It's Just STUPID HOT!

Note...I am borrowing the phrase "stupid hot" from Susan. Really, there's just no other way to describe what most of the country is experiencing right now!

Monday, August 1 - Rest day
I started to type July and then stopped...holy crap it's already August! Monday was a rest day. And I'll be honest, my legs were pretty sore from the 11-miler the day before - the left quad was feeling tight, the right shin was feeling sore...ugh, and that was only 11 miles. The fun is just starting! :-)

Tuesday, August 2 - Run & Abs
Normally, Tuesday would be my speedwork day, but my legs were still a bit achey and I have a race this weekend, so I decided to just run 3-miles fairly easy. And, for whatever reason I just didn't feeling like running in the dark at stupid-thirty, so I opted to use the indoor track at work during my lunch break.

The track is on the 8th floor of a building in downtown Houston. Yes, the loops are mind numbing, but it's in the a/c and at least I get to look at buildings and the action on the street below. And, this is one of the only times I actually listen to my ipod when I run (well, here and on the dreadmill). It's nice to have options.

Once the kiddos were in bed, I did Ab Ripper X for a core workout. I have done this workout so often, that I can do the entire workout without watching the P90X dvd. So, I did the entire workout while watching The Wonder Years, lol. I forgot how cute that show was.

Wednesday, August 3 - Run and Swim
Instead of pushing my snooze button too many times, I actually forgot to set my alarm clock. Doh! Actually, I did set an alarm, but it wasn't mine...it was the Hubby's alarm (we have a clock with dual alarms). Fortunately, I have an internal alarm clock and it woke me up at 4:18 am. Double doh! I knew I wouldn't quite have time for 5 miles, but I decided I'd run as far as I could in the time that I had to work with.

Before I headed out for my run, I let the dog out so he could take care of business. Ugh, I could feel that wave of warm, moist air the minute I opened the back door - YUCK! When I set out on my run, I was trying not to complain, but damn! It was a sauna. I struggled managed through my miles - 4.89...yes, I should have run that last .11, but I was now late getting into the shower and I was already back at my house. It probably didn't help that I stopped for a minute or two to talk to my "friend". He didn't get into Houston for the 1/2 marathon for the 2nd year in a row and was majorly bummed. Prior to the lotto, he had run the marathon once and the 1/2 marathon 6x. So instead, he is doing The Woodlands 1/2 Marathon in March and maybe the USA Fit 1/2. It's good to have a "friend" out there running at stupid-thirty. And, when I made it back home, I learned from the news that it was 82 degrees outside with a "feels like" of 90. At 4:30 am! Anyway, I have got to get better about getting out the door in the mornings in a timely manner. I know as the runs get longer, I will eventually need to split up the mileage, but it does help to get a large chunk of the mileage out of the way early!

After work, I headed to the gym for my swim. The kids have swim lessons on Wednesday nights and I absolutely hate to miss that, but by the time I leave work, take the bus to the Park & Ride and drive the 20 minute drive to swim class, class would almost be over. So...I've deemed this my swim day - I can get in a shorter swim, then make it home a few minutes before the Hubby and kids get there which gives me just enough time to get something going for dinner. My swim - 45 minutes, 1,600 yds.

Tomorrow, I am going to try to set aside some time for a short bike/run brick. I just bought a new pair of tri shorts, so I want to try them out before Sunday's race....nothing new on race day, right?

Speaking of the heat...which do you prefer for running/training - the hot, humid summers, or the icy cold winters?

Workouts this week...

This Week's theme is "flexibility"...sometimes things don't quite go as planned with the workout schedule, so you've got to be flexible. That can be hard when you're a type A.

Monday – 7/18, Run- 6 miles
I had the day off, so I despite the tired legs from the previous day’s ride, I decided to head out for a run. I had two choices – 1) wake up before 5 am, so I could be back home before the hubby left for work or 2) sleep in and go for a run after taking the kids to school.

Can you guess which option I chose?

Even though it meant I’d be running in warmer temps, I opted for #2 – sleep in. Although, with my kiddos that means I get to sleep until 6 am. It was warm and muggy, but overall it was better than my last 6-miler!

Afterwards, I spent the day with my mom to celebrate her upcoming birthday. We had lunch and cupcakes and just hung out. Fun times!

Tuesday, 7/19 – Rest Insanity
Okay, so I was going to rest, but it was a stressful day and I needed to blow off some steam. I decided to do Insanity’s Cardio Circuit and it did the trick. It’s hard, but you definitely get out the days stress and frustrations!

Wednesday, 7/20 – Run and Swim Run again
I had one of those mornings where I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed. I had 5 miles on the schedule, but after hitting the snooze button too many times before work, I only had time for 3 miles. Then, I was limited on time after work, so opted to finish up my mileage in the afternoon heat rather than swim.

Thursday, 7/21 - Spin and Swim
Thursday’s workouts did not go as planned. I had plans to go to spin class during lunch, but I ended up meeting with someone that I needed to talk to at work…hey, work comes first…afterall, it pays for these races, right? So, I decided rather than swim after work, I’d ride my bike. Then, I’d swim on Friday, which was supposed to be my rest day. Well, as I travelled home it started raining. With thunder. And lightening. So much for a ride. Instead, I headed to the pool for a 50-minute swim workout. Better than nothing, right?

Friday, 7/22 – Rest
Ahhh, a rest day at last! Gotta get ready for 9 miles tomorrow in the heat and humidity. Ick!

So, how flexible are you with your workouts? Do you go with the flow, or freakout when your workouts get derailed?

5 days and counting...

I have 5 days until I have reached the 6 week mark after the lovely toe incident. 5 days until I can run again!!! I am a little nervous though. I won't lie - the toe still hurts. I tried to wear normal shoes to work last week - flats, not heels though - and my toe hurt like heck by noon.

I know that I am not "staying off my foot" as much as the doc might like. Hell, I work downtown! I have to walk to and from the bus stop, I have to walk 3 blocks to get lunch, I have to walk to other people's offices, not to mention that I have two small kids to chase around. I have to walk 10 miles in the snow, barefoot...you get the idea.

