them I've been sick all week, I'm shaky and my skin is all goose-bumpy and chilled, but I am sweating profusely still after 30 minutes. They get me in the back of the ambulance and start putting sticky things all over my chest, a bp cuff, and a finger thingy. I get a nose canula of oxygen, then I get a finger stick and they decide to give me a bag of fluid. He misses on the first iv needle attempt, but gets it on the 2nd try. So I get oxygen and a bag of fluid and it perks me up and my personality starts coming back, at which time Maverick thinks it would be funny to photograph my dramatic ending. She told me I'd be glad to have it documented later.
OFFICIAL TIME TO COMPLETE MY FIRST TRIATHLON 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run:
1 hour, 33 minutes, 49 seconds.
During my time in the ambulance, H finds out she came in 3rd place in her age group and gets to stand on the medal podium to receive her 3rd place medal. I am so bummed I missed that moment for her. I am crazy proud of her...she completely deserved it!
I am sufficiently recovered and tell them to get me all unhooked because I am outta there! I sign my refusal to transport to hospital waver, hop out and we get our stuff and head back to the hotel for a quick shower, a drive through grilled chicken sandwich and water, and home.
I was so glad to be home! Maverick and I flung ourselves on my bed and stayed there for over an hour, while wearing our medals around our necks. The standings were already online, and I learn with delight that out of 96 women in our 35-39 yr old age group, I came in 19th!!! I also learned that out of the 856 participants that day, I came in 309th!! I was very proud.
A day later, my voice is still gone, I am still coughing incessantly and now have a sore throat again, and I have knots around my shoulders from my power swim in the lake.
But...
I am competitive. I am tenacious. I am persevering. I am not a quitter. I have high expectations of myself.
I am a triathlete.
swim. bike. run.
Official Standings for Goose's First Triathlon: 1/4 mi swim, 12 mi bike, 3.1 mi run
overall: 1:33:49
swim: 11:13
s/b trans: 2:06
bike: 47:31
b/r trans: 0:56
run: 32:05
The night before we had checked in and driven the bike course and run course to get a feel for what we could expect. The bike course had several suprisingly wicked hills, but with the hilly route H and I trained on, and Maverick's mad spin classes she had taken at the Y all winter, along with the killer road bike I borrowed for her to use down here, we all felt pretty confident that although it wasn't an easy course, our training was sufficient to see us through it.
The run course, at the time, seemed pretty straight forward. A few hills, but nothing that H and I couldn't conquer, as we had trained on hills in our runs, and Mav was planning on walking most of the 5k portion due to her knee injury. So, bike-check, run-check.
We went down to check out the lake and the swim course, and it seemed doable, but what seemed crazy was the very lengthy incline, then straight up hill run to the transition area. I just kept thinking, gee, I am sure glad I am in good shape, I feel sorry for everyone who didn't train much for hills, because this will be a very hilly triathlon!
We had a carb heavy dinner at an italian restaurant and headed back to the hotel to practice our transition strategy and get in bed by 10pm.
Backing up a bit, I had been sick all week. I never get sick. It was such a major bummer to me. The weekend before I had flu-like symptoms of body aches, fever, swollen and painful glands, sore throat and beginnings of a cough. I laid low for about 3 days and thought I was feeling better by Tuesday. Then the cough really started kicking in once the other symptoms were gone, and my sinuses started to pack up. By Friday, with all the incessant coughing, I lost my voice. At that point I just had to let it go and pray that God would just give me what I needed to get through it because I worked so hard to prepare. I just decided it was mind over matter, and the sickness didn't matter!
So back to the dawning of the day. Alarm off at 5:15am. None of us slept well. Thankfully, God mercifully quieted my cough for that one night so I didn't drive H and Mav crazy. But I remember at one point saying out loud in case someone else was still awake, "maybe you could just hit me over the head with a frying pan so I could be out cold for at least a little bit of the night". Maverick answered.
I used my sleepless night to pray over my potential issues during the race, including my illness, stamina and energy, and, um, personal biological functions that can get in the way of runners. Especially runners who have had four large children. Ahem, I'll let your mind wander with what that means. I took the "no request is too great or too small for our God to care about" very seriously and prayed very specifically for certain things. Wouldn't you know, in the end, He gave me everything I asked for and needed on race day. He is cool like that. Yay, God.
