Monday: ahhh . . . rest day. After being at Uvas I got the tri itch and decided to the Mermaid Sprint Tri @ Fremont on June 7th.
Tuesday: Double workout day! Master's was good. I have no idea what the workout was but probably about 3,000 yards. At Team Mermaid, Coach H said that there were only two hard workouts left before the Fremont Mermaid. We warmed up with two laps around the track, followed by 6 x 20 second striders & 1 minute recovery. Then it was time for the big part of the workout. 2.5 miles with a pace time. Coach H told me, "you are going to run all 2.5 miles. It'll be good practice for June 7th." Me, run 2.5 miles, aka 10 laps, without stopping? Coach H said I could do it so I gave it a try. I did it! I ran 2.5 miles without stopping.
I've been having trouble with my energy and I'm not losing weight. Coach H gave me a calorie range that I truly can't believe. ~2,250! What?! It's been challenging to switch my thoughts about food from Weight Watchers to training.
Wednesday: I was still tired from my big 2.5 mile run but went on my lunch time bike ride as planned. My legs were pretty dead after that. At WW I was pretty pissed. -0.2? What the heck?! I've been working my @$$ off for 3 weeks and my weight has not gone down. Grrr . . . I'm not asking to lose 5 lbs a week, but c'mon a 1 lb a week would be great.
Thursday: Was a big, long day.
Oh, so tired. Master's workout was some crazy IM torture. I did the best I could. One rave: Coach T said my butterfly looks good, no corrections on technique. Now, if I could only do more than a 50 of fly. I moved over to another lane and had a nice "social kick" with Sarah. It really helped loosen up my legs.
Shout out to my buddies Lauren & Julia. Their school had a jog-a-thon on Thursday. They dominated that jog-a-thon! They both did 5.5 miles. I'm so proud of them. Oh, and did I mention that they are 8 (almost 9) and 6? They are going to do the Mini-Mermaid Run on June 7th, they will rock it!
I missed my schedule run due to my Sports Basement party! I invited everyone I know to the party for munchies, drinks, and, most importantly, 20% off! It was a lot of fun and think everyone got some good deals and stuff they really needed.
Friday: Back on the bike. Oooff, the chafing.
Saturday: 6am swim. Why do we swim so early on Saturdays? I dragged myself from my bed and made it to the pool. Everything was find until I saw the 16 x 100s on decending intervals. Ugh. I surprised myself and made it through those. Then went on to Coach's new favorite thing pulling back or breast.
After a few hours at work (don't ask) I headed out for my last workout of the week, a brick. 1:15 ride up Winchester to Vasona Park, around the park twice, and back home. On my way back there was a guy selling cherries and strawberries near my place. Cherries sounded so good so I stopped and bought some. Then I did a quick change and grabbed Jemma and headed out for a 30 minute run around the neighborhood. After my performance on Tuesday I decided that I need to run most of this workout. I decided to run 10 minutes and walk 1. Eight minutes into the run I really, really had to pee. I was near Pam & Richard's and decided to impose for a pit stop. They were surprised to see me but very accommodating. :-) Great friends! I knew my legs would be pretty tired to I took an "ice bath" as recommended by Molly. I just be able to tell tomorrow if it helps the knees.
Phew! That was a long, busy week. Tomorrow is a rest day! Well, at least a rest from training. I'm watching my god-daughter while her parents move into their new house just a few miles from my place. :-) I'll try to post more mid week so the posts aren't so long.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Morgan Hill Sprint Tri Relay Race Report
Forecast: ~100 degrees. 100??!!! Oh boy.
Today I was the swim leg of a relay with fellow Mermaid Jill and her husband Dennis. We were the Smart Hot Cookies:
The race got started a little late so the Athena/Clydesdale/Relay wave was the 12th and last to take off. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a water start. None of the frenzied dash into the water. And, the wave was nice and small. :-)
I started out with a little sprint to get going. I was turning pretty fast to get going and pull away from "crowd." It was a left shoulder swim which was a bit of a problem because I like to breathe to the right. When I started looking for the buoys they were really far away and no one from my wave was near me. :-( I found the next buoy and started heading that way and sighting a lot more. It was a long swim to that second buoy, I thought, "at this rate I'm never going to make my goal time. I finally made it around the second buoy and fell into a nice rhythm.
