The Unlikely Triathlete

For my next act...

2011-01-05T22:37:00.002-05:00

I will be participating in Warrior Dash 2011 on January 30th. My boss suggested it to me...he was half joking, but half thought I might actually do it. And he was right. I'm officially registered for the 11am wave along with my friend Sarah. I mean really, what is not tempting about frolicking in the mud, climbing cargo nets, jumping fire, AND earning one's very own Viking warrior helmet?!?!? Now, to start running again - ugh!

LONG overdue...

2010-06-11T21:01:00.006-04:00

Not that I have that many adoring fans, but for anyone who might have been wondering, I did complete my first triathlon on February 7, 2010!!! It was quite the journey till the very end...

By the time I got to the taper week before the tri where I only had 3 workouts (30 min or less each), the whole thing was feeling a bit anti-climactic. The 2 "competition phase" weeks prior had been CRAZY with most workouts taking 2+ hours and it was more than a little tricky squeezing them in amongst the details of my regular life, my work schedule, and the available hours of sunlight. The only real drama the last week leading up to the triathlon was weather related. It was cold. Lake temps were predicted to be between 50 and 70 degrees (keep in mind, friends, that hypothermia and associated symptoms begin to develop at 55 degrees). Then there was the impending blizzard heading for the NE. My old roommie from DC, Andrea, was supposed to be flying down to spend tri weekend with me and it was NOT looking good. I was FREAKING out!!! I didn't want to freeze in the lake, but I hadn't arranged to rent a wetsuit. More than that, I didn't want to, and wasn't sure that I could go to the tri alone. I needed some back-up plans!

Super, SUPER long story short. I borrowed a wetsuit from the VA so I wouldn't freeze. The blizzard covered the NE and cancelled Andrea's flight days before it was even scheduled to leave Pennsylvania. The Schutter family from my church in Tampa planned to come cheer me on and my friend Karin was able to fly in last minute from Atlanta for the weekend.

I worked Saturday morning, headed to the Tampa airport to pick up Karin, and we were off on our journey to Gainesville/Waldo for Tri Weekend. Though chilly, it was a BEAUTIFUL day. Karin and I sunned ourselves in jeans and hoodies by the pool, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and eventually ventured to the park for packet pick-up. For the record, Waldo is OUT THERE and a bit farther from our hotel in Gainesville than we expected. Packet pick-up went til 6pm. I was the last racer to pick up. It was 5:58pm. Shew! As we pulled out of the park, I started getting just a teensy bit nervous. "That's a really big giant lake", I said to Karin.

We had yummy aloha chicken pitas from Pita Pit for dinner and watched some cable before crawling into our fabulous hotel beds. And then I couldn't sleep. NERVOUS!!!!

I woke up to 37 degree weather. Yes, I was still in Florida. As much as I hated that constricting wetsuit I'd borrowed, I was so thankful I had it! And I was SO thankful Karin was there to help keep me a little calm on the way to the park for the much awaited tri day.

The Schutters were waiting when we pulled in to the park, with signs with my race number and all kinds of encouragement on them...so incredibly sweet! Then there were ALL the crazy professional tri people everywhere. You know the type - 0% body fat looking perfect in their spandex, 5 oz tri bikes (compared to my 42 lb mountain bike), etc. Did I mention I was nervous at this point?!?!??! Then came the encounter at the transition area with the super crazy (read: mean) tri lady. She asked if it was my first time and I said yes, figuring she might be nice, encouraging, helpful, something, but no. Instead she criticized everything about me, my bike, my towel, my bag, my water, etc. And I'm not exaggerating!!! She totally upped my nervousness to a WHOLE other level!

I had to get away from her and fast, so I left transition to slither into my wetsuit somewhere FAR away from her, under a pine tree with my people. Then suddenly the race people announced 5 minutes to start time. Holy Cow!!!!

The water was COLD and it was incredibly windy on the lake. I was convinced for awhile during the swim that I wasn't even moving. Every time I sighted at the buoy, it was in the same place. I was getting nervous that my tri was going to end right there in the middle of the lake. UGH!!! I took a few more strokes and still wasn't moving - stupid wind! I glanced ahead and noticed a lot of swimmers had flipped over and were backstroking, so I figured it was worth a shot. I flipped, I backstroked, and THANK GOD I started moving. I heard my people cheering as I was swimming to shore and it was the best sound ever :)

I ran to transition, only I couldn't really feel my feet...SO cold. I wriggled my way out of my wetsuit and into my clothes, jumped on my bike, and started pedaling. I got passed by a lot of people. Okay, maybe by almost every other racer. At that point, I didn't care - I was 1/3 done with my tri and was going to finish no matter what. And at that moment, the Schutter's van pulled up with cheering fans. And I pedaled a little harder. And EVENTUALLY finished those 12.4 miles.

