Here's a quick catch up. Feeling rather blah and not really in the mood to blog tonight.
Thursday, 7/9
Skipped spin class and went to the pool - total waste of time! Kids everywhere and nowhere to actually swim. I was there for 30 minutes and might have gotten in 500.
Friday, 7/10 - Run, 5 miles, 11:34 pace
"Long" run of 5 miles. Despite the heat, it actually felt great. Running through all the neighborhood sprinklers might have helped a lot. :-) I started out slower than usual, thinking that I would pick up the pace later. I did, but not much. Also, running 9/1s is getting easier...thinking about switching to walking a minute at each mile.
Saturday, 7/11 - Family day!
Was going to rest completely, but did Ab Ripper X just 'cause.
Sunday, 7/12 - Rest Day
Busy day - went to church, shopped a sale at Toys R Us for the kid's Christmas stuff, visited a friend and her new baby (welcome to the world baby Hayden!), took the kiddo to see Ice Age 3 after lunch...that was enough!
Monday, 7/13 - AM Swim, 35 minutes, ~1000 yds
Met Jen at the pool this morning. Arrived a little later than planned, but got in some good laps. Slowed down and concentrated on my breathing and form. May do this again for the rest of the week and then go back to doing drills. Gotta get faster! I timed my 300 and it was still around 8:15...pathetic!!!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Running Solo (a rambling post)
Here in Houston it's time for all the marathon training groups to begin!
The fall marathon groups began a few weeks ago, but the Houston Marathon is a mere 27 weeks away and it's time to get the training going! With the exception of training for my 1st 1/2 marathon in 2001, I've always trained with a group. First, it was Houston Fit in 2002, 2003, 2005 & 2006. Next, it was Woodlands Fit in 2008. I skipped 2004 and 2007 due to a little thing called pregnancy - yeah growing a baby in the belly doesn't go well with running 12, 15, 18 or 21 miles - unless you're Paula Radcliffe.
Quite frankly, I think training alone sucks. Although I was a member of Houston Fit in 2006, I had just begun a Saturday MBA program and was forced to do a few of the really long runs alone. Like I said, it sucked!
This year, the hubby's schedule is all goofy and not really conducive to running with any of the local programs. No weekends off, plus he leaves at the ass-crack of dawn to get to work (out the door by 5 am) - that means no early morning Saturday runs with the peeps. (Unless I want to recruit my parents to be babysitters - I'd rather save that for the occasional "date nights"!) And, because I am training for tri's all the way to August (or possibly even October), I use Tuesday evenings as my swim day - that means no track workouts with the peeps. Trust me, I'm a slow runner and need the track workouts, but my swimming sucks even more than my running!
So while my running peeps are training with Strides this year (they opted not to return to Woodlands Fit for various reasons), I will be running solo. My usual Saturday morning runs will be done on Friday nights...at least for as long as I can stand this frickin' heat. I am guessing that one of two things will happen
The fall marathon groups began a few weeks ago, but the Houston Marathon is a mere 27 weeks away and it's time to get the training going! With the exception of training for my 1st 1/2 marathon in 2001, I've always trained with a group. First, it was Houston Fit in 2002, 2003, 2005 & 2006. Next, it was Woodlands Fit in 2008. I skipped 2004 and 2007 due to a little thing called pregnancy - yeah growing a baby in the belly doesn't go well with running 12, 15, 18 or 21 miles - unless you're Paula Radcliffe.
Quite frankly, I think training alone sucks. Although I was a member of Houston Fit in 2006, I had just begun a Saturday MBA program and was forced to do a few of the really long runs alone. Like I said, it sucked!
This year, the hubby's schedule is all goofy and not really conducive to running with any of the local programs. No weekends off, plus he leaves at the ass-crack of dawn to get to work (out the door by 5 am) - that means no early morning Saturday runs with the peeps. (Unless I want to recruit my parents to be babysitters - I'd rather save that for the occasional "date nights"!) And, because I am training for tri's all the way to August (or possibly even October), I use Tuesday evenings as my swim day - that means no track workouts with the peeps. Trust me, I'm a slow runner and need the track workouts, but my swimming sucks even more than my running!
So while my running peeps are training with Strides this year (they opted not to return to Woodlands Fit for various reasons), I will be running solo. My usual Saturday morning runs will be done on Friday nights...at least for as long as I can stand this frickin' heat. I am guessing that one of two things will happen
- I will become less of the social runner, forcing myself to focus more on my times and get faster, or
- I will lose some of the motivation I usually get from my running peeps, be a wuss, take more walk breaks, etc.
The goal is to go with #1, although I am sure there will be the occasional days when #2 will win. Those days better be few and far between!
I've also made another decision. I'm doing the 1/2 marathon again this year. Maybe San Antonio and then Houston. There's a part of me that wants to train for a full again, but I decided against it for 3 reasons:- Call me a pansy, but I don't wanna train for a full solo. Hours at a time on the road with out the running peeps is just not fun to me.
- I have small kiddos who are very, very active and want my full attention. Let's face it, after some of those long runs I am toast! Weekends and evenings are the only precious moments I get to spend with my kiddos and I wanna make the most of that! Maybe when they don't want me around (like in their teens), I will get back into the higher mileage.
- I am enjoying the triathlons too much. Originally, I was going to make TriGirl in August my last tri for the year and then start increasing my running mileage. But now I am leaning towards doing a Tri as late as October and probably won't be increasing the mileage a ton between now and then.
So there you have it...my decisions for the training season. Hope you have a great one!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Quickie
I waited too late to head to the gym during lunch and was only left with about 25 minutes to work out. I did a quick warm-up and cool-down, followed by 6x2:00/1 min rec. I may try to get in a couple more miles tonight after the kiddos are in bed...we'll see! Gotta fit it in where ever you can sometimes!
Workout Stats
Treadmill run - 25 minutes, 10:25 pace (yay me!)
ETA:
I got on the treadmill again once the kiddos were in bed - 2 more miles! The 2nd mile was walking, because my foot was killing me...might have a lot to do with the shoes I wore to work today!
Workout Stats
Treadmill run #2 - 1 mile @ 10:58 pace, 1 miles @ 13:57 pace
Workout Stats
Treadmill run - 25 minutes, 10:25 pace (yay me!)
ETA:
I got on the treadmill again once the kiddos were in bed - 2 more miles! The 2nd mile was walking, because my foot was killing me...might have a lot to do with the shoes I wore to work today!
Workout Stats
Treadmill run #2 - 1 mile @ 10:58 pace, 1 miles @ 13:57 pace
Typical Tuesday
Another spin and swim day!
Just another typical sweaty day at spin class. I had to leave a little early so that I could get back to work in time to set up the conference room audio visual system to watch the Michael Jackson memorial service. Yes, I am serious. Employees wanted to watch it and so we accomodated them...and yes, even I wanted to see it, but I dvr'ed it to watch at home. Turns out that it was all set up before I got there, so I guess I could have stayed for the entire class.
My swim was okay. Still some kid-dodging going on, but overall not too bad. I've learned that the later I wait to swim, the fewer kiddos there are to dodge. I did a 100 yd warm-up, followed by 350 of mostly freestyle (but some sidestroke too), 2 minute recovery, another 350 of the freestyle-sidestroke combo, recovery, then another 200 of slow freestyle to work on my breathing since that seems to be my biggest challenge. One thing I noticed is that I haven't been stretching out my stroke and rotating much...time to watch the Total Immersion video again!
And back to the Michael Jackson Memorial Service....someone please explain to me why Sheila Jackson Lee was there? Seriously. Can we say "media whore"?
Workout stats
Spin class - 50 minutes
Swim - 1,000 yds
Just another typical sweaty day at spin class. I had to leave a little early so that I could get back to work in time to set up the conference room audio visual system to watch the Michael Jackson memorial service. Yes, I am serious. Employees wanted to watch it and so we accomodated them...and yes, even I wanted to see it, but I dvr'ed it to watch at home. Turns out that it was all set up before I got there, so I guess I could have stayed for the entire class.
My swim was okay. Still some kid-dodging going on, but overall not too bad. I've learned that the later I wait to swim, the fewer kiddos there are to dodge. I did a 100 yd warm-up, followed by 350 of mostly freestyle (but some sidestroke too), 2 minute recovery, another 350 of the freestyle-sidestroke combo, recovery, then another 200 of slow freestyle to work on my breathing since that seems to be my biggest challenge. One thing I noticed is that I haven't been stretching out my stroke and rotating much...time to watch the Total Immersion video again!
And back to the Michael Jackson Memorial Service....someone please explain to me why Sheila Jackson Lee was there? Seriously. Can we say "media whore"?
Workout stats
Spin class - 50 minutes
Swim - 1,000 yds
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Run
Yeah, I'm on a roll with my very original titles. :-)
Since Monday is usually my run day, I hopped on the treadmill after the kiddos were in bed. Nothing exciting to report - just 2 easy, peasy miles.
Workout Stats
Treadmill run - 2 miles, 10:47 pace
Since Monday is usually my run day, I hopped on the treadmill after the kiddos were in bed. Nothing exciting to report - just 2 easy, peasy miles.
Workout Stats
Treadmill run - 2 miles, 10:47 pace
Monday, July 06, 2009
Operation Swim More - Day 1
Since the hubby has Monday's off and the awesome new Natatorium is open to the public for lap swimming at 5:30 am, I thought I'd give an early morning swim a try. Fortunately, my Woodlands Fit friend, Jen, is already in the habit of going on Monday mornings so I'd have someone to swim with. (Isn't the Nat pretty??? That's a pic of it up top!)
Since I have quite a commute to work, it made more sense for me to get ready at the Nat, rather than drive home to get ready. Actually, I had a 8 am dentist appt in the Woodlands this week....because of this, I felt as if I was packing my entire bathroom in my bag - shampoo/conditioner, shower gel, flat brush, round brush, hair dryer, flat iron, make-up, not to mention clothes, shoes, etc. When I arrived at the Nat, I paid my $5 and headed to the dressing room. The 1st thing I noticed were all the gym bags on the benches....yeah, that would be because all the lockers were too narrow to squeeze the bag in and even too narrow for me to hang up my work clothes! My bag was a bit narrower, so I was able to smash it into a locker, lol. Barely.
I headed out to the pool and saw Jennifer arriving. I learned that the 50 m lanes were strictly for the Masters swimmers and high schoolers there for practice. That meant that Jen and I were restricted to the dive well. That was interesting. First, I noticed that the pool was much, much cooler than the outdoor pool I have been swimming in. In fact, it took me about 100 yds to really warm up. Second, the dive well is super deep - around 14 feet. It was a bit weird to look at a line so far down on the bottom! I started with a little warm up, then hammered out 300...a lot of freestyle, mixed in with a little sidestroke. Seriously, I really need to get this freestyle-thing down! Instead of stopping at 300, I kept going and did a set of 500. After a short rest and some chatting with Jen. I did another 500. (At least I think I did...I tend to lose count when I don't have my watch!) I took a short rest and then did another 100 before calling it a day. It felt great to get in my swim so early and really woke me up!
I don't know what to think about the whole experience of getting dressed for work at the Nat. The dressing rooms were definitely not designed with the working woman in mind, lol! There are mirrors with very small shelves underneath and outlets right outside the shower area, but the floor has puddles, so it's not exactly safe for blow drying! Not to mention that there are backpacks covering pretty much every inch of the benches. Fortunately, there are a few mirrors/shelves in a couple of the not so wet area as well. The shelves are pretty small though, unlike the big counters at the Memorial Park Tennis Center. It was quite a balancing act to put on make-up, dry hair and flat iron there. But, it worked. And I will more than likely be doing this again. And again. And again. The only downside to this? I don't get to see the kiddos in the morning. That kinda sucks!
Since I have quite a commute to work, it made more sense for me to get ready at the Nat, rather than drive home to get ready. Actually, I had a 8 am dentist appt in the Woodlands this week....because of this, I felt as if I was packing my entire bathroom in my bag - shampoo/conditioner, shower gel, flat brush, round brush, hair dryer, flat iron, make-up, not to mention clothes, shoes, etc. When I arrived at the Nat, I paid my $5 and headed to the dressing room. The 1st thing I noticed were all the gym bags on the benches....yeah, that would be because all the lockers were too narrow to squeeze the bag in and even too narrow for me to hang up my work clothes! My bag was a bit narrower, so I was able to smash it into a locker, lol. Barely.
I headed out to the pool and saw Jennifer arriving. I learned that the 50 m lanes were strictly for the Masters swimmers and high schoolers there for practice. That meant that Jen and I were restricted to the dive well. That was interesting. First, I noticed that the pool was much, much cooler than the outdoor pool I have been swimming in. In fact, it took me about 100 yds to really warm up. Second, the dive well is super deep - around 14 feet. It was a bit weird to look at a line so far down on the bottom! I started with a little warm up, then hammered out 300...a lot of freestyle, mixed in with a little sidestroke. Seriously, I really need to get this freestyle-thing down! Instead of stopping at 300, I kept going and did a set of 500. After a short rest and some chatting with Jen. I did another 500. (At least I think I did...I tend to lose count when I don't have my watch!) I took a short rest and then did another 100 before calling it a day. It felt great to get in my swim so early and really woke me up!
I don't know what to think about the whole experience of getting dressed for work at the Nat. The dressing rooms were definitely not designed with the working woman in mind, lol! There are mirrors with very small shelves underneath and outlets right outside the shower area, but the floor has puddles, so it's not exactly safe for blow drying! Not to mention that there are backpacks covering pretty much every inch of the benches. Fortunately, there are a few mirrors/shelves in a couple of the not so wet area as well. The shelves are pretty small though, unlike the big counters at the Memorial Park Tennis Center. It was quite a balancing act to put on make-up, dry hair and flat iron there. But, it worked. And I will more than likely be doing this again. And again. And again. The only downside to this? I don't get to see the kiddos in the morning. That kinda sucks!