So, here's to hoping that I can run again with minimal pain. Here's to hoping my endurance isn't completely gone - swimming, biking and strength training can only do so much. Here's to hoping that ramping up the mileage again won't be too horrible...okay, that one's wishful thinking because it is Houston and it is summer! Here's to hoping that I can train hard for Bridgeland and have another pace PR! Here's to hoping that I am ready to train for NYC!!!

Workouts and Randomness...

Thursday, 4/7 - Insanity and Swimming Not much to say...I woke up early to do Insanity - Pure Cardio and then headed to the pool in the evening to swim 1,600. I made it back home in time to help the hubby put the kiddos to bed and then it was time for some Malbec for mommy! Just a 1/2 glass, but it was oh so yummy!

And now for the randomness.... I haven't mentioned this yet, but we're taking the kids to Disney next week! This is the 1st time we've been with the kids and it's a big surprise for them, so shhhhhhhh! I think I am just as excited as they're going to be. Soooo, this time next week we will be at the most magical place on earth...or is it the happiest?

Another thing we had planned on doing while we were in sunny Florida was drive to Titusville to watch the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor! This was pretty much my idea - I am a space nerd and seeing a shuttle launch is on my bucket list and has been since high school. In fact, we kept waiting and waiting to make our reservations, because shuttle launch dates pretty much always change. First it was scheduled for April 1st, then the date moved to the 19th. And it stayed there...and stayed there, so we booked our trip. Naturally, it moved again - on Monday it was announced that the new launch date will be the 29th. And no, we will will not be there that long! Bummer! But, there are worse places in the world to be stuck than Disney and something tells me that the kids will be perfectly fine with an extra day with the mouse.

I also have jury duty on Monday (yay me!) and I am on vacation Thursday and Friday, so next week is going to be short but crazy! And, I am completely overwhelmed by how much planning goes into going to Disney! There's all kinds of info on the web to help you plan, but I would have preferred planning this a year in advance....you have to schedule meals with the characters, beauty sessions at a boutique, know which park is best to go to on which days, what rides to go to first (to avoid the lines), which you should use a fast pass for....holy crap, there's so much to know! I am trying to keep the Type A in me under control...but that doesn't mean that I haven't created an Excel spreadsheet with a day by day itinerary (i.e. which parks on which days, the order we're riding the rides, where we're eating, etc.). :-) Well, that's enough randomness for now. Have a great weekend!

Workout Love

I love the weekend workouts.

My favorite? The bike!

I hate it when the weather is bad on the weekend mornings, because without my weekend morning workouts, I am a grump (okay, I am really a biotch, but I was trying to keep the blog PG-13). Once I've got my workout in, I am ready for the rest of the day - fun with the kids, hanging with the hubby, grocery shopping, etc.

Saturday, April 2 - Bike/Run Brick
I would have loved to ride my bike for about 45 miles, but the kiddos had soccer games so time was limited. Plus, I really need to start working brick workouts into my routine again...so I compromised and rode 30 miles and ran 2 miles.

I seem to be stuck - my pace on the bike has been 16.2 mph for the past few weeks. The bike is one area where I really think I have room for improvement. The past 2 years, my training rides were closer between 14.8 - 15 mph, and my race pace always stayed around 18 mph. This year, I've been on my bike a lot more and for longer distances. Now my average training ride pace is around 16 mph...I'd like to get faster, but I am clueless when it comes to the bike. Is it the same as running? Do speedwork and tempo rides? Someone clue me in. :-)

After my ride, I ran my bike up my driveway into my garage for a little T2 practice. I removed the helmet, changed shoes and was off. And then I turned around and ran into the house for a quick potty break. Doh! I am always surprised at how much faster I tend to run after being on the bike. I managed to finish my 2 miles in 18:40 (a 9:20 pace). The fastest brick I've done was last summer - bike 15 miles, run 2 @ a 9:25 pace, so I was super pleased with this run! I don't think I could have held that pace for another mile, but it gives me something to shoot for at CB&I next month.

Sunday, 4/3 - Long run, 9 miles, 10:45 pace
That pace says it all - warm, humid, tired legs. I'll admit it, my glutes were still sore from Friday's Insanity workout and my legs were a little tired from my brick the day before. I didn't notice the sore glutes at all on the bike the day before, but I definitely noticed it on my run (for at least the 1st mile)! Ouch!

This run was pretty uneventful. I tried to run every loop in every section of the neighborhood, just so I didn't=t have to see the same scenery more than once. But, I started the run in the dark, pre-dawn areas and there are some sections of my neighborhood that are just too dark to venture into before daylight. I was going for 10-miles, but by the time I reached my section of the neighborhood, I was already at 9 miles and a little change...rather than do another loop of my section, I decided that I'd call it a day.

The rest of the weekend consisted of grocery shopping, a birthday party for one of the kiddo's school friends, a baby shower for my cousin, more fishing at the neighborhood lake and a trip to Target for a new Chi. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it certainly felt like a busy weekend!

Workout Summary

Since I started tracking my workouts on the Beginner Triathlete website, I can get my month totals - love it!

March's totals:

Bike: 11h 34m 32s - 192.25 Mi
Run: 8h 59m 41s - 53.83 Mi
Swim: 6h 00m - 9700 Yd
Plyometrics: 2h 10m (this is Insanity)

So here’s what I’ve been up to over the past week:

Thursday, March 24 – Run, 3 miles, 10:15 pace

Evening run, temps in the low '80s and I survived! Amazing sunset! Friday, March 25 – rest
No trip to the lake this week, since we did an OWS on Wednesday.

Saturday, March 26 – Long bike, 25 miles, 16.3 mph
Neighborhood fishing tournament was this morning, so cut the ride super short!

Sunday, March 27 – Long run, 10 miles, 10:50 pace
Ugh, warm and steamy…I used my task avoidance skills and walked the 1st 1/2 mile so I could toss newspapers from the curb to the driveway, lol!

Monday, March 28 – Insanity? Yes please!
I’m not sure why, but I decided that I’d like to do another round of Insanity. Maybe because I truly am insane? Fit test - showed me that I was not "Insanity" fit!