Then the run. My least favorite part of the tri. Did I mention I still couldn't really feel my feet? Brrrr!!!! I finally found my "trot all day" pace and ran through Lake Alto Estates...also known as small mobile home park with lots of sketchy barking dogs and one lawn with a small herd of fake deer. Then finally, I rounded the bend and headed back into the park, through the edge of the woods, and heard Karin yell "Hurry up, Becky! We're FREEZING!!!!" I saw the time clock at the finish line and sped up as much as I could and crossed at 2:15:04...just shy of my 2:15 goal. I finished and I couldn't believe it. I kinda still can't believe it! I'm not sure I'll be doing another triathlon anytime soon, but I'm so glad I did this one. And I'm so incredibly thankful for the love and support of my friends and family leading up to the tri and to my people who were there that day. Love to you all!!!

Becky's first triathlon: a very important adventure, and just the beginning of many more adventures to come...

Fears and Favorites

2010-01-18T19:53:00.005-05:00

Okay, with less than 3 weeks to go until the triathlon, I'm both officially excited AND officially nervous. Most of my friends, co-workers, and random strangers at the gym have been super encouraging, but there are those few who have been very unhelpful. And here's what those folks have had to say:

"It's February 7th and it's an outdoor swim?!?!?!? You're gonna freeze!!!! My husband's brother's friend used to train up near there (Gainesville) and was always talking about how many gators are in the lake."

Seriously? Why on earth would someone say these things? Yes, the water might be a bit brisk. And yes, there are likely gators who will be swimming in the lake with me...it's a body of water in FL, so the gators are pretty much a given. The way I see it, as long as it's not so cold that I'm going to get hypothermia and as long as I don't actually see any gators, I should be fine. And should I be so unlucky as to spot a gator, I'll just swim that much faster :)

And now for the lists of fears and favorites with the fears being related to the actual triathlon itself and the favorites having to do with this whole process leading up to said event on February 7th:

Fears - I am aware that these are a bit ridiculous:

1. I will see and/or be eaten by a gator during the swim

2. I'm going to have a hard time swimming straight and on course in the lake (I'm training in a pool)

3. I will be the last person to finish the triathlon

FAVORITES

1. Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bars

2. The leopard print shoe laces currently in my running shoes

3. Swimming in an outdoor pool while the lifeguard is wearing a winter coat AND having her tell me when I'm done that several guys coming out of the gym had been watching me and saying I was tough

4. Losing 10 lbs

5. Encouraging other people to try new things and be more active

6. FINALLY having established a really good pattern of exercise and healthy eating for myself. This is no minor miracle!!! I might be turning into one of those people who freaks out (just a tiny bit) if I don't get a good workout in. This is HIGHLY amusing to me. And to many of my friends as well.

All that being said, these next 3 weeks will be interesting. I mapped out all my workouts from now until race day as best as possible to fit them in around work, the hours the pool is open, the hours the sun is providing daylight, etc. I've been following the training plan obsessively, so hopefully everything will be great on tri day. I don't feel ready, but I think it's mostly cause I've never done it before. And as a good friend told me, "Beck, you wouldn't feel any more ready if you'd been training for 6 months. You're gonna be fine".

Sometimes it rains...

2009-12-10T10:31:00.005-05:00

Today's workout out had a less than spectacular start. And an even less spectacular finish.

I left my house at 7:45 am with bike in new bike rack on back of my little Ford Focus, headed for a nearby park with a 7 mile loop, and with plans to ride 20ish miles. I get to the park and find it's closed for some type of event. Grrr. I turn around and start heading back to another park with a 1.25 mile loop - nothing wrong with riding in circles for 90 minutes, right? I drive about 50 yards and come to a dead stop. I sit there for about 15 minutes. People are getting out of their cars to investigate. There is no apparent reason. We are on a 2 lane country road. Ugh. So, I turn around again and start going the long way to the plan B park. More traffic. Yuck.

I finally arrive at said Plan B park to start my ride...when I should have already been an hour into it. Sigh. Then I find out they now charge an admission fee. I work for the County and am already taking my 5 unpaid days off. Isn't that enough of a contribution to the budget problem? I fork over the cash, air up the tires, and take off. That's when the ridiculous clunking begins. My bike has become possessed apparently (or possibly just needs a tune up) and now changes gears on its own whenever it feels like it. And my front brakes need adjustment and are dragging on my tire. As I finish my 5th mile, the clouds roll in. Then the heavens opened and it began to pour. Really!?!?! So not an ideal start to my day, but SOMETIMES IT RAINS.

We get wet. Our plans don't work out. We don't get to finish what we started. We have to go to plan B. Or Plan C or D. And to be honest, I like things to go my way. And preferably to be easy. Not that this triathlon stuff has been easy for me so far, but I was just starting to feel like I was getting in the groove and could do this...until the last 2 days of crappy workouts.

