Running in the Rain

Saturday, we woke up at 7:15, looked out the window, and it was raining. Definitly raining. By the time we were dressed, and stepped outside to check it again, it was only a drizzle, so we hopped in the car, and drove to practice. (Kyle wearing shorts and a t-shirt again). However the level of rain increased again. and once we arrived at the arboretum, it was very much rain, not just drizzle.

But at that point of course, we had to go. So we ran four miles in the rain. Did I mention it was our first hilly practice also? Once we got going though, I warmed up pretty fast (and got soaked through of course). Kyle and I ran the whole way together, which made the 4 miles go by really fast. And we realized we probably should have done the 6 miler (we would have if wasn't pouring). Anyways, we finished it, and were then, of course, happy we had gone.

I was warm. Until I stopped running, then the fact that I was soaking wet, in 40 degree weather hit me pretty fast...

I'm off skiing for the next week, so I will probably not be posting much. or training much :)

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 42.5 miles
Swim: 5950 yards
Bike: 35 miles

Running

Saturday evening I told myself (while looking out the window at the pouring rain) that if it wasn't raining on sunday, I would take Boomer and run around greenlake.

While, I woke up disappointed to a bright day, with no rain. So I dilly dallyed around the house, and at 3pm when it STILL wasn't raining, I gave in grudgingly, and ran around greenlake. In the end I was happy I went, but I definitely was hoping for rain when I made that promise. sigh.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 38.5 miles
Swim: 5950 yards
Bike: 35 miles

Bike run ICK

We had our first brick this Saturday. aka - bike run ick. though in this case it was run bike run ick. As usual, I went to bed to pouring rain, and woke up to a almost bright sky, with no rain. We ran a mile for warmup, then hopped on our bikes. I was excited to see if my clipon pedals made me any faster... so I sped off (after my slow transition, since I now must change shoes!). We were told which street to turn around at for 8 miles, and for 10 miles. So I biked, and I biked, and I found neither streets. I was looking for 65th, and finally found 70th, (and no bikers around me) and decided I had gone too far. I turned around, and found my mom, who had managed to find 65th (but was looking for 60th?) but had a bike computer to tell her she'd reached 5 miles.

So when I finally made it back, I was grumpy, and only did a one mile run (instead of two)... hmph. Then we went to essential bakery and ate LOTS of yummy carbs.

It turns out I only biked 11 miles, so I didn't go too far off course. But I think I somehow am slower w/ my new fancy schmancy bike shoes. Hmph. Who knows.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 35.5 miles
Swim: 5950 yards
Bike: 35 miles

Boo for traffic

Wednesday I left work early so I could make it home to run with a dog from the Seattle Animal shelter (Part of their Fit with Fido program) but traffic was of course worse than normal, and I didn't make it home till 6. And I should have been there dressed and ready to run at 6... sigh. So I instead took Boomer on a short run, and explained to him that he is spoiled and lucky and should be grateful that he's not in the shelter in a pen all day.

Then went to swimming. (look at me go, two workouts in one day!). Last week at our swimming practice our lane (2nd slowest lane) finished our workout like 15 minutes early. Thus we decided we are speedy, and moved up to the medium lanes workout. Well, the week we picked to move up, was also the week the workouts looked a lot harder. Anyways, we did all but about 150 yards of the workout. I think we all did well!

And more impressively, we swam exactly the race distance (.9 miles!). And given that our workout included many slow drills (kick on your side 6x25? blah I hate kicking!), and we finished it in an hour, that is exciting! Last year I don't think I swam the full race distance till a few weeks before the race.

So overall my training is going well. However if you glance below at my miles logged - you'd notice that I've ran 10 more miles than I've biked. aka, I really really need to bike more.

And one final note - I've added links to a few of my team mates blogs on the right. So check them out if you want more reading.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 33.5 miles
Swim: 5950 yards
Bike: 24 miles

shorts

So, I woke up at 7:15 to get ready for our 8 am run. The sky was beautiful and clear. And I saw kyle all dressed for the run... in shorts. So instead of checking the weather, I figured that meant I should wear shorts as well.

Well, when we got to practice, we were the ONLY two in shorts. because it was COLD. aka. 33 degrees when we got there. Once we started running, my legs went numb, and then I wasn't cold, so I suppose it was fine. But in the future, I shall not follow kyles lead. It turns out he was wearing shorts because he does not own pants appropriate for running. Hmph.

Then we played this game where you run around on trails in the woods, and try to find someone, then run back w/ that person, and get another name to run after. It was fun. And two people said they found me, because when they asked who Rachel was, people told them it was the girl with shorts on.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 28 miles
Swim: 5250 yards
Bike: 24 miles

swimming, and fundraising!

