My first IRONMAN!!

Well, I will start by saying that I didn't finish...It really isn't as devastating now as I thought it was on Sunday. I will start by saying that I learned so much about myself on the journey to the starting line, I am not going to get all philosophical here but the Ironman journey is an amazing one!

First things first, I completed the SWIM!! I have never swam 2.4 miles in my life and I did it on Sunday, woo hoo! The swim was my Mount Everest and I DID IT!! In the picture of me coming out of the water, I have the biggest smile on my face :). The water was COLD, about 55 degrees, but I only felt cold a couple of times and that was when I was resting (oh yes, I definitely rested). I was the last person to come out of the water who made it within the 2:20 time limit, my time: 2:19:, nothing like taking it to the wire. The unfortunate part of it all is that I aspirated a whole bunch of water right at the end and that was my ultimate undoing (besides a drafting penalty, but more about that later). I felt like one of the pros with everybody on the beach cheering for us last few swimmers. I can honestly say that if not for the crowd and volunteers in the water, I never would have made it, the encouragement was unlike anything I have experienced. If anybody who reads this was a volunteer, THANK YOU!!!

The volunteers took me to the "warming tent" after the swim, they had to make sure I was warm enough to go on, which I was, so I transitioned to the bike. The best part about it was my friend was the volunteer who shows up in the tent to help me get dressed and everything put away, it was AWESOME! So I made it out of the transition area in 10 minutes and was off. Less than 10 miles in to my ride the pros started to pass me on their second loop, they are absolutely incredible, I was just in awe of them as they cruised by me. I got a penalty shortly after that because I was going to pass (my dad of all people!) and a pro came up on my left so I dropped back and got a drafting penalty, I know that if it wasn't my dad I was trying to pass I never would have felt comfortable enough to be that close, but because it was my dad I don't think I really processed what I was doing. I deserved it, I even thought to myself I am probably a little too close and BAM the red card was shown to me. My inexperience at that level of competition really showed, but at least I got to see two pros in the penalty box too, I guess they also make mistakes! I learned from it and that is a positive lesson for next time.

About 35 miles in to the ride my lungs started to give me trouble, I just couldn't take a deep breath; it was very painful and it would make me really cough. Because I couldn't get any good deep breaths I could not get my speed up. So to make a long story short, I missed the cut off for the first loop of the bike course by 1 minute and wasn't allowed to go on, it was right at this moment that I was really kicking myself for the "drafting" earlier in the day :). It was truly a blessing though because I ended up in the medical tent, the PA that saw me told me my lips were blue and my oxygen sats were about 94, which isn't terrible but apparently it wasn't too good either. I got a couple of albuterol treatments and then was sent for a chest x-ray. My lungs still hurt but they are getting a little bit better everyday.

All in all, it was so much fun and such a learning experience, that even though the outcome wasn't what I wanted I can't say anything bad. The whole Ironman experience is outrageously positive and I am looking forward to 2010 when I attempt it again, the only difference, I will finish!!

The pool was closed!!

25 minutes Z2, 30 minutes Z4, 5 minutes cool down.

I couldn’t swim today because the pool was closed due to lightening, it is an indoor pool so I was extremely confused, oh well, tomorrow it is!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/28/2008
• Time: 16:56:16
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00
• Distance: 14.2 miles
• Average Speed: 14.2 mph

A literal pain in the ...

Ass! I started running and about 1 mile in to it I got the most unbelievable pain in my right buttocks (as Forest Gump would say). the pain was radiating down my leg, I seriously felt like I was going to cry. I had two choices; I could continue to run and see if it got better or I could quit, I decided to run and hope for the best. Well as you can see, I couldn't run fast but I could run, slowly and deliberately. I did have a couple of 11 minute miles but couldn't sustain the pace because the pain would increase.