Like I said, sometimes it rains. I usually love the rain and can find the bright/positive side of things, throw on my cute polka dot rain boots, and splash around in the puddles for a bit, but I'm not feelin it today. I feel like I'm sitting in the puddle surrounded by my stuff. As much as I want to jump out quick and be done with that, I think it's important to sit for a bit. And feel.

This triathlon training is a journey about more than finishing the race on February 7th. It's become a bit more emotional lately and has a lot more to do with life and me than I'd like to think.

67 Days

2009-12-01T21:26:00.002-05:00

Well, the first 3 weeks of training are done. That means we are 1/4 of the way through the training plan. That also means there's 3/4 of the way to go...67 days till the Triathlon. As discipline in the areas of fitness and nutrition has never been a strength for me, I'm honestly a bit surprised that I've kept up with all of the workouts so far. 21 days of Becky being ridiculously disciplined?!?!? Really? Really. But believe me, that doesn't mean it's been easy. There have been MANY a morning that I've dragged myself out of bed to the gym or trail or pool to do what I know I need to do. And I know what I need to do for the next 67 days...keep looking at that training plan every week, plan out which workouts fit when around my crazy work schedule, and do them.

"Rest up. Workouts intensify" - the super (not) encouraging motivational thought from the training plan people. That SCARES me. I looked ahead at the next few weeks. That scares me more. Especially the back to back bike/run workouts that start next week. I'm not sure I can do it. Confidence isn't one of my strengths either. Something else to work on, I guess...one workout at a time.

One-legged biking

2009-11-17T20:39:00.002-05:00

Our triathlon training plan calls for single leg drills during some of our biking workouts which basically means you ride the bike using only one leg. My workout today called for 4 40 second single leg drills; I rode for 20 minutes, did my single leg drills, and then rode for 10 more minutes. Overall the workout was great; I rode nearly12 miles in just over 30 minutes. The single leg drills however were not that great. Riding a bike with one leg sounds easy enough, but it's much more complicated than it sounds. The first issue is what to do with the other leg during the drill. At first I tried to just keep it on the pedal without using it, but quickly figured out that it wouldn't work so well that way. After that I decided to put the leg I wasn't using on the inner bar of the bike during the drill. Now even on a stationary bike in a gym this takes more balance than I really have. I didn't actually fall off the bike but I came much closer than I would admit if I were telling this story face-to-face. I felt absolutely ridiculous. Luckily my bike was in the corner and no one was really paying any attention to me, so it was ok. Hopefully these single leg drills get easier because I'll have to do more of them as the weeks go on.

The Sweatology of It All...

2009-10-30T16:38:00.003-04:00

In case you hadn't already heard this from me, the Tampa area has been experiencing record highs this week. Of course it has! And of course, this perfectly coincides with when I'm really trying to get into gear for triathlon training, specifically the running portion!!!

I have run more this week than I have in a long time, but before you tell me that's great and how proud you are, let me put this "more" into perspective:

1. I haven't run at all in at least ummmm, er, maybe about 4 months.

2. I use the term "run" somewhat loosely...for you marathon/fitness professional types (you know who you are), it might be considered more of a jog

3. My "running" this week has been more of the walk/run alternation situation

4. Total mileage thus far for the week is only about 3ish miles

Clearly, I have a LOOOOOOOOONG way to go with this running thing. If anyone has any ideas on how to not hate running, I'm totally open :)

And on to sweatology (term courtesy of Karin Korb)...the science of sweating:

Sweating or "perspiring" is the other thing I've done more than usual this week. I think sweating is an area of athletic training I totally excel in...possibly the only one I'm particularly gifted in. I know everyone sweats, especially when it's super hot and humid like it has been here, and I'm not talking about sweaty pits. That's the least of my concerns! It's my face/neck/head that are out of control in attempting to cool themselves. I turn all kinds of red, and liquid pours off my face, even when I'm not at all winded or haven't worked out that hard yet. I mean really...ending a 30 minute workout with my hair being completely soaked (and going crazy curly) because of the excessive sweating of my face and neck seems a bit ridiculous, don't you think? Unfortunately, it is inevitable. As is the fact that I must continue to "run"...

Here we go again!

2009-10-27T07:14:00.003-04:00

Well, we've begun again. Becky says that I'm the motivated one this time, but I'm not so sure about that. We'll see...I'm halfway through bootcamp and needing some motivation to keep working out after its over since there's no way I'm spending oodles of money to do bootcamp again and again. So we're back at it, Becky and me. Here goes nothing! At bootcamp this morning I discovered that I can run. Apparently during each bootcamp session (4 weeks), there's one all running workout and today was the day. We ran for 50 minutes and I ran the whole time. I'm told we ran between 4 and 5 miles. I guess that means there's no excuses for me on the running leg of the triathlon, huh? Now on to conquer swimming!

TRI"ing" Again...