Tuesday, March 29 - More Insanity, please...and add a little spin and swim, just for fun!
Cardio Circuit, lunchtime spin class and 1800 in the pool. You know when you’re in a great spin class (i.e. one that kicks your butt) when you start to hate the instructor before it’s all said and done!

Wednesday, March 30 – No workouts, sick (ack!)

Thursday, March 31 – Random workout day
Run - 55 degrees, did 2.5 miles at a 9:52 pace (thank you cooler temps!)
Insanity - I managed to do the Insanity workout – something with the word “recovery “ in the title…it was tougher than it sounded!
OWS - I just re-confirmed that I really do suck in open water…big thanks to Coach Kim Hager for the encouraging words...I'm sure she wanted to tell me to HTFU!

Friday, April 1 - more Insanity!
Friday was "Pure Cardio" day - 38 minutes of cardio with no breaks. Ugh!

Still here...

Ugh, looks like another catch up post. Life has been crazy…mostly in good ways. The family has been busy with soccer practice and soccer games, gymnastics, birthday parties, baby showers, wedding showers, etc. Last weekend, we had a rare opportunity to just hang out and veg for a little while and it felt great!

Here's a glipse of our Saturday...



Here's the Hubby showing the kids how to fish


Here's the Kiddo in action at her soccer game


This is what the Munckin does during big sis' soccer games


Here's the Munckin enjoying his "Soccer Tots" class

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet here is my decision about the Memorial Herman 70.3. I decided several weeks ago that I was not doing the HIM. Honestly, after being out of town 3 times in late February / early March and being scheduled to go out of town again for a week in late March (which ended up being cancelled – yay!), I felt like I neglected my training too much. Especially the swimming. Here’s the deal - when I know I’m going out of town, I feel like I need to cram in as much time with the Hubby and kids as possible before I go. So I miss workouts. Then, I go out of town to a non-bike friendly place with no pool. I miss more key workouts. Then, I come home again and feel like I need to make up for lost time with the Hubby and kiddos. More missed workouts. Add some working late due to busy season and that means more missed workouts. I know that I could sacrifice some time with them, it was only a couple of months until the race, right? But, the kids and Hubby are a priority to me. I see the kids for about 30 minutes in the morning before dropping them off at daycare and I have about 2 hours with them each night before bedtime...if I leave work on time, which was rare during February and most of March.

This would be a non-issue if I was already a strong swimmer, but to be honest – I suck. In open water, I suck even more.

I am working on this and I will overcome this little issue.

But unfortunately, not in time for the HIM.

So that’s it…I am back to sprint distance races. I’ve decided to try some new ones this year (see sidebar for schedule). My plan is to end my tri season by August, so I can focus more on my long runs. But, if things are going well (and my swim doesn’t suck as bad) and I feel like I can keep going, I may try an Oly scheduled for late September.

Humble Pie

Tuesday, 3/22 - Spin and Swim
I managed to push the snooze button a few too many times, so my 1 hour, 15 minute ride on the trainer ended up only being 45 minutes. Grumble, grumble....I need to get to bed earlier! In the evening, I went to the pool for a 30-minute swim. Only 1200 yds on the schedule, which actually worked out well, because I had time to get the swim done and still get back home in time to help get the kids to bed.

Wednesday, 3/23 - Run and Sputter
I was planning for a 4-miler, but once again I "snoozed" too long. There was only time for a 3-miler after that. Again, I need to get to bed earlier if I am going to wake up at 4:15 am! And, that 3-miler was extremely slow - 10:53 pace. Why? Because I had a major cough attack and finally just stopped until it passed (thank you Springtime pollen!). I also stopped to walk in the final mile, because my heart rate felt all wonky...not sure what that was about.

My 2nd lack luster workout of the day was an OWS practice. The awesome folks at Out Rival Racing coordinated a swim at Lake Conroe. It's a bit of a drive from where I work, but it's much closer to home than Lake 288. The water in Conroe is much murkier and there are some boats, so you get that lovely scent and taste of exhaust now and then (yuck!). But, the swim was so organized - they had buoys and kayakers, plus is was just great to swim with a group.


This is Lake Conroe after our swim...pretty isn't it?

Unlike our swims at 288, I decided to go out with a group to do the 500m loop that was set up (I think it might have been a little long - maybe 600?)....usually I warm up first to get acclimated to the water. Dumb move on my part, because at some point I went in to "freak out" mode and ended up side-stroking more than I care to admit. (Something I rarely do these days) It was bad. I was the last one in the group to finish...and not as in a few seconds after the group. More like a good 3 minutes after the group. Mmmm, nice taste of humble pie....yum, yum (NOT).

Luckily, after meeting a few other folks and talking for a few minutes, I managed to swim a little more and felt much better. I've felt pretty good in the water over the past few weeks, so I'm not sure what happened. I do know that OWS can be challenging mentally...you have to get out of that freak out mode fast, or your swim is not going to be pleasant. If there is one thing that will keep me from doing an Oly or a HIM (besides the schedule issues I had this year), it's the freaking open water swim. Just last week, I was feeling more confident in the water than ever and this week...well, not so much! Anyway, after swimming a little more, I did feel better and at least ended the evening on a positive note.

Thursday, 3/24 - Run do-over, 3 miles (10:15 pace)
I felt like Wednesday run was so bad, that I wanted a do-over on Thursday...just to prove that I can run. Unfortunately, I did not sleep well at all on Wednesday night, which is highly unusual for me. I woke up several times and eventually re-set my alarm clock and slept as long as I could. That meant I'd be doing an evening run. So, after the Kiddo's gymnastics class, I headed out for a 3-miler. It went much better than the run on Wednesday, and I had a gorgeous sunset to look at!

Friday, 3/25 - Rest Day
It's a rest day, but I am determined to get in the Ab Ripper X workout tonight. The Kiddo has a make-up soccer game tonight and one in the morning, so GO SHARKS!!!

Playing Catch Up

Here's what I've been up to for the past 2 weeks:

Wednesday, 3/9 - 4 mile run, 10:29 pace
Warm and humid - yuck and yuck!