I had the most unbelievable Coke Classic craving at about mile 10, thank goodness that Bogey's was open at the golf course and I had hidden money in my shoe, I pounded a Pepsi (you know how much I wanted soda if I drank a Pepsi), I seriously felt like I had died and gone to Heaven. That final mile was like running on a cloud (not at all, it was a serious struggle) but I made it home. Only to find that Maggie had stolen 4 out of 5 steaks that had been BBQ'd. As if food isn't expensive enough these days, she ate my lunch for the next 3 days and will likely gas me out of my own bedroom tonight--I swear that dog was punishing me for not taking her on the run!!!

Long Ride...

Great ride, super fantastic, fabulous ride…until the wind hit, but more about that later. My friend got a new bike and so she went out with me for the first 18 miles, it was really nice to have to company and we had a lot of fun! She is just getting comfortable on her bike and we only had one spill and one bruise, not to shabby!

I took off and rode another 25 miles when my hubby called and said he would meet me at home and ride the rest of the distance with me, AWESOME! It was perfect because I ran into the house and refilled my gatorade bottles and was able to get in three hills on the way to the house! Speaking of hills, I altered my route to make sure I had a few more climbs, they slowed me down significantly but I was really happy I did them, I absolutely hated the three that I did between miles 77 and 80 but hey, I did them! JP was not to thrilled to have to ride them, he has a “secret” way home that one includes 1 hill next time I might go that way!

Okay, now about the wind–I was at one point pedaling down a hill and was going 12.5 mph! I really had to talk my self in to continuing, I felt a little demoralized because I was tired but I worked through it and was able to go the distance, yeah!

This intense training is starting to get to me, I am looking forward to relaxing a little bit–only 27 days to go, YIKES!!!!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/24/2008
• Time: 10:20:00
• Total Time: 5:30:00.00
• Distance: 80 miles
• Average Speed: 14.55 mph

Not bad...

I wasn’t as fast as I would have liked but I did it! Now these are going to sound like a bunch of excuses as why I was slow tonight and I guess they are but here are the factors that contributed to my slowness: Worked in the yard so I was out in the sun a lot, the good news is that I got all of my flowers planted and they just make me so happy! :) I went to a graduation party, drank a beer and ate BBQ’d pork (which was amazing!) and then I took off on my run at 5:41 pm into the wind…I wouldn’t change a thing about the day, who cares if I was a little slow, everybody has a day like that.

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 05/18/2008
• Time: 20:51:29
• Total Time: 2:15:00.00
• Distance: 11 miles
• Average Pace: 12:16.2/mile

Cycle - 4.5 hours - 05/17/2008

Logbook Activity

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/17/2008
• Time: 13:04:44
• Total Time: 4:28:00.00
• Distance: 67 miles
• Average Speed: 15 mph

Swim/Run

Run - 1 hour

• Date: 05/16/2008
• Time: 21:04:49
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00
• Distance: 5.3 miles
• Average Pace: 11:19.25/mile

Swim - .08 hours

• Date: 05/16/2008
• Time: 17:21:46
• Total Time: 00:45:00.00
• Distance: 1600 yd
• Average Pace: 2:49.05/100yd

Wow, what a difference!

So, I am a dork, I can admit it; I went in to the bike shop today to get some clips and pedals and the guy was so nice and patient and helpful. I am pretty sure he wanted to laugh at me because I am so clueless about all this bike stuff, infact he said to me that he would probably would have made fun of me if he knew me better He wanted to take my Schwinn bike computer off my bike and I told him he couldn’t because I didn’t know how to work my Cateye so I only used it for cadence (I like to call it RPM’s but apparently that is not the cool word, it may not even be correct but I know what I am talking about), so instead he just cut the really long zip ties off for me so they no longer make noise on the spokes when I ride. What can I say, I am finely tuned about somethings and not so finely tuned about others.

Anyway, the point to my story is that I love my new shoes and clips, I should have listened to, well everybody, and got them a long time ago. I did have one very scary, almost wreck, right when I started out tonight. Here is a tip, never go for your very first ride with your shoes clipped to your pedals and try to start up a hill, it is a bit dangerous and I am pretty sure that you might end up with a bruise on your butt, not that it happened to me, I am just giving a little advice.

Logbook Activity

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/14/2008
• Time: 20:53:02
• Total Time: 00:48:40.00
• Distance: 11.4 miles
• Average Speed: 14.05 mph

tough week...