We needed to rack our bikes in the transition area between 6-6:30am, so we got our stuff together quickly, downed a cup of coffee and a banana and headed over. It was very foggy, but warm and already humid.
We found a spot between the bike start and the run start out of the transition and set up shop. Then we spent the remainder of the time worrying about our biological functions and going back and forth to the bathroom. :)
My husband arrived with my two older girls at 7:30am. They were our camera crew and they did a phenomenal job capturing the race. It meant so very much to me to have them there. My husband, especially, has been so supportive of all the time I've taken to work out and obsessively prepare the last 6 months.
30 minutes before start time I swallow a Goody's powder, which is Acetominiphen and Aspirin, 2 sudafed, and suck on a zinc lozenge.
It was time to head down for the swim. Maverick and I were in the 35-39 year old pink wrist band group, and H was in the 40-44 year old yellow band group. They were starting age groups in 3 minute intervals. About 100 people were in our female age group and when it was our groups turn to start we stepped out into the water and I went right up to the front. I knew this was going to be a good leg for me, as I am a strong swimmer, and I didn't want to get jostled around by the ones who didn't know what they were doing. My strategy was to get out ahead right away so I could have a smooth, unencumbered swim.
H was all nervous as this was her personal weakest event, although not weak by most peoples standards, just hers. We were trying to keep her calm before our group was called as she went after us. I felt calm, not nervous at all, more anticipatory and excited.
The countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7,...,3,2,1. I was off. I told myself, this is just a swim workout. Took me a couple moments to get used to the fact that I could not see in the water and there were no lane ropes guiding me in a straight line like in my practice pool, but very quickly I was out in front, unencumbered and got a great rhythm going. I actually caught up to the group that started right before us, and at that point I got kicked a couple times as I tried to find my own area to swim through some of them. I freestyled the entire 1/4 mile, never stopping once, felt very proud of that. My goal was to do it in under 10 min. I had started my stop watch right when we took off, and when I got out of the lake I glanced at it and it was just a little over 9 minutes! I was pretty sure I was the first pink band out of the water.
Now I had the crazy, long incline up to the transition area where my ankle timer would note my time, so the long run to that point was also included in my swim portion. As I ran through the sand up to the path, suddenly I saw my husband and girls, it was such a boost and I gave them a big smile and wave.
I started hoofing it up to the transition area in bare feet, which must have taken me 2 minutes, because my official swim time was...
swim portion. 11 min. 13 sec.
AND, turns out that was 2nd in my age group!! Very proud.
I run into the transition area and am disoriented for a second, but I remembered that my rack was under the 2nd light post, so I ran for it. Dipped my feet in the bucket of water I had set out to get the sand and gravel off, slipped on my socks, tied up my shoes, clicked my helmet into place, unracked my bike, and started running to the bike start point (you are not allowed to ride in the transition area). That transition took me...
swim to bike transition: 2 min. 6 sec. I think I could improve on that.
Out of the transition I hopped on my bike and away I went. I was feeling good at this point. A little out of breath from the swim and run to the transition area, but nothing terrible, more adrenaline than anything. I felt confident I could conquer this bike ride, though I knew it would not be easy after seeing the course the night before.
The bike was 12 miles and the first 6 felt harder than the last 6 miles to me. The hills were really killer and people were starting to get off and walk up them. I was surprised! I was so thankful that Holly and I had spent so much time biking hills the last couple months. When we got to the 6 mile point and turned around to come back I was pushing it and there were a couple pink band ladies that kept changing positions with me. I knew my swim was strong, so I was thinking, hey, I am actually in the top of the pink group right now! On my way back on the second 6, H calls out to me from across the road on her first 6. She is a rockstar biker and I told myself to see how much further I could get before she passed me. Not too long after passing H, I pass Maverick. I was so proud of her! She was nervous about how she would do on the swim, but she obviously had not done too shabby to be that close behind H.
My self talk on the way back to transition was mostly telling myself that I knew I could do this, it was no different than a typical bike workout with H, and I was totally prepared for it, so do it! Get up that hill! On the way down one long steep hill, I was surprised to see that nearly everyone at that point on their way up it was walking it! I wanted to yell, get on your bikes and ride, people! But they were really hard hills.
