I'm glad I wore my old shoes!

Snow, slush, mud, rain, you name it we saw it!  The picture I posted is of my feet when I got home, it doesn't show how wet they are, but you can see the snow (sort of!), I was really glad I put my old shoes on, I just had a feeling that we were going to see some undesireable elements :-).  The weather was far from optimal but I have to say it was a really great run; you see, I got to run with JP, and that doesn't happen all too often.  So, we ran together (I chased him a bit) and chatted, I feel lucky that we share the endurance training hobby.  Because we are parents we don't get to train together very often, so when the stars align and we get to go out together I consider it a treat.  We stayed together for about 45 minutes and then I cut off and headed home.  Once I was on my own without anybody to talk to I could really take time to concentrate on my form, pay attention to everything around me (slick sidewalks for instance), and truly enjoy the experience.  There is something empowering about a run through the snow, even when cars would drive by and spray up slush and muck, I just had to smile because I felt so great today! 

I am struggling with my eating, I don't think I am getting enough protein, I will change that this week, I just have to figure out how...

On a side note, my girlfriend asked my to consider entering a "Masters Swimming Meet", apparently there is a 1650 yard open swim that she thinks I should consider.  My original thought was "NO WAY!" but then she made a good point, almost every triathlete thinks nothing of entering a running race or a cycling race but nobody ever enters a swimming race, it might not be such a bad thing to swim for time, I am seriously going to consider it, coming in last in a swim race would be no different than coming in last in a running race, right?  That made my stomach flip, I am pretty sure that in a running race I won't come in last, maybe in the last 3rd, but not last, in a swimming race you can almost bet I will come in last, I am slow, slow and slow.  Anyway, it is somehting I am considering, we will see how it actually pans out.

My numbers for the week:
Biking     75 miles
Running   19 miles
Swim       1600 yards
Hours     8.7

Have a happy week!

another morning workout on the books!

I hauled my butt out of bed at 5:30 and got my workout done by 7:00am, woo hoo! I am not a morning person, so it is really a challenge trying to reset my internal clock to not only get out of bed that early but to also get my body moving at a speed of approximately 12 mph. I am getting faster in the morning, keep in mind I say faster NOT fast :-) 

It is Tuesday, so I am very excited to watch The Biggest Loser tonight, that is one of my favorite shows on TV, in fact, it is the only show that I actually watch on the night that it airs and almost in real time, I love it!  While I was running this morning I was watching the local morning news and I saw a preview for tonight's episide, it looks interesting.  I wonder what the red team is up to?  JP and I are sitting here discussing what we think is going to happen, I personally think that the red team is going to dump a huge amount of weight this week and still try to say that she didn't throw the past two weigh ins-I think we have a new "villian."  I know, I am such a dork sitting here discussing strategy on TBL but I am who I am, sue me.

I will hopefully be swimming later, it will be so nice to be completely done with both workouts today before 1:30pm, I hope I have the energy!!

Have a fantastic Tuesday!

My legs are dead, dead I tell you!

It is a taper week, I don't know what I would do if it wasn't, I am barely hanging on here!  Not only are my legs halfway to dead but everytime I run I feel like I am going to puke, I have no idea what is going on.  So, last night I needed to get in a 60 minute run, I had to do the run on the treadmill because it was late and way too dark to go outside, 30 minutes in my stomach starts acting up and my legs don't want to go any further.  So I start walking a minute every 10 minutes, that was the plan anyway...I then had to walk every 5 minutes, then every three minutes and the running that I was doing in between could hardly be called running, it was more of a strange shuffle, I am pretty sure I looked a bit like Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it was so absurd I actually laughed at myself!  The good news is that I made it through and I know that I can get through a little adversity on a run.  My brick today was more of the same, I felt like I needed to vomit about a tenth of a mile into the run, oh well.  Hopefully this will pass soon.

On a completely unrelated note, 30 Rock was so funny last week, I just caught up on the DVR'd shows and I was laughing so I hard I had tears in my eyes and I even snorted once, "I'd like you all to meet Tom, Tom Selleck", so funny,  I can't believe that it didn't win the Golden Globe!  I enjoy Glee too, but come on!!!

Initial review of the new Tri Bike!