OWS
Since the hubby was off from work on Sunday, I was able to meet the "heathens" from beginnertriathlete.com out at 288 Lake for an OWS practice. Thanks to me missing a turn, I arrived a few minutes after the scheduled meet up time. There were probably already 10 people there from BT chatting it up in the water. It was great to finally put the screen names and faces together!
Honestly, we did more talking than swimming, but it was helpful talk...I got a ton of OWS tips and lots of good tri stories. My first attempt to make it to the 2nd buoy was okay. I did freak out a tiny bit, got out of breath and had to bring out the old side stroke to get myself back on track. The 2nd and 3rd attempts were a little better, but I still had to use my crutch stroke on the way in. Next, I decided to do a couple of laps around the boat (closer than the 2nd buoy), just to get more comfortable and confident in the water.
By the end of the morning, I was feeling better about the OWS, but realize that I still need A LOT more practice! Let's just say it's going to be awhile before I am doing a loop of all the bouys with the more experienced folks! There was one common theme I heard all morning - to really improve in the swim, you need to be in the water 3-4 days every week. That's something I have resolved to do starting NOW. My goal is to swim 3-4 days per week from now until my next tri in August and see what kind of change I see in my swim time. I found a good training plan in my Women's Running magazine, so I may use that as my guide. I am hoping I can meet the BTers a little more often..they're a great bunch!
I spent the rest of the day with the family just hanging out. Good times!!!
Sunday, July 05, 2009
July 4th
Here are some pics from our July 4th. We started the day with the neighborhood parade, then the neighborhood pool party. They had a huge waterslide, BBQ, Ben & Jerry's, etc. Next, our families came over and we enjoyed more food and fun. The only thing missing was the normal neighborhood fireworks show (courtesy of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac behind us who go all ape shit with the fireworks!)...maybe next year we won't be in "drought" conditions.
Here's the kiddo before the parade...
Here's the kiddo before the parade...
And the munchkin...
Riding in the parade... 
Riding in the parade... The kiddo with an award for her decorations...she just finished touring the fire engine and had about had it with the heat!
July 4th yummies....
July 4th yummies....Saturday, July 04, 2009
Friday
I know, I know - being very original again with the titles.
Friday turned out to be a really, really fun day. The hubby and I both had the day off, so we decided to go ahead and take the kids to school so we could hang out. He did want to mow they yard, since we had family coming over on Saturday, so I went for a swim while he did that and then got home in time to help him finish up.
Next, we went for a bike ride in my new favorite riding neighborhood. The hubby has a mountain bike and hasn't done any real mileage on the road in a long time, so it really wasn't fair that I was on my road bike. We got in about 11 miles at a 12 mph pace, we did slow down a few times to check out some of the houses for sale...no, we're not looking, it's just that some of these houses are frickin' HUGE and gorgeous!
(NOTE: I've since been told that only a saddistic weirdo would get all excited about working out on their day off...guess I am a weirdo, LOL!)
By the time we made it back home, we were starving! We headed over to a local eatery in Old Town Spring and had an awesome lunch. We walked around a bit and then headed to the Wimberly Winery tasting room to check out the wines. Next stop - Wallyworld and Target to check out the inflatable pools for the kiddos. Finally, we ended the day with some grocery shopping. I know that doesn't really sound fun, but it reminded me of our pre-kiddo/munchkin days. Plus, I am so used to going to the grocery store with 2 kids that always seem to get cranky after 15 minutes of shopping, so to go with another adult was awesome! It's the little things, I tell ya!
Workout Stats
Swim, 1050 yds - 100 yd warm up, 300x2, 150 drills, 100x2
Bike, 11.3 miles, 12 mph
Friday turned out to be a really, really fun day. The hubby and I both had the day off, so we decided to go ahead and take the kids to school so we could hang out. He did want to mow they yard, since we had family coming over on Saturday, so I went for a swim while he did that and then got home in time to help him finish up.
Next, we went for a bike ride in my new favorite riding neighborhood. The hubby has a mountain bike and hasn't done any real mileage on the road in a long time, so it really wasn't fair that I was on my road bike. We got in about 11 miles at a 12 mph pace, we did slow down a few times to check out some of the houses for sale...no, we're not looking, it's just that some of these houses are frickin' HUGE and gorgeous!
(NOTE: I've since been told that only a saddistic weirdo would get all excited about working out on their day off...guess I am a weirdo, LOL!)
By the time we made it back home, we were starving! We headed over to a local eatery in Old Town Spring and had an awesome lunch. We walked around a bit and then headed to the Wimberly Winery tasting room to check out the wines. Next stop - Wallyworld and Target to check out the inflatable pools for the kiddos. Finally, we ended the day with some grocery shopping. I know that doesn't really sound fun, but it reminded me of our pre-kiddo/munchkin days. Plus, I am so used to going to the grocery store with 2 kids that always seem to get cranky after 15 minutes of shopping, so to go with another adult was awesome! It's the little things, I tell ya!
Workout Stats
Swim, 1050 yds - 100 yd warm up, 300x2, 150 drills, 100x2
Bike, 11.3 miles, 12 mph
Friday, July 03, 2009
Thursday
Real original title, I know! I knew I needed to get in some kind of run this week, so I squeezed in 4-miles on Thursday night. Not really what I'd call a "long" run, but a run. It was hot as hell, but thank God the neighborhood sprinklers were on...I felt like a kid, running through as many of them as I could. :-) My 1st 2 miles held steady, just under an 11-minute mile. The 3rd mile slipped a bit at 11:00 on the dot. The 4th mile was a struggle mentally...I was hot, tired and cranky. I took an extra walk break and slowed wayyy down. Grrrr.....
Workout Stats
4-miles, 11:03 pace, 44:12
Workout Stats
4-miles, 11:03 pace, 44:12
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Tell me...
This post is inspired by a thread over at beginnertriathlete.com, also affectionately called BT.
Tell me - what's the most beat-up piece of equipment that you are still using but refuse to replace?
I'll tell ya mine tomorrow.
Tell me - what's the most beat-up piece of equipment that you are still using but refuse to replace?
I'll tell ya mine tomorrow.
The Bug
For the 2nd time in 3 months, the hubby came home from work early with some sort of weird stomach bug. Yeah, complete with a high fever and chills!
And for the 2nd time in 3 months, I managed to catch it (although both times it's been a much weaker version of his - thank God!).
Soooo...after taking the kiddo to gymnastics, I decided to take it easy and hope that I'm all better after a good night's sleep. I better be okay by Friday! I have the day off and I'm looking forward to a nice, long bike ride!!! Now let's just hope that the kids don't get it!!!
And for the 2nd time in 3 months, I managed to catch it (although both times it's been a much weaker version of his - thank God!).
Soooo...after taking the kiddo to gymnastics, I decided to take it easy and hope that I'm all better after a good night's sleep. I better be okay by Friday! I have the day off and I'm looking forward to a nice, long bike ride!!! Now let's just hope that the kids don't get it!!!
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Confession time...
First, I did get in both of my workouts yesterday! Yay me.
Spin - 1 hour
Typical leg burning spin class. Richard played nothing but MJ for the 1st half hour, which was fun. Naturally, he had a lot of "uphill" for us and lots of speed intervals. Gotta love it. Or maybe I'm just weird.
Swim - ~1,000 yds
Okay, not completely sure about the yards..could be right give or take 50 yds. The neighborhood pool was pleasantly empty...not completely, but void of the little demons running around last week. :-) I did 100 yd warm up, followed by 300, then recovery, then about 200 of drills and just working on my breathing, followed by another 300, recovery and more drills. I am still frustrated with the breathing....I try to not gasp huge amounts of air, but I'm still not doing something right because I get winded. Granted, I don't get as winded as quickly as I used to, but still winded. Grrrrr........
The confession???
After months of working with a nutritionist, I have sorta fallen of the wagon with my eating. I lost 15 lbs between October of last year and January 2009....since mid-January, I have lost nothing.
nada.
zip.
In fact, I have gained 2 lbs. The sad thing is, I know it won't take that long to get off these last few pounds. I just don't know why I don't just do it already! I'll say to myself "okay, todays the day you're gonna get back to eating better" and the next thing I know I am eating a peanut butter cookie from the catered lunch at work! Doh! Sooooo...it's time to get back on the wagon. I workout like a madwoman, so to not see results on the scale or my clothes is just plain depressing.
Spin - 1 hour
Typical leg burning spin class. Richard played nothing but MJ for the 1st half hour, which was fun. Naturally, he had a lot of "uphill" for us and lots of speed intervals. Gotta love it. Or maybe I'm just weird.
Swim - ~1,000 yds
Okay, not completely sure about the yards..could be right give or take 50 yds. The neighborhood pool was pleasantly empty...not completely, but void of the little demons running around last week. :-) I did 100 yd warm up, followed by 300, then recovery, then about 200 of drills and just working on my breathing, followed by another 300, recovery and more drills. I am still frustrated with the breathing....I try to not gasp huge amounts of air, but I'm still not doing something right because I get winded. Granted, I don't get as winded as quickly as I used to, but still winded. Grrrrr........
The confession???
After months of working with a nutritionist, I have sorta fallen of the wagon with my eating. I lost 15 lbs between October of last year and January 2009....since mid-January, I have lost nothing.
nada.
zip.
In fact, I have gained 2 lbs. The sad thing is, I know it won't take that long to get off these last few pounds. I just don't know why I don't just do it already! I'll say to myself "okay, todays the day you're gonna get back to eating better" and the next thing I know I am eating a peanut butter cookie from the catered lunch at work! Doh! Sooooo...it's time to get back on the wagon. I workout like a madwoman, so to not see results on the scale or my clothes is just plain depressing.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Memorial Hermann Sugarland Tri Race Report (a/k/a Tri #2)
I headed out to Sugarland around 4:45 am. As always, I question my sanity when I have to be awake at 4:15 am. I’m sure my Mom questions my sanity as well, since I am crazy enough to ask her to watch the kids at that hour (she probably questions her own sanity for agreeing to it, lol!). Anywho, I managed to miss the exit…probably because the words “Austin Parkway” were stuck in my head and I was looking for that exit rather than Hwy 6. Doh! But, I figured it out and managed to get to the race in plenty of time to set up my transition area. The dude next to me was cracking me up, because he had this huge towel set out with all his tri gear spread everywhere. Fortunately, he was on the end of the row, so he wasn’t in anyone’s way. It was then that I realized that I had left my ½ PB&J on the kitchen counter, so I took a Gu instead.
Once I had my gear all set up, I headed over to the bathroom and then to the pool. I stuck my foot in the water and it felt great. Cool, but not cold. I’ve only been in a 50m pool once, so the length didn’t seem terribly daunting. I went back to check my transition set-up one more time and then got a call that Kelly had arrived. We found each other and it was great to have her there…it would have been so boring to not know anyone there and have to hang out alone before the race!
Once the pool swim was about to start, I headed toward the pool. I was number 590 out of 700 people, so it was going to be awhile. Fortunately, Kelly and I could talk through the fence. I went over to the pool a few times, just to 1) see what number was swimming and 2) make sure I understood the whole “snake” swim thing. We totally cracked up seeing a woman with the race number 666 on her arms! Seriously, I would have either stayed home or asked for a different number. LOL! It was fun to watch people swim. I loved watching the fast folks effortlessly glide through the water, but I was also relieved to see backstroke, sidestroke, breaststroke and even, gasp, doggie paddle.
300 M Swim - 9:01, 58/72 in AG (pathetic!)
Finally, it was my turn! I hopped in the pool where a short line began to form and waited till it was my turn to get in the lane. The guy called out “10 seconds” and then “Go!” and off I went. Definitely faster than I should have been. I made it to the wall and then headed back. I got into the next lane, but was already winded. I pushed off, but then did sidestroke the entire 50m. I did the same thing pretty much the entire way back too. Cripes! I took a second to catch my breath at the wall before the final lap and managed to freestyle the majority of rest of the way. Fortunately, there was someone there to help you out of the pool! I think I wasted a few seconds getting myself out. I knew my time was going to be slower than at TriGirl…in open water, there’s no wall to stop at. Later, when I saw my actual time, it was pretty embarrassing. I know I can do better!
T1 - 1:54
T1 went pretty well, although I think I spent too much time drying off my feet. I need to practice getting my socks on wet feet or try going sockless. There was one thing I thought was funny…the guy next to me (with the huge towel) started putting on his running shoes. Then, he looked over at me and said, “the bike is next right?”. I told him yes. He asked me, “Are you biking in those shoes?” referring to my running shoes. I told him yes, that I didn’t have bike shoes. Then he cursed under his breath and was trying to hurry up and take of his running shoes and put on his cycling shoes. I gulped a little Gatorade and was off!
Bike - 10 mi - 32:02, 18.7 mph, 17/72 in AG
I love the bike! I was happy with my ability to HTFU and mount the bike and go…I worried about getting my feet in the cages once I was on the go. The 2 people in front of me, not so much. I had to slow down a bit so they could mount and get out of the way. For the most part, the bike route was flat. There were a couple of inclines that I wouldn’t necessarily call hills. There was a little bit of a headwind going out and my pace was anywhere between 15 mph to 18 mph depending on how the wind. As I was approaching one intersection, a car passed me in the next lane and then stopped… I needed to turn left and the police officer at that intersection was yelling at the car to “GO! GO!”. I had to slow down a bit while the dude was trying to decide if the cop was yelling at him or me. He finally went and I could turn. There was one other place where I almost missed the turn. It was funny, because the guy behind me made a comment about that being confusing. He passed me, but we leap frogged most of the way back. Toward the end, he really picked up the pace. He was going too fast for me to pass, but not quite fast enough for me to stay 3 bike lengths behind him. On the way back, there was a decent tail wind in places which definitely helped my speed. I don’t think I was under 17 mph the entire way. Before I knew it, I was at the transition area again. It snuck up on me, because I was surprised when people were yelling for everyone to slow down. Did I mention that I love the bike?