Here is an aerial shot of Uvas Reservior. The 3/4 mile swim was around the peninsula sticking out in the lake. It started swimming toward the bottom of the image and then counter-clockwise around the peninsula. No wonder the first part felt like it too so long, that's a long way until we turned.
The rest of the swim when well. I started passing people from wave #11 (men 50+) and wave #10 (women 45+). That always feels good. When we made the last turn toward the finish I kicked up the effort and pushed to the water's edge on the boat ramp. The boat ramp was kind of a pain and hard to run up. I tried to walk up quickly. I made it to transition, Jill took off the timing chip off my ankle, transfered it to Dennis, and he was off on the 16 mile ride.
According to Jill's watch I finished in ~21 minutes, meeting my goal of a sub 23:00 swim! We are still waiting for them to post the race results. (click refresh, click refresh, click refresh)
While Dennis was out on the bike course Jill, Wilma, and I cheered Gina, Sara, Gina, Paige, and Harj through their transitions.
I transfered the timing chip from Dennis to Jill and she headed out for a hot run. It sounded like Dennis had a good ride and powered up the evil hill at mile 11.
We had a great area in the transition area for watching the finish. We saw the pros come flying in. Saw some crashes at the bike dismount, and cheered all the Mermaids and other friends in to the finish.
Jill rocked the 5 mile run and finished in ~50 minutes. (I think. Still waiting for the effing results.)
We hung around for the awards and I'm glad we did. Sara placed in the Athena division! Go Sara!!
Overall, a good day. I was very, very hot but I seemed to have escaped without a sunburn. It was fun to be there with so many friends. Go Mermaids!
Today I was the swim leg of a relay with fellow Mermaid Jill and her husband Dennis. We were the Smart Hot Cookies:
The race got started a little late so the Athena/Clydesdale/Relay wave was the 12th and last to take off. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a water start. None of the frenzied dash into the water. And, the wave was nice and small. :-)
I started out with a little sprint to get going. I was turning pretty fast to get going and pull away from "crowd." It was a left shoulder swim which was a bit of a problem because I like to breathe to the right. When I started looking for the buoys they were really far away and no one from my wave was near me. :-( I found the next buoy and started heading that way and sighting a lot more. It was a long swim to that second buoy, I thought, "at this rate I'm never going to make my goal time. I finally made it around the second buoy and fell into a nice rhythm.
Here is an aerial shot of Uvas Reservior. The 3/4 mile swim was around the peninsula sticking out in the lake. It started swimming toward the bottom of the image and then counter-clockwise around the peninsula. No wonder the first part felt like it too so long, that's a long way until we turned.
The rest of the swim when well. I started passing people from wave #11 (men 50+) and wave #10 (women 45+). That always feels good. When we made the last turn toward the finish I kicked up the effort and pushed to the water's edge on the boat ramp. The boat ramp was kind of a pain and hard to run up. I tried to walk up quickly. I made it to transition, Jill took off the timing chip off my ankle, transfered it to Dennis, and he was off on the 16 mile ride.
According to Jill's watch I finished in ~21 minutes, meeting my goal of a sub 23:00 swim! We are still waiting for them to post the race results. (click refresh, click refresh, click refresh)
While Dennis was out on the bike course Jill, Wilma, and I cheered Gina, Sara, Gina, Paige, and Harj through their transitions.
I transfered the timing chip from Dennis to Jill and she headed out for a hot run. It sounded like Dennis had a good ride and powered up the evil hill at mile 11.
We had a great area in the transition area for watching the finish. We saw the pros come flying in. Saw some crashes at the bike dismount, and cheered all the Mermaids and other friends in to the finish.
Jill rocked the 5 mile run and finished in ~50 minutes. (I think. Still waiting for the effing results.)
We hung around for the awards and I'm glad we did. Sara placed in the Athena division! Go Sara!!
Overall, a good day. I was very, very hot but I seemed to have escaped without a sunburn. It was fun to be there with so many friends. Go Mermaids!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
I'm "It".
As in, "tag you're it!" courtesy of Molly.
