According to my IM training buddy, Marshall Parks, the official 26-week IM Training Plan that we are going to follow doesn't start until May 10th, which happens to be Mother's Day (great, just what I want!).
So, I'm officially taking an official break from this official IM training blog and will resume on the official start day of the IM training plan. (But I'm not taking a break from training!)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Quickie swim
Yep, that's what I did today. Swimming is becoming less of a hassle or more like running in that I can almost do it without thinking.
Got to the pool by 9:00'ish and decided ahead of time to swim 1000 yards. Not much, I know, but it's all I had time for. I think I swam around 1200. Plan to go again on Weds.
Sore today from biking but a "good" kind of sore. Plan to lift sometime today and run tomorrow.
Got to the pool by 9:00'ish and decided ahead of time to swim 1000 yards. Not much, I know, but it's all I had time for. I think I swam around 1200. Plan to go again on Weds.
Sore today from biking but a "good" kind of sore. Plan to lift sometime today and run tomorrow.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Just right
Kurt and I just got back from a really nice bike ride. Everything was just right: the weather, my energy level, our pace, the traffic, the distance. Perfecto! I can tell that I have a long way to go to get into better biking shape but today's ride was so enjoyable that I don't care.
Yesterday I had a good long run too. Ran about 75 mins and felt a bit sluggish but not bad. Hoping to raise the training level a bit this week: more swimming and faster/longer runs and rides. But not too fast yet...I have a little pain in my left knee so I want to gradually ramp it up.
After three days of clouds and rain, the warm sunshine felt sooooo good!
Yesterday I had a good long run too. Ran about 75 mins and felt a bit sluggish but not bad. Hoping to raise the training level a bit this week: more swimming and faster/longer runs and rides. But not too fast yet...I have a little pain in my left knee so I want to gradually ramp it up.
After three days of clouds and rain, the warm sunshine felt sooooo good!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Delayed
Whew...time has flown by. I'm still here...still training....just busy, busy, busy. Got in some good runs while in Moab (great place, btw). Got a few good swims in too.
Kurt and I rode to Milliken the other day. Nice short ride - about 20 miles. It was very windy! He flatted on our way back but got it fixed fast.
I've decided to not go to Oklahoma City for the National Club Championships in September and to enter 5430 Long Course instead for several reasons:
Planning to start the big training plan soon...I thought the start date was April 28th but Marshall said it was May 10th. Got to get the big calendar out and re-count the weeks. November 7th minus 26 weeks is......????
Kurt and I rode to Milliken the other day. Nice short ride - about 20 miles. It was very windy! He flatted on our way back but got it fixed fast.
I've decided to not go to Oklahoma City for the National Club Championships in September and to enter 5430 Long Course instead for several reasons:
- I'm teaching two classes in the fall at UNC and will be very busy. It's hard to cancel class early in the semester because I have a lot of important material to cover the first month. Also, the other class I'm teaching (Nutrition for Collegiate Athletes) is new and I'm starting it from scratch. I'll need the time on the weekend to be prepared (I know that sounds weird but it's true).
- Kurt and I want to go to the UNC/KU game in Lawrence on Sept. 5th, which means I will have to miss a class day. I can't cancel class twice in the first month. Also, I can't ask my mom to watch the kids TWICE in one month.
- We don't have anyone to watch the kids. My mom is here and we're hoping she'll watch them when we go to the KU game.
- The weather is iffy in OK city that time of year (although that wouldn't keep me from going).
- It's kind of expensive and I've already spent way too much on other races I'm doing this year (including the IM!)
It was a hard decision because I really wanted to go with the club (Greeley Tri Club). We all went together to St. Louis several years ago for the national club championsips and had a blast. Marshall is going this year and I was looking forward to doing a race with him.
But the first three reasons above are pretty important. Boulder's 5430 Long Course is still open and it appeals to me because it's before UNC starts, it's cheaper, and the weather is predictable (hot but not unbearable). I like the idea of getting a half-ironman overwith before school starts. I'll miss not being with the club but there's always next year....
Planning to start the big training plan soon...I thought the start date was April 28th but Marshall said it was May 10th. Got to get the big calendar out and re-count the weeks. November 7th minus 26 weeks is......????
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Daisy Dilemma
Had a fantastic run today. I ran 8 miles with Daisy and felt like I could've easily gone 3-4 more (and I would have if it wasn't for my new "dilemma"). The weather was perfect: cold and sunny with no wind, my favorite type of weather for long runs. I hadn't run in a few days so my legs felt fresh and primed for a long run.