We had another swim practice tonight. I was excited cause we did less drills than last time, and more of a main set. I had Cathy (coach) watch me do a length, and she said my legs look pretty good! Last year the main thing I worked on was keeping my legs up, ie my body parallel to the water. Now I need to start working on my hands entry to the water. Woohoo.
Also, our lane finished like 15 minutes too early, which means we are super speedy fast. Like speedy gonzales. So we are going to do the medium workout next time, instead of the slow lane workouts. Its pretty exciting.

Fundraising news:
First off, I am currently just under $100 ahead of my mom in fundraising. Help me stay ahead of her! (No, I'm not competitive at all....) Last year I almost caught up at one point, but she stayed ahead of me the whole time. Hmph! (click HERE for link).

Also, who knew that bakesales where hard to organize? We were going to do one this weekend, as an additional fun fundraiser. Well, Safeway won't let you use their storefront due to a past lawsuit. Fred meyer will. But not in the month of December (??). Costco won't. Trader Joes wont. Ugh. We'll see if I have better luck calling around tomorrow. I had sort of thought they were easy to arrange... and common.

And finally, thanks to linda and andrea for posting comments! They make me feel special. and loved.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 24.6
Swim: 5250
Bike: 24 miles

Interval Training

It rained and rained and rained all day Monday. Streets where closed due to flooding, there was a mudslide down town, traffic was terrible. But magically, as the 7pm hour arrived, and we showed up at green lake track for our running practice, the rain took an hour break.
I'm not sure who team in training talks to, but these types of things keep happening. The snowing starts an hour later than predicted (right after practice ends), and storms take breaks. I have to say its pretty convenient.

Anyways, we did interval training yesterday evening. We ended up running in the parking lot instead of the track to avoid puddles. We warmed up, then ran at a hard pace for 5 minutes, then a slow pace for 2, and repeated 3 times. As usual I had trouble pushing myself hard enough for the hard parts, though at least my hr was above my "moderate" pace. The idea (as far as I understand it) is to train at your anaerobic threshold, and this will slowly raise that threshold, and allow you to maintain higher speeds for longer.

The practice was relatively short, I guess when you are doing this type of training you do short and hard, instead of longer slower runs. But I was happy I made it out, as I definitely would not have ventured outside if we didn't have a coached practice.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 24.6
Swim: 4350
Bike: 24 miles

Lovely weather we're having

Saturday day morning we got bright and early, spent a while loading bikes, showed up in redmond, and found lots of snow. So we ran instead of biked. Boomer was happy, because he was allowed to join us for our run. We did about 4 miles (40 minutes) down the burke gilman and back. Kyle got his gait watched by our coach, so I think he found that useful. It was good for me, since when I run alone, I often do only 20-30 minutes, due to laziness :).

Then we got home, and watched the snow begin falling on this side of the bridge. It started at 1 pm, and then just kept snowing and snowing! It was very pretty, and Boomer enjoyed rolling in it, quite a few times.

I plan on fitting in a swim today... and hopefully the weather will clear up eventually, so I can get in some hours on the bike.


Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 21.6
Swim: 3450
Bike: 24 miles

Running in Bellevue

I've changed jobs since last years tri, and with the new job comes new running neighborhoods. Last year I could step out on my lunch break and run or bike basically endlessly along the Burke Gilman trail. (given it is 30 miles long... I never ran out of room.)

Now however, I work in downtown Bellevue - which is not really an ideal spot for biking. However I am only 2 blocks from Bellevue Downtown Park, where I did my run today. I suspect that will be my spot for future runs. Its not quite as nice as the BG, since it is just a .5 mile loop. And it has stairs. But it will do, for the few sunny days we get this winner that I motivate myself to brave the cold and run.

Speaking of Cold. I need to learn to not wear shorts after say.. September. The first time I ran up the stairs I noticed my legs were definitly numb. and red. and cold. Woohoo. But once my limbs went numb, I didn't feel cold anymore. so there's that.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 17.6
Swim: 3450
Bike: 24 miles

Thanksgiving biking

While I didn't manage to get a run in on thanksgiving day, as I had originally planned, yesterday (day after thanksgiving) we went for a nice bike ride. It was beautiful out (clear blue sky) although pretty cold. And I didn't fall off my bike at all again! that's two bike rides with clip in pedals, and zero falls. Possibly I'm just for postponing the inevitable?

Our original plans were to go around Mercer Island, with my mom, her friend Scottie (who is also doing the tri with us) and a neighbor. However, as we were standing around getting our bikes ready, and they where discussing how they hadn't biked in a long time... When I mentioned that Mercer Island was hilly, this was a big surprise... So we biked down beside lake washington instead, which was a little bit flatter route. Although it still had rolling hills. We went pretty slow, with lots of stops, but it was a good early season bike ride.