T2 - 1:06
T2 also went well…it probably could have been a little faster since I don’t have to change shoes. My legs felt jello-y as I attempted to jog my bike back to the rack. For whatever reason, I racked my bike seat-first and struggled to get it there (because my gear was in the way). In retrospect, it would have been so much easier to rack it the other way! Live and learn. On my way out of transition, I saw the bike guy I had been leap frogging with…he was still getting his running shoes on.
Run - 5k, 31:52, 10:37 pace, 28/72
The run was pretty sucky. I immediately began to feel cramps in my shins, so I walked for a few seconds and then began running again. I forgot my Garmin, so I had no idea of my pace. This run was 1 mile longer than the run on my 1st tri, so between that and the much warmer temps I was just hoping to have a pace of 10:30 or better. During the 1st mile, I only walked through the water stop. Fortunately, there was not only cold water, but a guy with a water hose spraying everyone and a guy handing out cold sponges! The next mile felt better. I had finally gotten my legs back and had my breathing under control. I did feel like I was slow as molasses though. I walked through the 2nd water station and once again enjoyed the sprinklers and cold sponges. The 3rd mile was where I started to feel tired. I’ll admit, I took 2 walk breaks. One mid-way through and one about ¾ of the way through. On the 2nd walk break, the bike guy caught up. He said something like “this is the last turn, right?” and then held out his hand and said “great race!”. I shook it and then he sped off. Naturally, I had to run again! I managed to stay close to him until the very end. I really wanted to sprint it in, but I had nothing left. Between the uneven grassy running surface and the heat, I was done. As I crossed the finish line, I thought to myself “You’ve gotta train harder! You need to do more bricks!”
Looking back, I am disappointed with my swim, but happy with my bike and even my run. I know I need to get into the pool more often, so that’s what I intend to do over the weeks leading to TriGirl in August. I also intend to do some more running in this god-awful heat, just to make sure I’m acclimated to it. I love this sport and think I may actually have a chance at improving a great deal!
Final Results
30/72 in AG, 307 overall, 1:15:56
Once I had my gear all set up, I headed over to the bathroom and then to the pool. I stuck my foot in the water and it felt great. Cool, but not cold. I’ve only been in a 50m pool once, so the length didn’t seem terribly daunting. I went back to check my transition set-up one more time and then got a call that Kelly had arrived. We found each other and it was great to have her there…it would have been so boring to not know anyone there and have to hang out alone before the race!
Once the pool swim was about to start, I headed toward the pool. I was number 590 out of 700 people, so it was going to be awhile. Fortunately, Kelly and I could talk through the fence. I went over to the pool a few times, just to 1) see what number was swimming and 2) make sure I understood the whole “snake” swim thing. We totally cracked up seeing a woman with the race number 666 on her arms! Seriously, I would have either stayed home or asked for a different number. LOL! It was fun to watch people swim. I loved watching the fast folks effortlessly glide through the water, but I was also relieved to see backstroke, sidestroke, breaststroke and even, gasp, doggie paddle.
300 M Swim - 9:01, 58/72 in AG (pathetic!)
Finally, it was my turn! I hopped in the pool where a short line began to form and waited till it was my turn to get in the lane. The guy called out “10 seconds” and then “Go!” and off I went. Definitely faster than I should have been. I made it to the wall and then headed back. I got into the next lane, but was already winded. I pushed off, but then did sidestroke the entire 50m. I did the same thing pretty much the entire way back too. Cripes! I took a second to catch my breath at the wall before the final lap and managed to freestyle the majority of rest of the way. Fortunately, there was someone there to help you out of the pool! I think I wasted a few seconds getting myself out. I knew my time was going to be slower than at TriGirl…in open water, there’s no wall to stop at. Later, when I saw my actual time, it was pretty embarrassing. I know I can do better!
T1 - 1:54
T1 went pretty well, although I think I spent too much time drying off my feet. I need to practice getting my socks on wet feet or try going sockless. There was one thing I thought was funny…the guy next to me (with the huge towel) started putting on his running shoes. Then, he looked over at me and said, “the bike is next right?”. I told him yes. He asked me, “Are you biking in those shoes?” referring to my running shoes. I told him yes, that I didn’t have bike shoes. Then he cursed under his breath and was trying to hurry up and take of his running shoes and put on his cycling shoes. I gulped a little Gatorade and was off!
Bike - 10 mi - 32:02, 18.7 mph, 17/72 in AG
I love the bike! I was happy with my ability to HTFU and mount the bike and go…I worried about getting my feet in the cages once I was on the go. The 2 people in front of me, not so much. I had to slow down a bit so they could mount and get out of the way. For the most part, the bike route was flat. There were a couple of inclines that I wouldn’t necessarily call hills. There was a little bit of a headwind going out and my pace was anywhere between 15 mph to 18 mph depending on how the wind. As I was approaching one intersection, a car passed me in the next lane and then stopped… I needed to turn left and the police officer at that intersection was yelling at the car to “GO! GO!”. I had to slow down a bit while the dude was trying to decide if the cop was yelling at him or me. He finally went and I could turn. There was one other place where I almost missed the turn. It was funny, because the guy behind me made a comment about that being confusing. He passed me, but we leap frogged most of the way back. Toward the end, he really picked up the pace. He was going too fast for me to pass, but not quite fast enough for me to stay 3 bike lengths behind him. On the way back, there was a decent tail wind in places which definitely helped my speed. I don’t think I was under 17 mph the entire way. Before I knew it, I was at the transition area again. It snuck up on me, because I was surprised when people were yelling for everyone to slow down. Did I mention that I love the bike?
T2 - 1:06
T2 also went well…it probably could have been a little faster since I don’t have to change shoes. My legs felt jello-y as I attempted to jog my bike back to the rack. For whatever reason, I racked my bike seat-first and struggled to get it there (because my gear was in the way). In retrospect, it would have been so much easier to rack it the other way! Live and learn. On my way out of transition, I saw the bike guy I had been leap frogging with…he was still getting his running shoes on.
Run - 5k, 31:52, 10:37 pace, 28/72
The run was pretty sucky. I immediately began to feel cramps in my shins, so I walked for a few seconds and then began running again. I forgot my Garmin, so I had no idea of my pace. This run was 1 mile longer than the run on my 1st tri, so between that and the much warmer temps I was just hoping to have a pace of 10:30 or better. During the 1st mile, I only walked through the water stop. Fortunately, there was not only cold water, but a guy with a water hose spraying everyone and a guy handing out cold sponges! The next mile felt better. I had finally gotten my legs back and had my breathing under control. I did feel like I was slow as molasses though. I walked through the 2nd water station and once again enjoyed the sprinklers and cold sponges. The 3rd mile was where I started to feel tired. I’ll admit, I took 2 walk breaks. One mid-way through and one about ¾ of the way through. On the 2nd walk break, the bike guy caught up. He said something like “this is the last turn, right?” and then held out his hand and said “great race!”. I shook it and then he sped off. Naturally, I had to run again! I managed to stay close to him until the very end. I really wanted to sprint it in, but I had nothing left. Between the uneven grassy running surface and the heat, I was done. As I crossed the finish line, I thought to myself “You’ve gotta train harder! You need to do more bricks!”
Looking back, I am disappointed with my swim, but happy with my bike and even my run. I know I need to get into the pool more often, so that’s what I intend to do over the weeks leading to TriGirl in August. I also intend to do some more running in this god-awful heat, just to make sure I’m acclimated to it. I love this sport and think I may actually have a chance at improving a great deal!
Final Results
30/72 in AG, 307 overall, 1:15:56
Back to the grind...
I took Monday off. Not intentionally, but the kiddo had her 1st gymnastics class and we got home later than expected.
Tuesday, I returned to spin class for a good booty whippin'. The 1st 1/2 of the class was nothing but MJ. Now that's some booty movin music. As always, Richard challenged us with lots of "hills", intervals and "running". Good times!
Tonight after the kiddo's swim lesson, I'll be hittin' the pool for some laps. This is her last week of swim classes, which means I will be changing the location of my swims again. Hopefully, I'll be able to do laps again without having to dodge kids!
Workout Stats
Spin class - 1 hour
Tuesday, I returned to spin class for a good booty whippin'. The 1st 1/2 of the class was nothing but MJ. Now that's some booty movin music. As always, Richard challenged us with lots of "hills", intervals and "running". Good times!
Tonight after the kiddo's swim lesson, I'll be hittin' the pool for some laps. This is her last week of swim classes, which means I will be changing the location of my swims again. Hopefully, I'll be able to do laps again without having to dodge kids!
Workout Stats
Spin class - 1 hour
Friday, June 26, 2009
Race Packets & Other Ramblings....
I went to pick up my race packet for the Memorial Hermann Sugar Land triathlon and I was immediately wondering if I should have registered for the Pearland race instead.
The shirts are not so cute and HUGE. And, it seems that the race director did not recieve my estimated swim time e-mail, because I got placed with the 10 minute pace group. Accckkkk! That's what I get for not putting it on my entry form. I received a mass e-mail asking for estimates and responded to the e-mail (I even checked my "sent" folder)...what happened after that is anyone's guess.
Oh well, I got another one of those backpack/bag thingys. I do like those! :-)
The shirts are not so cute and HUGE. And, it seems that the race director did not recieve my estimated swim time e-mail, because I got placed with the 10 minute pace group. Accckkkk! That's what I get for not putting it on my entry form. I received a mass e-mail asking for estimates and responded to the e-mail (I even checked my "sent" folder)...what happened after that is anyone's guess.
Oh well, I got another one of those backpack/bag thingys. I do like those! :-)
Remembering
I know tend to go off on a tangent sometimes and do a non-running post, so here's another one. If ya wanna read about my latest workout, go here.
I just can't let today go by without a post about the two icons who died today. One was completely expected, but that doesn't make it any less sad. The other was a complete shock.
Michael
Those of us who are um, older, remember Off the Wall, the Thriller video, the parachute pants, the glittery glove, the red jacket with all the zippers, the bad ass dance moves that EVERYONE tried to copy (I still can't moon walk, but I sure tried! ), the videos that set the bar for all other videos when MTV was still new (Billie Jean anyone?), and the complete awesomeness of his music at that time. I was 10 when Thriller came out, so it would be an understatement to say that his music made an impact on my most impressionable years. I loved, loved, loved him in Jr. High! In high school, I became more of a new waver (you know Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, etc), but I'll admit I still loved me some Michael Jackson.
I hate that his later years were marred with all the scandals and the plastic surgery gone bad. Yeah, he turned out to be a freak. Despite all that, I will remember him for all the great memories I had of that music growing up! I watched the cartoon and listened to the Jackson 5 with my Dad, I listened to the later Jackson 5 and early MJ solo stuff on Majic 102 with my Mom, the Pepsi commercials, the Victory Tour (I wanted to go soooo bad!), etc. those were some good days! The picture below is the Michael I will always remember. To be honest, he's been gone for quite awhile.
I just can't let today go by without a post about the two icons who died today. One was completely expected, but that doesn't make it any less sad. The other was a complete shock.
Michael
Those of us who are um, older, remember Off the Wall, the Thriller video, the parachute pants, the glittery glove, the red jacket with all the zippers, the bad ass dance moves that EVERYONE tried to copy (I still can't moon walk, but I sure tried! ), the videos that set the bar for all other videos when MTV was still new (Billie Jean anyone?), and the complete awesomeness of his music at that time. I was 10 when Thriller came out, so it would be an understatement to say that his music made an impact on my most impressionable years. I loved, loved, loved him in Jr. High! In high school, I became more of a new waver (you know Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, etc), but I'll admit I still loved me some Michael Jackson.
I hate that his later years were marred with all the scandals and the plastic surgery gone bad. Yeah, he turned out to be a freak. Despite all that, I will remember him for all the great memories I had of that music growing up! I watched the cartoon and listened to the Jackson 5 with my Dad, I listened to the later Jackson 5 and early MJ solo stuff on Majic 102 with my Mom, the Pepsi commercials, the Victory Tour (I wanted to go soooo bad!), etc. those were some good days! The picture below is the Michael I will always remember. To be honest, he's been gone for quite awhile.
Farrah
Oh how I wanted to be an Angel! I remember being in 1st grade and playing "Charlies Angels" in recess. My friend, Stephanie, was blonde which meant she ALWAYS got to be Jill (Farrah). If I was lucky, I could at least be the Jaclyn Smith Angel, Kelly. Nobody ever wanted to be Sabrina, who was played by Kate Jackson. LOL! Yeah, I thought Farrah was beautiful. I wanted to be her when I was a kid and I especially loved her hair. :-) And who doesn't remember that picture of her in that red swimsuit? She went on to do some highly acclaimed dramatic acting, so she proved herself as a "real" actress. I admire her for the way she fought to survive cancer these past couple of years. She was a real fighter. May she rest in peace and finally be pain free.
Swimming with Sharks
Okay, not so much. I was actually swimming with children. Lots of them!
Our pool officially "closes" at 8 pm - meaning the lifeguards leave. Our neighborhood pool does allow residents to swim anytime they please, but in the "off" hours and everyone there is swimming at their own risk. So I head to the pool at 8 pm.
Holy crowds Batman!
The pool was full of people!
I swam a little, but decide to hang out a bit and see if people start leaving. A few do, but for the most part there are still a lot of kids there. I finally see an open space in the "lap lane" area (no ropes just the line at the bottom of the pool), so I go for it. I get in about 200 yards before kids overtake the area. Then, I spot another open area close to the wall. I head over there and hammer out 350 non-stop yards. Woohoo! I do have to dodge a couple of kids along the way, but I figure that's good practice for Sunday's tri. LOL. My goal is to do this 3 times, with a recovery in between. I rest for a couple of minutes and begin again. Two girls who were standing in the middle of the pool talking, decide they want to talk in the lane I am trying to swim in. Grrrrr....so, off I move to a different area. I get in about 200 yds non-stop and then have to stop so a kid can grab his beachball.