I am writing this review of my new bike because I am super excited and also because I searched high and low and could not find a single review online for the 2009 Kestrel Talon Tri.  Yes, I got last years model (better price) plus I liked the color more, black and white v. black and red :-)  I had a huge personal debate as to whether or not I should get a road bike or a tri bike, in talking with the bike shop we decided that a tri bike was the way that I should go because that is what I do, I do triathlons, I don't do bike races, I don't go out for rides that aren't training rides, so we settled on the tri bike.  He did all kinds of measurements and then I finally got to ride the bike so we could start tweaking my position on the bike. I did not get set up in a super aggressive position, definitley more aggressive than before but not so aggressive so that I feel like I am going to go over the top of my handle bars. 

I was able to take it for a ride yesterday!!  I struggled through some initial frustrations, I felt like I weighed 500 pounds and all of the pressure was on my lady bits, I felt like I wanted to cry, so I got off the bike, had some coffee, had some lunch, relaxed a bit and then got back on much better!  Road trips always exhaust me, I don't know what I was thinking trying to get on the bike right after getting out of the car, I was just so excited though!  I was able to ride 2.5 hours on the trainer (too much rain and cold outside) and I averaged 17.97 miles per hour.  I still need to get used to the new saddle but that will come with time (oh how I hope that it comes sooner than later!).  The bike itself weighs about 3 pounds less than my other one, and definitely feels smaller when I move it around.  I cannot wait to get to ride it outside to really get a feel for how different it is.  I will write a real review once I get that chance.

The photos I posted are the before and after, you can see on the second photo the difference in the geometry of the tri bike v. the road bike. 

On a somewhat related note, because of the road trip and everything else this weekend, I missed my Saturday run.  I became very grumpy and aggitated on Saturday afternoon and couldn't figure out why, I was on the edge and it finally occurred to me that my poor body had no idea how to get rid of all of the pent up energy!  Unfortunately I had forgotten my running shoes, I won't do that again!  Even though it is supposed to be a rest day today, I will be hitting the trail!

Happy Monday!

Final workout of 2009

The year in review, unoriginal. I know :-)  I have had a pretty fantastic year workout wise!  I have made it through without injury, oh sure, I have had my fair share of aches and pains and one or two bike crashes, but no significant injuries, I will now knock on wood as I know that I should not have said anything.

I did decide to set some New Year's Resolutions, they are more goals than resolutions. I track my workouts and the time and distance spent and I am pretty pleased with how things turned out.  I originally set my goal at 175 hours, thinking this would be a stretch but better to stretch than to set my sights short, right?  As it turns out on 12/29 I have 215.7 hours, I should have gone for 225 but I didn't,I could have cheated a little and put in the hours and miles that I tracked with my Garmin (I know I am a dork) while at Disneyland in early December but decided not to, so I will mention here that we walked 48 miles in 4 days!!  Here is what the breakdown looks like: 

Bike     1,112 miles - 69.8 hours
Run         385 miles - 72.5 hours
Swim 45,695 yards - 24.3 hours
Various other (P90X) - 49.1 hours

I think I will set my goal for next year at 225 hours, I hope to ride 1,500 miles, run 500 and swim 100,000 yards.  Yikes!  When I write it out like that it seems really scary but I think it is attainable, the worst that can happen is that I don't make my goal, better to go big!!  2010 is going to be a good year, I am really looking forward to it, I am stronger and healthier than I have been in a long time, maybe ever!

I am going to resolve to get a pair of Lululemon pants this year, they are too cute to pass up and from all the reviews I have gathered they are totally worth the money, perhaps a birthday present to myself, yeah, I really like that idea!


Happy New Year!!

Harry Potter, New Year's Resolutions and Purging my house...

I am officially in week 5 of my Ironman training, and I am feeling surprisingly good, not run down (probably because I am coming off a taper week) and still excited about it all!  I ran for 45 minutes today and got in 4.35 miles, I am slow I know that but I am not too slow, if I was running 14 minute miles I would be concerned!  A snow storm is on it's way so the temperatures have come up a bit but now it is just going to be snowy and icy and I will still not be able to run outside, that is okay though because I am passing my time by watching the entire Harry Potter movie series, I know I am a huge nerd but I don't care I LOVE those books and movies!