By the time there is about 1.5 miles left, I am really breathing heavy. I had drank water from my bottle about four times trying to stay hydrated. But I was sweating profusely and the sun was hot and the humidity was bigtime.
I ride up to the transition and dismount, anticipating that my legs would feel heavy and jello-y for a minute or two, as H and I had done bricks where we biked and then ran, so I knew what to expect. But it turns out I really didn't know what to expect.
12 mile bike time: 47 minutes, 31 seconds
I leaned heavily on my bike as I sort of limped/ran back to the rack. I was really breathing heavy, and although I had planned to drink some water at that point, I forgot. I quickly took off my helmet, clipped on my number belt, put on my visor and away I went. Husband and the girls were there snapping pics, but I was in such a zone that I didn't really wave and smile or anything. I ran to the run start. That was a very fast transition...
bike to run transition: 56 seconds.
I run through the run start and immediately I am thinking, are you kidding me? This is a little 3.1 miles, normally an easy run for me, and I felt like death! I ran really slow trying to shake off the heavy leg feeling from being on the bike and trying desperately to get my breathing under control.
I kept telling myself, the first mile is always the hardest, once you get past it you will be in your groove. Not too far into the run I see boxes of bottled water set out. I quick grab one and twist it open while running and take a couple quick gulps and pour it on my head, chest and back, and then throw it in the grass, knowing that I am not even capable of handling the extra weight of a water bottle at the moment. I wasn't the only one, as many half drank bottle were on the ground. Turns out, to my and many others surprise and dismay, this was the only water offered on the entire run route, and I heard that the bottled water did not last very long either and many later runners got no water. Not good. At this point it was blazing hot, and so humid, and we had already swam 1/4 mile and biked 12 miles of hills.
After the first mile, I did briefly think I was getting my breathing under control. I was having a hard time figuring out where my breakdown was happening. Was it physically with my legs, or was it cardiovascularly with my breathing? Probably both! I was majorly self-talking myself through it. At the 1.5 mile mark where we turned around and headed back I seriously thought about walking a bit. I was getting chills and goose bumps and feeling a little out of it in my head, so I knew I was getting a little dehydrated. I was dripping wet from sweat. I kept telling myself to keep running, this is no different than a typical run workout, just keep running. I gasped and grunted a bit, told one guy alongside me that I felt like walking, just to give him an opportunity to pump me up. He did not disappoint, he said, no, you've got this! Don't stop running!
I didn't stop running. At some point I started channelling the Biggest Loser contestants. I saw Daris running that marathon in 4 hours, and Michael losing 250 lbs and enduring the killer "last chance" workouts. I kept saying to myself, if they can do that, you can do this! Do it!
Again, I thought of walking, but was afraid if I did, I wouldn't be able to start running again. I felt delirious in the mind. I could not believe how hard this run was. It was the worst run of my life. I told myself that this clinched it, I would never do a triathlon again in my life. I also wondered what in the he!! I had been thinking when I signed up for the 10 mile run in Stillwater, MN at the end of July. Clearly I am not a runner! I cannot do this!
I kept running.
I thought around the bend it was the end and I kept visualizing the finish line. I got around the bend, and NO, it was still further! I felt like crying. At that point I started praying, because I really thought I might pass out, and I wanted to get my ankle chip across that finish line to record my time before it happened, because I felt I had done well in the swim and bike, and I didn't want to crash and burn in this stupid run, which I never anticipated would be a problem. I prayed, Lord, please, please, let me cross that finish line before I pass out. Please get me there!
There was a pink band lady that seemed to have been stalking me a bit towards the end. She'd fall back and fast walk a bit, then power up and pass me, then fall back, then power up and pass. She was really keeping close to me right at the end and I thought, she is going to try and blow by me at the last second! I just kept running. In the end I did cross before her. Hah!
Anyway. There was the finish line!!! My body was on total auto-pilot at this point as I sprinted to the finish. I couldn't believe I made it! As soon as I crossed someone said, hand me your ankle timer. I looked down at my ankle and looked at them like they had spoken a foreign language. Luckily a more seasoned worker swooped in and said, here let me get it off for you, I know its hard to bend over right when you finish.
I was finished! I was a triathlete!