Next was the worst part. Since the lifeguards are gone for the day, a bunch of kids felt the need to climb up to the lifeguard chair and jump off of it into the pool. Since I am swimming, I have no idea this is happening. And, I just happen to be swimming in the lane closest to the lifeguard chair. All of a sudden I hear the sound of someone who has jumped into the pool. From the life guard chair. About 1 inch from me. That was it, I decided to call it a day. I understand that our neighborhood pool is a recreational pool. From now on I will stick to the Y. However, I do not understand why parents allow their kids to climb all over the lifeguard stand (which is pretty high up) and allow them to jump off. Our pool at it's deepest is only 4 feet 6 inches...
Oh well.
So that was it. My last swim before the tri on Sunday. Not really what I was hoping for, but live and learn.
Workout Stats
Swimming - around 800 yds? Lost count.
Our pool officially "closes" at 8 pm - meaning the lifeguards leave. Our neighborhood pool does allow residents to swim anytime they please, but in the "off" hours and everyone there is swimming at their own risk. So I head to the pool at 8 pm.
Holy crowds Batman!
The pool was full of people!
I swam a little, but decide to hang out a bit and see if people start leaving. A few do, but for the most part there are still a lot of kids there. I finally see an open space in the "lap lane" area (no ropes just the line at the bottom of the pool), so I go for it. I get in about 200 yards before kids overtake the area. Then, I spot another open area close to the wall. I head over there and hammer out 350 non-stop yards. Woohoo! I do have to dodge a couple of kids along the way, but I figure that's good practice for Sunday's tri. LOL. My goal is to do this 3 times, with a recovery in between. I rest for a couple of minutes and begin again. Two girls who were standing in the middle of the pool talking, decide they want to talk in the lane I am trying to swim in. Grrrrr....so, off I move to a different area. I get in about 200 yds non-stop and then have to stop so a kid can grab his beachball.
Next was the worst part. Since the lifeguards are gone for the day, a bunch of kids felt the need to climb up to the lifeguard chair and jump off of it into the pool. Since I am swimming, I have no idea this is happening. And, I just happen to be swimming in the lane closest to the lifeguard chair. All of a sudden I hear the sound of someone who has jumped into the pool. From the life guard chair. About 1 inch from me. That was it, I decided to call it a day. I understand that our neighborhood pool is a recreational pool. From now on I will stick to the Y. However, I do not understand why parents allow their kids to climb all over the lifeguard stand (which is pretty high up) and allow them to jump off. Our pool at it's deepest is only 4 feet 6 inches...
Oh well.
So that was it. My last swim before the tri on Sunday. Not really what I was hoping for, but live and learn.
Workout Stats
Swimming - around 800 yds? Lost count.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Rest Day...
Totally unplanned, but it happens.
Yesterday there was a big after work party...our company has been named one of the "Best Places to Work" by a local business magazine. It's a pretty big deal! The awards ceremony took place last night, so by the time I picked up the kiddos from my parents, got them into bed and got everything ready for the next day (lunches, bottles, clothes, etc.) it was after 9:30 pm. I have been known to run on the treadmill at 9:30 pm when necessary, but that's usually because the hubby was at work. Well this week, the hubby happened to get home around the same time I was finishing up. Sooooo, no late night treadmill run!
No sweat, it's technically a "taper" week for me due to the MHSLT race this weekend. I'll get in good swim workout tonight, a short (easy) run on Friday and call Saturday a rest day and just take the kiddos for a walk. Can't wait til Sunday!
Yesterday there was a big after work party...our company has been named one of the "Best Places to Work" by a local business magazine. It's a pretty big deal! The awards ceremony took place last night, so by the time I picked up the kiddos from my parents, got them into bed and got everything ready for the next day (lunches, bottles, clothes, etc.) it was after 9:30 pm. I have been known to run on the treadmill at 9:30 pm when necessary, but that's usually because the hubby was at work. Well this week, the hubby happened to get home around the same time I was finishing up. Sooooo, no late night treadmill run!
No sweat, it's technically a "taper" week for me due to the MHSLT race this weekend. I'll get in good swim workout tonight, a short (easy) run on Friday and call Saturday a rest day and just take the kiddos for a walk. Can't wait til Sunday!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Spin
Thanks again to Richard, who felt compelled to begin the torture immediately after our warm-up yesterday in spin class. Yep, "15 minutes" of uphill at 80%+ was so much fun. I put the time in quotes, because he said 15 minutes, but what he really meant was "don't stop until I tell you to, even if it is more like 20 mintues." Torture!
Actually, I loved every minute.
I sweated my arse off, felt it in my quads and went back to work feeling like a bad ass.
Gotta love that!
No swim last night though...we used our free Astros tickets from the Race for the Pennant and took the whole family to the game. It was fun, even if we were only there for an hour. :-)
Workout Stats
Spin class, 50 minutes
Actually, I loved every minute.
I sweated my arse off, felt it in my quads and went back to work feeling like a bad ass.
Gotta love that!
No swim last night though...we used our free Astros tickets from the Race for the Pennant and took the whole family to the game. It was fun, even if we were only there for an hour. :-)
Workout Stats
Spin class, 50 minutes
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
One more workout...
So Monday night, the kids were actually in bed, I had made my lunch and gotten clothes ready for the next day....and it was only 8:30 pm! How'd that happen?
I wasn't in the mood for watching tv or just sitting around, and I'd already gotten in my scheduled run. So what'd I do?
P90X of course!
I miss my P90X workouts, but tri training (even for a sprint) doesn't leave much time for those hour long P90X workouts. I knew I wouldn't be swimming on Tuesday night, so why not get an arm workout in? I chose my favorite dvd of the P90X series - Shoulders and Arms. According to P90X trainer, Tony Horton, this workout works on the "glamour muscles" - the bis, tris and shoulders. Yes!
However, I had to stop after only 30 minutes. Just cuz the kids were in bed, didn't mean they were asleep!
Kiddo: Moommmmeeeeeee.....
Me: What kiddo?
Kiddo: I need to go potty!
Me: Okay, go ahead and potty! (wondering how old she will be when she no longer feels the need to inform me of this)
Kiddo: I need you to turn on the light! (she can reach, but doesn't like going into a dark bathroom)
Me: pause video, go turn on light, wait for her to finish so I can flush and turn off the light for her
I go back to my workout. Approx 3 minutes pass....
Kiddo: Mooommmmmeeeee.......
Me: Yes?
Kiddo: I heard a strange noise!
Me: It was probably just me, I am exercising. I'll try to keep it down.
Kiddo: Okay
Back to arms and shoulders. 1 minute passes...
Kiddo: Mooommmmmeeeee.......
Me: Yes?
Kiddo: Will you come lay down with me?
Yeah, it's then that I know my workout is over. Oh well, 30+ minutes of shoulders and arms is better than nothing I suppose!
Workout Stats
Running - OUTDOORS!, 7x2 minutes w/1 minute recovery, 10:39 pace
P90X - Shoulders and Arms, 30 minutes
I wasn't in the mood for watching tv or just sitting around, and I'd already gotten in my scheduled run. So what'd I do?
P90X of course!
I miss my P90X workouts, but tri training (even for a sprint) doesn't leave much time for those hour long P90X workouts. I knew I wouldn't be swimming on Tuesday night, so why not get an arm workout in? I chose my favorite dvd of the P90X series - Shoulders and Arms. According to P90X trainer, Tony Horton, this workout works on the "glamour muscles" - the bis, tris and shoulders. Yes!
However, I had to stop after only 30 minutes. Just cuz the kids were in bed, didn't mean they were asleep!
Kiddo: Moommmmeeeeeee.....
Me: What kiddo?
Kiddo: I need to go potty!
Me: Okay, go ahead and potty! (wondering how old she will be when she no longer feels the need to inform me of this)
Kiddo: I need you to turn on the light! (she can reach, but doesn't like going into a dark bathroom)
Me: pause video, go turn on light, wait for her to finish so I can flush and turn off the light for her
I go back to my workout. Approx 3 minutes pass....
Kiddo: Mooommmmmeeeee.......
Me: Yes?
Kiddo: I heard a strange noise!
Me: It was probably just me, I am exercising. I'll try to keep it down.
Kiddo: Okay
Back to arms and shoulders. 1 minute passes...
Kiddo: Mooommmmmeeeee.......
Me: Yes?
Kiddo: Will you come lay down with me?
Yeah, it's then that I know my workout is over. Oh well, 30+ minutes of shoulders and arms is better than nothing I suppose!
Workout Stats
Running - OUTDOORS!, 7x2 minutes w/1 minute recovery, 10:39 pace
P90X - Shoulders and Arms, 30 minutes
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, Monday
Bad news - I had a dentist appointment yesterday morning.
Good news - It gave me time to get in a morning, OUTDOOR run before taking the kiddos to school! Yiiipppeee!
Since the tri is this weekend, I decided to go ahead and do my speedwork today rather than wait until Wednesday. It's been a couple of weeks since I've done speedwork of any kind, so I decided not to get too crazy.... I was going to do 6x2 min with 1 minute recovery, but felt pretty good after the 6 and added one more. The 1st thing I noticed was the cooler temps...then again, anything is better than the 90-degree evenings I've been running in. However, I also noticed the increase humidity! It's definitely less humid in the evenings. Oh well, you can't have it all!
I started with a nice, easy 10-minute warm-up, then did my intervals, followed by a 10-minute cool down. I focused on shortening my stride and taking quick steps. In fact, I was repeating the words "quick. short. steps." in my head over and over, although I didn't realize it until I was almost done, lol! My overall pace? 10:39.
Funny how my "speedwork" pace for 3 miles is slower than my 2-mile brick pace!
Why is it that when I hop off my bike and then run, I feel I must start at a 9-something pace? But when I just run, I can only start at a 10-something pace?
Weird.
Good news - It gave me time to get in a morning, OUTDOOR run before taking the kiddos to school! Yiiipppeee!
Since the tri is this weekend, I decided to go ahead and do my speedwork today rather than wait until Wednesday. It's been a couple of weeks since I've done speedwork of any kind, so I decided not to get too crazy.... I was going to do 6x2 min with 1 minute recovery, but felt pretty good after the 6 and added one more. The 1st thing I noticed was the cooler temps...then again, anything is better than the 90-degree evenings I've been running in. However, I also noticed the increase humidity! It's definitely less humid in the evenings. Oh well, you can't have it all!
I started with a nice, easy 10-minute warm-up, then did my intervals, followed by a 10-minute cool down. I focused on shortening my stride and taking quick steps. In fact, I was repeating the words "quick. short. steps." in my head over and over, although I didn't realize it until I was almost done, lol! My overall pace? 10:39.
Funny how my "speedwork" pace for 3 miles is slower than my 2-mile brick pace!
Why is it that when I hop off my bike and then run, I feel I must start at a 9-something pace? But when I just run, I can only start at a 10-something pace?
Weird.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Brick
I realized about a week ago that I hadn't had a brick workout since TriGirl! Yikes! I didn't get in my long run this week, but I could not let the week go by without a brick!
Since Sunday was Father's Day, I figured I better get the workout out of the way on Saturday. So I took off around 7:30 pm for a 12 mile ride and a 2 mile run. There was some headwind, but not too terrible. And there was a short stretch where I had a tailwind - that's always fun, because I could get my speed up to 23 mph. Too bad it was only for a minute or two though. Overall speed for 12.3 miles was 17.0 mph. I stayed at 16.9 mph for most of the ride, but was determined to get it to 17, so I gave it a final push at the end.
Next, I put the bike in the garage and took off on the run. I could definitely tell it had been awhile. My legs felt like bricks! But somehow I still managed to start out too fast. Overall speed for 2 miles - 10:27. Slower than my previous bricks, but it is warmer than it was back then.
Not a long workout, but overall it felt like a pretty good one. Guess it's the whole quality over quantity thing. I do want to get out for a longer ride soon! The Tour de Pink is coming up, so I'd like to see if I can do the 60-miler this year. The problem is getting the longer rides in. I'll have to figure something out!!!
Since Sunday was Father's Day, I figured I better get the workout out of the way on Saturday. So I took off around 7:30 pm for a 12 mile ride and a 2 mile run. There was some headwind, but not too terrible. And there was a short stretch where I had a tailwind - that's always fun, because I could get my speed up to 23 mph. Too bad it was only for a minute or two though. Overall speed for 12.3 miles was 17.0 mph. I stayed at 16.9 mph for most of the ride, but was determined to get it to 17, so I gave it a final push at the end.
Next, I put the bike in the garage and took off on the run. I could definitely tell it had been awhile. My legs felt like bricks! But somehow I still managed to start out too fast. Overall speed for 2 miles - 10:27. Slower than my previous bricks, but it is warmer than it was back then.
Not a long workout, but overall it felt like a pretty good one. Guess it's the whole quality over quantity thing. I do want to get out for a longer ride soon! The Tour de Pink is coming up, so I'd like to see if I can do the 60-miler this year. The problem is getting the longer rides in. I'll have to figure something out!!!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday Long Run
Didn't happen! I had more important things to do....like see my sweet girl perform in her 1st dance recital! The kiddo and her class did terrific. They were the youngest group to perform, so there were a lot of awwwwws during the performance. The kiddo really seemed to enjoying being on the stage, but her favorite part was getting the trophy at the end. She was also one of two students in her class presented with a perfect attendance award. When she came of the stage with her trophy, she said "Look Mommy, it's my first trophy!". So cute. What surprised me most was the munchkin's reaction to the show....from the moment the 1st dancers took the stage, he was squealing with delight, clapping his hands and swaying to the music. The hubby and I were cracking up the entire time! Hmmmmm, maybe he's going to be the dancer in the family..... :-)
Hanging out with friends...