So what's the dilemma? What do you do when you have a dog who loves to run, who hasn't gotten any exercise in a few days, who is going beserk as you put on your running gear (she knows the routine), and who is generally fun to run with??? You take her with you, of course.
But here's the problem: she loves to stop and lay in the snow. No kidding. Seriously. She runs for about a mile or so and then just stops and lays down. My friends have seen it and they laugh. She lays so that her back legs are sprawled out behind her as far as they go. And she just lays there!
It's funny at first. And she usually pops right up when I say her name and trots along. But today she stopped every 100 feet or so. I thought maybe she was thirsty so I ran her by the brook that runs by Westlake King Soopers to get a drink but noooooo.....she just stood in the water and panted happily, looking at me like she hadn't a care in the world.
That's fine on short runs. But on long runs, I like to run LONG! I like to keep going without stopping. There's a zen to long runs and you can't get it when you have to stop every 5 - 10 minutes. Just as I swear I will never take her again, she'll get up and trot along very obediently.
The other maddening thing that she does - that actually turned out to be fun - is that she likes to run in the snow. Today, as I ran along 20th street, where there's 3-4 feet of fresh snow on the side of the sidewalk, she galloped blissfully in the snow, pulling me further and further into the snow with her.
When we got to Aims, where there is a huge "field" of untouched, fresh, white snow - she suddently took off to the right, pulling me behind her into the field of snow. At first I resisted and tried to get her back onto the sidewalk; I wore capri running tights with short anklet socks and the snow was cold on my ankles and feet.
But it was too much fun! I gave in and followed her into the snow field. She sped up and we "galloped" through the snow. I felt my socks and feet getting wet but I didn't care. It felt like being a kid again - running pellmell through the snow as fast as we could. Daisy looked wildly happy and so was I!
We ran to my mom's house on the west side of town and I got her some water. She rested a bit and we headed for home. She did the same thing all the way back. I guess it's not bad to stop so often, esp when you end up having so much fun, but it does beg the question of whether i should take her with me on warmer days and longer runs. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, she's one happy puppy.
So what's the dilemma? What do you do when you have a dog who loves to run, who hasn't gotten any exercise in a few days, who is going beserk as you put on your running gear (she knows the routine), and who is generally fun to run with??? You take her with you, of course.
But here's the problem: she loves to stop and lay in the snow. No kidding. Seriously. She runs for about a mile or so and then just stops and lays down. My friends have seen it and they laugh. She lays so that her back legs are sprawled out behind her as far as they go. And she just lays there!
It's funny at first. And she usually pops right up when I say her name and trots along. But today she stopped every 100 feet or so. I thought maybe she was thirsty so I ran her by the brook that runs by Westlake King Soopers to get a drink but noooooo.....she just stood in the water and panted happily, looking at me like she hadn't a care in the world.
That's fine on short runs. But on long runs, I like to run LONG! I like to keep going without stopping. There's a zen to long runs and you can't get it when you have to stop every 5 - 10 minutes. Just as I swear I will never take her again, she'll get up and trot along very obediently.
The other maddening thing that she does - that actually turned out to be fun - is that she likes to run in the snow. Today, as I ran along 20th street, where there's 3-4 feet of fresh snow on the side of the sidewalk, she galloped blissfully in the snow, pulling me further and further into the snow with her.
When we got to Aims, where there is a huge "field" of untouched, fresh, white snow - she suddently took off to the right, pulling me behind her into the field of snow. At first I resisted and tried to get her back onto the sidewalk; I wore capri running tights with short anklet socks and the snow was cold on my ankles and feet.
But it was too much fun! I gave in and followed her into the snow field. She sped up and we "galloped" through the snow. I felt my socks and feet getting wet but I didn't care. It felt like being a kid again - running pellmell through the snow as fast as we could. Daisy looked wildly happy and so was I!
We ran to my mom's house on the west side of town and I got her some water. She rested a bit and we headed for home. She did the same thing all the way back. I guess it's not bad to stop so often, esp when you end up having so much fun, but it does beg the question of whether i should take her with me on warmer days and longer runs. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, she's one happy puppy.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Starting to plan ahead
Rode the bike this morning for 30 mins and felt really good. Would've rode longer but needed to get kids ready for school. That's ok, hoping to run long tomorrow so should be ok.
I finally plotted out Gale Bernhardt's 26-week IM training plan on my calendar. Oh boy, am I in for a lot of work! It will officially start on Monday, April 27th. She starts us off with one hour of swimming three times a week - ouch! But the run and bike part is super-easy. Almost makes me wonder if she needs to develop a plan for people like me, who come to triathlons with a running background...people like me who are newby swimmers but veteran runners. She only has us running an hour on the weekends and I'm already running 1.5 hrs.