Exciting news from Wednesdays swim practice - we timed ourselves doign a 50yd, and I moved up to the 2nd slowest lane, instead of the slowest. Woo. hoo. Though as soon as we switched lanes, they then made us do drills that involved mainly kicking. And I don't go anywhere when I kick. So I felt slow.... sigh.


Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 15.9
Swim: 2550
Bike: 24 miles

Running drills

We had a coached run today. We warmed up, and did about 5 minutes at our "moderate" pace, and then proceeded to do running drills. I was not actually aware that running drills existed. We did plenty of butt kicks, grape vines, and knee highs. And I discovered that my left leg is still weaker. (I could not kick my butt quite as hard with my left foot, as with my right foot).

So to try and even out my legs, I've been instructed to stretch just the left leg before my workout (however after the warmups... no stretching cold).

I'm going to try and do some strength and core exercises tonight.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 12.3
Swim: ~1750
Bike: 11 miles

We swam!

Kyle and I actually made it to the public pool Sunday, to get in a swim practice. The hardest thing about the training process is managing to fit in the OYO (on your own) practices. I always go to the coached ones, 3 times a week, but its rare for me to get in the full recommended 6 workouts a week.

So I was happy we made it on Sunday to the pool. I just did the workout recommended by our coach, which was relatively easy. It focused on drills for most of it. I finished the whole workout in 40 minutes, which might mean I could move up to the slightly harder ones? Or it means I counted wrong. :).

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 9.7
Swim: 1.2 hours (~1750 m)
Bike: 11 miles

First bike practice

First bike practice was Saturday. But more importantly, it was my first time riding with clipless pedals. (fyi, clipless meaning they clip in. Yeah, makes sense). And I'm proud to say I haven't fallen down yet! I was pretty nervous.

We just did a 45 minute round trip, down the sammamish river trail, and back. So I didn't need to clip in our out much, but I did it a few times for practice. It was nice to be on the bike again. And I discovered Liz in our tribe rode at just the same pace as me, so that made the time fly by much faster. Though I suspect that won't last once she upgrades to bike shoes/pedals as well.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 15.9
Swim: 40 minutes (~750 m)
Bike: 11 miles

First Swim Practice

We had our first swim practice this week. Our coach started by telling us all the things that make up a good stroke - which gave us a lot to think about. Then we spent the remaining 40 minutes doing each of the suggested drills. Each drill worked on a different part of our stroke that might need improving, so that when we go swimming on our own, we have an array of drills to do.

The difference between this years first practice and last years was amazing. I still remember our first practice last year, when we'd all be tired at the end of one lap (25 yd), and just how nervous we were about building up to swimming a mile. Its a big relief this year to start the season with so much more confidence. And we'll only get better :)

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 15.9
Swim: 40 minutes (~750 m)

First training!

We had our first training last Saturday. This year we have a different coach from last year - Cathy, and it looks like our training is going to be much more technical. Which I'm excited about I think!

For our first practice, we did a few exercises revolving around heart rates (I bought a heart rate moniter, yay, its fun!). We first calculated an estimate of our maximum heart rate, then ran a mile at a "moderate" pace, to see if we were running at the right intensity for base training.

Apparently for base training we should be running at 75% of your maximum heart rate - which should also feel like a "moderate" pace. However, we (a few of us) mis-interpreted moderate - I had thought it meant pushing yourself, and feeling like you would prefer to slow down. Thus, my average heart rate which I finished the mile was above the target heart rate. It turns out a moderate pace should feel easy, like you can carry it on for super long distances, and maintain a conversation. Good to know... So now I need to go out for a run, and make sure I'm at my target heart rate, so I know how it feels.

Tomorrow night is our first swimming practice! I have not swam a lap since last years tri...

Miles Logged since Signup:
Run: 15.9

Here I go....

Well, its that time of the year again. I just signed up to compete in the Lavaman 2008 triathlon, with Team in Training again. My mom has also signed up again. Not only that, but I have recruited three more victims to join the team! (two room mates, a boyfriend, and a roommates boyfriend).

This year I have set my goals slightly higher than last year. Last years goals included not drowning, finishing in under 4 hours maybe, and scraping by on fundraising goals.

This year, I feel confident that I will not drown, and can now work towards improving my time (and thus technique), and hopefully raising even more money than last year to fight cancer (last year I finished with $8000! which I think is pretty impressive). And since I hope to improve my speed - I also have a goal of competeing in a half ironman tri a few months after the lavaman. (that is a 1.3 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13 mile run!)

I will once again document the training on this blog. So please check back often. Go team!

More photos

Here are some of the photos taken by the professional photographers at Lavaman.

It even looks like I have leg muscles when I'm crossing the finish line! exciting.

Btw, Umm. I think It looks like I crossed the finish line with a sarcastic face. hehe

photos!