I don't typically make a New Year's resolution but I am considering it this year, I have already started on a project where I take a picture of the kids everyday, but what else?  I have considered donating/throwing something away everyday for a year, I think I might do this, I need to simplify!  We have been working to simplify for the past year and it feels so good, I want to keep going and simplify even more!  It is amazing how much you gain by eliminating things from your life, but that is a discussion for another day.  I would really like to make a fitness/weight loss resolution but I feel that I would set myself up for failure if I did that, if I say I am on a diet, I pretty much want to eat everything!  I will have to come back to this one.

Finally, my dad called me tonight (again)o about getting a bike, we are going to visit them for New Year's and he wants to take me into the shop where he buys, ay carumba!  I guess it can't hurt t get measured, right?!?!  We will see, it is a long time between now and June, the economy might pick up and a bike might be in order, I doubt it, but we will see...

Christmas is over, and I mean OVER!

The tree is down, the decorations are down and packed away and I feel very peaceful, very, very peaceful! I absolutely love the holiday season, we break out our decorations and have the entire house decorated the weekend after Thanksgiving, you could say that we maximize the season, but when it is over, it is OVER! My husband and I have actually taken the tree down on Christmas night before, but that was before kids and we realized it was a bit extreme!

Tonight is a good night, the kids are already nestled, all snug in their beds (uh oh, Christmas reference, sorry about that) and I am finishing the laundry, trying to sort through what to keep and what to donated prior to the end of 2009. We have had family in town since the 21st so it really feels great to be hanging out with just my family in my own home. The kids have not been to bed before 9:30 PM in 8 days, they are exhausted and I am exhausted from all of the whining that I had to endure this morning while getting them ready to take a picture with all of their cousins; fortunately they were on their best behavior once we left the house. I love the people who are visiting but we just need to get some rest!

I was very spoiled on Christmas this year, we don't go over the top but we do okay, I got a big 9-quart canner and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, awesome, great for riding on the trainer! I got my husband some compression running tights from 2XU and I am a bit jealous of them, he says they are FABULOUS! He had lots of trouble with leg and muscle cramping last year so I really hope these will help him.

Finally, I did not miss a single workout this week, it felt awesome, even with the holiday, I managed to get the miles in. I am already sick of riding on the trainer in the basement but I just gotta do it since it was 21 degrees here today. I tell you what though, my lady bits are a bit angry with me, my seat and I are not good friends right now. I gotta figure out what is going on and soon because the 3, 4 and 5 hours ride I have ahead of me are going to be torture!

Of course now that the holiday is over and I have the basement biking to look forward to, I want a power meter for my bike. I sound like a bit of a nut with this one but I think it would be really interesting to see if I could match the power output when I am outside to what I am doing when I am inside, or vice a versa. This is kind of funny coming from somebody who just hopes to finish my big race with a goal finish time of 16:59:59 :-)

Well the dryer just let me know it is time for me to get back at it. I hope everybody out there had a wonderful Christmas filled with Peace, Love and Happiness!

Is there a Santa Claus?

My eight year old asked me this question at dinner tonight, really? I was not ready, so we talked about how just because we don't see something doesn't mean it's not real and plus Santa always brings the presents that mom and dad can't afford :-). When my kiddos were babies I thought it was soooo hard, not getting enough sleep, etc. that was nothing compared to now, I hope I can handle it!

Did a brick workout tonight, felt pretty good, I ended up on the bike way too late, JP wasn't home and nobody wanted to go to bed. Anyway, I felt great changed my shoes and headed to the treadmill for the running portion of the workout, felt fantastic until I hit 11 minutes, my heart rate spiked to 176 and I had to slow down to 4.5 to get back into Zone 2! I didn't feel weird except for the hammering in my chest but that was a bit strange, hopefully it won't happen again.

Made a big batch of pumpkin muffins, hopefully the kids will eat them if I pack them in their lunch, today I was told that the apple sauce wasn't smooth enough...I figure at some point they are going to get hungry and have to eat, right?

Back from Vacation; Ironman training week 3 begins!

Missed all of last week due to vacation, totally worth it! I got a little exercise in though, I wore my Garmin and walked just under 50 miles in 4 days (betcha can't guess where I was :-)), I call that endurance training!