Here are a few pics from the evening:
Before the show...being silly in the dressing room...
Hanging out with friends...
Me and my girl...
On stage...
He enjoyed the show, but passed out about 1/2 way into the 2nd half
Showing off her trophy and perfect attendance award...
Friday, June 19, 2009
I need structure!
I was just telling the hubby the other day that I really need structure in my workouts.
I kinda feel like I am just doing whatever, ya know? This is especially true with my swimming. Before TriGirl, I was just wanting to cover the distance in the swim any way I could. I wasn't concerned with time, because lets face it, I am a pretty sucky swimmer (but improving!). Now, I think I have improved and should maybe work on getting faster with what I've got. Does that make any sense at all?
Here's my current schedule:
Monday - progressive/tempo run (generally on dreadmill during lunch or after kids are asleep)
Tuesday - lunchtime spin class & evening swim
Wednesday - "mock speedwork" (again lunch or evenings on treadmill)
Thursday - lunchtime spin & evening swim
Friday - long run (evening)
Saturday - rest day (family time!)
Sunday - bike ride/brick (usually can't fit in more than an hour...ugh!)
Any suggestions for making the most of these workouts? How about some suggestions for the swim? And of course, this schedule is subject to change...life happens, kids/family always come first and of course work even gets in the way from time to time with those lunchtime spin classes...the last 2 weeks of workouts have been a pretty good example of this!
I'm not sure what to expect at next weekend's tri. I don't feel like I've been the workout Nazi that I was before TriGirl...probably because I was skeered of the OWS and the whole tri-thing in general. I will practice my transitions again next week, that's a given. It will be warmer, so that's always a factor in the run. And let's face it, we had almost perfect, wind-free conditions on the TriGirl ride which was awesome! I can only hope next weekend goes as well. I do feel stronger on the swim, but I'm not too sure about the run and bike....
I kinda feel like I am just doing whatever, ya know? This is especially true with my swimming. Before TriGirl, I was just wanting to cover the distance in the swim any way I could. I wasn't concerned with time, because lets face it, I am a pretty sucky swimmer (but improving!). Now, I think I have improved and should maybe work on getting faster with what I've got. Does that make any sense at all?
Here's my current schedule:
Monday - progressive/tempo run (generally on dreadmill during lunch or after kids are asleep)
Tuesday - lunchtime spin class & evening swim
Wednesday - "mock speedwork" (again lunch or evenings on treadmill)
Thursday - lunchtime spin & evening swim
Friday - long run (evening)
Saturday - rest day (family time!)
Sunday - bike ride/brick (usually can't fit in more than an hour...ugh!)
Any suggestions for making the most of these workouts? How about some suggestions for the swim? And of course, this schedule is subject to change...life happens, kids/family always come first and of course work even gets in the way from time to time with those lunchtime spin classes...the last 2 weeks of workouts have been a pretty good example of this!
I'm not sure what to expect at next weekend's tri. I don't feel like I've been the workout Nazi that I was before TriGirl...probably because I was skeered of the OWS and the whole tri-thing in general. I will practice my transitions again next week, that's a given. It will be warmer, so that's always a factor in the run. And let's face it, we had almost perfect, wind-free conditions on the TriGirl ride which was awesome! I can only hope next weekend goes as well. I do feel stronger on the swim, but I'm not too sure about the run and bike....
I found it!
My mojo that is!
Sorry Jamoosh - now that I got it back, it's staying here! Besides, you seem to have some good mojo going without needing mine. :-)
Yesterday after work, I took the kiddo to her swim class only to discover it had been cancelled. Umm yeah, thanks for the phone call. Even worse, they tend to schedule the make-up classes during the day in the middle of the week. So, I let her splash around for awhile before heading home.
The in-laws came into town for the kiddo's dance recital, so we ate dinner and visited for a little while before I headed out for my run. It never fails....when my in-laws come into town, I always have a workout scheduled and it's always one I don't wanna miss. I know they think I am an obsessed work-out-aholic who never sees her kids. Well, the 1st part is true...not so much for the 2nd part. Of course, it would help if I KNEW when the in-laws were coming. I thought they were going to be at my sister-in-law's house on Thursday, our house on Friday. I guess not - SURPRISE!
My run was a 3-miler in the 'hood. It was hot (91), but overall not too awful. As usual, I started out too fast (for me) and then was feeling the heat at the end. My overall pace - 11:01. I did see 3 rabbits along the way, so I felt at one with nature, lol!
Next was the swim...I was going to run in my tri top and tri shorts and then just jog over to the pool after my run. I decided against that since I had nowhere to put my swim cap and goggles during my run. So, after my run I changed my sweaty self into a swimsuit and headed over to the pool.
There were still a few families there when I 1st arrived, but after a few laps I noticed people had begun to leave. (Maybe I scared them away???) That left just me, a couple of teenagers who were all lovey-dovey in the corner and a dad teaching his son how to swim. After a 100 yd warm up, I did my 300m just to see how well I could do the distance non-stop (since that's the distance of my next tri swim). Then, I did some drills, more laps and even more laps. It's exciting to me when I realize that I am doing a lot more laps in my 30 minutes than before. Yes, I am taking rest breaks between 50s and 100s, but it's getting easier. Yes, I am using the sidestroke as my "backup" stroke, but not as much as before. I am not panting at the wall after every 50 and only rarely do I get a mouth full of water...progress! It may be occurring in tiny baby steps, but it's progress! One thing I did notice was that I got a lot of foot cramps for some reason. Maybe because I ran before? I dunno, but that sorta sucked!
Workout Stats
3-mile run, 11:01 pace (outdoors)
1,200 yard swim
Sorry Jamoosh - now that I got it back, it's staying here! Besides, you seem to have some good mojo going without needing mine. :-)
Yesterday after work, I took the kiddo to her swim class only to discover it had been cancelled. Umm yeah, thanks for the phone call. Even worse, they tend to schedule the make-up classes during the day in the middle of the week. So, I let her splash around for awhile before heading home.
The in-laws came into town for the kiddo's dance recital, so we ate dinner and visited for a little while before I headed out for my run. It never fails....when my in-laws come into town, I always have a workout scheduled and it's always one I don't wanna miss. I know they think I am an obsessed work-out-aholic who never sees her kids. Well, the 1st part is true...not so much for the 2nd part. Of course, it would help if I KNEW when the in-laws were coming. I thought they were going to be at my sister-in-law's house on Thursday, our house on Friday. I guess not - SURPRISE!
My run was a 3-miler in the 'hood. It was hot (91), but overall not too awful. As usual, I started out too fast (for me) and then was feeling the heat at the end. My overall pace - 11:01. I did see 3 rabbits along the way, so I felt at one with nature, lol!
Next was the swim...I was going to run in my tri top and tri shorts and then just jog over to the pool after my run. I decided against that since I had nowhere to put my swim cap and goggles during my run. So, after my run I changed my sweaty self into a swimsuit and headed over to the pool.
There were still a few families there when I 1st arrived, but after a few laps I noticed people had begun to leave. (Maybe I scared them away???) That left just me, a couple of teenagers who were all lovey-dovey in the corner and a dad teaching his son how to swim. After a 100 yd warm up, I did my 300m just to see how well I could do the distance non-stop (since that's the distance of my next tri swim). Then, I did some drills, more laps and even more laps. It's exciting to me when I realize that I am doing a lot more laps in my 30 minutes than before. Yes, I am taking rest breaks between 50s and 100s, but it's getting easier. Yes, I am using the sidestroke as my "backup" stroke, but not as much as before. I am not panting at the wall after every 50 and only rarely do I get a mouth full of water...progress! It may be occurring in tiny baby steps, but it's progress! One thing I did notice was that I got a lot of foot cramps for some reason. Maybe because I ran before? I dunno, but that sorta sucked!
Workout Stats
3-mile run, 11:01 pace (outdoors)
1,200 yard swim
Thursday, June 18, 2009
That kinda week...
I dunno what the frick my problem is, but my mojo is missing this week.
If you find it will you return it to it's owner please?
Monday I rested. I probably didn't need to, because my 5-miler on Sunday was so full of slackage that I didn't really need a rest. The parking lot at the Y near my work has been such a fiasco due to the construction going on, I opted to eat lunch at my desk rather than go run on the dreadmill....well that, and I gotta work a little extra to get outta here early on Friday for the kiddo's 1st real dance recital. :-)
Tuesday, I did spin class and as always it kicked my arse. But, I opted to skip my evening swim in order to have tex-mex and 'ritas with the neighborhood mom's group. Muy bueno!
Yesterday, I had a working lunch. No biggie, it's all good. But, I have sooooo gotten out of the habit of getting in a late night (read: after the kids are in bed) treadmill run, that I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The munchkin was asleep my 7:15. Next, the kiddo was in bed and I was in my workout clothes by 8:30 pm.
No problem, I could get in 3-miles and still have some "me" time before bed.
But, I wanted to make sure she was asleep first. You see, she's a sneaky one. She wants to get up multiple times and come see what you're doing if she knows you're awake. On Monday, I was watching TV upstairs and she must have come in the room 10 times. I don't think she was asleep until almost 10 pm, which might be why she had a mini-meltdown when I took her to school the next morning.
So anyway, today I will have to pay the price of being lazy and do a brick! Sort of...I am going to run my 3-mile loop around the 'hood despite this frickin' heat and hope that all the kids are out of the pool by the time I'm done, so I can get in a good swim.
Workout Stats
Spin class, 1 hour
If you find it will you return it to it's owner please?
Monday I rested. I probably didn't need to, because my 5-miler on Sunday was so full of slackage that I didn't really need a rest. The parking lot at the Y near my work has been such a fiasco due to the construction going on, I opted to eat lunch at my desk rather than go run on the dreadmill....well that, and I gotta work a little extra to get outta here early on Friday for the kiddo's 1st real dance recital. :-)
Tuesday, I did spin class and as always it kicked my arse. But, I opted to skip my evening swim in order to have tex-mex and 'ritas with the neighborhood mom's group. Muy bueno!
Yesterday, I had a working lunch. No biggie, it's all good. But, I have sooooo gotten out of the habit of getting in a late night (read: after the kids are in bed) treadmill run, that I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The munchkin was asleep my 7:15. Next, the kiddo was in bed and I was in my workout clothes by 8:30 pm.
No problem, I could get in 3-miles and still have some "me" time before bed.
But, I wanted to make sure she was asleep first. You see, she's a sneaky one. She wants to get up multiple times and come see what you're doing if she knows you're awake. On Monday, I was watching TV upstairs and she must have come in the room 10 times. I don't think she was asleep until almost 10 pm, which might be why she had a mini-meltdown when I took her to school the next morning.
So anyway, today I will have to pay the price of being lazy and do a brick! Sort of...I am going to run my 3-mile loop around the 'hood despite this frickin' heat and hope that all the kids are out of the pool by the time I'm done, so I can get in a good swim.
Workout Stats
Spin class, 1 hour
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Spin Class
I just wanna give Richard a HUGE thank you for those lovely 1:00 minute speed intervals today at spin class. There were many of them. And while I'm at it, thank you for all those intervals at 90% tension. By the end of class I was a jello-y, quivering quads, sweaty heap! I don't think I've ever sweat that much in spin class...maybe not ever. I'm sure my co-workers thank you too, as I was still sweating after I showered off and put the work clothes back on. Yuck.
Why do I keep going back for more?
I wanna be faster. tougher. stronger. That's why!
I love this stuff. :-)
Why do I keep going back for more?
I wanna be faster. tougher. stronger. That's why!
I love this stuff. :-)
The latest of the kiddos...
So here are some pictures from the munchkin's 1st b-day photo shoot. He was not too happy to be there, so we ended up having more pics of big sis than of the munchkin!
Nooooo, I don't wanna take pictures!!!
Finally, a smile!!!
Nooooo, I don't wanna take pictures!!!
Okay, we'll take of few of the kiddo while Mommy gets the baby all calmed down...
Finally, a smile!!!
Hmmmm, still not too sure about this...
Okay, this isn't so bad...
Wow, this is even more fun when I get to climb on my sister...
Big hug from big sis...I think he likes it :-)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Could it be any hotter???
Wait. Don't answer that. I know the answer and unfortunately, I don't like it.
Year after year I ponder why we didn't move out of state after college. Someplace with a more appealing climate? Of course, it couldn't have a freezing-cold, snowy winter either. Yeah, that doesn't leave too many options now does it? California? Yeah, we couldn't afford a house there....'cept maybe in the hood or something. Okay, so we chose to stay here mainly because the hubby had a job offer and our family is here. (Yeah, we're pansies who have to be near family.) But still. It's effin' hot and I can't take it!
I don't mean to be a wuss, but dammit when you go for a run at 8:00 pm and it's still in the 90's....well, it just plain sucks. And my run sucked.
It didn't help that I hadn't run all week. Monday I was just being, well, lazy. Wednesday, I was recovering from dental hell. The rest of the week was consumed with family fun, so Sunday it was...I was planning for 5 and it's a good thing! Last week, I did 7 and I felt like I could keep going. This week, I was ready to end the agony after about 5 minutes.
First, was the Garmin. Once again, it wasn't cooperating. WTH??? Looks like I'll be sending it in! Second, I had a side stitch for the entire 1st mile. I'd try to go faster to run through it, then I'd try to go slower. I tried to change my breathing. I finally said f*ck it, and walked. Yes, that 1st glorious mile took me a tad bit over 12 minutes, lol. The 2nd mile went great, but by the 3rd mile I realized that the breeze had stopped and it was frickin' HOT. I stopped at our driveway for water, then kept going...bitching and moaning in my head the entire time. During the final mile, the left IT decided it was going to speak up. This was by far, my worst run in a really long time! Pure suckage!