I've posted some of our tri photos up on my flickr account. go HERE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rvasky/sets/72157600054344274/
Here are a few of my favorites:

We did it!

Well, I'm back from Hawaii, and we (my mom and I) are now officially Triathletes. wohoo! Here is a short summary of the weekend. I will try and post some pictures up in the next few days... When I get a chance to look at my computer in between seders.

(beware this is a long post)

Leading up to the race:
We arrived thursday night to our hotel. Which is a massiv resort. It took us 15 minutes to walk from our building to the hotel lobby, and we were in the closest building! I saw our coach at the airport, and he mentioned to me he thought I might not have a front brake... after my bike made the trip here... so we were off to a good start.

Friday morning I got my bike, and it turned out the brake was there, we just had to put a wire back in place. Then we had our first swim in the ocean! We were all pretty hesitant to get in, but it wasn't that bad! We got many warnings about the coral, which scared a lot of people. It turns out (as people had told me) that swimming in the salt water is even easier than the pool, because it helps you float! And we could see some coral, and little fishies for our swim. We followed the short swim by a 40 minute bike ride on the part of the bike course. And it was an even flatter road than I was expecting!

Saturday morning we did a short swim, then a short bike, and then a even shorter run.. and then called ourselves prepared... Then one of the guys who did the race last year lead a small group of us around the hard part of the run course. It turns out there was a stretch that you must go single file, since its narrow, w/ the ocean and rocks on your right, and its not paved, and its rocky... and it wasn't easy to walk! Let alone run. Then we walked through the resort... and over onto the coral part of our run. Yes, then we were supposed to run on large (6-12inch ) pieces of lumpy coral... What a perfect place to twist an ankle... This lovely mile part of the course, was followed by the .3 or so mile sprint to the finish line. on a soft sandy beach.

On a positive note, it was very beautiful, and there where some turtles sunning themselves on parts of it... and palm trees and the ocean and all that good hawaiian stuff.


That afternoon we got our numbers and packets (535!), then had a mandatory race meeting. Which we all decided scared us more than prepared us... Then had a pasta party with all the team in training folk there.

So from seattle we had about 60 people doing the triathlon. We were however only the 3rd largest tnt group there! There ended up being a total of 260 tnt (out of 750ish ) doing the Lavaman. Overall we raised over $1.1 Million dollars for the L&LS!

Stephanie (from our seattle team) gave a talk to all of us, and I don't think there where many dry eyes in the whole crowd. Her son died of Leukemia at age 10... So we all knew we were doing this for a great cause, and hopefully making a difference...

With the end of the pasta party we retired to the room, laid out our race gear, and went to bed early.... with the alarm set for 4:30 am!


Race day!
we met bright and early at 5:15 am, before the sun had risen! Though we did get to see the full moon set across the ocean... We headed over to the transition area, and set up our little spaces. Then proceeded to "body Marking" where they stamp your number on both your arms, then picked up our timing chips. We wandered around and finally made it to the beach around 7 am for our team picture... and nervously stared at the ocean tryign to interpret the race course. Noone seemed to know exactly which buoys to go around and which to stay inside. We heard differeing things from everyoen we asked (even some pro racers, and our coach). and finally went w/ the "follow the hundreds of swimmers around you" tactic.

Then we slowly made our way into the water... the first group was all the pros, relays, AND all the men. 7:30, and boom they were all off! then us women inched our ways forward. I tried to hang near the back (seeding myself) since I know I'm slow. But at 7:35 when the horn went off, it seemed all the people behind me where hesitant to start, so I ended up pushing off with the crowd (instead of waiting a few minutes as planned).

My main worry about the swim was that it would seem like it would take forever, since we didn't have the short lengths of the pool to count down. But it turned out there where a few buoys between the two marking the ends, so it was fine. I just focused on swimming towards the next buoy, then as I passed it, I'd find the next one, and just kept swimming. For the first 1/4 of the swim portion (ie 1/2 of the first lap) I was surrounded by people on all sides. As I turned the corner on the first 1/2 of the first lap and started heading towards the beach, the sun made it hard to see the buoys... but I somehow stayed on course mostly.

During the mandatory race meeting, us slow swimmers where told to stay on the inside track, and the pros would go on the outside. So I hugged the buoys. But it turned our some of those fast pros decided to do that too, and I had two or three swim right over me, then dissapear. (they where like twice as fast as me). Anyways, after the fast guys flew by me, the swim kept going and I ended up finishing even faster than I had hoped! about 45 minutes. (which is good for me. It turns out the fastest swimmer did it in 18.5 minutes!! crazy).

Then I ran up the beach, into the transition area. Threw on some shoes, and hopped on my bike. I was feeling good from the swim and started off strong on the bike. Overall the bike was pretty non eventful. While none of the hills where steep at all, there was one that seemed to go on forever on the way out there. I wanted to make sure I was eating/drinking properly, so I made a point to finish my one bottle of gatorade before the turnaround, so I could grab a bottle of water for the ride back.