Well last week was a rough one. I was on a business trip and my sister called to tell me my grandpa was really sick so I changed my ticket and flew to see him. It was so great to just get to hang out and talk and laugh with him. I got totally off track with my workouts but it really didn’t matter, life and family were more important. My heart broke when he died on Saturday, but I felt strong when I ran tonight so I know that he was with me. I also know that if I have one ounce of the strength that he showed over the past week, I WILL be able to complete Ironman!!

Now for some small talk, I am back home and getting back into a groove. When I was away, I got some new shoes at fleet feet, they have amazing customer service! I am definitely going to be sticking with Brooks for right now, I am extremely happy with my shoes

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 05/12/2008
• Time: 21:19:26
• Total Time: 1:04:00.00
• Distance: 5.75 miles
• Average Pace: 11:07.9/mile

Run 2.1 hours

Wow! The farthest I have ever run and it felt great!!! My shoes are getting a little flat, I think it is time for new ones (actually, I knew it was time for new ones before I took this run) but other than a little bit of foot pain toward the very end it was a great run. I used Gmaps pedometer to plot my run and was pleased to see that I had run further than I initially thought, bonus!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 05/04/2008
• Time: 08:41:00
• Total Time: 2:06:00.00
• Distance: 10.75 miles
• Average Pace: 11:43.12/mile

struggling

Man, it was another tough day! I have been getting to bed earlier and trying to eat better and I think I am struggling more! Actually today was more of an issue with chaffing than anything else, I have to get some of that stuff that is supposed to alleviate that little problem. I am looking forward to running tomorrow, it has been a good running week and I am looking for some success!

I will be traveling almost this entire week, so I am panning on hitting the workout room pretty hard, I will have nothing else to do in the evenings so I might as well make the most of it. Oh yeah, I am also planning on celebrating Cinco De Mayo with some Soothing Lettuce Wraps from P.F. Chang’s, I will be by myself and they aren’t Mexican but at least I won’t have to share …

Logbook Activity

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/03/2008
• Time: 19:43:47
• Total Time: 1:29:00.00
• Distance: 21.89 miles
• Average Speed: 14.76 mph

headwind!!!!!

I keep hoping that I will have a ride where there isn’t much of a headwind, I haven’t had much luck! My only saving grace at this point is my hope that no matter what, on race day I should be prepared for any measure of wind that might kick up. I just want to go further and faster when I ride, can you blame me?!?!?

Logbook Activity

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/02/2008
• Time: 16:56:46
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00
• Distance: 14.67 miles
• Average Speed: 14.67 mph

Time Management

I am struggling a bit with my time management. I knew that it would get intense coming down to the wire but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with my job, the laundry, spending time with the family, the side business, keeping up with the family, learning to swim more efficiently, maximizing my grocery money, driving 5 miles below the speed limit on cruise control to save gas, being part of a team that has to raise $125 Million over the next 7 years, walking on egg shells, maintaining relationships; and then the really important stuff like eating my vegetables, eating complex carbs, not eating simple carbs, remembering to put scraps in the composter instead of the garbage disposal, etc, etc. Writing it down in words actually is reminding me of how much I have and how lucky I truly am. At the end of the day when I go to bed I will still be incredibly thankful for what I have and the fact that I even have the ability to train and try to juggle the rest of it. :)

I have a really good life!!

Total Immersion Drills

I am certainly not proficient but getting better. I will continue and hopefully they will make a HUGE difference!

On a side note, I have admitted out loud and to 4 different good friends my big Ironman secret, it actually feels good to say it out loud. I am selective of course about who I tell, everybody so far have been the athletic type who will understand the drive to do something that is this crazy. I am happy that I am becoming more comfortable and I think it will reap benefits in my training, I no longer have to apologize for the time that I am putting in!!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Swim
• Date: 04/28/2008
• Time: 19:20:37
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00
• Distance: 500 yd
• Average Pace: 5:58.85/100yd

Logbook activity

Type: Cycle
Date: 04/27/2008
Time: 19:32:01
Total Time: 4:15:00.00
Distance: 56 miles
Average Speed: 13.18 mph
Max Speed: 30.2 mph

Check out this tool!