3.1 mile run time: 32 minutes, 5 seconds
I stumble forward and someone hangs a medal around my neck. All I can think about is sitting down and guzzling water. Suddenly H is there hugging and congratulating me and I see husband and I motion with my hand to my mouth that I need water.
I see a table with cups of water and I start grabbing them and guzzling and pouring them over me. I am hanging over the table as people are reaching over me. I keep guzzling and pouring over myself. I am out of my mind at this point and can't remember how I got over to a curb. I kept saying I needed shade and to sit down. I say I don't feel right and can't get a grip on my breathing. I sit down and lay back and immediately my husband and another guy are pulling me back up. They won't let me sit! I have to stand until I can prove that I am not about to die, then I can sit down.
Turns out, the guy helping me did the race last year and when he finished he blew his heart and ended up with a pace maker!! So he is hovering over me, making me eat this nasty gel, and drink gatorade which I hate, and guzzle water. I cannot tell whether I am going to pass out or throw up. I just wanted to sit down! Somewhere along the line, Maverick finishes and finds us. I am so bummed I was too out of it to see her finish. I was so proud of how well she did!
We go under the covered pavilion and I sit on the concrete. Then I lay back, but then I get afraid that I will get dizzy and pass out, so I sit back up. Sweat is pouring out of every orrifice of my body. I just cannot get it together. I am wanting to find out my standing in my age group, because I think I did pretty good. I keep telling myself that the reason I feel so horrible is, number one I am sick, and number two I left nothing on the table. I maxed out every event and did the very, very best I could have hoped to do. So feeling like death is worth it.
After about 30-40 minutes we get up to start walking over to gather our stuff from transition, but I am still leaning on my husband and feeling dizzy and out of it. We see two ambulances and 5 emt's standing outside of them in the parking lot. I say to my husband, you know, since they are there, maybe I could just get a little oxygen, because I should be feeling more normal by now after this long.
So we walk up to them and I tell them I am just not feeling right. My voice, of course, is gone, and I am producing horrid sounding coughing fits. I tell them I've been sick all week, I'm shaky and my skin is all goose-bumpy and chilled, but I am sweating profusely still after 30 minutes. They get me in the back of the ambulance and start putting sticky things all over my chest, a bp cuff, and a finger thingy. I get a nose canula of oxygen, then I get a finger stick and they decide to give me a bag of fluid. He misses on the first iv needle attempt, but gets it on the 2nd try. So I get oxygen and a bag of fluid and it perks me up and my personality starts coming back, at which time Maverick thinks it would be funny to photograph my dramatic ending. She told me I'd be glad to have it documented later.
OFFICIAL TIME TO COMPLETE MY FIRST TRIATHLON 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run:
1 hour, 33 minutes, 49 seconds.
During my time in the ambulance, H finds out she came in 3rd place in her age group and gets to stand on the medal podium to receive her 3rd place medal. I am so bummed I missed that moment for her. I am crazy proud of her...she completely deserved it!
I am sufficiently recovered and tell them to get me all unhooked because I am outta there! I sign my refusal to transport to hospital waver, hop out and we get our stuff and head back to the hotel for a quick shower, a drive through grilled chicken sandwich and water, and home.
I was so glad to be home! Maverick and I flung ourselves on my bed and stayed there for over an hour, while wearing our medals around our necks. The standings were already online, and I learn with delight that out of 96 women in our 35-39 yr old age group, I came in 19th!!! I also learned that out of the 856 participants that day, I came in 309th!! I was very proud.
A day later, my voice is still gone, I am still coughing incessantly and now have a sore throat again, and I have knots around my shoulders from my power swim in the lake.
But...
I am competitive. I am tenacious. I am persevering. I am not a quitter. I have high expectations of myself.
I am a triathlete.
swim. bike. run.
Official Standings for Goose's First Triathlon: 1/4 mi swim, 12 mi bike, 3.1 mi run
overall: 1:33:49
swim: 11:13
s/b trans: 2:06
bike: 47:31
b/r trans: 0:56
run: 32:05
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Do you see that ticker??
Goose here. I know. It's been awhile. Hi.
That triathlon ticker currently says 2 DAYS!! Wow, I remember when it said 100 days.
So. I am ready! Let's get on with it already.