8 things to which I'm looking forward
1. Tri relay at Uvas Sprint Tri.
2. Serving as Deputy Commissioner at K & H's wedding.
3. Good friends moving closer.
4. 50K Tour de Cure with the Red Hot Johnsons.
5. A big Mermaid weekend at Vineman for Barb's Race & AquaBike.
6. The economy turning around.
7. 2.4 mile swim in September.
8. Smashing last year's time at the Santa Cruz Mermaid Tri.
8 things I did yesterday
1. I ran (not wogged, not wun) 4 x 800!!!!
2. A really hard IM set.
3. Realized that I really do want all workouts to be easy.
4. Tried to restock the fridge with healthy food.
5. Blogged.
6. Played with Jemma.
7. Suffered through 3 hours of the Biggest Loser finale.
8. Fell asleep while re-reading a romance novel.
(fun day, huh?)
8 things I would like to do
1. Go on vacation. Hawaii, Italy, Mexico, France, NYC, Disneyland . . . I really don't care, as long as it is away.
2. Have a weekend with absolutely nothing to do. No training. No cleaning. No cooking. No laundry. Nothing!
3. Complete an Olympic distance triathlon.
4. Reach my weight goal.
5. Have a job that is only two jobs, not four.
6. Live closer to my bff, Heather.
7. Be independently and anonymously wealthy.
8. Have a elf that will clean my apartment.
8 shows I watch
1. Lost
2. Law & Order: SVU
3. Chuck
4. Bones
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Ugly Betty
7. How I Met Your Mother
8. Doctor Who (when its on)
People I tag
If you are reading this you are it!
8 things to which I'm looking forward
1. Tri relay at Uvas Sprint Tri.
2. Serving as Deputy Commissioner at K & H's wedding.
3. Good friends moving closer.
4. 50K Tour de Cure with the Red Hot Johnsons.
5. A big Mermaid weekend at Vineman for Barb's Race & AquaBike.
6. The economy turning around.
7. 2.4 mile swim in September.
8. Smashing last year's time at the Santa Cruz Mermaid Tri.
8 things I did yesterday
1. I ran (not wogged, not wun) 4 x 800!!!!
2. A really hard IM set.
3. Realized that I really do want all workouts to be easy.
4. Tried to restock the fridge with healthy food.
5. Blogged.
6. Played with Jemma.
7. Suffered through 3 hours of the Biggest Loser finale.
8. Fell asleep while re-reading a romance novel.
(fun day, huh?)
8 things I would like to do
1. Go on vacation. Hawaii, Italy, Mexico, France, NYC, Disneyland . . . I really don't care, as long as it is away.
2. Have a weekend with absolutely nothing to do. No training. No cleaning. No cooking. No laundry. Nothing!
3. Complete an Olympic distance triathlon.
4. Reach my weight goal.
5. Have a job that is only two jobs, not four.
6. Live closer to my bff, Heather.
7. Be independently and anonymously wealthy.
8. Have a elf that will clean my apartment.
8 shows I watch
1. Lost
2. Law & Order: SVU
3. Chuck
4. Bones
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Ugly Betty
7. How I Met Your Mother
8. Doctor Who (when its on)
People I tag
If you are reading this you are it!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Last Chance Tuesday
Tuesday is double workout day. And, what workouts I had today.
Master's Swimming main set:
200 IM (2 lengths of each fly, back, breast, free)
150 fly (!)
100 back
50 breast
25 free
200 IM
150 back
100 breast
50 free
25 fly
200 IM
150 breast (ugh)
100 free
50 fly
25 back
200 IM
150 free
100 fly (yeah, right)
50 back
25 free
That's 2100 yards of IM work! What the heck was that?! I had trouble holding the hair dryer up to dry my hair.
Team Mermaid workout:
I received this email from the TeamMermaid coach, "At the track. Running gear and whatever nutrition you think you are using for your race (gu, gatorade whatever it is..)" She's never had us deal with nutrition before a workout, that concerned me.
I was right.
Warm up: 100 at 7 (a good pace), 100 easy, 200 @ 7, 100 easy, 300 @ 7, 100 easy, 200 @ 7, 100 easy.