I have yet to make it to the pool since I got my new fins, I plan on getting there tomorrow; Jennifer probably thinks I am so lame, I won't consider myself lame until I actually miss the workout.

Okay, now I have to comment (again) on my new organic/vegetarian eating, I cannot tell you how fabulous I feel, it is amazing and I am not shy to tell my friends and co-workers about what a difference "clean eating" (I heard this term and wanted to use it) is making. I haven't lost any weight but that is not why I am doing it, although it would be a nice bonus! My only complaint is the bloating, I am pretty sure from the fiber of all the whole grains and the veggies but somebody recommended "Beano" and that is helping things to subside, lucky for me. I think that was an over-share, oh well!

Finally, I had a break through with the kids too, tonight they ate the dinner I cooked with hardly any complaints, woo hoo! With that I will share the recipe that I used to make my own homemade, organic pesto:

4 oz basil leaves, washed, dried and de-stemed
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts (I like to toast mine)
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil

Pulse in a food processor after you add each ingredient until relatively smooth and let set for 45 minutes to an hour--yummy!!

The best of intentions

I had every intention of swimming at noon today but I had a meeting that literally went almost 2 hours over when it was supposed to end. I was supposed to meet Jennifer, luckily I had my computer in the meeting and was able to send her a note that I was going to be late (or completely absent.) I will hopefully be able to make it tomorrow, that would be a real drag if I didn't make it again.

I have decided not to buy a new bike before Ironman, my bike is not fancy but it is a good bike, I am comfortable on it so I think it will do. I think that the last piece of equipment that I need is a pair of split fins for swim training, that would be crazy if I didn't have to spend too much on training this year!

I went back and reviewed my training log from two years ago and WOW, I am way ahead of where I was in 2008. I HAVE to be more committed to swimming, I think having a swim partner as well as a much greater idea about what it takes will make a huge difference on race day. I am actually really excited to start training next week!

My friend laughed at me

So, I was talking with my friend who is an animal, lets just get that out in the open; she works out more than anyone I know and harder than anyone I know-seriously. So anyway, I was halfway through my bike ride on Saturday and I ran into her at the turn around, she of course had run 11 mile to get to that point and was getting ready to participate in a "fun run" after her "warm up". We hadn't seen each other for a while so we were catching up, in the conversation I mentioned that I had been doing P90X "you know, the one from the infomercial" and she replied "yeah, ha, so-and-so mentioned that you had been doing that". I just let it slide because seriously, I will never be able to be on the same planet as her athletically and it just doesn't matter. I did however get together with so-and-so this afternoon and mentioned the laughing at me, I told so-and-so right then that until she starts participating in the P90X program she was not allowed to laugh, I am pretty sure my point was made. Okay, now the question is, do people really need to make fun of me, just because I am doing an infomercial workout? If you have done the P90X and "brought it" the way Tony Horton (sp?) suggests, you know full well that it is no laughing matter! Anyway, I guess that is it nothing more except, I feel like I need to mention how glad I am that I am starting a recovery week, my muscles are TIRED!

Ho are we supposed to do it all?

Two things, okay actually three (1) I am pretty sure I have the swine flu, a mild case but the swine flu all the same, every symptoms that I have fits including the stomach part of it, the good news here is that I will not have to worry about it again ;-) I am really wanting/needing to workout but my swine flu is preventing that, makes me truly a pig, ha!

(2)My girlfriend called me to ask me how I do it all and while I was flattered that she thought I could do it all but had to break it to her that I just fake it really well. It got me thinking about doing it all and why we think that we have to. I have been fortunate that my husband has been home all summer with the kids and he is a true help around the house, this helps me to "do it all". But still I try to not let anything drop and when I do I am so disappointed with myself and feel like I am letting my kids down. This is really unhealthy in my opinion however it helped me to identify my first reason for why I do triathlons which is (3) in today's post. One of the reasons I do triathlons is because when I am training I feel like it is okay to say no and take time for myself. I still feel a little guilty but know I am a better mom because of it.

So boring post but it let me sort out some of my feelings on these topics. I would really like to expand on each of #2 & #3 but my swine flu is making me too tired, perhaps I can do that tomorrow. Good night.