Training with my partner in crime, H, has been steady for months now. I learned to ride my bike outside and switch the gears to maximize my abilities on hills and straitaways. I still get lapped by H on our rides.
I discovered I was a natural swimmer and have, in all honesty, only swam laps a handful of times because I am not really even worried about that portion...although more on that in a little bit.
I feel confident in the run. My speed has noticably increased to me in the last few weeks.
H and I have done several bike to run bricks. We have a favorite n'hood that is rolling hills and we ride back and forth for 10 miles in that n'hood, which has a couple really killer hills, and then we run 3 miles. I figure 10 miles on these killer hills has to be harder than 12 miles in the race on flatter ground.
So all was going well until last weekend. I fell sick! I mean, sick, sick. Like flu, with horribly painful swollen glands, sore throat, terrible body aches, fever. I started feeling it Sat, but stuck with our very fun family dinner plans with friends, Sun. I stayed in bed all morning until I rallied to head to inlaws for the rest of the day, where I felt mostly awful and even took a nap, but tried to rally here and there. Monday, I never got out of bed the entire day.
I was freaking out thinking I needed to work out and was going to derail all my efforts. i plied myself with Zicam, vitamin C, and Goody's body ache powder. By Tues. I thought I would live and pushed myself to do a 3 mile run which went fine. I was starting to feel a little encouraged that I had beat this thing, when the cough started. Now I have an insessant, horrible cough. So bummed. But what can you do. I have not worked out the rest of the week. I am a little nervous about that, but I guess you are supposed to take it easy in the last week, so I am trying to bank on that.
So last night I started looking up newbie triathlon articles to find out what to wear and what to pack, eat, etc and what the experience might be like. I was most interested in the swim portion articles and stories about what the lake swim experience would be like. It is going to be much different than the clear, lane lined lap swims I am used to. All the articles say that you WILL panic in the first minute or two, but then you will get over it and be fine. So I am just visualizing that I will start strong and get out ahead of my group so I don't have to be sloshed around with everyone flailing and panicking...it is a first tri for all of us, afterall.
Aside from being sick, my biggest fear is that as I get underway it will feel harder than I am expecting it to...my biggest hope is that it will feel easier than I am expecting it to.
My goals are to land in the top half of my age group, and to finish in 1:30-1:45. We shall see.
I am just ready to get on with it.
Maverick arrives today.
That triathlon ticker currently says 2 DAYS!! Wow, I remember when it said 100 days.
So. I am ready! Let's get on with it already.
Training with my partner in crime, H, has been steady for months now. I learned to ride my bike outside and switch the gears to maximize my abilities on hills and straitaways. I still get lapped by H on our rides.
I discovered I was a natural swimmer and have, in all honesty, only swam laps a handful of times because I am not really even worried about that portion...although more on that in a little bit.
I feel confident in the run. My speed has noticably increased to me in the last few weeks.
H and I have done several bike to run bricks. We have a favorite n'hood that is rolling hills and we ride back and forth for 10 miles in that n'hood, which has a couple really killer hills, and then we run 3 miles. I figure 10 miles on these killer hills has to be harder than 12 miles in the race on flatter ground.
So all was going well until last weekend. I fell sick! I mean, sick, sick. Like flu, with horribly painful swollen glands, sore throat, terrible body aches, fever. I started feeling it Sat, but stuck with our very fun family dinner plans with friends, Sun. I stayed in bed all morning until I rallied to head to inlaws for the rest of the day, where I felt mostly awful and even took a nap, but tried to rally here and there. Monday, I never got out of bed the entire day.
I was freaking out thinking I needed to work out and was going to derail all my efforts. i plied myself with Zicam, vitamin C, and Goody's body ache powder. By Tues. I thought I would live and pushed myself to do a 3 mile run which went fine. I was starting to feel a little encouraged that I had beat this thing, when the cough started. Now I have an insessant, horrible cough. So bummed. But what can you do. I have not worked out the rest of the week. I am a little nervous about that, but I guess you are supposed to take it easy in the last week, so I am trying to bank on that.
So last night I started looking up newbie triathlon articles to find out what to wear and what to pack, eat, etc and what the experience might be like. I was most interested in the swim portion articles and stories about what the lake swim experience would be like. It is going to be much different than the clear, lane lined lap swims I am used to. All the articles say that you WILL panic in the first minute or two, but then you will get over it and be fine. So I am just visualizing that I will start strong and get out ahead of my group so I don't have to be sloshed around with everyone flailing and panicking...it is a first tri for all of us, afterall.