Oh, and did I mention the chafing? Holy jeesus, could there be anything else?
So, this week I will not skip any runs...and I will pray that it's in the 80's when I do my next long run, although I think may be wishful thinking. Not sure when I'm going to fit in that run either, since the kiddo has her 1st dance recital on Friday night. Maybe Saturday? I hate the thought of another Sunday night long run, but ya gotta do....
I realized yesterday that there are only 2 weeks till the next tri. Yikes! I haven't done a brick since the last tri, I think! And, thanks to the logistics of getting into a pool when there are actually lap swim times, swimming is another challenge...yeah, summer sucks, but it's time to get my arse in gear.
Deal with it already!
Year after year I ponder why we didn't move out of state after college. Someplace with a more appealing climate? Of course, it couldn't have a freezing-cold, snowy winter either. Yeah, that doesn't leave too many options now does it? California? Yeah, we couldn't afford a house there....'cept maybe in the hood or something. Okay, so we chose to stay here mainly because the hubby had a job offer and our family is here. (Yeah, we're pansies who have to be near family.) But still. It's effin' hot and I can't take it!
I don't mean to be a wuss, but dammit when you go for a run at 8:00 pm and it's still in the 90's....well, it just plain sucks. And my run sucked.
It didn't help that I hadn't run all week. Monday I was just being, well, lazy. Wednesday, I was recovering from dental hell. The rest of the week was consumed with family fun, so Sunday it was...I was planning for 5 and it's a good thing! Last week, I did 7 and I felt like I could keep going. This week, I was ready to end the agony after about 5 minutes.
First, was the Garmin. Once again, it wasn't cooperating. WTH??? Looks like I'll be sending it in! Second, I had a side stitch for the entire 1st mile. I'd try to go faster to run through it, then I'd try to go slower. I tried to change my breathing. I finally said f*ck it, and walked. Yes, that 1st glorious mile took me a tad bit over 12 minutes, lol. The 2nd mile went great, but by the 3rd mile I realized that the breeze had stopped and it was frickin' HOT. I stopped at our driveway for water, then kept going...bitching and moaning in my head the entire time. During the final mile, the left IT decided it was going to speak up. This was by far, my worst run in a really long time! Pure suckage!
Oh, and did I mention the chafing? Holy jeesus, could there be anything else?
So, this week I will not skip any runs...and I will pray that it's in the 80's when I do my next long run, although I think may be wishful thinking. Not sure when I'm going to fit in that run either, since the kiddo has her 1st dance recital on Friday night. Maybe Saturday? I hate the thought of another Sunday night long run, but ya gotta do....
I realized yesterday that there are only 2 weeks till the next tri. Yikes! I haven't done a brick since the last tri, I think! And, thanks to the logistics of getting into a pool when there are actually lap swim times, swimming is another challenge...yeah, summer sucks, but it's time to get my arse in gear.
Deal with it already!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Swimming in a cesspool...
Yesterday, the kiddo had her swim lesson at our neighborhood pool. I am not certain that she is the right level, because she is the only one in her class of 4 kids who refuses to put her face in the water and blow nose bubbles. I'll try to work with her on it, but it seems like she's a chip off the ol' block because I also hated this when I was her age. Hence the not really learning to swim until I was 37 years old. Yeah, I don't want that for her so I hope she comes around.
After getting the kiddo back home and fed, I headed back to the pool for laps. I was amazed at how many families were arriving at the pool between 7:15 and 7:45 pm! I guess these kids don't have the same 8pm bedtime as my kiddo (heck, the baby goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 pm!). I guess we're the mean parents. :-) What I was even more amazed at was how dirty the pool really was! I thought the pool at the Shadow Bend Y was nasty....it has nothing on our pool! There were leaves everywhere, mildew/mold on the wall and huge effin' hairballs floating around. Disgusting!!! Seriously, I sent an e-mail to the HOA - I mean what does that huge amount of money we pay to them each year go to anyway???
I did meet a neighbor there who is just starting to swim and we did manage to get in about 35-40 minutes of laps....with a little talking mixed in. I guess I should just be happy I got in a swim, but jeeze!
Oh and can I just give some props to my vicodin? It truly is an amazing and wonderful drug! :-)
After getting the kiddo back home and fed, I headed back to the pool for laps. I was amazed at how many families were arriving at the pool between 7:15 and 7:45 pm! I guess these kids don't have the same 8pm bedtime as my kiddo (heck, the baby goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 pm!). I guess we're the mean parents. :-) What I was even more amazed at was how dirty the pool really was! I thought the pool at the Shadow Bend Y was nasty....it has nothing on our pool! There were leaves everywhere, mildew/mold on the wall and huge effin' hairballs floating around. Disgusting!!! Seriously, I sent an e-mail to the HOA - I mean what does that huge amount of money we pay to them each year go to anyway???
I did meet a neighbor there who is just starting to swim and we did manage to get in about 35-40 minutes of laps....with a little talking mixed in. I guess I should just be happy I got in a swim, but jeeze!
Oh and can I just give some props to my vicodin? It truly is an amazing and wonderful drug! :-)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
I promised...
I said I'd post pics from Saturday's Astros game and here they are... 
Here's the whole family at the baby's 1st Astros game...
The hubby and the munchkin...male bonding :-)
The juice box - pre game
The kiddo cheering for the home team...too bad we lost! She's a diehard fan though - she didn't want to leave!
The munchkin - taking it all in. He cheered everytime the crowd cheered..it was supah cute! :-)
The munchkin - taking it all in. He cheered everytime the crowd cheered..it was supah cute! :-)
Waiting for the game to start...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Recap of the week
Monday, 6/8 - no workout
This week hasn't been a very active one for me. For whatever reason, I did not feel like going to the Y for my Monday lunchtime dreadmill run. The plan was to hop on the dreadmill at home that evening, but that didn't work out either because the kiddo had other plans for me. :-)
Tuesday, 6/9 - Spin Class (50 minutes) & Swimming (35 minutes)
Tuesday, I did do my regular spin and swim. Good stuff! However, you can definitely tell that summer is here. When I went to shower and change clothes after the spin class, there were about twenty 4/5 year old girls in the dressing room changing out of their swimsuits. Yeah, it's one thing to get dressed in front of your own 4-year old, but 20? I was in too much of a hurry to get back to class to really care, so I hurried along my merry way.
Then, when I went to the pool it was a madhouse! There was one lane open for lap swimming, the rest were taken over by swim classes and there were kids and families everywhere! To top it off, it takes me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get all the way to the Y. Then I find out after 35 minutes of swimming that the Y pool closes at 7 pm now! Makes no freakin' since to me, since we could swim until 8 pm when it was still cold outside, but now that it's summer and there are pool-friendly temps the pool closes earlier? Genius!
Oh well, the kiddo now has swim classes every Tuesday and Thursday starting tomorrow so I won't be going to the Y for the next few weeks anyway...I'm hoping that I can use the neighborhood pool later that night. That is, if the gate isn't locked or something. :-)
Today...no workout
This wasn't a planned rest day, but I have been having a toothache all week and turns out I needed a root canal from several years ago re-done. Yuck. I wanted to run on the treadmill during my lunch break, but we were celebrating a co-worker's birthday during lunch. The whole dental procedure went well (minus the $1100 I had to spend...aaccck!), but a friend told me to be careful about running afterwards. Apparently getting the heart rate up and all that blood pumping can make the tooth throb. Not wanting to miss a workout (especially intervals!), I confirmed this with my dental office and sure enough.... (not that I didn't trust my friend, I just wanted to see if it was the norm). So, no intense exercise for 24 hours = no spin class tomorrow either. I will still swim laps tomorrow if I can!!!
That's enough rambling for the day! Happy hump day!
This week hasn't been a very active one for me. For whatever reason, I did not feel like going to the Y for my Monday lunchtime dreadmill run. The plan was to hop on the dreadmill at home that evening, but that didn't work out either because the kiddo had other plans for me. :-)
Tuesday, 6/9 - Spin Class (50 minutes) & Swimming (35 minutes)
Tuesday, I did do my regular spin and swim. Good stuff! However, you can definitely tell that summer is here. When I went to shower and change clothes after the spin class, there were about twenty 4/5 year old girls in the dressing room changing out of their swimsuits. Yeah, it's one thing to get dressed in front of your own 4-year old, but 20? I was in too much of a hurry to get back to class to really care, so I hurried along my merry way.
Then, when I went to the pool it was a madhouse! There was one lane open for lap swimming, the rest were taken over by swim classes and there were kids and families everywhere! To top it off, it takes me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get all the way to the Y. Then I find out after 35 minutes of swimming that the Y pool closes at 7 pm now! Makes no freakin' since to me, since we could swim until 8 pm when it was still cold outside, but now that it's summer and there are pool-friendly temps the pool closes earlier? Genius!
Oh well, the kiddo now has swim classes every Tuesday and Thursday starting tomorrow so I won't be going to the Y for the next few weeks anyway...I'm hoping that I can use the neighborhood pool later that night. That is, if the gate isn't locked or something. :-)
Today...no workout
This wasn't a planned rest day, but I have been having a toothache all week and turns out I needed a root canal from several years ago re-done. Yuck. I wanted to run on the treadmill during my lunch break, but we were celebrating a co-worker's birthday during lunch. The whole dental procedure went well (minus the $1100 I had to spend...aaccck!), but a friend told me to be careful about running afterwards. Apparently getting the heart rate up and all that blood pumping can make the tooth throb. Not wanting to miss a workout (especially intervals!), I confirmed this with my dental office and sure enough.... (not that I didn't trust my friend, I just wanted to see if it was the norm). So, no intense exercise for 24 hours = no spin class tomorrow either. I will still swim laps tomorrow if I can!!!
That's enough rambling for the day! Happy hump day!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Not so long ride...
Workout Stats - "Long" bike ride - 12.7 miles, 45 minutes, 16.9 pace
I wanted to get in at least an hour on the bike. Actually, I wanted to get in about 30 miles on the bike (closer to 2 hours for me), but anything more than a hour midday when the hubby and kiddos are at home just seems nearly impossible.
But, there was also this little play date thing I had planned at the pool with the kids. So, the hour turned into more like 45 minutes. I managed to squeeze 12.7 miles into that 45 minutes. I was trying to get my average pace up to 17 mph...I was able to get up to 21.6 mph when the wind was just right and spent a lot of time in the 17-18 mph range, but only managed about a 15+ mph pace when I was going into the wind so I never quite got there. Instead, my overall pace was 16.9. I even threw in some interval training just for fun....:-)
Afterwards, the hubby and I gathered up the kids and headed to the pool. We met another friend and her kids there and had a great time splashing around. Good times!!!
I wanted to get in at least an hour on the bike. Actually, I wanted to get in about 30 miles on the bike (closer to 2 hours for me), but anything more than a hour midday when the hubby and kiddos are at home just seems nearly impossible.
But, there was also this little play date thing I had planned at the pool with the kids. So, the hour turned into more like 45 minutes. I managed to squeeze 12.7 miles into that 45 minutes. I was trying to get my average pace up to 17 mph...I was able to get up to 21.6 mph when the wind was just right and spent a lot of time in the 17-18 mph range, but only managed about a 15+ mph pace when I was going into the wind so I never quite got there. Instead, my overall pace was 16.9. I even threw in some interval training just for fun....:-)
Afterwards, the hubby and I gathered up the kids and headed to the pool. We met another friend and her kids there and had a great time splashing around. Good times!!!
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Astros!
Saturday we had the kiddo's dance recital pictures...the "loose curls" lasted through the whole photo shoot, but were pretty much gone by the time we got home. Gotta keep working on that. :-)
No workouts today. Instead, after the hubby made it home from work we headed to the Astros game. Huge thanks to my employer for the free tix! This was the munchkin's 1st time at a baseball game, so of course we have pictures to commemorate the event. I'll try to post them soon.
No workouts today. Instead, after the hubby made it home from work we headed to the Astros game. Huge thanks to my employer for the free tix! This was the munchkin's 1st time at a baseball game, so of course we have pictures to commemorate the event. I'll try to post them soon.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Long Run w/the moon(s)
Workout Stats - 7 miles, 1:19:41, 11:23 pace
I am really liking getting my "long" runs out of the way on Friday evening. For one, the humidity hasn't been too bad like it can be in the early morning hours. Yes, it's hot, but it's been bearable these past few weeks.
For whatever reason, my Garmin decided to die on me on Friday...I mean really DIE! I took it off the charger (the screen said "battery charging complete" or something like that). I grabbed my handheld fuelbelt bottle and headed outside. When I tried to turn on the Garmin so it could begin locating the satellites, it did nothing. I pressed the power button again and nothing. I did this about 10 more times, because I didn't believe it wasn't working. So, I went inside and searched for my old watch. I continued with my 9:1 intervals, but to be honest I didn't feel like I was needed them until the end. Overall, it was a great run! I felt good the entire time, even though I had eaten dinner an hour earlier. I also tried some new stuff - Luna Moons in watermelon flavor.
I don't know if they are responsible for my good run or what, but I may try them again next week to see what happens. I liked that unlike the Shot Bloks, they don't stick to my teeth. My pace was a bit slower than I'd like, but overall I am pleased with this run. And, in addition to my Luna Moons experimentation, I also got to see a great sunset and run in the light of an almost full moon...good stuff!
I am really liking getting my "long" runs out of the way on Friday evening. For one, the humidity hasn't been too bad like it can be in the early morning hours. Yes, it's hot, but it's been bearable these past few weeks.
For whatever reason, my Garmin decided to die on me on Friday...I mean really DIE! I took it off the charger (the screen said "battery charging complete" or something like that). I grabbed my handheld fuelbelt bottle and headed outside. When I tried to turn on the Garmin so it could begin locating the satellites, it did nothing. I pressed the power button again and nothing. I did this about 10 more times, because I didn't believe it wasn't working. So, I went inside and searched for my old watch. I continued with my 9:1 intervals, but to be honest I didn't feel like I was needed them until the end. Overall, it was a great run! I felt good the entire time, even though I had eaten dinner an hour earlier. I also tried some new stuff - Luna Moons in watermelon flavor.
