Schedules worked against me this week. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, but I did get my long run in on Sunday. Thanks to my awesome friend Traci for running the first 14 miles with me. I broke my half-marathon PR during that run! I really need to get some actual races in so I can officially break these old PRs!
Here's how I ended up for the week:
Sun: 18 miles, 2:59:03 (Time at 13.1= 2:06:16)
Mon: Swim- practiced sighting, I think I swam about 800yds
Tues: Bike 56:
Weds: Ran 1 mile with stroller. I was struggling with tired legs (still tired from Sunday?) so I stopped and walked instead. Tried to practice transitions in the afternoon. Got one round in before Liam woke up from his nap. One is better than none!
Thurs: Rest- was going to do a long run in the AM but Liam fell out of his crib. Instead, I took apart the crib and rearranged his room so his mattress was on the floor and anything I didn't want him to play with in the middle of the night was out of reach.
Fri: No workout
Sat: No workout
I guess the end of the week was an unintentional taper. I completed my first triathlon today (Sunday, May 22)! I'll get a race report out in the next couple days.
Weekly totals:
Swim: 800yds
Bike: 15.3 miles
Run: 19 miles
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Training Log May 8-14
This week was time to get back in the groove after having Dave gone for two weeks. It didn't work out as planned. The first few workouts of the week felt terrible. You'd think after a couple weeks without doing much, I'd be nice and fresh. Not so much.
Sun: Entertained relatives for Liam's birthday weekend. No workout.
Mon: Bike 14.03 miles, 52:57 I had to have my dad come pick me up on the way back. The wind was making me crank so hard, my tendonitis site was starting to ache. I didn't want to flare that up on what was supposed to be an easy ride.
Tues: Ran 3 miles, 28:09 This was supposed to be a 6 mile tempo run. It started out that way, but it was so warm out that after only 1.5 miles I was lightheaded and continued to be at the three mile mark. I had to stop for fear that I was going to fall over.
Weds: Ran 3 miles with stroller, 32:01, felt tired and slow
Thurs: Ran 6 miles, 1:01:04, didn't feel too bad for the first half but then turned back into the wind, ugh
Fri: Was supposed to swim today- had GI issues and did no workout.
Sat: Rest day
Weekly Totals:
Swim: 0 yds
Bike: 14.03 miles
Run: 12 miles
Sun: Entertained relatives for Liam's birthday weekend. No workout.
Mon: Bike 14.03 miles, 52:57 I had to have my dad come pick me up on the way back. The wind was making me crank so hard, my tendonitis site was starting to ache. I didn't want to flare that up on what was supposed to be an easy ride.
Tues: Ran 3 miles, 28:09 This was supposed to be a 6 mile tempo run. It started out that way, but it was so warm out that after only 1.5 miles I was lightheaded and continued to be at the three mile mark. I had to stop for fear that I was going to fall over.
Weds: Ran 3 miles with stroller, 32:01, felt tired and slow
Thurs: Ran 6 miles, 1:01:04, didn't feel too bad for the first half but then turned back into the wind, ugh
Fri: Was supposed to swim today- had GI issues and did no workout.
Sat: Rest day
Weekly Totals:
Swim: 0 yds
Bike: 14.03 miles
Run: 12 miles
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Pre-Race Nervousness
I don't think I have ever been this nervous for a race in my life! And since I have been running since I was 5, that is a lot of races. This triathlon has got me completely spooked. All this worry had me in tears last night. I hate being the newbie. I can't wait to get this race done so I can have my first triathlon out of the way. Now the rest of this post is just going to be me getting all my fear and worries out of my head so if it doesn't make sense to you, I apologize.
PRE-RACE: Where do I rack my bike? How do I rack my bike? What do I do with my transition bag during the race (do I leave it in the transition area or bring it back to the car?), and my phone? What do I do first when I get to the park? Are there aid stations and where are they located? Is there a SAG wagon or do I need to get to a certain point on the course if I need to drop? The information provided on the race's website leaves a lot to be desired. There isn't even a course map. I sure would like to be familiarizing myself with the course and transition layout more than the day before. (Is this common to triathlons? The other race I'm signed up for in July doesn't provide much info on their website either, although at least they have a map.)
SWIM: I have had my wetsuit on exactly twice. Once just to try it on. The second time I wore it in a local lake just to see what it felt like wet. I didn't actually do any swimming in it to speak of since my "support crew" consisted of my husband and my 1-yr old son on the beach. I did get a good feel for its buoyancy and how and where the water came in. And the lake wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be. Let's hope that's the case on Sunday as well. My biggest problem at the lake was getting my face into the cold water and breathing. I don't mind the cloudy water and lack of visibility so much, I used toswim play in lakes all the time growing up. That cold water on my face, however, was almost panic-inducing. It did get better as I practiced simply putting my face in, exhaling, and turning to breathe. I hope I'll be able to get in the water just prior to the race so I can work some of that out of my system.