Thursday, 3/10 - Rest day (unscheduled)

Friday, 3/11 - 2 mile run, ~1,000 OWS swim
Planned on doing my 10-miler on Friday since I had the day off. However, I had been having some pain above my right ankle (on the inside). One mile out and I had to turn around - ouch! Also, tri-buddy, Kelly, and I went to lake 288 for OWS practice #2. We're definitely getting more comfortable in the water and in our wetsuits!

Saturday, 3/12 - 1 mile run, 16 mile bike (16.0 mph)
Tried to go for that 10-miler again, but after only .5 miles I called it quits due to that weird pain. I had to do some sort of cardio though, so I hopped on the bike for an hour ride.

Sunday, 3/13 - 29 mile bike, 16.3 mph
Just my regular, weekly bike ride. It should have been 30 miles, but I started late and was already pressed for time.

Monday, 3/14 - rest day
First day of spring break for the kiddos...it was a messy, rainy, yucky day.

Tuesday, 3/15 - 3 mile run, 10:12 pace
It was time to see how the ankle would hold up. Lucky for me it held up just fine! It was cool outside, so perfect weather for a run!

Wednesday, 3/16 and Thursday, 3/17 - rest days
Okay, so these weren't supposed to be rest days, but I had the day off on Wednesday and really just wanted to sleep in. Thursday, I'll just admit - I had lost my mojo and we feeling lazy.

Friday, 3/18 - 1600m OWS
Okay, lazy days are over - time to get back to it. Headed back to the lake with Kelly. After a warm up, we did our first full loop around the lake! Yay us! We followed that with a couple of mini-loops around the lake. This is probably the farthest I've managed to swim in open water. Feels good to make progress.

Saturday, 3/19 - long ride - 41 mile bike (15.10 mph)
This is only my 2nd time to ride 40+ miles on the bike. I could tell my body was getting used to 30, because my legs wanted to stop shortly after hitting that point. Luckily, tri-girl Kelly was there and having a biking companion always makes the miles go by much faster! The pace was a bit slower than my previous 2 rides - this could have been because 1) we started in my neighborhood where it's hard to maintain a faster pace and 2) we were talking a bit too much? Still a great ride!

Sunday, 3/20 - long run - 8 miles (10:33 pace)
Okay, so 8 miles is not that long, but since I skipped my long run the week before and I hadn't run much due to the mysterious ankle pain, I decided to do 8 again and the increase next week. First, let me just day that I could feel the fatigue in my legs from the previous day's bike ride. Second, it was warmer than I had hoped..and humid too. But, it felt great to get back out there for more than just a few miles!

Life Happens

The thing about working, training, having kiddos and a hubby who is on call is that you just never know what's going to happen! As I'm sure you all know, when you have limited time for training, you just have to hope that things go smoothly so that you can fit in everything that needs to get done!

This weekend was one of those weekends where things just didn't go as planned. Saturday was a full day:

• Kiddo's soccer game
• Grocery shopping
• Pick up dry cleaning
• PetSmart for dog food
• Wal-mart/target for contact solution
• Misc errands
• Birthday party with the kids at Pump It Up
• Movie night with the kiddos

The game plan was to start my run at 5:30 am, so that I'd have plenty of time to get showered and dressed, as well as help the Hubby get the kids fed and ready for soccer. The alarm clock went off at 5:00 am and I hear the sound of rain. Lots of rain. I am not opposed to running in the rain, but then came the thunder and lightening. After that came the sound of my Munchkin crying - he hates thunder. Five minutes later, it was the Kiddo crying - she's scared of the ligtening. By 5:15 am, both kids were in bed with us and it was clear that there would be no pre-soccer run.

We tried calling the soccer league's hotline to check on the status of the day's games, but the line was busy. By the time was time to leave for soccer, the rain had stopped and a cool front was moving through - the temps quickly dropped from the low 70's to 56 degrees. We called the soccer league's hotline one last time and find that the games for the day have been canceled. Score! While that means a make-up game in the future, it also means I can get the grocery shopping and errands out of the way and still have time to run before the birthday party!

After getting the grocery shopping done, I headed out for an 8-miler. I was loving the cooler temps, but holy crap is was windy!!!! There were times I'd be running into the wind and wonder if I should just walk...I was running that slow. I decided to take advantage of the times that I had the wind at my back, or the wind was blocked by the trees - that was when I would pick up the pace a bit. The majority of the run was at a 10:25 pace, but I was able to pick it up a little in the final mile for an overall 10:20 pace. I'll take it. The legs felt great and if I had more time, I think I would have added an extra mile or two. But, it was time to get ready for the birthday party...and yes, I went down the "big slide" about 20 times with the Munchkin - fun times!

Sunday we had full day - 2 hour bike ride, Church, kid's haircut at the mall (which also means they get a cookie and have to ride the carosel), run a couple of errands that didn't get done on Saturday, and meet up with some friends at a local festival.

The Hubby was on call until 7 am on Sunday morning. Whem we went to bed on Sunday night, the Hubby made a comment about almost making it through the weekend without getting called into work. Naturally, he got a call from work at 4:50 am.

Scratch that 6 am bike ride.

We decided to improvise - the hubby was done with work and home by 11 am, so he agreed to take the kiddos to get their haircuts and run an errand for me while I rode my bike. Such a sweetie that Hubby of mine!

My bike ride was uneventful, which is good. I decided to drive to the neighborhood where I ride...I usually ride there, but being mid-day there is more traffic than in the early morning hours. Once I arrived, I realized I forgot my bottle of Gatorade. I almost went back, but decided to make due with the bottle of water I had in my car. It was a gorgeous day for a ride - 55 degrees, beautiful blue skies and just a little wind. AWESOME!

I headed out on my ride and decided to be adventureous and check out some new roads. After awhile I realized that this might not be the best idea, because if I needed help I may not have any idea how to direct someone to me. Doh! My first loop is normally around 12 miles, but because of my exploring, it ended up being closer to 18 miles. It felt good to be more than halfway done! I had some of my PowerBar and kept on going. I was happy that my legs felt strong the entire time and I managed to maintain a pace just at 16 mph...considering the occasional wind, I guess I'll take it.