Main set: 4 x 800 with a rest in between. Me? Run an 800? Run four of them? Coach H said, "yes, you can run the whole thing." Okay, if H says so, I can do it.
I did it! Tonight I ran further than I have ever run before, 2+ miles. As I finished the first 800 H checked in with me and said something that turned on a light bulb, "these shouldn't be easy." I confess, I want all of my workouts to be easy. I persevered and made it through all four. They weren't easy, but they weren't horrible either. It looks like I might be able to do the run part of the Santa Cruz Mermaid in September.
Master's Swimming main set:
200 IM (2 lengths of each fly, back, breast, free)
150 fly (!)
100 back
50 breast
25 free
200 IM
150 back
100 breast
50 free
25 fly
200 IM
150 breast (ugh)
100 free
50 fly
25 back
200 IM
150 free
100 fly (yeah, right)
50 back
25 free
That's 2100 yards of IM work! What the heck was that?! I had trouble holding the hair dryer up to dry my hair.
Team Mermaid workout:
I received this email from the TeamMermaid coach, "At the track. Running gear and whatever nutrition you think you are using for your race (gu, gatorade whatever it is..)" She's never had us deal with nutrition before a workout, that concerned me.
I was right.
Warm up: 100 at 7 (a good pace), 100 easy, 200 @ 7, 100 easy, 300 @ 7, 100 easy, 200 @ 7, 100 easy.
Main set: 4 x 800 with a rest in between. Me? Run an 800? Run four of them? Coach H said, "yes, you can run the whole thing." Okay, if H says so, I can do it.
I did it! Tonight I ran further than I have ever run before, 2+ miles. As I finished the first 800 H checked in with me and said something that turned on a light bulb, "these shouldn't be easy." I confess, I want all of my workouts to be easy. I persevered and made it through all four. They weren't easy, but they weren't horrible either. It looks like I might be able to do the run part of the Santa Cruz Mermaid in September.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Time Management
When I first got my training calendar one of my first thoughts was, "I'm going to do nothing but train until August. I'm not going to see my friends for 3 months." A little dramatic, ya think? And, I've been struggling with fitting in my workouts on weeknights. I have my little routines and it is oddly hard trying to change my schedule.
On Friday, I decided it was time to be a big girl and make the workouts fit in to my schedule. Sunset isn't until 8ish. I just need to do some planning to make sure I have dinner, fit a ride in at lunch, pick days to do dishes, or wun in the morning. I can make it work!
On Friday I had a brick, 1 hour ride, 20 minute run, on the calendar. I didn't have any plans Friday night so it wasn't going to be a big deal. Then J called, "Wanna go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine tonight?" Ah. . . Um. . . Eye-candy . . . But. . . Hugh . . . I . . . have . . . a brick . . . Yes! I can make this work, the brick is only 1 hour and 20 minutes. I left work a little early, quickly changed, let Jemma 'hurry', grabbed my bike and headed out on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. I had a good hour ride and tried not to focus on time too much. I rolled back to the apartment, grabbed Jemma and headed out for the wun. (I like wunning in the morning better when there is no one out in the neighborhood.) Got back, jumped in the shower, dressed, ran out of the house, let my hair air dry, and made it to the theater before J & M. Phew. I did it. I did my workout and saw my friends. It is possible!
This week the big challenge will be a noontime ride on Wednesday and a mid-day brick on Thursday. It is possible and I only have to do this until August. That's only 12 weeks.
12 weeks????!!!!
On Friday, I decided it was time to be a big girl and make the workouts fit in to my schedule. Sunset isn't until 8ish. I just need to do some planning to make sure I have dinner, fit a ride in at lunch, pick days to do dishes, or wun in the morning. I can make it work!
On Friday I had a brick, 1 hour ride, 20 minute run, on the calendar. I didn't have any plans Friday night so it wasn't going to be a big deal. Then J called, "Wanna go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine tonight?" Ah. . . Um. . . Eye-candy . . . But. . . Hugh . . . I . . . have . . . a brick . . . Yes! I can make this work, the brick is only 1 hour and 20 minutes. I left work a little early, quickly changed, let Jemma 'hurry', grabbed my bike and headed out on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. I had a good hour ride and tried not to focus on time too much. I rolled back to the apartment, grabbed Jemma and headed out for the wun. (I like wunning in the morning better when there is no one out in the neighborhood.) Got back, jumped in the shower, dressed, ran out of the house, let my hair air dry, and made it to the theater before J & M. Phew. I did it. I did my workout and saw my friends. It is possible!