This will be my first real open water swim. Aaack!
T1: My only worry here is getting my wetsuit off. And being able to find my bike- although I will be one of the last out of the water so that should make it easier. Oh, and being able to get my bike shoes on without falling over. Or forgetting something. I also need to remember to take a good drink while I'm here. (Water, although right now I'm thinking a nice shot of whiskey might be better.)
BIKE: I've only had my bike out on the road 4 times this year. My non-stellar bike handling skills are even more rusty right now. I'm hoping to take one Gu and some water while on the bike without falling off. As long as the wind isn't horrible I should do okay on the bike leg. Barring any mechanical failures, of course.
T2: The things I worry about here are remembering to take my helmet off and remembering to put my race number on. I kind of figure that if I lay everything out and I make sure that I use everything that I have laid out, I shouldn't forget anything. To this end, I will wait to put my Bondi band on until after the bike leg so that I have a reminder to take off my helmet. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to wear my racing shoes or my training shoes. I've worn my racers on several runs, but never after I'm already fatigued.
RUN: I haven't done any brick workouts yet (just haven't reached that point in my plan) so I'm not sure how my legs will feel after the bike. At this point I'll just be happy to be in my most comfortable discipline. I may not be able to run very fast by this point, but if I get this far, I know I'll make it to the end.
OTHER: There's a chance of thunderstorms that day. Totally not under my control, but nerve-wracking nonetheless.
I know there are so many things I can't control. That's part of what scares me. I am the list-maker, the control-freak. Things should go according to a plan. For now, I'll just hope I can mentally survive the next few days.
PRE-RACE: Where do I rack my bike? How do I rack my bike? What do I do with my transition bag during the race (do I leave it in the transition area or bring it back to the car?), and my phone? What do I do first when I get to the park? Are there aid stations and where are they located? Is there a SAG wagon or do I need to get to a certain point on the course if I need to drop? The information provided on the race's website leaves a lot to be desired. There isn't even a course map. I sure would like to be familiarizing myself with the course and transition layout more than the day before. (Is this common to triathlons? The other race I'm signed up for in July doesn't provide much info on their website either, although at least they have a map.)
SWIM: I have had my wetsuit on exactly twice. Once just to try it on. The second time I wore it in a local lake just to see what it felt like wet. I didn't actually do any swimming in it to speak of since my "support crew" consisted of my husband and my 1-yr old son on the beach. I did get a good feel for its buoyancy and how and where the water came in. And the lake wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be. Let's hope that's the case on Sunday as well. My biggest problem at the lake was getting my face into the cold water and breathing. I don't mind the cloudy water and lack of visibility so much, I used to
This will be my first real open water swim. Aaack!
T1: My only worry here is getting my wetsuit off. And being able to find my bike- although I will be one of the last out of the water so that should make it easier. Oh, and being able to get my bike shoes on without falling over. Or forgetting something. I also need to remember to take a good drink while I'm here. (Water, although right now I'm thinking a nice shot of whiskey might be better.)
BIKE: I've only had my bike out on the road 4 times this year. My non-stellar bike handling skills are even more rusty right now. I'm hoping to take one Gu and some water while on the bike without falling off. As long as the wind isn't horrible I should do okay on the bike leg. Barring any mechanical failures, of course.
T2: The things I worry about here are remembering to take my helmet off and remembering to put my race number on. I kind of figure that if I lay everything out and I make sure that I use everything that I have laid out, I shouldn't forget anything. To this end, I will wait to put my Bondi band on until after the bike leg so that I have a reminder to take off my helmet. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to wear my racing shoes or my training shoes. I've worn my racers on several runs, but never after I'm already fatigued.
RUN: I haven't done any brick workouts yet (just haven't reached that point in my plan) so I'm not sure how my legs will feel after the bike. At this point I'll just be happy to be in my most comfortable discipline. I may not be able to run very fast by this point, but if I get this far, I know I'll make it to the end.
OTHER: There's a chance of thunderstorms that day. Totally not under my control, but nerve-wracking nonetheless.
I know there are so many things I can't control. That's part of what scares me. I am the list-maker, the control-freak. Things should go according to a plan. For now, I'll just hope I can mentally survive the next few days.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sugar Free Challenge
I just signed up for a 10-Day Sugar Free Challenge over at RunToTheFinish!
Get the details by clicking here. See some tips for going sugar free at Spoonful of Sugarfree by clicking here.