Once I made it back to my car, I packed up my bike and put on my running shoes. I was planning to get in 2 miles by doing an out and back run. But, after about 6 or 7 minutes, mother nature was calling...I really, really needed a bathroom. Gee, and I wondered how I would have felt if I had all my Gatorage to drink! So, I ended up turning around and heading back to the car and home. A 15 minute run would have to do!

Oh, and I started my ride with long sleeves but quickly warmed up. As a result, I pushed up my sleeves to my elbows....you should see my lovely tan lines! From my wrists to my elbows, my arms are nice and red!

All in all 2 great workouts even with the roadblocks!

So tell me, how do you manage to squeeze in your workouts when life throws you a curveball? Even the best planners out there get thrown off track, right?

This week so far...

Finally home! This time, I hope I have no more travels until we head to Disney next month! I am obviously not cut out for a life of constant business travels...out of the past 14 days, I've been away from home for 8 of them. Of course, 3 of those days were for the trip to Austin, so I guess that doesn't count. The point of this babbling? I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed!!!

Here's the view of the beach from our dinner on Wednesday:



And since Mardi Gras is this weekend, the strand was all lit up:



Here is a summary of my workouts so far this week:

Monday, 2/28
Bike trainer - 1 hour
Normally, the bike trainer bores me to death. I tried to make things a little more interesting by doing intervals. I warmed up, then tried to push my pace for a minute, then go slow 1 minute. Then, I upped it to 2 minutes fast/1 minute slow, 3 minutes fast/1 minute slow, etc. up to 5 minutes and then went back down (5/1, 4/1, 3/1, 2/1, 1/1) and followed up with a cool down. I was supposed to brick it and follow the ride with a 15 minute run, but my ankle has been bothering me since my run on Sunday. Actually, it's not my ankle, but the area right below the bone. Not sure what's up with that....

Tuesday, 3/1
Swim unscheduled rest day
No swim...didn't get home in time and then had to pack for an out of town training class....

Wednesday, 3/2
Run, 3.25 miles (9:48 pace)
What an awesome morning for a run! The temp was a perfect 45 degrees with low humidity - AWESOME! What a different a nice, cool temp can make - last week I struggled through 3 miles, this week I wanted to run more! Too bad I didn't have more time. :-) I left the house at 6:15 to drive to Galveston Island for the training class.

Thursday, 3/3
Bike, 25 minutes / Run, 25 minutes (10:04 pace)
After finding no stationary bike at the hotel fitness center in Baton Rouge last week, I made a point of calling the hotel this week. Yes, the did have a stationary bike! It was either that, or lug my bike and trainer to my hotel room...and yes, I would do that. When I arrived at the fitness center, I found that this stationary bike was a recumbent bike. Yuck.

I managed to get in 25 minutes, before being totally annoyed by riding this contraption. I decided to cut my hour-long ride short and run longer instead. I managed to get in 25 minutes on the treadmill...I actually could have run a bit more, because I forgot how much faster I can get ready for work when you don't have to get 2 kids dressed and ready for school. I finished getting dressed and realized I still had 30+ minutes before I had to be in training!

So that's it for now...TGIF!!!

Just keep swimmin'.....

I love Nemo...and my kids do, too! Now, if I could only swim like a fish...

Last night, I left work at 5 pm on the dot. I wanted to make it to the Kiddo's gymnastics class (because I rarely ever get to go) and the Hubby wanted to leave gymnastics class so he could get in one final run before the Austin 1/2 marathon this weekend. But, that also meant that my swim was going to be late. No biggie.

I made it to the pool a little after 8 pm and was surprised to see a few folks in the pool...I usually have the place to myself when I get there earlier. I had "splashers" on both sides of me. Splashers is the name I've given to the folks who are there to get in some exercise, but swim like I did 2 years ago - you know, freestyling with the head above water, making all kinds of splashes with both the arms and legs. Yes, that was me just 2 short years ago...I'd like to think I've made some progress. I figured if nothing else, this will get me used to having people splashing around me at a tri. :-) I started with 100 warm-up, then did some ladders - 100, 30 sec rest, 200 30 sec rest, etc. - I didn't swim as long as I did Monday - only 45 minutes and 1,700. As I was finishing my workout, a few high school kids came in.

Definitely swim team.

It's humbling to get lapped over and over by a bunch of 14 year olds. Just when you think you're making progress.... :0)

Catching Up (AGAIN)

Let the blogging begin….
I haven’t updated in several weeks, so here’s what been going on….

I ran the Aramco Houston ½ Marathon 2 weeks ago. The weather sucked, but it could have been much worse. We were expecting major thunderstorms, but only managed to get drizzle. And, the temps were close to 70 degrees, which I hated. But, the end result was a 3+ minute PR….and a huge blister on the arch of my right foot. I’ll see if I can come up with an actual race report at some point.

I decided to commit…I am doing the Lone Star Half Ironman race in April. Yeah, that’s 8 weeks away and I need to make up for lost time – especially in the pool. I have been so focused on the ½ marathon, that I had been in the pool only one time in January. Bad! I took most of the week after the ½ off, because my quads were killing me (especially the left one). But, I did get in 8.5 on Friday after the race. Also, my friends and I did a 35 mile ride last weekend and my legs felt horrible afterwards…I was sure there was no way I could do 56 miles and then run a ½ marathon. But, I went home and ate and viola…I felt fine. Funny how important nutrition can be….Doh! Lesson learned.

So that brings we to this week…I got back into my tri-training routine. Swam 2x last week, rode on the trainer 2x and ran 2x. And, I did my 1st 40 miler on my road bike on Sunday! It was 42 miles to be exact. This is my longest ride so far on my road bike, so it was a major milestone for me.

I rode with a group that some of my tri friends are training with. The group consisted of a pretty hard core group of cyclists, many who have competed in ironman distance races. I felt a bit out of place without a tri bike and all the fancy gear. And, I’ll admit, they were much, much faster than me and my friends who have never done more than 35 miles and have only done sprint distance triathlons.