I don't know if they are responsible for my good run or what, but I may try them again next week to see what happens. I liked that unlike the Shot Bloks, they don't stick to my teeth. My pace was a bit slower than I'd like, but overall I am pleased with this run. And, in addition to my Luna Moons experimentation, I also got to see a great sunset and run in the light of an almost full moon...good stuff!
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Spin and Swim...but without the swim
Workout Stats - 50 minutes, spin class
I hit up the spin class again. Fun, fun! As usual, I sweated my arse off. Today the instructor mixed things up a bit - several intervals going as fast as possible and one "race" against someone on the other "team". He also mixed in some time with lots of tension...ouch!
I opted to not swim after work so I could buy hot rollers for the kiddo's upcoming dance recital pictures (and besides, dh had a fly fishing meeting thing he wanted to attend). So, the kiddo's dance school wants the front to be pulled back with "soft curls" in the back. Yeah, wish me luck with that. We practiced with the hot rollers that night and the curls turned out great...but the kiddo's hair is so fine that they fell within about 15 minutes. We'll try again tomorrow, but with lots of hairspray! :-)
I hit up the spin class again. Fun, fun! As usual, I sweated my arse off. Today the instructor mixed things up a bit - several intervals going as fast as possible and one "race" against someone on the other "team". He also mixed in some time with lots of tension...ouch!
I opted to not swim after work so I could buy hot rollers for the kiddo's upcoming dance recital pictures (and besides, dh had a fly fishing meeting thing he wanted to attend). So, the kiddo's dance school wants the front to be pulled back with "soft curls" in the back. Yeah, wish me luck with that. We practiced with the hot rollers that night and the curls turned out great...but the kiddo's hair is so fine that they fell within about 15 minutes. We'll try again tomorrow, but with lots of hairspray! :-)
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
National Running Day!
It was National Running Day! It was a crazy, busy day at work but at the same time I really wanted to get in a run. So I compromised and snuck over to the Y for a quickie 2-miler on the treadmill. Not sure if it was even worth the effort, but it was good stress relief and felt good to get the legs moving. Also, it's week 6 of "Operation Get Faster"...I opted to run for time with my intervals - 6x2:00, with a 1 minute rest and worked on foot turnover. By the way, if you are interested in some speed work, Jamoosh has a great blog post about the subject here.
Our neighborhood has actually started a running group, so I am toying with the idea of see what that's all about. If nothing else, I can meet some other runners in the 'hood.
Our neighborhood has actually started a running group, so I am toying with the idea of see what that's all about. If nothing else, I can meet some other runners in the 'hood.
More spin and swim
Same workouts, different Tuesday.
Spin Class, 1 hour
Had a kick butt time in spin class. I love spin class, because I have been seeing results on the bike. I give it my all here and love it!
Swim, 45 minutes
Looks like I’ll be driving to the nether regions of The Woodlands again, as the Y near my office has changed it’s lap lane hours. The lap lanes are now closed between 5 and 7 pm. Bummer! Damn summer swim lesson! So, once again I am wasting a ½ hour getting to the pool in BFE. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
The swim went okay. I was sharing a lane with a super fast guy who continuously lapped me. Yeah, that was fun. The breathing is getting better on the freestyle, but I still have to slaps some sidestroke in there to finish the distance. I’ve noticed in my 40-45 minutes of swimming, I am doing several more laps than I used to - equating to about 300 more meters than usual. I’m wondering if I should incorporate more drills into my swim workouts, or just keep working on finishing the distance comfortably???
Spin Class, 1 hour
Had a kick butt time in spin class. I love spin class, because I have been seeing results on the bike. I give it my all here and love it!
Swim, 45 minutes
Looks like I’ll be driving to the nether regions of The Woodlands again, as the Y near my office has changed it’s lap lane hours. The lap lanes are now closed between 5 and 7 pm. Bummer! Damn summer swim lesson! So, once again I am wasting a ½ hour getting to the pool in BFE. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
The swim went okay. I was sharing a lane with a super fast guy who continuously lapped me. Yeah, that was fun. The breathing is getting better on the freestyle, but I still have to slaps some sidestroke in there to finish the distance. I’ve noticed in my 40-45 minutes of swimming, I am doing several more laps than I used to - equating to about 300 more meters than usual. I’m wondering if I should incorporate more drills into my swim workouts, or just keep working on finishing the distance comfortably???
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Dreadmill Run
Monday, 6/2 – Treadmill Run, 30 minutes, 10:48 pace
Nothing exciting to report here…did a progressive little run. Not really feeling like a run and in a really crappy mood...something about coming back to work after a week off I guess.
I started out slow with a warm up and gradually increased the pace. I was pretty surprised to see about 30 kiddos in the dressing room…they were part of a day camp and were there to use the pool. It’s one thing to have your own 2 kiddos watch you get dressed, but 30? Not so much. Ugh, it’s summer time!
Nothing exciting to report here…did a progressive little run. Not really feeling like a run and in a really crappy mood...something about coming back to work after a week off I guess.
I started out slow with a warm up and gradually increased the pace. I was pretty surprised to see about 30 kiddos in the dressing room…they were part of a day camp and were there to use the pool. It’s one thing to have your own 2 kiddos watch you get dressed, but 30? Not so much. Ugh, it’s summer time!
Monday, June 01, 2009
Astros Race for the Pennant Race Report
Holy hills batman! I haven’t run this race since 2007 and wow the has route changed! Straight down Elysian and back – two hills up each way and one downhill.
How’d my race go?
Same story, different race. As always, I started out waaayyyy too fast and then lost steam at the end. My goal was to just maintain a 10 minute mile pace. It wouldn’t get me a PR, but it would be a pretty good pace for where I’m at right now. Plus, my quads were sore from my sprint out of the woods the day before (hehehehe).
About ½ way through the 1st mile, I looked down at my watch and saw that I was going at a 9:28 pace. Yeah for me, even in a 5k, that is much too fast. By the end of the 1st mile, I was at a 9:50 pace. I know I tend to maintain this kinda pace in a brick workout (for whatever reason), but just running…I dunno. I managed to maintain that pace for quite a bit of the 2nd mile too, but I walked at each water stop and it was beginning to get warm. At the end of mile 2, I was right around a 9:58 pace. The final hill is what did me in…I walked again. Grrrr! My final time was 31:10:02, a 10:03 pace. Dammit!
My parents had been entertaining both of the kids while I did my thing. They had never been in Minute Maid Park, so they seemed to be enjoying themselves. I grabbed a banana and some oranges…3 miles just didn’t seem to be enough to justify kolaches and PF Changs. :-) Next was the Kid’s K. We made the walk all the way around the stadium for the kiddos’ race and she was soooo stinkin’ excited. Well, until she saw Junction Jack – she was afraid of him! Even the munchkin freaked out when Junction Jack turned toward him…that had everyone around us cracking up.
Finally, it was time to race! The kiddo gave it her all. She got a little tired right before the turnaround. I asked her if she needed to walk for a second, so she did. But, before I knew it, she was going again. She did this one other time, but then ran as fast as she could until she was finished. She is proud of her medal and enjoyed her post-race popcorn and M&Ms.
Between the race and going to the pool in the afternoon, the kiddo was beat. She was asleep within 5 minutes of being tucked into bed. Hmmmm, maybe we should do this every weekend?
How’d my race go?
Same story, different race. As always, I started out waaayyyy too fast and then lost steam at the end. My goal was to just maintain a 10 minute mile pace. It wouldn’t get me a PR, but it would be a pretty good pace for where I’m at right now. Plus, my quads were sore from my sprint out of the woods the day before (hehehehe).
About ½ way through the 1st mile, I looked down at my watch and saw that I was going at a 9:28 pace. Yeah for me, even in a 5k, that is much too fast. By the end of the 1st mile, I was at a 9:50 pace. I know I tend to maintain this kinda pace in a brick workout (for whatever reason), but just running…I dunno. I managed to maintain that pace for quite a bit of the 2nd mile too, but I walked at each water stop and it was beginning to get warm. At the end of mile 2, I was right around a 9:58 pace. The final hill is what did me in…I walked again. Grrrr! My final time was 31:10:02, a 10:03 pace. Dammit!
My parents had been entertaining both of the kids while I did my thing. They had never been in Minute Maid Park, so they seemed to be enjoying themselves. I grabbed a banana and some oranges…3 miles just didn’t seem to be enough to justify kolaches and PF Changs. :-) Next was the Kid’s K. We made the walk all the way around the stadium for the kiddos’ race and she was soooo stinkin’ excited. Well, until she saw Junction Jack – she was afraid of him! Even the munchkin freaked out when Junction Jack turned toward him…that had everyone around us cracking up.
Finally, it was time to race! The kiddo gave it her all. She got a little tired right before the turnaround. I asked her if she needed to walk for a second, so she did. But, before I knew it, she was going again. She did this one other time, but then ran as fast as she could until she was finished. She is proud of her medal and enjoyed her post-race popcorn and M&Ms.
Between the race and going to the pool in the afternoon, the kiddo was beat. She was asleep within 5 minutes of being tucked into bed. Hmmmm, maybe we should do this every weekend?
Friday, May 29, 2009
Happy Trails...
or maybe not.
After getting the kids off to school, I headed out for my weekly "long" run. Today I had 6-miles on the agenda and I was excited to get it done in the cooler morning hours. And, instead of sticking to my usual neighborhood loops, I was going to check out the neighborhood nature trails. I have been really wanting to check them out since we move to the neighborhood last year...so today was the day!
Yeah. Nature girl I am not. Within a 1/2 mile I managed to roll my ankle. It only took a few minutes to recover and be on my way, but then I ran through about 5 spider webs....after that I was sure that I had a huge spider on the back of my head, lol! The last straw was the freaking horse flies! OMG, they were everywhere! And heaven forbid if you slow down or stop...once I looked down and there were 3 on my leg. Ouch!
So yeah, after that I turned around and hauled ass out of the woods! Sorry to anyone within earshot who heard me yelling obscenities. :-)
I ended up heading back to the pavement, finished up 5 miles, then called it a day. Honestly, after the trail incident, I never really got into my groove. My pace was all over the place and it was warmer than I expected. I didn't get in the 6 I originally had planned, but it will have to do. I had a date with my Mom to see The Soloist...great movie! Sad, but inspiring nonetheless.
After getting the kids off to school, I headed out for my weekly "long" run. Today I had 6-miles on the agenda and I was excited to get it done in the cooler morning hours. And, instead of sticking to my usual neighborhood loops, I was going to check out the neighborhood nature trails. I have been really wanting to check them out since we move to the neighborhood last year...so today was the day!
Yeah. Nature girl I am not. Within a 1/2 mile I managed to roll my ankle. It only took a few minutes to recover and be on my way, but then I ran through about 5 spider webs....after that I was sure that I had a huge spider on the back of my head, lol! The last straw was the freaking horse flies! OMG, they were everywhere! And heaven forbid if you slow down or stop...once I looked down and there were 3 on my leg. Ouch!
So yeah, after that I turned around and hauled ass out of the woods! Sorry to anyone within earshot who heard me yelling obscenities. :-)
I ended up heading back to the pavement, finished up 5 miles, then called it a day. Honestly, after the trail incident, I never really got into my groove. My pace was all over the place and it was warmer than I expected. I didn't get in the 6 I originally had planned, but it will have to do. I had a date with my Mom to see The Soloist...great movie! Sad, but inspiring nonetheless.
The Nat
My morning run with a friend fell through, so I decided to head to the Y for a swim. Funny, because I called my friend Jenn as I was heading to the Y and she was heading to the CISD Natatorium. The conversation went something like this:
Me: Hey Jenn, it's Christy...my run fell through so I thought I'd see if you wanted to meet up at the Y for a swim.
Jenn: Do you have $5?
Me: Ummm, Yeah. Uh, Huh?
Jenn: I am on my way to the natatorium, I'm not far from you and can pick you up
Me: Actually, I am not far from there already.
So, I turned my car around and decided to meet her there. Let me tell you...after this experience, I may never want to set foot in the Y pool ever again. The pool is absolutely awesome! They had the lanes set up for 50 yds, so that was awesome in itself. No stopping at the wall every 25 yds...fanfreakingtastic!! The yards seemed to go by so quickly. And, it's so nice and clean. Spotless. No hairball jellyfish, no weird crap at the bottom of the pool...ahhhhh! All I can say is that I'll be back!!!
Oh and the swim went well too. I am getting better at breathing on the freestyle, but still have to switch to sidestroke pretty often. No worries though...it was a fun time and a great workout. Oh and of course hanging out with Jenn for the 1st time in awhile was great too!
The only downside is that I got in my car to find that it was already 10 am! Oh crap, I had a hair appt at 10:45 and still had to shower, get dressed, etc. It was a bit crazy but I made it!
Me: Hey Jenn, it's Christy...my run fell through so I thought I'd see if you wanted to meet up at the Y for a swim.
Jenn: Do you have $5?
Me: Ummm, Yeah. Uh, Huh?
Jenn: I am on my way to the natatorium, I'm not far from you and can pick you up
Me: Actually, I am not far from there already.
So, I turned my car around and decided to meet her there. Let me tell you...after this experience, I may never want to set foot in the Y pool ever again. The pool is absolutely awesome! They had the lanes set up for 50 yds, so that was awesome in itself. No stopping at the wall every 25 yds...fanfreakingtastic!! The yards seemed to go by so quickly. And, it's so nice and clean. Spotless. No hairball jellyfish, no weird crap at the bottom of the pool...ahhhhh! All I can say is that I'll be back!!!