How cool is this Gmaps Pedometer ?!?! Now I can get a good idea as to how far I am running without owning a Garmin! I still want a Garmin, but until I recover form April 15th I will use Gmaps Pedometer.

Here is a pretty picture of the Garmin, just because I don't think I put enough pictures on my blog :)

Total Immersion!

I can already feel a difference in my swimming after working on one set of skills! Maybe it is just a mental change, but what ever it is I am not going to complain, I felt great in the water after completing some of the drills for balance in the water. I am so excited to continue to work on my technique.

I will be spending some time on perfecting the techniques, I KNOW that I will see a big difference!!

Much better today!!

Yesterday was a tough one, I walked for 15 minutes, stopped and went and took a nap, totally worthless. Today, fabulous! I walked for one hour at a 3.5 incline with 2 pounds in each hand. My treadmill is malfunctioning and will not go down past the 3.5 incline which makes it very hard to run, the good news is that when I run outside I can run much faster so I think I am getting the benefits even though I am walking and keeping my heart rate where it needs to be.

I received my "total Immersion" video the other day, boy do I hope that I can master the techniques, I need all the help I can get in the water!! :)

overcoming mental obstacles

I had a very rough couple of days, to the point that I looked into withdrawing from Ironman. Luckily, I couldn't find my registration information and then a phone call came in and distracted me, for once I am very happy that I didn't cross something off my to do list!

Feeling blue last night, I went to bed and I read an amazing chapter in my beIRONfit book that addressed fear. I was letting fear get the best of me. The fear that was getting me however, was not fear of failure or fear of pain but rather embarrassment. Broken down into raw emotion, there are really only two types of fear; fear of bodily harm (death or injury) and fear of embarrassment. I was significantly struggling with my swimming and rather than getting better it was getting worse! I swam a whole 500 yards yesterday and just got out of the pool, I was done. After a good cry I decided that I was withdrawing because if I couldn't make it through the swim, I wouldn't matter if I could handle the bike and the run.

I wasn't going to go to the gym today and my friend told me she was going to be my workout doula :) and pushed me to go. I hit the pool, struggled through 20 laps keeping my eye on the lifeguard the whole time and then it hit me, I have been so self conscious of how the life guard was watching me that I could never concentrate on what I was doing! I was embarrassed by my abilities and felt like she was always watching me and worrying that she might have to get wet. Fear of embarrassment was getting the best of me, UNACCEPTABLE!!! The one thing I am always reminded about in my career is that it is not about me; so rather than worry about what she might be thinking about me, (because in all reality, she is a college student and is probably thinking about calculus) I quickly switched my mental attitude and powered out 46 more laps and you know what? My stroke was better, I was less tired and I accomplished my goal for the day, WOO HOO!

I knew that training for this race and the race itself was going to be as much mental as physical and I have certainly had my days, but man, yesterday was tough. I am proud of myself for working through my issues and I am REALLY looking forward to the next 10 weeks and the race. I am not in this to win, I am in it to have FUN and accomplish a lifetime goal!

Here is a quote that I really like and sums up the lesson nicely: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear" -Mark Twain

I didn't make it to the Pool :(

Pool hours are a little restrictive during the week, only open from 11:30 - 1:30 and a crisis came up at work so I was unable to get my swim in. Hopefully, on sunday I acan take advantage of the all days hours and get a good long swim in, that is of course if I can improve my technique enough so I don’t poop out early on.

My walk/run workout this afternoon was good and bad; my left knee was really hurting so I had to briskly walk, the great part about it was that my husband and dog came along since there was no running involved. It was great to have the chance to catch up after a very busy week!

Great Workout!!

I had a great quick change workout last night and another fabulous ride tonight! I just love when everything feels good, definitely hard but good :) I feel like I am getting more efficient, I hope it is the truth. Hopefully, I will be able to get out and ride on the road this weekend, we didn't have snow this morning so I am hoping that trend will continue!