I’ve mainly been riding in some of the local neighborhoods near my house, which is flat. Pancake flat. The route on Sunday was freaking hilly! I won’t lie, I wanted to turn around so many times – at the 10 mile point I thought “Screw this, I’m doing the Oly! I’m turning around”. That same thought crossed my mind at mile 12 and 15, too. But, I kept going and by the time I made it to 17 miles, I was committed to getting to the turnaround at mile 21.

But then I had to ride back.

I think the toughest thing was just being alone for a majority of the time. On the way out, I was excited to catch up to a couple of people, including my friend Kelly. It also helped that the coaches were waiting for us at the turnaround and that gave me a burst of energy. But then I was pretty much alone again the entire way back which sucked. On the way back, it was also very windy, so that combined with the hills pretty much kicked my butt! And, an 18-wheeler went flying by one time and the wind from that freaked me the heck out!!! Seeing no one almost entire way back was hard – the negative thoughts were going through my head A LOT. But, I kept telling myself to HTFU and get back. It was quite a humbling experience. I honestly don’t know how people can ride for 60, 80 or 100 miles. I used to want to do a century ride, but now I’m positive that I don’t!

One thing I was careful about on this week's ride – nutrition. I did not want a repeat of last week– I drank my gatorade, I had some Bee Stinger Energy Chews and at the ½ way point I had a small Cliff Bar. I think that really helped me get through the ride better than the week before.

But anyway, I did it!!! And, my legs felt good afterwards...almost like I could go and run a few miles. (But I didn’t)

This morning, I ran an easy peasy 3-miler. My legs were a little tired, but not too bad. I will probably not ride the trainer this week, but will run one more time and spend some time in the pool....the hubby and I are getting ready for the Austin Half-Marathon on Sunday!!!

Decisions, Decisions

On Saturday, I had to make some decisions about what I was going to do as far as my workouts were concerned. Lately, I have been biking on Saturday morning and then doing my long runs on Sunday. I used to have the opposite schedule – run on Saturday/bike on Sunday, but it’s much easier to start a long run before dawn and be done in time for Church. The problem? The weatherman warned of monsoon-like, storms ALL DAY on Sunday. And, I was really hoping to have one really good, quality 12-13 miler on Sunday. The last long run before the taper…

As luck would have it, I had a friend who is training for a 100-miler and she was looking for some support during her 40-mile training run on Saturday. I was excited to have the chance to help out and have someone to run with for a change!

If I was smart, I would have skipped the bike ride and concentrated on the run. But, I apparently am not that smart and insisted on going ahead with the bike ride – my bffs Kelly and Jenn came along too. The ride was supposed to be 25+ miles. However, there was an issue – I couldn’t find my freaking bike helmet. Yes, the same one I wore just last week. After about 15 minutes of looking, I decided to make do with the Hubby’s helmet. Ugh. By the time we got going, we only had time for about 20 miles. But, it was a fun ride and I loved catching up with friends.

Next, it was on to an informational meeting about a local tri group that I am thinking of joining. I love the idea of being part of a team, having group rides/runs/swims and actually being coached for once. I have been just “winging it” with my tri training for two season now and if I am going to attempt the 70.3 in April, I definitely need some coaching.

I finished up at the tri meeting just in time to meet Karen and her support team! I was also fortunate to finally meet fellow blogger, Holden, who was part of that support team. I was completely amazed at Karen’s energy level – she had already run more than 30 miles and was going strong. I could barely keep up with the 9:30-ish pace she was keeping…lucky for me, she was doing 8:2’s and trust me when I say I enjoyed every second of that 2. Of course it helped that we had some good conversation going on - makes the miles go faster. After running 7 with Karen and then going back to my car, I decided that I should run more…just in case the weather was really that bad the following day. I made it to 10 (and kept the pace at sub-10!) and called it a day – I was beat either because of the bike ride earlier, the faster pace, the fact that it was warming up and I had on capris (dumb move) or a combination of all three.

So now I am torn – I didn’t do my 12-13 miler this weekend. I did get in a quality 10-miler, though. So now I am trying to decide – do I run 12-13 this weekend, but keep it at what feels like an easy pace and then taper? Or, do I proceed with the taper? Honestly, I don’t feel like I need that much of a taper for a ½ marathon. And, I think one more 12-13 miler would be a good confidence boost. What do you think? Decisions, decisions!

Oh and it did rain on Sunday…until about 10 am. It was still nasty outside – cold and damp – but not too bad for a run. Darn weatherman!

Taking Care of Business

Part of the reason I have this blog is to track my training. Obviously, I have been a slacker in this area, so the purpose of this post is to play catch up. More fun posts to come....

Friday, 12/31 - Quickie morning 2 miler - Way too warm and humid for December! I had to work, but fortunately it was a 1/2 day. Spent NYE with the hubby, the kids and friends. Had a great time watching intoxicated neighbors causing meyhem with fireworks!

Saturday, 1/1 - 20 miles on the bike - Met up with Tri BFF, Kelly, for a morning ride. Great way to kick off the new year!

Sunday - 1/2 - 9 mile run - My very first run with the hubby! Avg pace - 10:34


Monday - 1/3 - 2 mile run - Short run on the schedule. Also, went back to the pool...swam 850 yds before getting kicked out of the pool by the Aquafit class. I had the day off from work, so I went to see "The King's Speech" with my Mom. GREAT movie - I highly recommend it!


Tuesday, 1/4 - P90X Chest and Back in the am, Spin class during lunch - the music in spin class was much better this week!


Wednesday, 1/5 - 9 mile tempo run on the schedule - 6 mile tempo run in the morning, 3 miles on the indoor track at work. Hate to break up mileage, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I finally saw the infamous cows that are rumored to come into our neighborhood - four of them!

Thursday, 1/6 - rest day - decided after 11 days of workouts with no rest day, it was time to take a break

Friday, 1/7 - P90X Shoulders & Arms - intended to try out the Friday spin class during lunch, since it's a different instructor. But alas, work was busy and a spin class just wasn't in the cards.