Aside from being sick, my biggest fear is that as I get underway it will feel harder than I am expecting it to...my biggest hope is that it will feel easier than I am expecting it to.
My goals are to land in the top half of my age group, and to finish in 1:30-1:45. We shall see.
I am just ready to get on with it.
Maverick arrives today.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Please let me be old
Last fall as I turned 39 I felt this need to somehow mark 40 with an athletic accomplishment that said I was going into this next decade with enthusiasm, power and strength. I am still young and vital and can accomplish anything I put my mind to. This coming triathlon was the result of my need to do something big for 40. But I am over it.
I am ready to embrace 40. I am ready to be old. Bring on the wrinkles. Bring on the pre-menapausal symptoms, colonoscopy and mamograms. Buy me a pair of cheaters and lets call it a day. I don't need to enter 40 young and vital. I want to enter 40 slow and sluggish. I don't want to be a young mom of a 5 year old, I want to be mistaken for her grandmother. I am over it. Please let me move on. Why am I doing this triathlon? WHY???
Today as I ran 3.1 miles immediately following a 45 minute cycle class those were the thoughts going through my head. Please let me out of this triathlon. My knee hurt most of the 40 minutes and I walked at least half or better of the time. Yet I finished, ran through the digital finish line, and I am still functioning now back at home. So I must be ready. All this training is apparently doing something. In one week I will be flying down to Atlanta and 2 days later it will be over. My training seems to be doing its job so I just need to keep doing what I have been doing for months. I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and get the job done.
I am ready to embrace 40. I am ready to be old. Bring on the wrinkles. Bring on the pre-menapausal symptoms, colonoscopy and mamograms. Buy me a pair of cheaters and lets call it a day. I don't need to enter 40 young and vital. I want to enter 40 slow and sluggish. I don't want to be a young mom of a 5 year old, I want to be mistaken for her grandmother. I am over it. Please let me move on. Why am I doing this triathlon? WHY???
Today as I ran 3.1 miles immediately following a 45 minute cycle class those were the thoughts going through my head. Please let me out of this triathlon. My knee hurt most of the 40 minutes and I walked at least half or better of the time. Yet I finished, ran through the digital finish line, and I am still functioning now back at home. So I must be ready. All this training is apparently doing something. In one week I will be flying down to Atlanta and 2 days later it will be over. My training seems to be doing its job so I just need to keep doing what I have been doing for months. I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and get the job done.
Friday, May 7, 2010
For the Bible tells me so
In my bible I have been reading through the book of Hebrews lately and recently came across this verse in 12:12, "Therefore strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees." There it is, the bible wants me to go to body pump.
After 5 months of twice a week weight lifting class I don't feel nearly as feeble or weak, although I am resisting increasing my weights, and I really can see a change in my body. My arms and shoulders have definition and although there is still a lovely layer of fat over my thighs they don't seem to spread nearly as wide when I am sitting down. And I seem to have re-discovered my hip bones which went missing after the birth of Jake and I didn't think I would ever see them again.
Of course the bible is also full of commands to run. Shortly before the verse on strengthening our arms and knees it tells us to, "run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Paul also talks about running in other places. So it is apparently a God ordained exercise to run. And I really do find it relaxing to just plod along. Intervals and speed work make me think. I really love to just get stuck in a slow, simple pace and be in that moment listening to the world around me, contemplating my life and hearing God in while present in that space.
Unfortunately my body is stubbornly refusing to enjoy these biblical exercises with me. My knee continues to give me trouble when I run. I think I will be able to get through the upcoming triathlon but I see walking and biking on my summer plans rather than running. And while my arms look great my shoulder is bugging me lately. Luckily it doesn't feel like an injury, just an over worked muscle, so I should be fine in a few days.
I haven't come across a biking reference but Peter does swim into shore from the boat when Jesus appears to them after his death. Can we read into that? Either way I am committed to doing both along with the running in just over 4 weeks.