Tomorrow, I swim again. I have got to get faster and find a better technique because I am really struggling! Hopefully I will get my hands on the immersion videos and things will get better, things can only go up from here!

I thought I was going to drown!

Oh my gosh, I seriously was the worst swimmer today! I think that the life guards at the pool were thinking that they may have to get wet today; luckily, I pulled through. It usually takes me about 200-300 yards to get a groove down but them I am good to go. Today, I swam 1200 yards in 35 minutes every lap was a struggle. I think I was trying to do too many things; like golf, if you think about it too much it just gets worse.

Tomorrow I will run, that I know that I can do and my techniques doesn't really change that much!

Onward!

Sleepy

Well, I didn’t think I was going to be up to a workout but I surprised myself! I stayed up way too late last night and then slept very fitfully and woke up too early which made for a very sleepy day. I figured that I was going to write today’s workout off, since I had a long ride yesterday I could justify it . So I went to the grocery store and a red bull winked at me, and I guess that was all it took to get my rear moving! So not only did I have a great workout, but I also got two dinners made for later this week. I don’t think I am going to drink Red Bull again for a while. Good Night!

I love Harry Potter!

He saved me! I had a planned 4 hour bike ride today and when I woke up the ground was covered in snow and it was 33 degrees, not exactly safe riding conditions. I still needed to get my ride in so I put my bike on the trainer and got to it. Knowing that I had 4 hours ahead of me I decided to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, great movie! Anyway, it got me about 2/3 of the way through my ride so I figured I would at least start The Order of the Phoenix, another great movie! Long story short, while I won't say my ride went fast it was at least a lot more tolerable than flipping through the channels looking for something to distract me from the mind numbing boredom that is my basement. I did decide today that my husband it right, we do need a big scrren TV down there, I think I iwll keep that to myself for a while :)

What the heck have I done?!?!?!

Ironman, are you kidding me?!?! I am having a "you have got to be kidding me" moment, I feel like I am way to slow and I am going to be devastated if I miss one of the cut offs. I am taking a little comfort in the fact that I am doing the "Intermediate" work out rather than the "Just Finish" program. I know that I am not the first person to feel this way, but I have had very few moments where I felt this way so it disturbs me a little. Maybe I am just really tired.

Here is a really huge positive. Nobody outside of my immediate family knows that I am training for Ironman, I am sure people might wonder why I would spend 3 hours and 30 minutes on my bike in one day, but nobody has asked and I am not ready to tell. I just really don't want to hear about how crazy it is, I know it is crazy but I have committed to it and even though my confidence is a little shaky today, I WILL FINISH! Anyway, the point of my story is that I told a co-worker (who is also a good friend) what I was doing and she was sooooo supportive and excited for me. It was an awesome response and so very encouraging. I wish everybody had that kind of enthusiasm for sport and physical fitness.

Okay, I am off to fold the mountain of laundry that is washed and dried but not folding itself!

SLOW...

Everything was slow today, my trip to the gym was slow, it seemed to take forever. I was slow in the locker room getting in to my swim suit, when I finally got into the pool I was slow, the trip back to the office was slow; it was just one of those days. I am looking forward to tomorrow's workout, hopefully I won't be slow!

Quick note on heart rate training: even though I was slow I was in zone 2 so I know that I had an effective workout, fabulous!

Olympic Distance Triathlon

There was no triathlon that I could go to so I decided to stage my own and I have to say that I felt pretty darn good! I swam 5 minutes faster than I expected and finished the run 14 minutes faster than I was anticipating so I was pleased, very pleased! It gives me confidence and tells me that the work that I have been putting in is all worth it, yeah!!

So here is the breakdown:
Swim 0:00:46
Transition 0:00:05
Bike 01:30:56
Transition 0:00:04
Run 01:26:49

Not fast but hey, all I want to do is finish, I am not lookin' to win :)

60 miles!!!!