More to come! Have a great day!

Monday Brick

Back to the grind. Time for my Monday "brick". Should I call it a faux brick since I am doing this indoors? Maybe a frick?

The kids were just amazing last night - as close to being little angels as they can get. They didn't fuss at all when I picked them up from my parent's house - usually they want to play longer, eat cookies and all the other stuff that they get to do at the grandparent's. They ate their dinner with no playing around in between bites. They put on their PJs with no arguments. And, they went to bed right on schedule. Quick, write this on the calendar, because this almost NEVER happens! Before I knew it, the next day's lunches and clothes were all ready and it was time to workout. Gotta love that!


Just imagine the little halos, lol!

I rode 40 minutes on the bike trainer while watching the end of The Bachelor. Anyone else watch this train wreck of a show? Can I just say that Rozlyn is whacked! Although I never get to watch an entire episode, this is the 1st time I've actually kept up with the show...yeah, minutes of my life that I will never get back. Soooo, who do you think the bachelor will choose?

After the bike, I headed upstairs and jumped on the dreadmill. Only 2 miles tonight - 19:57, 9:58 pace. I know for some folks, this is your slow pace...for me this is pretty good! For some reason, I always seem to run better after the bike (at least with shorter distances). So, in total, a 1 hour workout.

And before bed, I watched Kell on Earth - another trainwreck of a show, but I love it! Guilty pleasures, we all have'em!

Finally, we're expecting snow today.

SNOW PEOPLE!

IN HOUSTON!

AGAIN!

WHAT THE FRICK?

Brick and Swimming Pools

Monday, 2/8 - Brick - bike (35 minutes), run (3 miles)
I forgot to mention yesterday that I may have found the culprit in my hip pain - The 30 Day Shred! Maybe it's not the cause of the pain, but it certainly made the hip hurt on Sunday. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was, but I think it was the lunges. I may do the workout again this week just to be sure. Just when I thought the hip thing was just a fluke. Dang!

Monday, I hopped on the bike trainer once I got the kiddos into bed - and they actually went right to sleep (must have been the gin I slipped into their milk.....okay, just kidding)! I watched the remainder of The Bachelor followed by 10 minutes of Castle while I rode. After finishing the bike ride, I scooted right up the stairs and hopped on the treadmill for a 3-miler. This time, I was all business...no playing on the computer, no flipping through tv channels. Yay me!

I finished my 3 miler in 30:58, or a 10:19 pace. Not bad for me. And, this was kind of a progressive run. I started out really slow - just to test out the hip and back issues. Both ached a bit at first, but I noticed that as I increased my speed, the pain lessened. I also noticed that when I increase my speed, I am much better at holding in my core muscles and my stride is shortened. Maybe all that sloppy, slower running is what's screwing things up? I dunno, but I thought it was an interesting observation. We'll see how Wednesday's 5-miler goes.

Tuesday, 2/9 - Swim, 1600 yds
I decided to step up the swim workout a bit, especially since I know I'll be working late on Thursday and will more than likely not get to swim at all. *sigh* So, I found this workout on swimplan.com (my comments are in red):

Duration 45-60 mins
Distance 1600yd
Pool length 25yd
Issued Feb 10 2010

Warm up
• 8 x 25yd Freestyle Swim (even pace), rest 0:10 / 25yd [Easy]
Freestyle swim at a steady pace.
Brrr, water was chilly at first....

Build up (repeat 4 times)
• 1 x 25yd Single Arm (arm out front) 6 x left, 6 x right, 6 x full stroke, rest 0:10 / 25yd [Easy]
Freestyle using one arm at a time, focusing on shoulder and hip rotation. Complete 6 arm strokes with the left arm then 6 strokes with the right arm followed by 6 strokes using both arms. The non-stroking arm is held out front in a streamlined position.
I still suck at this one, but it's getting a bit better. I tend to bob up and down a bit when I take a breath on this drill...

• 1 x 25yd Freestyle DPS, rest 0:10 / 25yd [Aerobic]
Freestyle swim with maximum Distance Per Stroke (DPS). Concentrate on long, efficient strokes and a high streamlined body position to reduce drag in the water. Count your strokes per lap and try to reduce.
I still suck at this too...minimum strokes for me last night - 17! Not much improvement at all!

Core
• 8 x 25yd Freestyle Swim, rest 0:10 / 25yd [Aerobic]

• 4 x 100yd Freestyle (25yd Easy, 25yd Effort), rest 0:30 / 100yd [Endurance]
Freestyle swim at a slow, relaxed pace for 25yd, followed by Freestyle at a fast pace for 25yd. Recover during the easy part of the swim.
This was tough for me on the 3rd and 4th 100...at one point, when I was doing the 25yd Effort I got a mouthful of water and had to stop and cough. Can we say embarrassing...especially when the dude in the next lane can make the butterfly look effortless!

• 4 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, rest 0:10 / 50yd [Endurance]
This went well...

• 8 x 25yd Freestyle Swim, rest 0:05 / 25yd [Endurance]
This one too...

Warm down
• 2 x 100yd Easy Any Stroke, rest 0:20 / 100yd [Easy]
Swim your choice of stroke, at a slow, relaxed pace.
I did one 50 with nothing but sidestroke, just for "old time's sake"...side stroke takes a lot more effort than freestyle. I think people have been telling me that for a year and it took me this long to agree, lol!

So that's it for now! To my bloggy friends up north, take care and stay warm in this winter madness! I'll try not to complain too much about our 30-something degree temps. :o)

Even a bad swim is good!

You know, mainly because it's cold outside and I hate leaving my family in the evening, it takes everything I have to actually drag myself to the pool. And, because the pool water is chilly at first, it takes a lot to make myself actually get into the pool. But I find that once I get going, I actually ENJOY swimming! Me...the girl who, this time last year, couldn't make it from one end of the pool to the other...I actually LIKE to swim (borderline on LOVE to swim).

And, what I realized last night - even a bad swim is good!