I get to the turnaround and they are out of water! But kindly offered to pour ice on my head. The ice was so cold it took my breath away for a minute... but it started feeling good after that. So I proceeded to start the 2nd leg of the bike... sans liquid. Plus my open cliff bar had been soaked w/ the ice water... However I made it back w/o much of a problem. I wasn't fast, but I also wasn't that tired, so it was good. I looked at my watch here, and realized I'd easily make it in under my goal of 4 hours, so that made me happy :).

I came back to the transition area, threw on my running shoes, and took off... with my new race belt full of water. Which I had never run in. And found it it bounces around a lot, and is heavy. But after pouring out the water I settled into a good pace and had lots of energy. Luckily the run is my favorite part. I ran all the paved parts, and walked the bumpy rocky parts, figuring there was no need to twist my ankle with less than 2 miles to go. At the aid stations they gave us ice which we poured on our heads, and down bras etc... It was great for keeping cool. I finally got to the last .2 mile sandy beach stretch. I wanted to sprint it, but found the soft sand just sucks your energy. So I jogged, then sprinted the last bit. The finish line was full of people from our team giving high fives and cheering. And then it was over! I finished in about 3 hour 50 minutes. For reference the winner did it in under two hours!

My mom came in about an hour later, and I went out and met her and ran the last bit with her.

Doing the event with the team really made it a lot easier and more fun. Throughout the event everyone you passed was yelling "go team!" and "good job!"

So yeah, that about summarizes it for now. I'll post some more details with some pictures. I'm ready to sign up again for next year!! and now I have a time to beat.

Leaving for Hawaii!

I'm leaving work in 30 minutes, to head to the airport, and fly to hawaii! The triathlon is thus sunday, so in a whopping T-3 days? I suppose I'm ready. Or at least, as ready as I will be.

We land this evening. Tomorrow we bike to the beach, then do some practice swimming in the real ocean. Similiar things planned for saturday, as well as eating loads of carbs. Then sunday we get up at FIVE AM. (eeew). the event starts at 7:30. Done before noon! (hopefully. Or around noon?).

I'm not sure about our internet status in hawaii, So I'll either update sunday night if I get online. Or tuesday when I get back home. (and go to work, instead of crawling into bed).

Wish us luck :).

Open water swimming practice

Monday we did open water swim practice. In the pool.

Basically we did a bunch of excersizes that simulate being in the open water, surrounded by kicking people, only we were in a pool.

We had at about 40 people or so i nthe pool, and removed most of the lane markers. One of the excersizes we did: everyone lined up in two lines facing each other, and treading water... then we took turns swimming down the center of the group, doing a lap, while everyone treading water splashed as hard as they could.

Another excersize: everyone crowded into a corner of the pool, and our coach acted as a buoy in the opposite corner. then at all at once we took off and swam diagonally across the pool, then back to where you started... ie a loop. Only you're swimming w/ 30 of your best friends trying to kick you and pass you. This was to simulate the beginning of the tri for us.

It was a pretty fun swim practice. and sadly our last... because I fly to hawaii tomorrow! eek.

Swimming: Check

Today we swam the full distance we'll have to swim in our tri, with stopping. A whopping .9 miles. Aka 1650 yards. Aka 34 x 50yd laps. Aka 68 x 25 yd laps.

Aka, I had to count really high. The fact that it was so long made it easier. Because for the whole first 3/4 of the swim, it seems like the end is nowhere in sight... But we all finished! I did get lapped a few times, but that's alright. I basically... Just kept swimming. Since it was the only way to finish. (deep eh?).

Finally as I finished lap 50, it felt like I was almost done.

While I didn't feel physically tired, I could feel my stroke start to deteriorate a little, half way through. I tried to finish strong though.

Back when we started this training, everyone in the easy lane, would moan when we had to do a 100. It seemed sooo long. Even 50s weren't easy. The fact that now in my mind I think, Oh, only another 400 to go, means we've made very big progress. So that's exciting.

And now I suppose I can declare... (now that i've done the full bike swim and run distance in the last 3 days) that I am ready for the event.

or something.

Bike: check. Run: Check

Yesterday we biked 26 miles, followed by a 6 mile run. IE, the full biking and running distances of our triathlon. Even the weather cooperated with us.

Now that i've moved on to a road bike (from my hybrid) I'm a bit faster than my mom, so I ended up biking alone the whole time. I actually found the bike ride a lot harder than the last one (which was just over 20 miles). We did a 13 mile loop twice, that included one big hill. I dreaded the hill the whole first loop... But then it turned out to be not so bad. But riding alone just made it hard to push myself, I found coasting so tempting. Having the team around all the time (since we were doing loops, there were always people there) made it easier. The other thing that made it hard was that as you're lookign forward to finally finishing the long bike, you realize you still have to do 6 mile run ater it...