So, I've decided that i need to swim M, W, F pretty much from here on out. She also suggests 1.15 hrs of strength training and I have no idea how I would do that! My weight-lifting takes all of 20 mins so I guess I better find some more exercises.
But it feels good to finally get the plan written down. Spring break is next week and I'll be out of town for part of it so I'm glad it's not starting now. Only time will tell how easy or hard it will be to follow. Stay tuned!
I finally plotted out Gale Bernhardt's 26-week IM training plan on my calendar. Oh boy, am I in for a lot of work! It will officially start on Monday, April 27th. She starts us off with one hour of swimming three times a week - ouch! But the run and bike part is super-easy. Almost makes me wonder if she needs to develop a plan for people like me, who come to triathlons with a running background...people like me who are newby swimmers but veteran runners. She only has us running an hour on the weekends and I'm already running 1.5 hrs.
So, I've decided that i need to swim M, W, F pretty much from here on out. She also suggests 1.15 hrs of strength training and I have no idea how I would do that! My weight-lifting takes all of 20 mins so I guess I better find some more exercises.
But it feels good to finally get the plan written down. Spring break is next week and I'll be out of town for part of it so I'm glad it's not starting now. Only time will tell how easy or hard it will be to follow. Stay tuned!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wow, another two-a-day!
I woke up at 5:00 AM today (don't ask me why) and figured that I had no excuse not to go the pool (esp since Kurt was going). So I got my lazy butt out of bed and down to the pool.
On the way down there, Kurt proceeds to tell me that Marshall has been swimming for an hour three times/week. Oh goodie, just what I want to hear. I happen to be very happy for Marshall and his training because I know it's been a long time since he's had a big goal to train for. Marshall is one of my favorite people in the world so I'm cheering him on every step of the way.
But couldn't my dear husband give me just one little, itsy-bitsy, pat on the back for my efforts as well? Oh, poor me....at least it gave me something to think about during my swim.
I actually enjoyed my swim today and feel that I'm getting better.....and faster. I'm nowhere near where Todd and Jim and Lynne are, in terms of swimming, but compared to where I was two years ago, I think I'm doing pretty good. I swam about 1500 yards this morning and feel pretty good about it.
One thing I learned today is to NOT think about negative stuff while you're swimming. It really messes up your form and makes you want to vomit. I joined a yahoo group for collegiate sports dietitians recently and have been disappointed in the elitist attitude many of them have and how rude some of them have been to me (and I'm probably old enough to be their mother!). It's been bugging me for days and I thought about it while I was swimming. I actually started to get a stomach-ache just thinking about it so I made myself think about positive things....like what it would feel like to beat a 28 yr old in my next triathlon.....
When I got home, I ate breakfast with the kids and got them off to school. Then I went for a run and did about 4 miles, with two of them being a tempo run. Then I got Daisy and ran another 2 miles. Nothin' like running with a happy golden retriever to put a kabash on all the bad stuff in your head! I highly recommend it anyone.
On the way down there, Kurt proceeds to tell me that Marshall has been swimming for an hour three times/week. Oh goodie, just what I want to hear. I happen to be very happy for Marshall and his training because I know it's been a long time since he's had a big goal to train for. Marshall is one of my favorite people in the world so I'm cheering him on every step of the way.
But couldn't my dear husband give me just one little, itsy-bitsy, pat on the back for my efforts as well? Oh, poor me....at least it gave me something to think about during my swim.
I actually enjoyed my swim today and feel that I'm getting better.....and faster. I'm nowhere near where Todd and Jim and Lynne are, in terms of swimming, but compared to where I was two years ago, I think I'm doing pretty good. I swam about 1500 yards this morning and feel pretty good about it.
One thing I learned today is to NOT think about negative stuff while you're swimming. It really messes up your form and makes you want to vomit. I joined a yahoo group for collegiate sports dietitians recently and have been disappointed in the elitist attitude many of them have and how rude some of them have been to me (and I'm probably old enough to be their mother!). It's been bugging me for days and I thought about it while I was swimming. I actually started to get a stomach-ache just thinking about it so I made myself think about positive things....like what it would feel like to beat a 28 yr old in my next triathlon.....
When I got home, I ate breakfast with the kids and got them off to school. Then I went for a run and did about 4 miles, with two of them being a tempo run. Then I got Daisy and ran another 2 miles. Nothin' like running with a happy golden retriever to put a kabash on all the bad stuff in your head! I highly recommend it anyone.
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