2009-10-26T21:05:00.005-04:00

Okay folks, it's for real this time...Erin and I are gonna do this: we will complete our first (and perhaps only) triathlon on Sunday, February 7th, 2010. I know, I know - you've heard this before. First it was going to be the Top Cop Triathlon on my 30th birthday (11/2/08) but that plan was foiled: I had to be out of town for work and the event actually ended up being cancelled. Then it was going to be the Lake Louisa Triathlon on September 24th of this year. Then my summer turned really crazy at work and Erin's job got extra crazy, and it was SUPER hot and obnoxiously humid and I MAJORLY slacked off in my training. I confessed to Erin partway through the summer that I didn't think I could do it. Turns out Erin felt the same way and we were mutually relieved that we could let ourselves off the hook.

Somewhere in the midst of all this, Erin got engaged to her fabulous fiance, Daniel, whom she will be marrying in May of 2010. And I'm honored and excited to be one of their bridesmaids. We decided we still wanted to do a triathlon and do it before the wedding (and before it's too hot here in the SE), but I was kind of still in the thinking about it stage, not the committing stage...was just working on trying to get my workout habits back to normal after said crazy summer. THEN Erin goes and signs up for fitness bootcamp. My reaction: so super proud of her and SO super happy that I was not the one being tortured at o dark thirty every morning! Last Friday marked the 1/2 point in Erin's boot camp and she all goes and e-mails me about this triathlon series with one in January, one in February, and one in March. We both agreed that January is WAY too soon. February feels too soon, but is probably doable. March is preferable, but I (of course) will be out of town for work during it. And so, February 7th, 2010 it is...

That is 14 weeks from yesterday. With the holidays in there. I spent $12.95 and bought a 12 week training plan for us to follow from triathlongeek.com. They claim that if you can currently run 1/2 mile without stopping, swim 25 yards without stopping, and bike for 15 minutes NOW (Erin and I can both do all 3 of those things) and follow 80% of the plan that we'll be fine on race day. Allegedly, they actually guarantee it. However, it's not guaranteed for those who hate running (me) or who despise swimming (Erin), so we'll see how that pans out...

The first time around, I was the excited and motivated one and now I'm pretty terrified and un-confident while Erin is a bit more pumped up about the whole thing. Hopefully we can balance each other out and keep each other motivated during the coming months.

We're both starting to train now, but the 12-week plan starts on November 8th. I'm excited I'll be in Atlanta later that week so Erin and I can get in a couple workouts together before spending the majority of our time training alone in our respective cities. This is gonna be quite an experience, I'm sure! Stay tuned our updates: the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Oh, and here's the website for the tri if anyone wants to take a peek:

http://www.stateofmindsports.com/florida/gville.html

Tri"ing" in 2009

2009-04-30T21:31:00.002-04:00

September 24th, 2009 to be exact. Erin and I have settled on the Lake Louisa Sprint Triathlon on a Thursday evening in the fall. My friend Ananda may join us from Michigan as well. And if there are any other takers, let me know. It's a 1/4 mile swim, 7 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run. Being that I'm the non-runner, I'm THRILLED that it's only a mile and a half!!!!

To Tri in 2009?!??!

2009-01-10T23:18:00.001-05:00

Well, the New Year has arrived and Erin and I are thinking about actually signing up for a tri since our last one got cancelled. Perhaps the Iron Girl in Atlanta in late June? Stay tuned...

Delay in the Action...

2008-09-07T00:38:00.003-04:00

The triathlon we were supposed to be doing on my 30th birthday in November got cancelled :( So, we will look to do one in early '09 when both of us are officially 30. Training is going on, but not quite so aggressively or specifically at this moment. Sorry there haven't been many interesting reads lately, but never fear, we will be back with stories in the coming days, weeks, and months...

much better run

2008-08-21T07:41:00.003-04:00

This morning I did my short run for the week and added an extra bike ride (just a short one) to get my workout up to 40 minutes. I felt much better on my run this morning. Granted, it was significantly shorter than my run the other day, but still I'm glad to have gotten a better run in this week. I didn't have a fan blowing straight at me so I was more aware of how I was actually doing and got enough water in to make me feel good by the end of it. One more workout for the week! By the way, I heard the dumbest made-up word of all time this morning. There are a lot of stupid ones out there, but this one takes the cake: Momtourage! Ridiculous! Apparently this is the entourage that moms need. Where do they come up with this stuff?

a day off

2008-08-20T07:43:00.002-04:00

Wednesdays are my usual day off training mid-week. I hadn't planned on taking a day off mid-week this week since I'm trying to get myself back on track, but I decided to take the day off around 3:45 this morning when I was finally falling back to sleep for the third time after having been awake for about 30 minutes. I'm not sure why, but I did not sleep well last night. After a sleepless night, the last thing I wanted to do was drag myself to the gym and into the pool at 5:15. So, I'm giving myself the day off. I finally slept pretty well from 4-6:30. Hopefully this unexpected day of rest will help my body recover from my first three workouts of the week and give me energy for the rest of them. Plus, my legs are still sore from all the miles I rode on the bike on Sunday and Monday, so this will hopefully help that as well.