I remembered to peddle in a really easy gear for the last few minutes of the bike, and that made the transition to run way easier. My legs barely felt weird.

I was actually relieved to start running, as that is my "best" sport. The weather held out until about mile 3 of the run, and then it started raining. However by that point I was hot, so it rain actually felt good :) rain is much nicer for runs then bike rides. I ran the entire way... I actually enjoyed the running! Although my feet started hurting a bit after the 4th mile... With about a quarter mile to go, I caught up with my mom (she was doing the loop in a different order) and walked the last 10 minutes with her.

It felt good to finish. And eat breakfast, that some bikers (ie... motorcycle bikers) served us.. mmm. And then rush home and take a super long hot shower....

The best thing is, that after doing that much, I felt no guilt about curling up on my couch for 1/2 the afternoon :).

Tempo Run

Today we did a "tempo" run. we warmed up, then ran about 25 minutes (some did more, some less) at a tempo that is above the normal aerobic excersize. So it was supposed to be hard-moderatly hard the whole time, and only able to maintain broken converstaion...

It hard mentally, to keep doing something for that long a time period that is not comfortable. 20 min of this was harder, at least mentally, than say an hour of my regular pace.

6 miler

I made myself run 6 miles last night... I think I may have done that or more during some of our trail runs, but this is the first time I've measured and ran it exactly... Once I knew how far I was going, it wasn't that hard.

The nice thing about running outside is that at any given point you are committed to running all the way back. So once I reached 1/2 way w/o turning around, I knew I'd make it the full way no problem.. Unlike on the treadmill where I'm tempted to stop and go lie on the couch at any given moment..

My problem has always been more of a mental one than a physical thing. I always want to stop, even though I'm not really tired... I suppose I'm just lazy.

Anyways, the six miles turned out to be relatively easy, I ran the whole way. My legs where slightly tired at the end (they were sorta tired before I began). It was perfect weather outside. I did it in just over an hour, which is about my average pace.

So yeah, that's all for now...

BRICK

We did our first of two big bricks to prepare for the race... (4 weeks to go!).

We biked about 24 miles, around mercer island. It was pretty hilly... However apparently Lavaman (our triathlon) is way less hilly and much easier, so that is comforting!

The bike ride was nice. I rode the road bike for more practice, I made it up all the hills without much effort, and figured out the gears more on the new bike. 1/2 way through we stopped to turn around, and for a snack, and my power bar was very frozen, blegh. then our coach road by eating a snickers, I was jealous. I'll be brining one of those next week. Though apparently they'll melt if we try to eat then in hawaii... The weather was relatively miserable. Drizzle for almost our entire bike ride, but at least it was sort warm (over 40..).

THEN we had to get off our bike and run. this was my first real brick (i've only done from bike machine to treadmill)... and what they say about them is true. My legs felt so weird... they didn't really cramp, or hurt, but were just strange. Someone else described it as feeling like you're running w/ someone elses legs.

For this brick we just did 25 minutes, then I will do a 1 hour run today, to finish the brick. My legs never got to normal by the end of the 25 minutes, but I was able to keep running. So I guess that's good.... The brick in 2 weeks will be race distances (26 mile bike, 6 mile run).... fun fun....

Mile repeats

We did mile repeats tonight. Run a mile, rest 90 seconds... repeat. I did 3 mile repeats, followed by a 1/2 mile. My first, third, and fourth where all about the same time... about 8 1/2 minute miles.. For some reason I was a bit slower my 2nd.

However, given that when I go for long runs, I tend to average about 10 1/2 minute miles, that was pretty good. and I wasn't out of breath much after each mile, maybe I could have gone faster?

Ugh, this saturday we have a big scary brick. wohoo!

(race one month from today!)

pre-chilly hilly

Or lack there off. Our team did a pre-chilly hilly ride today. We were supposed to go around bainbridge island, which is apparently really hilly, and hard. But at 7 am my mom called and said it was cold, raining, and windy, and she wasn't going. And once she said that, I couldn't convince myself to go... So yeah. I'm a slacker.

I sort of slacked off this week too w/ training. I had different excuses most of the days... I did go a few times, but not 6... I'll umm... be better next week.

new bike

I had the day off work today (presidents day) so my mom and I went for a long bike ride. I tried out her road bike, since I was told that would add about 3mph to my biking ... and I was seeing if i could complete the half ironman in time.

We did a pretty easy, pretty flat route. It seemed like we went far and long... but when I went home and mapped it, I guess we just went slow... though we did at least 25 miles I think ? Mmm we stopped for starbucks 1/2 way too. Hopefully there is one of those enroute during the race...