Wow, today's workout was as challenging mentally as it was physically but I did it!! I felt anuseated before I got on the bike and while it subsided a little, I never quite broke out of feeling that way completely. The best part of the ride was that I was faster! I rode 60 miles in 3:30, I know that is still not fast but I am getting faster, I rode 49.8 miles in 3 hours last time, so I added 10 miles in 30 minutes, yeah hoo! The other big triumph was breaking the 50 mile barrier, I was very happy to go past that number.

I found an interesting calculator from Self Magazine that gives you an idea of the amount of calories that you burn while exercising, I was just curious to see what type of energy I am expending vs. what I am taking in while on the bike. Today I was off completely , I was shaky and sweaty the entire ride, I ate 1 power bar and consumed 3 gels while riding (those gels really do give you a nice little pick me up but are a little nauseating to fill you mouth with, especially when you are already a little bit nauseated). Anyway, it is amazing amount of energy that you can expend on a bike!

Well I guess that is all for today, I need to go to bed!!!

Tired and hungry

That is no way to get through a workout! I stayed up way too late last night because I went for a bike ride way too late and then I did not sleep well; all of these factors really made the workout today very tough! It actually isn't anywhere near as bad as I am making it sound but those 7.5 minutes in zone 4 felt pretty bad. I was so excited to have dinner after that!

Speaking of dinner, we had a fabulous dinner with our friends tonight, I feel so fortunate to have them in my life!

I swam 1 mile, whoooaaa!

Coming from a girl who is a terrible swimmer and quite afraid of the water I am very proud of the stripes I am making. I swam 1600 yards in 47 minutes today, it was awesome! I know that is not fast but it is an accomplishment that I am really quite pleased with :)

Excellent Day!

I had a most excellent workout today! This cold is still killing me but after about 20 minutes on the bike things started to feel pretty darn good, I was excited!

Okay, now I am here to put it in print; I plan to lose 10 pounds by June 22. I figure by putting how much I weigh it out here it might inspire me a little more. Here goes, I weigh 150 pounds (yikes), I like to think it is all muscle though :) I figure that if i can drop 10 pounds it will make a huge difference on race day, I hope so!

Week 17, whoooooa!

13 weeks to go, yikes!! I am excited and a little scared :) Things are going well, I got a terrible cold and have been suffering through a few workouts for a week, I have not worked out everyday but have managed to get 4 workouts in over the past 7 days. I am disappointed that I got this bug now but I guess it is better than closer to the race.

I got new swim goggles, hopefully they will leak a lot less (maybe not at all!) than my others, I think the foam around the eyes is just breaking down from the chlorine.

Anyway, I am back on track no matter what this week, it will be a rough one, I know that but I also know that I will survive!!!

Still at it!

Okay, so I have been informed that my blog is not up to date. It is certainly not because I haven't been training, it is because of the training that I haven't had time to blog! Things are going really well though. Last week was a very tough mental week, Saturday and Sunday were a test of my determination to do this thing and I am convinced now that I have the mental capacity to pull it off. The 3 hour bike ride was a struggle from beginning to end, but I did it, complete with the 5 minutes in zone 4 at 2:50, I am pretty sure I wanted to burst out crying but I didn't and I survived! Sunday was more of the same 1:15 of convincing myself that I was doing the right thing.

I took yesterday off and I am taking today off as well, I feel like I am coming down with something and I just want to fight it off, so it will be to bed early again tonight. :)

lightening fast on the bike!

Yeah, that's me, super fast!!

Okay, now this has nothing to do with my amazing speed but does have a lot to do with the size of my ass and how I feel after training for a good solid three months I really feel like it should be getting smaller. I don't mean to harp on this subject but COME ON!! My husband is way too nice :)

I only have moments of feeling sorry for my self, soon it passes and I am so thankful for the ability to train and for the level of fitness I am now enjoying.

Hot Babe!!!

I gotta tell ya...it's nice to have this hot, tri-athlete roaming around my house. Look out Hawaii, it could be string bikini time!!!!

Long time, no post!

Well, it is not because I haven't been been working hard, because I have! Things have actually been going really well :)

It is amazing knowing what its ahead, how it will keep you on track! Man, I can be dead on my feet and will take a little cat nap and hit the treadmill or the bike, I am proud of myself and I am amazed at the whole process.