running on empty

2008-08-19T06:36:00.003-04:00

I'm pretty sure I overdid it this morning. After being seriously sore all day yesterday (and with Becky's advice), I decided to skip the extra short swim I had planned for this morning and just do my long run for the day. I'd planned to run for 32 minutes; I ended up running/walking for 35 with less running than I would have liked. I don't know what my deal was, but I just felt like there was nothing in me this morning. I pushed too hard--in part because I'm too stubborn for my own good and in part because I had a fan blowing directly on me. (The fan, by the way, felt good, but made me less aware of just how worn out I was halfway through my workout and therefore unable to regulate myself based on how I felt until I started feeling really gross.) About halfway through, I walked for a few minutes and then ran/walked the rest of the time. By the end of my workout, I was definitely feeling rough and a bit lightheaded. I feel better now that I've gotten some fresh air and a lot of water. I wish I had some Gatorade at home which would probably help balance me out; maybe I'll get some when I stop for gas on my way in to work this morning. Lesson learned: I will not run with a fan blowing directly on me again; this seems to have been my downfall today. In unrelated news, I learned on Sportscenter this morning that my Chicago Bears have decided to start QB Kyle Orton over Rex Grossman. Good decision, Lovie; I approve especially since I was thought it was pretty unfair that he was passed over so quickly after winning 10 games his rookie season.

2008-08-18T06:46:00.002-04:00

I did well this morning: 15 minutes in the pool, 32 minutes on the bike. Just a couple of quick thoughts after my early morning workout: 1. The pool was PACKED at 5:30 am. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with Michael Phelps. Perhaps he has people motivated to swim and attain Olympic glory as he has? I'm not sure about that, but I'm still not that fond of swimming. In related news, I believe that I set a world record this morning for the slowest lap of all time--serious I'm a really, really slow swimmer. Oh well, time isn't that important, at least to me; it does seem pretty important to Michael Phelps. 2. I find myself doing a little people-watching as I workout in the morning. Mostly I'm interested in what they're doing and/or watching as they workout. This morning I noticed that a few other people in the gym were watching sportscenter like I was, but others had some very interesting choices. I saw a middle aged man watching VH1 and looking really into it and a woman watching an infomercial. A few others were reading--several reading the paper which I'm impressed by; to me, its hard enough to handle the bulk of a paper sitting at a table; I impressed by anyone who can handle it while walking on a treadmill or riding a bike.

slacker goes to the gym...

2008-08-17T15:11:00.002-04:00

So I've been a serious slacker lately on my training, but this week I'm committed to getting it back together and getting back on track. So, I got up early this morning and went to the gym before church. I decided to do my long bike ride for the week since it takes the most time and is hard to do in the morning before work because getting up any earlier than 5:15 is just not going to happen. I rode the bike for 52 minutes which ended up being about 18.5 miles--this was quite a surprise to me! It wasn't bad. About 15 minutes into my ride, I felt like it was never going to end and like I had already been riding forever! But I made it through, thanks in part to the fan on the bike and to cabel tv. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that in addition to my usual gym television (espn), I watched part of an episode of Full House. I know its cheesy and I'll probably get laughed at for it, but Full House always reminds me of Friday nights as a kid and brings back great memories--you've gotta love TGIF television! I only laughed out loud once during the episode though I smiled quite a bit. Despite the embarrassment I might feel for having watched and enjoyed it, it made the end of my long ride bearable and for that I'm grateful to the Tanner Family.

Catching Up...

2008-08-11T22:06:00.004-04:00

Though I haven't posted in some time, I have actually been training still...well, there was that week I totally slacked off and only worked out once, but since then, I've been on the straight and narrow again.

I still hate to run. I keep thinking and hoping that it will change, but it doesn't. And that's okay. It's just something I have to make myself do. only I'm not always super great at it. Like tonight. But we'll get to that in a minute.

I ran Saturday and wanted to do nothing on Sunday other than lay around and watch the Olympics. I didn't want to run 2 days in a row, so that was out. I didn't want to bike because the seat on the bike seat in the fitness center is about the most uncomfortable thing in the world. I didn't want to swim either. Really, I just didn't feel like slathering on the sunscreen and performing the necessary contortions to cover my entire back so I don't get a sunburn while swimming. But, it was the lesser of the 3 evils, so I slathered and swam.

And tonight: I biked and then ran. I wanted to try the two in order, back to back. At first it wasn't as horrible as I imagined it to be...8 miles of biking and right into the first 5 of running. Not liking it, but not dying yet either. Then we got into the 6th minute and my calves and shins got super tight. I stopped and stretched and then finished out the 17 minutes alternating walking/running. Not the most successful night of running, but it's a start, I guess...