Last night, I just couldn't seem to get into the beloved "zone" in the pool. My breathing was all weird at first, my foot/leg kept cramping up and my stroke felt crappier than usual. But, I still hammered out my drills and swam my distance. And you know what? It was still fun!

When I have a crappy run, I tend to beat myself up...what did I eat? Was it too warm? Was I just being a wuss? I need to stop that and treat my runs like I treat my swims...yeah, it was kinda craptastic, but dammit I did the best with what I had that day and I finished!

I did the same drills as last week (1,000 yards). Next time, I think I'll change things up a bit!

And totally off topic - does anyone else out there watch LOST? I stayed up late after my swim watching the season premiere and it was AWESOME. Man, I love that show!

Hiatus

Sorry for the lapse in blogging, my weekend actually begins on Friday and weekends are busy, busy! I sometimes check FB via my cell phone, but rarely have time to get the computer. Here's a quick catch up of the past few days...

Thursday, 1/28 - Swim, 1,000 yds
I actually remembered to bring my list of drills. Lemme tell you, I suck at these...trying to stroke only on one side for 6 strokes is tough. But, the nice thing about the drills is that is seems so much easier to swim when you go back to regular ol' freestyle....hmmm, maybe that's the real reason we do drills....

Friday, 1/29 - long run, 7 miles
The weather was nasty and drizzly in the morning, so I did all my errands after I dropped the kids off at school and ran later in the day. I originally planned to do 8 miles, but ran out of time...funny how that happens when you postpone your run! Since I've been reading about how you should have run your long runs slower, and then try to run the last part of your run at your marathon pace (or in my case, my 1/2 marathon pace), I decided to give it a try. I am already a slow runner, so I don't know how I could possibly go any slower though! My pace for the 1st 4.5 miles was 10:47, followed by 2.5 at a 10:20 pace...I was aiming for 10:30, but got carried away a bit at the very end. Oops! The darn left quad is still feeling a bit sore after my runs, but the back wasn't too bad.

Saturday, 1/30 - 30 Day Shred
Saturday was such a dreary, cold day! Other than taking the Kiddo to her musical theatre class, we had no other plans, which is rare. So most of the day was spent indoors coloring, playing with Play Doh (until the Munchkin decided to eat it!) and watching movies. Later in the day, I decided to give the 30 Day Shred another try. I love the idea of working your upper and lower body, plus getting in a little cardio in only 20 minutes! And, this time around the video didn't seem quite as tough. The Kiddo even did a little bit of it with me when she was taking a break from her coloring, lol.

Sunday, 1/31 - 30 - Day Shred (again)
Okay, so the original plan was to head to the pool for some swimming. However, we had some other family stuff to do and didn't get home until 7 pm. I still felt the need to do something. Any kind of workout would do. The Hubby and I had talked about doing P90X, but agreed that by the time we got the kids to bed and everything ready for the next day, it would be too late. So....why not do our 20-minute workout again? I'll admit, I had some soreness from the previous day's workout...that made the 20 minutes much harder! I pushed through it, and the Hubby finally had an opportunity to try out the workout - and yes, he agreed it was tougher than he thought it would be!

Monday, 2/1 - Brick (sort of)
I think Monday is going to be my brick night. I am still trying to nail down my tri training schedule, so that is subject to change but for now it seems to be working for me. It's was close to 8:30 when I hopped on the bike. I was about 15 minutes into my "ride" when the Kiddo came into the bedroom and asked if she could lay in our bed, because her tummy hurt. Uh oh. She seemed okay, so I continued to pedal. After I finished my 30 minutes, I checked on her again..again, she seemed okay. I got the Kiddo back into her bed, made sure she was feeling better and then hopped on the treadmill. Apparently, the tummy issues were all gone, because during my run the Kiddo came out of her room 2x to show me pictures she had just colored. LOL! Funny, I asked her if she wanted me to lay down with her, but she said I was too sweaty.

So that's my weekend (and Monday). Hope you had an awesome weekend too! I will get back to reading blogs tonight...I have a lot of catching up to do!

Brick...

She's a brick house,

She's mighty, mighty just lettin' it all hang out...

Don't know why, but when I think about brick workouts, that song pops into my head. Every time!

I'm having a hard time adjusting to tri training without my YMCA membership and without my weekly (sometimes 2x per week) lunchtime spin class. So, what I've decided to do is train on the bike trainer at home and once a week, follow it up with a run on the treadmill. I don't know if you'd call that a "real" brick, since it's being done indoors but it's going to have to do for now. And, I've found that I really don't know what to do on the bike without instructor from hell, Richard, barking orders to "increase tension!", "dig deep!", "decrease tension!", "sprint up that hill!", "go faster!!", etc. I've heard there are dvds you can buy and watch while riding that guide you through a bike workout...maybe I'll look into that. I'm also checking out the spin class schedule at the new gym to see if there's at least one I can make each week.

Anyway, I had to pick up the kiddos from my parents last night because it was the hubby's martial arts night. Naturally, I want to hang out and visit with the parents, but that makes us get home rather late which results in getting started on the workout late. It was 9 pm by the time I got the kiddos into bed, made lunches for the next day and got the bike set up on the trainer. I biked for 30 minutes while watching the last little bit of the State of the Union address and recap. I did add in a few 1-minute intervals of faster peddeling in there just to make the workout more interesting (read: less boring).

Once I was done with 30 minutes on the bike, I headed upstairs to the treadmill. I don't know why, but I seem to have pretty good runs after I bike. Not that the run was fast or anything, but I just felt in "the zone". You know "the zone" - where your legs, arms and breathing seem to be in sync perfectly....I don't hit "the zone" often on the treadmill, so this was a pleasant surprise. I even added a couple of minutes with some incline and that even felt great. All this zoniness made the time on the treadmill pass really quickly...love it when that happens! Total run was 2.81 miles @ a 10:40 pace. I cooled down by walking another few minutes and rounded out the mileage to 3 miles. Afterwards, the back felt pretty good, but the pain in my left quad is back dangit! Don't know what that's about, but I do want it to go away!

Today, it's back to the pool. Maybe this time I'll remember to bring my workout with me!