It runs from June 1-10 so I have some time to get the sugar out of my house and get used to the idea. I don't eat a lot of sweet stuff on a regular basis but there are a few things I'm going to have to change.
*The dried cranberries on my morning oatmeal are sweetened
*The agave nectar I add to my oatmeal
* I need to check all my spice blends for sugar
* I suppose wine counts as fruit juice. Crap.
There are a few things I'm not going to change, but there are probably only one or two days that will be affected during the challenge.
*I am training for a marathon and a half-ironman distance triathlon. I need
Gu for long workouts.
*My homemade energy bars contain honey. Since I only eat these to fuel
(or recover from) long workouts, I am not cutting these out either.
Do I have sugar in my house? Yes. Regular, brown, powdered, turbinado, honey, agave nectar, and molasses.
Do I bake a lot of sweets? No. But I did make a delicious lemon-raspberry cake with lemon buttercream and fondant jungle animals for my son's first birthday. And the rhubarb is almost ready to harvest so there WILL be rhubarb pie in my future.
Do I eat sugar daily? Yes, I add sweetened dried cranberries and agave nectar to my morning oatmeal.
Do I feed my son sweet treats? I can count on one hand the number of times he has eaten cake, cookies or other baked goods in his one year of life. He does eat Annie's Bunny Grahams on a fairly regular basis.
I don't plan on going sugar-free as a lifestyle. I believe in everything in moderation. There are a lot of yummy things I would miss out on by never allowing myself to eat sugar again. I just want to see if I can do this and if it affects how I feel. I may have to try it again on my own when I'm not in the middle of racing season to see if I can truly go sugar-free for 10 days.
Get the details by clicking here. See some tips for going sugar free at Spoonful of Sugarfree by clicking here.
It runs from June 1-10 so I have some time to get the sugar out of my house and get used to the idea. I don't eat a lot of sweet stuff on a regular basis but there are a few things I'm going to have to change.
*The dried cranberries on my morning oatmeal are sweetened
*The agave nectar I add to my oatmeal
* I need to check all my spice blends for sugar
* I suppose wine counts as fruit juice. Crap.
There are a few things I'm not going to change, but there are probably only one or two days that will be affected during the challenge.
*I am training for a marathon and a half-ironman distance triathlon. I need
Gu for long workouts.
*My homemade energy bars contain honey. Since I only eat these to fuel
(or recover from) long workouts, I am not cutting these out either.
Do I have sugar in my house? Yes. Regular, brown, powdered, turbinado, honey, agave nectar, and molasses.
Do I bake a lot of sweets? No. But I did make a delicious lemon-raspberry cake with lemon buttercream and fondant jungle animals for my son's first birthday. And the rhubarb is almost ready to harvest so there WILL be rhubarb pie in my future.
Do I eat sugar daily? Yes, I add sweetened dried cranberries and agave nectar to my morning oatmeal.
Do I feed my son sweet treats? I can count on one hand the number of times he has eaten cake, cookies or other baked goods in his one year of life. He does eat Annie's Bunny Grahams on a fairly regular basis.
I don't plan on going sugar-free as a lifestyle. I believe in everything in moderation. There are a lot of yummy things I would miss out on by never allowing myself to eat sugar again. I just want to see if I can do this and if it affects how I feel. I may have to try it again on my own when I'm not in the middle of racing season to see if I can truly go sugar-free for 10 days.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Training Log May 1-7
Well, the second week of being a single mom with a sick baby didn't result in any training to speak of. I ran once. That's it. Once, on Sunday afternoon when my mom (thank goodness for moms!) came over to watch my sick child so I could get a small break. We did get a couple short walks in toward the end of the week when he started to feel better, but I didn't want to jostle his poor sick tummy around too much by running. The very end of the week was taken up by cleaning, baking, cooking, and entertaining for the little man's first birthday party!
I did have a great run that Sunday! I broke my 5K PR by 2 seconds even with half of it against a 20mph wind. (That 20mph wind seems to have become an every day thing in these parts.) So since I have nothing to report for the rest of the week and I am trying out a new (to me) Firefox add-on, I will leave you with my splits from that run.
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Back on the training horse for me, the first race of the season is less than two weeks away. Have a great week!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
My First Tri Is Only 17 Days Away...
...and, holy cow, am I nervous! It isn't even the biggie goal race that I'm training for. It's just a race I'm doing for practice. I keep telling myself that it's only part of my training, but I am not reassured. I think about it all the time. How cold will the water be? Will it be warm enough to do an open water swim prior to race day? What do I need to bring with me? What things should I not bring with me? Am I ever going to get outside on my bike? I surf the internet constantly, reading everything I can to better prepare myself. I even DREAM about triathlon at night!