Up and down

2008-07-18T07:00:00.003-04:00

This morning has had a lot of ups and downs. Here are a few... My alarm was set for 5:20 so that I could get up and get to the gym by around 5:30. When it went off, I did what I do every morning--decide whether I'll actually get up or if I can do the prescribed workout later in the day or even another day. At 5:20 this morning, another day sounded like a good idea since Saturdays are usually one of my days off from training; so, I reset my alarm for 6:20 and rolled over. About 3 minutes later, I changed my mind and just got up to go the gym. Today's workout was the long bike ride for the week--48 minutes. Since I'm riding a bike inside at the gym I can set it to different programs based on what I want to do. This morning I set it to a random hill program hoping this will help with the transition to actually riding a real bike outside once its not so hot. So, I rode up and down hills for 48 minutes. My attitude about my workout was up and down the whole time. When I first started, I felt good and confident that I would be able to finish. By about 20 minutes in, however, I was already exhausted and ready to quit. A few minutes later I was exhilarated and ready to ride forever. This went on and on, up and down, for the entire 48 minutes. Finally, the fan. This is my fave feature of the bike that I ride at the Y. It has a fan that blows at you right on the bike. Amazing! This is a great feature because it gets really hot riding for 48 minutes without any airflow around you. This morning I discovered an awesome feature of the fan--it moves up and down! I noticed that it was missing my face and so I tried to adjust it and it worked! This was my favorite up and down of the morning.

Some observations on my long swim

2008-07-17T21:20:00.002-04:00

Tonight was the first long swim I did on my own. (The first week Becky was here, and last week I was still feeling sick so I didn't do it.) I was pretty apprehensive about my ability to swim for 24 minutes, but I'm happy to report that I did it! I'm pretty proud of myself actually, since I didn't even really take any long breaks, just short ones between every couple/few laps. Anyways, here are a few things I noticed tonight during my swim:

I seriously cannot swim in a straight line. I guess this isn't particularly surprising given my inability to walk in a straight line, but I'm amazed nonetheless. I would guess swimming straight when doing backstroke is hard since there's no real way to gauge whether you're going straight or not. On the other strokes, though, I tried Becky's suggestion of looking at the line in the bottom of the pool. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to make much of a difference. I'm hoping that this will get better over time.
I got some bad foot cramps in both of my feet during my swim tonight. It was rough, but I pushed through and made it. If this is going to be a regular thing during my swims, I'm going to have to do something about it. I know that I probably need potassium, but I can't eat bananas. Becky suggested Gatorade, which I could do. Any other suggestions?
Switching strokes every other lap or so seems to work for me. I know that freestyle is the most efficient stroke, but I just can't do it for prolonged periods just yet. So, this week (Monday and tonight) I tried to vary a bit more often, and it seemed to work. I was able to keep going for longer without taking long breaks, and I wasn't as worried about inhaling water. I think this will be my new plan, at least until I get a bit better at this whole swimming thing.
It's important to pay attention to where you are in the pool when doing the backstroke. I tend to zone out when I'm doing the backstroke since I like it the best; (My face isn't in the water at all!) however, I need to pay more attention since I almost hit my head on the side of the pool several times tonight. Perhaps next time I'll learn from Becky!

A bit of advice...

2008-07-15T21:37:00.004-04:00

I tried to go to the gym right after work tonight since I figured if I went home first I wouldn't get off the couch; however, the gym was packed at 7pm, so I didn't go in. Instead I decided to get something to eat and go to the gym for my run after that. I was really looking forward to it, since I like running. Unfortunately I made a seriously poor choice for dinner, and then went running...YUCK! My 14 minute run, which usually wouldn't feel too long to me, felt like it would never end all because my dinner was sitting like a brick in my stomach. It was a disgusting 14 minutes. So, here's my advice: do not go running after you've eaten nachos! Maybe no one besides me would try this, but just in case you might be thinking about going out for a run after a yummy nacho dinner--don't! I promise that you'll regret it.

Can someone explain to me...

2008-07-14T14:58:00.002-04:00

why airlines oversell by ridiculous numbers of passengers which is preventing me from getting home to complete today's training requirements!?!?!? After 16+ hours on Friday, 9 of which were spent at Hartsfield International Aiport in Atlanta, I finally made it to DC for the weekend. Had a fabulous weekend, totally DIDN'T run like I was supposed to yesterday, and now find myself stranded again at Hartsfield (this time probably overnight), and again missing another day of tri training fun. I'm a bit irritated with the airline industry, but am enjoying an afternoon of people watching...the highlight of that so far is definitely the PINK poodle! Will try and get a picture to post if I can do it without being completely obvious...