I feel good about the training I have done in each individual area but think it might be time to do 2 things. Number 1 combine a couple and number 2, get outside. Both are tricky because they require either child care or doing my workouts early in the morning or after dinner. A change in routine. I have gotten used to my schedule of running, swimming and biking on various mornings and Isabelle has made friends and enjoyed the classes they offer for her while I am taking my classes. Change can be fun or hard. I suppose it is all in the attitude. Having completed other responsibilities in my life last weekend I am telling myself this can be my focus for the month. I am ready to take it to the next level.
As I am getting tired of the training and want to quit it is so nice to have this looming to keep me getting out of bed. I have been telling myself for the last few weeks that I just have to get through this and I can stop. As if I don't have to ever exercise after June 5th. I can just go to jello. Well in a weak moment yesterday realizing I had to keep going, I signed up for the "Lazy Man Triathlon" at the Y. Starting June 1st I will be completing a full length tri over the course of 5 weeks. I will swim 2.5 miles, bike 112 miles and run/walk 26.2 miles. As I have broken it out into weekly mileage I can see that it really isn't significantly more than I am doing right now for training. So now I just have to maintain through to July 15. THEN I can quit and let my body turn to jello. Right?
If you want to join me on the Lazy Man Tri feel free. I will get a t-shirt through the Y but you can do it on your own with me. This event is just my style, there is no competition except with yourself and the follow through needed to stay on track and complete the milage on time. I will try to post my weekly milage so you can all keep me accountable to staying on track.
Keep flying everyone.
Maverick Out.
After 5 months of twice a week weight lifting class I don't feel nearly as feeble or weak, although I am resisting increasing my weights, and I really can see a change in my body. My arms and shoulders have definition and although there is still a lovely layer of fat over my thighs they don't seem to spread nearly as wide when I am sitting down. And I seem to have re-discovered my hip bones which went missing after the birth of Jake and I didn't think I would ever see them again.
Of course the bible is also full of commands to run. Shortly before the verse on strengthening our arms and knees it tells us to, "run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Paul also talks about running in other places. So it is apparently a God ordained exercise to run. And I really do find it relaxing to just plod along. Intervals and speed work make me think. I really love to just get stuck in a slow, simple pace and be in that moment listening to the world around me, contemplating my life and hearing God in while present in that space.
Unfortunately my body is stubbornly refusing to enjoy these biblical exercises with me. My knee continues to give me trouble when I run. I think I will be able to get through the upcoming triathlon but I see walking and biking on my summer plans rather than running. And while my arms look great my shoulder is bugging me lately. Luckily it doesn't feel like an injury, just an over worked muscle, so I should be fine in a few days.
I haven't come across a biking reference but Peter does swim into shore from the boat when Jesus appears to them after his death. Can we read into that? Either way I am committed to doing both along with the running in just over 4 weeks.
I feel good about the training I have done in each individual area but think it might be time to do 2 things. Number 1 combine a couple and number 2, get outside. Both are tricky because they require either child care or doing my workouts early in the morning or after dinner. A change in routine. I have gotten used to my schedule of running, swimming and biking on various mornings and Isabelle has made friends and enjoyed the classes they offer for her while I am taking my classes. Change can be fun or hard. I suppose it is all in the attitude. Having completed other responsibilities in my life last weekend I am telling myself this can be my focus for the month. I am ready to take it to the next level.
As I am getting tired of the training and want to quit it is so nice to have this looming to keep me getting out of bed. I have been telling myself for the last few weeks that I just have to get through this and I can stop. As if I don't have to ever exercise after June 5th. I can just go to jello. Well in a weak moment yesterday realizing I had to keep going, I signed up for the "Lazy Man Triathlon" at the Y. Starting June 1st I will be completing a full length tri over the course of 5 weeks. I will swim 2.5 miles, bike 112 miles and run/walk 26.2 miles. As I have broken it out into weekly mileage I can see that it really isn't significantly more than I am doing right now for training. So now I just have to maintain through to July 15. THEN I can quit and let my body turn to jello. Right?
If you want to join me on the Lazy Man Tri feel free. I will get a t-shirt through the Y but you can do it on your own with me. This event is just my style, there is no competition except with yourself and the follow through needed to stay on track and complete the milage on time. I will try to post my weekly milage so you can all keep me accountable to staying on track.
Keep flying everyone.
Maverick Out.
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