The road bike felt ok. Its weird adjusting to a new position while riding... and 3/4 into the ride, I realized that pushing up on the right gear actually downshifted. (yeah it took me that long to figure it out...). So I suppose I will try out the new roadbike some more. Need to try some hillier rides. eek.

run run run

This morning we had a team trail run... We played this crazy game involving finding people carrying sticks, which you'd ten take and try to find someone specifici so you could exchange your sticks for booty... As long as someone else didn't find you w/ a stick, and steal it from you... then eventually, you tried to make a bingo w/ the stuff you had acquired.

This can all be summarized into.. We ran for about 1.5 hours... I'm not even sure what teams won. I do know we got at least one bingo?

then we had a "half way breakfast" (even though it seems like we're much more than 1/2 way).
They said our team has raised over $230,000 which seems so impressive!

Then I went home... and called kyle, who was about to go for a run. So I joined him. And we ran 3.5 miles about. And I wasn't even tired or sore...

So I did a lot of running today. Wohoo! if only didn't have to worry about the biking and swimming...

slacking

I've been slacking recently on posting blogs... I intend to write them.. and have some topics, then haven't gotten around to it. So hopefully I'm done w/ that phase now.

I suppose for now I'll just recap the last few weeks, then get back to normal blogging.

Last week I ran with "Sancho." He was different from past dogs, as instead of pulling, the whole way out, he kept wanting to stop and look back. and he always stayed behind me (though he did have his tail up, and kept up with me). I think he was wanting to know if his friends who he lived with were coming. (he was in a kennel with two other dogs). On the way back his pace was way faster, and he pulled me home just a little bit. Hopefully he still enjoyed the run.

Last week I fit in a bike ride one day and a run the next during lunch periods... Its hard to do enough biking during lunch.. I also discovered that the running route I used to do last summer now seems to short! yay. It was about 2 miles, and at the end of it, I feel like I've barely done anything. I suspect it is more a time thing (since w/ warming up and cooling down its only 30 min of running) than a distance thing.

I missed swim practice monday for a fundraiser, but did go swimming at lunch on tuesday. the pool was full of grumpy old people (I got yelled at for taking too long in the bathroom!), and some ballet swimmers who just kicked back and forth for 1 hour in the pool. It was hard to find an appropriate lane. (swim in the fast lane w/ one person where who i'm obviously slower than? or in the medium lane with like 6 people including a breast stroker and a kicker? why aren't they moving up? arg). Stupid public pools.

Last night we just did a 2 mile run where it was supposed to be "moderatly hard to hard" effort the whole way. Your body should want to slow down every step. But its hard to push yourself at the beginning of a 2 mile run, cause you don't want to slow down later... I did it in about 18.5 minutes but wasn't that tired at the end. So I definitly should have pushed harder... which I knew. but yeah. maybe next time.

Ok I suppose I'm mostly caught up now. trail run tomorrow, as well as a 1/2 way party. The triathlon is so soon! I'm making chocoalte muffins for tomorrow! mmm.

950

This morning I got up, laid out my goggles and swim cap. Got my swim suit and towel out of the dryer (where its been since last monday) and packed up and went to work. Then I went to the pool this evening, and unpacked. Only my swimsuit and towel was all I had. Apparently I left the goggles and swim cap laid out on my table. great.

I was tired and not excited to swim anyways. But I tried w/ no goggles. (I keep wanting to type google instead of goggle), and that was one of the worst laps of my life. It didnt' work w/ my eyes open or closed. So I borrowed some goggles, and still felt like I was swimming terribly. and I was hungry and tired. And of course this was the day that our workout included a 950 m. which is like more than double the length of anything we've done consistently.

We somehow all succeeded in finishing. when the distance is that long I was able to just forget about it (cause the end is nowhere in sight) and just keep swimming. I'll add that I wasn't swimming very well. My body suddenly forgot how to breath on the left side... but I swam decently I suppose. I mean. I didn't drown, and I kept going. so that is something right?

I love seattle

So the weather here this week has been pretty perfect. (Well, for it being January, and for exercising etc). Last night I went running around Green lake with a couple people from the team. It was a totally clear sky, w/ a pretty full moon, and lots of stars. and pretty water (note: green LAKE). As soon as I put on music I sped up. American Idiot, Greenday makes for some good running music. especially the 8 min track, w/ a nice drum beat.

Then today was another sunny, blue skied day. Granted it was technically only 41 degrees out, but that seemed perfect for biking. I just wore one layer, and was a nice temperature. Lots of people where out. The mountains were out. And it made me excited for spring and summer. Yippee :)

Bike bike bike

Saturday morning we did a nice long bike ride. I think we rode for almost 2 hours. The first 1/2 of the ride was just along the Sammamish river trail, which is all flat and pretty smooth. I started off talking to someone who is training for a full ironman in August... Impressive. I am definitly not jealous.