Must-Have-Better-Attitude

2008-07-14T07:02:00.004-04:00

After almost a week of slacking off from my training (I just couldn't quite get myself together after being sick early last week), I got up super early this morning and got to the gym for my Monday workout--14 minute swim, 29 minute bike. My 14 minutes in the pool, once again, felt like an eternity. Here's the thing, I don't think the problem is that I'm not a good swimmer, though I'm not; I think that the problem is that I just can't get over how terrifying it feels to have my face submerged in water. Its unsettling to know that if I opened my mouth, I'd inhale water and that wouldn't be good. Though I'm embarrassed to admit it, I had a bit of a taste of this as I was swimming this morning. Twice I had to stop mid-lap because I'd forgotten to not breathe in water. It was especially embarrassing because 1. the pool was packed at 5:30 am--get a life people!--2. it happened both times right in front of the 16-year old lifeguard. I must work on this. Despite my embarrassing moments, I made it through. After my swim, I got on the bike and road from 29 minutes. I'd forgotten my headphones so I had to read a magazine instead of enjoying cable--which, let's be honest is part of the reason to go to the gym. I read Ladies Home Journal and learned that men are in fact better at forgiveness than women and that all activity involving water from drinking it, to soaking in it, to listening to it, and swimming in it, is relaxing and should result in my feeling better equipped to face the day. Interesting. I agree that most interactions with water are relaxing, but I'm not ready to say that swimming is. Perhaps by the end of this training I'll feel differently.

A Day Off...

2008-07-11T06:36:00.002-04:00

How excited am I that I'm off today!!! No running, biking, swimming, or anything dramatic like that. I'm especially excited about the day off since I've been up since 3:20am when AirTran called to tell me my flight was cancelled. NOT cool...and so I sit at the Tampa Airport hoping to get out on standby well before my "guaranteed, rebooked" flight at 3:45pm. Wish me luck!

Lightning Strikes AGAIN!!!

2008-07-10T09:19:00.003-04:00

Thankfully, it struck right after I had finished swimming last night. Lifting and biking today and running once over the weekend. The plus about this weekend's run is that it will be in DC :) I can run past the Capitol, Supreme Court, the monuments, and old favorite spots around Capitol Hill. I'm almost looking forward to it...

Rain Delay

2008-07-08T21:36:00.000-04:00

More accurately, lightning delay. The storms here in FL are absolutely fabulous, however, the lightning does interfere with my swimming laps in the outdoor pool. I was stormed out last night and was going to combine that short swim with today's longer one, but lightning stuck again and ruined my plans and left me with two other options: running or swimming. To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to do either! I'm sure you're shocked - Ms. Lacking in Self-Discipline Related to Exercise not wanting to do a workout?!?!?

It was true. But I mobilized and headed to the somewhat sauna-like, poorly air-conditioned fitness room at the old apartment complex and got it done. I RAN of all things! And I ran 11 of the 13 minutes of the "short run" for the week and spent some quality time on the elliptical while watching a particularly great episode of "What Not to Wear".

And so it was that I made it through another day of the training plan. Just 5 billion more to go. Don't worry, I'm totally up for it! Or at least I am pretending I am..."fake it till you make it" as my friend Karin is fond of saying :)

Sicko...

2008-07-07T20:20:00.000-04:00

Since I've been sick the last couple of days (yes, I suppose that is an admission), I haven't been able to keep up with my training schedule. Yesterday I was forbidden to run, and today I was way too tired and gross-feeling to get up to swim and bike at 5:30 this morning. I certainly wasn't sad to miss the swim this morning, though I seriously need the practice, but I must admit that I missed the run yesterday. Unlike Becky, I actually enjoy running and am looking forward to that part of our training. Too bad I can't trade my swimming leg of the triathlon for Becky's running one. Becky tells me that you can compete as a team in the longer triathlons with a different person doing each leg of the event. Maybe Becky can do the swim, and I'll do the run. Anyone up for the biking part? We can be a team! Anyway, I'm feeling a bit better today. I hope that after tomorrow I'll be back at full strength, and I can get back into my training. I suppose I should try to get today's short swim into my schedule sometime this week so that I don't get out of practice, but we'll have to see if I can get that motivated. Wish me luck!

The LONG SWIM...sounds menacing, huh?

2008-07-04T01:48:00.000-04:00

Tonight was our first long swim and it was SO LONG! Ok, 20 minutes isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, but for me, 20 minutes of swimming seems like an eternity. Becky came to town for the weekend since she had a few days off, so we went to the pool together tonight to do our swim. Having her in the lane next to me made me feel a bit better about swimming. I mean if I started to drown, at least Becky could save me rather than the 16 year old lifeguard looking at me like I'm crazy from his chair nearby. Becky gave me some tips on my technique during our swim which I'm sure will prove to be helpful once I get over this whole being terrified of having my face submerged in water thing. Yes, I recognize that most people get over this fear when they take swimming lessons as kids, but I'm not most people. So, in the meantime, I'll just swim a lap or 2, notice that I haven't drowned, catch my breath, and swim on.