Oh and the swim went well too. I am getting better at breathing on the freestyle, but still have to switch to sidestroke pretty often. No worries though...it was a fun time and a great workout. Oh and of course hanging out with Jenn for the 1st time in awhile was great too!
The only downside is that I got in my car to find that it was already 10 am! Oh crap, I had a hair appt at 10:45 and still had to shower, get dressed, etc. It was a bit crazy but I made it!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Ride, ride, ride
Ride - 26.12 miles, 1:40, 15.7 pace
I was soooo looking forward to getting in a good quality ride this week. When I squeeze in a ride on the weekends, it's always after the hubby gets home in the afternoon and it always cuts into our family time together. So, I can only pull off 30 minutes to an hour....not exactly what I'd call a "long ride". In fact, I think my longest ride since I started tri training has been 15 miles.
I took the kids to school and then couldn't decide if I should ride near home, or go to the far regions of The Woodlands where I rode with my running/tri peeps last year. In the end, not having to drive for 20 minutes won!
I started with my usual loop of the neighborhood. Remember all those nice roads with no homes yet? The roads with no traffic whatsoever? I had noticed the builder's "Available" signs on the lots about a month ago. Well, a couple of weeks ago I noticed three of the available signs replaced with "Sold" signs. This week I saw the wood frame of a new home....pretty soon there will be no unpopulated streets in the 'hood, sigh. It had to happen sometime!
Next, I got daring and rode outside the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the road is a busy one and I'm not sure how I like riding with card going 50+ mph as they pass me. Luckily, this road does have a wide shoulder...well, for awhile anyway. I turned into the subdivision next to ours...this is also where there are lots of unpopulated roads for the subdivision. I don't think I have to worry about houses being built here...the development opened a year ago and according to the newspaper, only one house has closed.
I headed back out to the busy street again and decided to head to the acreage community down the road. Oh crap...the shoulder ended and the 4-lane road turned into a 2-lane road! Scary! Luckily, I only had about a 1/4 mile to go. Once I was in this neighborhood I was good to go! There was a 6-7 mile loop with not much traffic and I also went down several other streets that went on for a couple of miles. I think I've found my new riding route!!! And, I passed great views of the neighborhood lake and there were tons of amazing homes to gawk at, lol!
I was going to go for a 2nd loop of that neighborhood when I suddenly realized the sky had that "it's about to pour any second" look to it. Instead, I decided to head toward my hood again...just in case there was lightening coming with that rain. Turns out that it didn't rain at all, so I finished up my ride with a few laps around the 'hood. Oh well.
So now I have a 26-miler under my belt. It was fun, but I definitely want to work on my speed. It's hard to do when there are stop signs, turns, etc, but I know I can do better. Oh, I did manage to drink from my water bottle while riding. And the legs felt like complete jello afterwards! Props to the folks who do twice that distance and run a 1/2 marathon afterwards...I don't know how you do it!
I was soooo looking forward to getting in a good quality ride this week. When I squeeze in a ride on the weekends, it's always after the hubby gets home in the afternoon and it always cuts into our family time together. So, I can only pull off 30 minutes to an hour....not exactly what I'd call a "long ride". In fact, I think my longest ride since I started tri training has been 15 miles.
I took the kids to school and then couldn't decide if I should ride near home, or go to the far regions of The Woodlands where I rode with my running/tri peeps last year. In the end, not having to drive for 20 minutes won!
I started with my usual loop of the neighborhood. Remember all those nice roads with no homes yet? The roads with no traffic whatsoever? I had noticed the builder's "Available" signs on the lots about a month ago. Well, a couple of weeks ago I noticed three of the available signs replaced with "Sold" signs. This week I saw the wood frame of a new home....pretty soon there will be no unpopulated streets in the 'hood, sigh. It had to happen sometime!
Next, I got daring and rode outside the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the road is a busy one and I'm not sure how I like riding with card going 50+ mph as they pass me. Luckily, this road does have a wide shoulder...well, for awhile anyway. I turned into the subdivision next to ours...this is also where there are lots of unpopulated roads for the subdivision. I don't think I have to worry about houses being built here...the development opened a year ago and according to the newspaper, only one house has closed.
I headed back out to the busy street again and decided to head to the acreage community down the road. Oh crap...the shoulder ended and the 4-lane road turned into a 2-lane road! Scary! Luckily, I only had about a 1/4 mile to go. Once I was in this neighborhood I was good to go! There was a 6-7 mile loop with not much traffic and I also went down several other streets that went on for a couple of miles. I think I've found my new riding route!!! And, I passed great views of the neighborhood lake and there were tons of amazing homes to gawk at, lol!
I was going to go for a 2nd loop of that neighborhood when I suddenly realized the sky had that "it's about to pour any second" look to it. Instead, I decided to head toward my hood again...just in case there was lightening coming with that rain. Turns out that it didn't rain at all, so I finished up my ride with a few laps around the 'hood. Oh well.
So now I have a 26-miler under my belt. It was fun, but I definitely want to work on my speed. It's hard to do when there are stop signs, turns, etc, but I know I can do better. Oh, I did manage to drink from my water bottle while riding. And the legs felt like complete jello afterwards! Props to the folks who do twice that distance and run a 1/2 marathon afterwards...I don't know how you do it!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Girly Stuff
I took Tuesday off. No workouts, so I could spend the entire day with the kiddo doing girly stuff. She got her hair cut, we had cookies at the mall (well she did), we saw Night at the Museum 2, did mani/pedis, etc. We tried to go to the pool, but found out that it was closed because some kids vandalized the gate. Grrrrr! Needless to say, the kiddo was very disappointed. But, she happily played in the sprinklers instead. Good times!!!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Vacation all I ever wanted...
I am officially on vacay this week! Whoot!
Monday, May 25 - Swim, 45 minutes
So the day didn't start as planned. I woke up at 6:00 am, jogged over to the neighborhood pool, swiped my access card, pulled the gate handle and nothing happened. When I looked down, I noticed that there was a chain and a padlock on the gate. Lovely! I did seriously consider jumping the fence. Really. It's not that high. But, I was afraid I'd get arrested for trespassing or something. So, I jogged back home grabbed the car keys and headed to the Y.
I swam for about 40 minutes. Freestyle and sidestroke, sidestroke and freestyle. I could really tell that I skipped my swims last week, because I never felt like I was really in the groove. Oh, and I was lapped about 10 times by a grandpa. LOL!
I spent the rest of the day with the family - playing at the park, playing board games, etc. Fun, fun!
Oh, and before I forget...just something I remembered about my run on Friday - I don't ever want to eat dinner before a long run. I felt completely disgusting for the first mile or so. Ick!
Monday, May 25 - Swim, 45 minutes
So the day didn't start as planned. I woke up at 6:00 am, jogged over to the neighborhood pool, swiped my access card, pulled the gate handle and nothing happened. When I looked down, I noticed that there was a chain and a padlock on the gate. Lovely! I did seriously consider jumping the fence. Really. It's not that high. But, I was afraid I'd get arrested for trespassing or something. So, I jogged back home grabbed the car keys and headed to the Y.
I swam for about 40 minutes. Freestyle and sidestroke, sidestroke and freestyle. I could really tell that I skipped my swims last week, because I never felt like I was really in the groove. Oh, and I was lapped about 10 times by a grandpa. LOL!
I spent the rest of the day with the family - playing at the park, playing board games, etc. Fun, fun!
Oh, and before I forget...just something I remembered about my run on Friday - I don't ever want to eat dinner before a long run. I felt completely disgusting for the first mile or so. Ick!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Lazy Lazy
It's been a lazy couple of days for me and the kiddos. The munchkin is almost well, but I am still a little paranoid about taking him out in public with the remnant of his spots still there. Instead, we've gone on walks around the neighborhood, put together puzzles, watched movies, etc. This is highly unusual for me, as I am one of those people who can't sit still in the house for any length of time! We did leave once to go to the grocery store, which was a total disaster since the baby is still a bit cranky. Probably from the ear infection.
I am excited to have the entire week off! As I might have mentioned, this is the 1st time in several years I've taken off more than a 3 or 4 day weekend. Whoot! It's kinda sad that the thing I am looking forward to most are some good, uninterrupted, unrushed workouts, LOL! Well that, and a movie or two.
I am excited to have the entire week off! As I might have mentioned, this is the 1st time in several years I've taken off more than a 3 or 4 day weekend. Whoot! It's kinda sad that the thing I am looking forward to most are some good, uninterrupted, unrushed workouts, LOL! Well that, and a movie or two.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Hot & Steamy
Since I knew Saturday would be full of activity due to my nephew's high school graduation and party, I decided to get my "long run" done on Friday night. Again.
Once more, I hit the streets of the 'hood wanting to get in 6 miles. I didn't leave until almost 8 pm, so I knew I needed to htfu in order to make it home before it got too dark. Last week I started out too fast, but I managed to finished my 5-miler in 11:05 pace...still a little fast for me and I was pooped afterwards. So, this week I purposely slowed down...so much for htfu, lol!
In my 1st 3-mile loop around the 'hood I met up with a rabbit, a turtle and a couple of really loud frogs, lol. There were a few walkers out, but other than that it was just me and the sidewalks. Finished the 1st loop @ an 11:32 pace. I decided to pick it up for the last couple of miles on my 2nd loop - overall pace ended up at 11:27 - negative split, WHOOT! Okay, so slower than I meant to go, but better than starting out at an 10:50 pace and then losing steam at the end. I have a bad habit of going out too fast in races, then losing it at the end. My goal is to get faster in the 2nd 1/2 and get the negative split!
Also, I've graduated from the 5/1s that I've done for the past few years. I have been running my shorter weekday runs straight through and doing 9/1 intervals on my long runs. The goal here? To graduate from 9/1 to a walk at each mile to only walking when absolutely necessary.
I'll get there. Eventually.
Once more, I hit the streets of the 'hood wanting to get in 6 miles. I didn't leave until almost 8 pm, so I knew I needed to htfu in order to make it home before it got too dark. Last week I started out too fast, but I managed to finished my 5-miler in 11:05 pace...still a little fast for me and I was pooped afterwards. So, this week I purposely slowed down...so much for htfu, lol!
In my 1st 3-mile loop around the 'hood I met up with a rabbit, a turtle and a couple of really loud frogs, lol. There were a few walkers out, but other than that it was just me and the sidewalks. Finished the 1st loop @ an 11:32 pace. I decided to pick it up for the last couple of miles on my 2nd loop - overall pace ended up at 11:27 - negative split, WHOOT! Okay, so slower than I meant to go, but better than starting out at an 10:50 pace and then losing steam at the end. I have a bad habit of going out too fast in races, then losing it at the end. My goal is to get faster in the 2nd 1/2 and get the negative split!
Also, I've graduated from the 5/1s that I've done for the past few years. I have been running my shorter weekday runs straight through and doing 9/1 intervals on my long runs. The goal here? To graduate from 9/1 to a walk at each mile to only walking when absolutely necessary.
I'll get there. Eventually.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Life happens...
Work interfered with my spin class again today...can't go into detail, but let's just say that being in HR during a down economy can sometimes suck. Big time. Darn economy!
No afternoon swim either. I felt like I needed to get home to my kiddos. The mother-in-law had been with the baby all day. While I am sure she loved every minute, I am also sure she was tired of dealing with a cranky, spot-covered kiddo and needed some relief.
I am so excited to have the entire week off next week! It's the 1st time in about 4 years that I have actually taken an entire week off. Yay me. I'm splitting the week up between time with the family and some "me" time. Is it sad when you're excited about your week off mainly because it means you can get in some good workouts???? Yeah, I have no freakin' life, lol! If all is well with the baby, I have plans for a nice 20-something mile bike ride, a lot of swimming, a few nice long runs, and maybe some shopping (I have unused gift cards from Christmas!) and movies mixed in.
Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!!!
No afternoon swim either. I felt like I needed to get home to my kiddos. The mother-in-law had been with the baby all day. While I am sure she loved every minute, I am also sure she was tired of dealing with a cranky, spot-covered kiddo and needed some relief.
I am so excited to have the entire week off next week! It's the 1st time in about 4 years that I have actually taken an entire week off. Yay me. I'm splitting the week up between time with the family and some "me" time. Is it sad when you're excited about your week off mainly because it means you can get in some good workouts???? Yeah, I have no freakin' life, lol! If all is well with the baby, I have plans for a nice 20-something mile bike ride, a lot of swimming, a few nice long runs, and maybe some shopping (I have unused gift cards from Christmas!) and movies mixed in.
Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Operation "Get Faster" - Week 5
Once again, I headed to the gym during lunch to get on the dreadmill. Wednesday is the kiddo's dance night and the in-laws are staying with us, so I knew there would be no running tonight. I did my regular 5-minute warm-up, then did 8x400 with a 1-minute recovery in between. I felt like I wasn't as fast as before, but I did have a couple of minutes in the high 8's. That was fun to see on the treadmill screen, even if it wasn't for long.
The baby's rash actually got worse yesterday. After seeing the pictures below, I am sure you're wondering how that's even possible. But, he was not letting it bother him too much...he still wanted to play outside with his sister in the little playhouse on the patio. I am praying that he starts to show signs of improvement soon...I am sure our pediatrician is hoping so too, because we must have called them 4 times yesterday with more questions, LOL! Yes we are those parents!!! We are really thinking that it was an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin, rather than a reaction to the MMR vaccine.
The baby's rash actually got worse yesterday. After seeing the pictures below, I am sure you're wondering how that's even possible. But, he was not letting it bother him too much...he still wanted to play outside with his sister in the little playhouse on the patio. I am praying that he starts to show signs of improvement soon...I am sure our pediatrician is hoping so too, because we must have called them 4 times yesterday with more questions, LOL! Yes we are those parents!!! We are really thinking that it was an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin, rather than a reaction to the MMR vaccine.
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