For the 2nd half we ventured off the trail, and onto some roads, to complete a loop (and finish where we started). The roads provided our first (well at least my first) hilly bike ride. It was good practice, and nothing impossible. Although our first hill was pretty long (and sorta steep at the beginning). Luckily it had warmed up that week and there was no ice, which was a big relief. Also, at the end of the ride, we asked around, and where told that the hills we did where equal or harder than what we'll encounter in Hawaii at the actual event. And if that's the case, then I'm all set for this there bike thing.

Off to whistler this weekend. Skiing is basically the same thing as swimming/biking/running correct? splendid.

fit with.... lilly

(Bitterly begins re-writing post that blogger oh so cruely deleted).

So wednesday I went running with Lilly, a young pit bull mix. She had a very cute sideways gait when she ran... Her back legs where always just a few inches to the right of her front legs.

She also was under the impression that at the beginning of runs, you must go all out, because who knows when you'll get to run again. And didn't seem to understand when I said we'd be going for an hour... no need to rush. However after the first mile, and once the other dogs where out of sight, she settled into a perfect little trot, and just the right pace. w/ her little ears flapping. Actually, only one ear bounced, the other always stood straight up...

her only other mis-conception, was that when she'd stop to sniff something, and I'd say "come on," she listend right away, only she interpreted that as bound away as fast as you can...

But overall we had a pleasant run. Again, she was not very tired at the end, and would have kept going... (unlike the rottweiler behind us who was huffing and wheezing).

The only flaw from the night, was I forgot to stretch. And I woke up w/ a really sore calf whenever I walked on it... which last like 3 days. ugh. I'm going to guess its related to stretching? and hopefully not to my new running shoes....

Breakthrough!

Yesterday morning, just near the end of a coached swim, the coach said I should work on keeping my head more down during my stroke. Ie look at below me, not ahead of me or at the end of the pool. My first thought, was that I don't look forward, why did he say that. Then I figured he must mean while I'm breathing... I might be peaking ahead. So I started a new lap... And realized that during the whole stroke, while my head is underwater, I was looking slightly (or possibly not slightly) ahead of where I was.

SO, I worked on looking directly down, not even a little head of me, for the next few laps. and for some reason that makes a humongous difference in my stroke. It makes the whole thing much easier, and feels more natural. (This shows some of the reason I find swimming annoying... The fact that technique makes so much difference, as opposed to fitness... Makign it much harder to improve).

Anyways, we had another practice today, and I felt sooo much better than last week. Our whole group finished the workout faster than last week, which was good. My stroke just feels easier, and more natural. We did a 350 (yeah, for all those people who are actually good swimmers, and think that's nothing, go away), and while it still felt long, I could have kept going at the end... and didn't struggle at all.

So overall I'm feeling more positive about my swimming. Though at some point we will need to have a discussion about the Victoria Half Ironman... and their cut off times for each sport. That is not a friendly idea, but I'll bring that up again yesterday.


Saturday was also a good run. It was a trail game (sharks and minnows), and we ran for 75 minutes, through snow (and ice), and about 25 degree weather. I stayed w/ my mom the whole time, so I was a little slower than I might have done otherwise, but I did jog/run the entire way, and could have done more. So umm... Go training. wohoo. Oh and also, if someone could melt that ice, that'd be great. My bike does not like it.

T minus 11 weeks

So, the actual triathlon is April 1st (in Hawaii :)), ie about 11 weeks from today. The date suddenly snuck up on us, over the holidays.

Not much is new in the world of training. I fit in slightly less practice this week than I had hoped. Though I did a decent brick (50 minute bike ride, followed by a mile run), and that was pretty easy. Yesterday I ran about 3.5 miles. I was originally planning on doing a full hour... then I got bored or lazy... But at least I didn't end tired. Tomorrow we have a 2 hour trail game with the team, so that should be good.

Apparently for the half-Ironman (in June in Victoria, Canada), you must complete the course in under 8 hours. So we will be discussing that tomorrow, to estimate what our times would be. I think I need to start biking faster....That would be sad if I would be over the time allowed. And decrease my motivation to participate in the longer event. But I'll wait to judge that till I estimate my time.

Back at it

Well, I'm back at home. Which means its time to get back to training. I did manage to run a few times in Israel, and went swimming once (it was so cold people cheered for me when I got out of the pool). But we are all now realizing the triathlon is only 12 weeks away... So... I better get back to real training.

I got back at 1am Monday morning, and managed to stay away long enough to go to swim practice that night at 8. It was actually a good workout. We did a total of about 1500m over the hour, and the event is only about 1650... and we rested throughout. So it looks like the swimming will take less than an hour... Though I'm still considering the drowning aspect. I still suck at it.