Post Run Blues

2008-07-01T11:15:00.000-04:00

How is it that I can be on the freakin' elliptical for 45 minutes with no problem and not even run for 12 minutes straight? Does this make sense to anyone else? I KNOW it uses different muscles and all that crap, but I feel like the endurance part has got to transfer between activities somehow. Doesn't it?

I'm not one of those girls who doesn't sweat or perspire or whatever, but I was totally drenched after my 9.5 minutes of running and my 2.5 minutes worth of walk breaks. I couldn't even finish the short run running. How pathetic is that? And I"m pretty sure I hated every minute of those 9.5 of running. Well, I guess the first 3-4 weren't completely horrible. I'm pretty sure that my aversion to running might somehow be more mental than it actually is a physical inability to perform the activity. My roommate, Sarah, suggested I read a sports psychology book. Maybe I should. I also was telling Erin I need to give myself a limit to the number of negative comments I can make about running and/or myself in relationship to running in any given week. I really should do that, but then what else would I write about? I wouldn't be able to complain about my 20 minutes of running I have to do on Sunday that there's no way in #*@^ that I'm going to be able to finish. Really, I will work on my attitude. And if anyone has any running secrets, I'm totally open to trying them and maybe even to not hating running anymore...

Tomorrow's a day off!

2008-07-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure that starting training for the triathlon and my new job in the same week was that good of an idea. That said, I'm really looking forward to the day off from training tomorrow. It's sad that it's only 2 days in and I'm already SO excited about a day off! My run this morning was good. I'm not really worried about this part of the triathlon--unlike Becky, I don't think I'll die while running...swimming, however, is a different story.

Running

2008-07-01T01:48:00.000-04:00

Most of you who know me know how much I absolutely HATE running!!! I really don't like it and generally have little use for it unless I'm being chased by someone scary. There are only 2 situations I have ever (almost) liked running in: a light to moderate drizzling rain and on the trails along the Chatahoochee River in Atlanta following a crazy day at work. Running in FL where it is approximately 5 billion degrees and 99.9% humidity most of the time does not fit either of those categories and therefore, I have to rely on Erin to tell me that I will not actually die while running and the teensy tiniest bit of self-discipline that I can muster.

12 minutes. That's the SHORT running day for Week 1. Are you KIDDING ME!?!??!?!?!?! I have to do that tomorrow? Eeeew! And then 20 minutes for the long run over the weekend. I have only a few times in my life ever run for that long continuously, one of which was when I ran my first and only 5K a few years back. Thankfully there are some months between now and said triathlon - perhaps enough time for me to gain a bit more self-discipline and endurance for running. Time will tell, I suppose.

Erin's first sports injury*

2008-07-01T00:08:00.000-04:00

This is quite a momentous occasion--on the first day of my tri-training, I got my first sports injury. No worries, my injury is not serious and will not derail my training. I was swimming this morning before work and the pool was much more crowded at 5:30 am than it really should be so I had to share a lane with another swimmer. People who have ever walked anywhere with me know that I can't walk in a straight line to save my life. Well swimming apparently isn't any different--I can't swim in one either. In my attempt to stay clear of the super-fast swimmer who was sharing the lane with me, I tried to stay really close to the side of the pool and scraped my hand on the side. The cut is small, but hurts just the same. I'd like to use this injury as an excuse to stop the swimming portion of my training since I hate swimming, but I'm sure Becky wouldn't go for that. So, I will live to swim another day, injury and all. *I must confess that though I thought this was my first sports injury my mother reminded me that it wasn't; I broke my toe in gymnastics when I was a little girl. I will, however, claim this as my first sports injury as an adult. Here's hoping it's also the last!

Getting ahead...

2008-06-29T17:30:00.000-04:00

Well, not getting ahead so much as getting a head start, I guess. I headed to the pool this afternoon to pay for my membership and get my ID card so I can start "official" swim training tomorrow. I hadn't done any cardio for the day, so decided to get in a few laps while I was there too.

Though I'm not particularly fast and though I'm certainly no model of perfect stroke technique, I love to swim and am least concerned about this leg of the triathlon. I did some freestyle, a bit of breast stroke, and then switched to backstroke. I felt like I was moving faster than normal and was thoroughly enjoying my little glide across the pool. Like any wise swimmer, I kept a watchful eye for the overhead flags to tell me when I was nearing the wall. I kept swimming and swimming and saw no sign of the flags..apparently I wasn't going as fast as I thought. Then suddenly my hand whacked the wall just a split second before my head/neck would have been driven full speed ahead (or behind in this case) into the concrete wall! That certainly would have put a damper on the limited enthusiasm I have for this ridiculous, I mean ambitious, training plan....

So, you know there are often those "Check depth before diving" signs? I think there needs to be "Check for flags before backstroking".