On the swimming; I have to get new goggles, I had a terrible workout today because there was just no way for me to keep the water out of my goggles. It was actually not very much water but enough to drive me crazy! Other than that, I think I am finally getting my "seat" higher in the water and I have to say it does make it a bit easier.

Snow Day!!

I can't believe it, they closed work, I am having my first snow day since college!!!

Workouts continue to go well, I am definitely getting faster on the bike, not necessarily faster on the run but I know that it will come; swimming, I am still slow as molasses but hey, I don't think anybody expected this to be my strong event :)

Snow Day Workout!

It was one of those days when everything took twice as long to do as I expected. I was so happy that I knew that my workout would only take 60 minutes, this was nice since I didn't even make it to the treadmill until 8:35 PM! Anyway, I had to really push myself because I had a terrible stomachache, but I made it through, it was painful and I am so thankful for heart rate training!

I cannot believe that I am in week 9 of training, reality is creeping up rather quickly!

Day Off!!

And I am loving it! The Donkey Lama told me that I would soon love my days off and he was soooooo right!

My trip got canceled and I am really happy, I still have to go on Thursday morning but it is two nights that I get to be home and I will take that any day!

Pain in my big toe?!?!?

I feel like Fred Flintstone today. I hurt my left big toe on my run today, are you kidding me...my big toe?!?! The crazy thing is that I talked to T-Fly and she said that a big toe injury can become a really big deal. Apparently there are 2 sesmoid bones on the underside of your toe (my days of anatomy and physiology are failing me) that a number of tendons attach to, anyway I am icing the toe and taking ibuprofen but it is really aching, just like a Fred Flinstone injury.

Other than the toe injury my workout felt great!

today was ruff!

2:45:02 on the bike today, my ass was killing me! I wish that I could coast on the trainer but at least I know that I truly rode 43.25 miles (WOW!). I am so amazed that I continue to keep this up week after week.

I have been on the computer way too much and my right shoulder has a crink, I am pretty sure that I will need ibuprofen after my ride today but I will blame my shoulder so that I can keep up the super tough facade. :)

my treadmill

Well, I am not sure what the incline percentage is but my treadmill won't go down all the way, I would guess it is maybe a 2.5 or 3% incline but man that makes a difference, especially when you are kind of already tired at the end of the day. I am really trying to start doing the morning workout but morning kicks my ass! I am really not a morning person but everyday I am going to bed a little earlier and getting up a little earlier so hopefully by February morning workouts will be part of the routine. Oy!

Tomorrow is 3 hours on the bike I think, dang, I better find something really good to watch. Right now I am really looking forward to riding outside but then I go outside and it's 22 degrees, I am happy to wait a while!

Tonight was HARD!!

So it has been a while but that doesn't mean that I am slacking off! I have been very faithful to the routine and I think it is paying off. I am a little bit frustrated because I think a little more fat maybe should have come of my boo-tay and I think that I should be running faster but I am sure that will come, I hope that will come!

My swimming really needs to improve! I swam 1000 yards in 31 minutes yesterday, my rear deltoids were a little bit sore today but I would expect that since I haven't been in the pool much since October! I am going to get back to the pool 2-3 days a week and I think I have a pretty decent schedule worked out to do that, I just wish it wasn't so cold outside, it makes getting in to the pool a bit difficult!!

I'm baaaaaaack!

The holidays are over, the laundry room tile is laid and I am back on track. I never actually got off track with my workouts, I did however get off track with my blogging!

Things are going very well with the work outs, I am in week 7 and have missed very few scheduled days, even over the holidays!

J.P. slipped and told one of his clients that I was signed up for the Ironman, he got scolded and she said she wouldn't say anything to anybody. Well, now I am suspicious because a work colleague, who I see at the gym at least 3 times a week borrowed her bike trainer and when I saw him today he said "you're up to something, I know that you are training for something". I just smiled and headed to the locker room; but man I think he knows. Damn it, this is my secret! :)