Part of the nervousness is that I don't like new situations. I hate to be the person that looks like she doesn't know what she's doing. This is one of the few occasions I wish I lived in a bigger town. I don't know a single other person in my small town that does triathlons. A buddy to tag along with would be wonderfully comforting.
But, I am 35 years old, I should just pull up my big girl panties and get over it. I will probably not be the only newbie there. Things will go wrong. If not for me, then for someone else. Many of the things that can go wrong, I cannot control.
When I get nervous, I do positive visualization. I try to think of my perfect day starting with rolling out of my sleeping bag (yep, we're camping) and making coffee on a beautiful sunny morning. I try to visualize each leg of the race and smooth transitions. And of course, how great I'll feel when it's all over and I can say that I am a triathlete!
What's your best tip for a new triathlete?
Part of the nervousness is that I don't like new situations. I hate to be the person that looks like she doesn't know what she's doing. This is one of the few occasions I wish I lived in a bigger town. I don't know a single other person in my small town that does triathlons. A buddy to tag along with would be wonderfully comforting.
But, I am 35 years old, I should just pull up my big girl panties and get over it. I will probably not be the only newbie there. Things will go wrong. If not for me, then for someone else. Many of the things that can go wrong, I cannot control.
When I get nervous, I do positive visualization. I try to think of my perfect day starting with rolling out of my sleeping bag (yep, we're camping) and making coffee on a beautiful sunny morning. I try to visualize each leg of the race and smooth transitions. And of course, how great I'll feel when it's all over and I can say that I am a triathlete!
What's your best tip for a new triathlete?
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Training Log April 17-30
Oops, I forgot to do my training log last week. That's probably okay since this past week's log is so empty, at least there will be something to post.
April 17-23
Sun: Rest
Mon: Swim 2500 yds
Tues: Bike 1 hour on trainer, 13.97mi; Run 30 min on treadmill, 3 miles
Weds: Rest
Thurs: Run 14 miles, 2:31:55
Fri: Swim 1950
Sat: Run 60 minutes, 6.37 miles (10K time of 58:20 beats my 10K PR by 4 1/2 minutes!)
April 24-30
This was scheduled as a recovery week so it was supposed to be light, but not quite this light. Between Dave being out of town for work and Liam being sick, I just didn't get as much done as I would have liked.
Sun: Bike 1:17:58, 14.29 miles - road bike on packed lime trail= not fun!
Mon: Rest
Tues: Bike 30 minutes (exercise bike at Y), Ran 1.5 miles on track at Y, 13:58. Was going to run 3 miles, but I saw the child care people walking Liam around because he was crying so I quit early.
Weds: Swim 1100
Thurs: Ran 1 mile to test out new shoes, 8:58 w/ stroller
Fri: Off- Liam sick
Sat: Off- Liam sick
Weekly totals: April 17-23 April 24-30
Swim: 4450yds 1100yds
Bike: 13.97mi 23.09mi
Run: 23.37mi 2.5mi
April totals:
Swim: 15,425 yds
Bike: 99.16 mi
Run: 56.21 mi
Year-to-date totals:
Swim: 42,875 yds
Bike: 383.6 mi
Run: 131.94 mi
April 17-23
Sun: Rest
Mon: Swim 2500 yds
Tues: Bike 1 hour on trainer, 13.97mi; Run 30 min on treadmill, 3 miles
Weds: Rest
Thurs: Run 14 miles, 2:31:55
Fri: Swim 1950
Sat: Run 60 minutes, 6.37 miles (10K time of 58:20 beats my 10K PR by 4 1/2 minutes!)
April 24-30
This was scheduled as a recovery week so it was supposed to be light, but not quite this light. Between Dave being out of town for work and Liam being sick, I just didn't get as much done as I would have liked.
Sun: Bike 1:17:58, 14.29 miles - road bike on packed lime trail= not fun!
Mon: Rest
Tues: Bike 30 minutes (exercise bike at Y), Ran 1.5 miles on track at Y, 13:58. Was going to run 3 miles, but I saw the child care people walking Liam around because he was crying so I quit early.
Weds: Swim 1100
Thurs: Ran 1 mile to test out new shoes, 8:58 w/ stroller
Fri: Off- Liam sick
Sat: Off- Liam sick
Weekly totals: April 17-23 April 24-30
Swim: 4450yds 1100yds
Bike: 13.97mi 23.09mi
Run: 23.37mi 2.5mi
April totals:
Swim: 15,425 yds
Bike: 99.16 mi
Run: 56.21 mi
Year-to-date totals:
Swim: 42,875 yds
Bike: 383.6 mi
Run: 131.94 mi
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