This week the big challenge will be a noontime ride on Wednesday and a mid-day brick on Thursday. It is possible and I only have to do this until August. That's only 12 weeks.
12 weeks????!!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Weekend Wrap-up
I know it's Monday, but it was a furlough day for me so it seems like the weekend.
Saturday: a wash. I didn't feel good and vegged out all day.
Sunday: I went for a ride on the Uvas Sprint Tri bike course with The Mermaids. It was drizzly when we started and one Mermaid was reluctant to ride in the rain, but we talked her into it. It wasn't too bad at first, kinda refreshing. Then it really started raining. I was a little worried, but it didn't last long. It was a beautiful ride. We rode along Uvas Reservoir, up and down some rolling hills, saw a turkey that was gobbling, went by Chesboro Reservoir and the rode to Sue's old house. It was a little trip down memory lane. The was one steep climb that I just wasn't up for and ended up walking up. That is the first hill I've walked up since I got my new bike. :-) We continued on and I was pretty tried. Gina had to listen to me crab and whine my way back. I was supposed to do a 2 hour, 15 minute ride, but due to the time of the month I was done after 1 hour, 29 minutes, 29 seconds.
Monday: Furlough Day! (yes, I'm trying to make it sound exciting that I'm not working or getting paid.) I got up at 6am for a walk with Pam. That's a pretty big deal for a day that I could have slept in. I decided that since Saturday was a wash that I had to be productive. I had a bike ride scheduled but I knew if I went on the ride I wouldn't want to do any cleaning or organizing. My biggest task was cleaning out the fridge and finding all of my "missing" plastic containers. Dude, after I cleaned out the fridge it was really, really empty. I maybe having some interesting meals until payday. Finally, I headed out for my bike ride. Assignment: 1 hour, 25 minutes with 12 intervals of 1 minute all out and 2 minutes spin for recovery. I decided to try a city route and left from my apartment. I had a great time and enjoyed the ride much more than Friday's. It was a little interesting doing the intervals with stoplights but I made it work.
Tomorrow is my big day: Master's and Team Mermaid. I hope the legs keep working!
Saturday: a wash. I didn't feel good and vegged out all day.
Sunday: I went for a ride on the Uvas Sprint Tri bike course with The Mermaids. It was drizzly when we started and one Mermaid was reluctant to ride in the rain, but we talked her into it. It wasn't too bad at first, kinda refreshing. Then it really started raining. I was a little worried, but it didn't last long. It was a beautiful ride. We rode along Uvas Reservoir, up and down some rolling hills, saw a turkey that was gobbling, went by Chesboro Reservoir and the rode to Sue's old house. It was a little trip down memory lane. The was one steep climb that I just wasn't up for and ended up walking up. That is the first hill I've walked up since I got my new bike. :-) We continued on and I was pretty tried. Gina had to listen to me crab and whine my way back. I was supposed to do a 2 hour, 15 minute ride, but due to the time of the month I was done after 1 hour, 29 minutes, 29 seconds.
Monday: Furlough Day! (yes, I'm trying to make it sound exciting that I'm not working or getting paid.) I got up at 6am for a walk with Pam. That's a pretty big deal for a day that I could have slept in. I decided that since Saturday was a wash that I had to be productive. I had a bike ride scheduled but I knew if I went on the ride I wouldn't want to do any cleaning or organizing. My biggest task was cleaning out the fridge and finding all of my "missing" plastic containers. Dude, after I cleaned out the fridge it was really, really empty. I maybe having some interesting meals until payday. Finally, I headed out for my bike ride. Assignment: 1 hour, 25 minutes with 12 intervals of 1 minute all out and 2 minutes spin for recovery. I decided to try a city route and left from my apartment. I had a great time and enjoyed the ride much more than Friday's. It was a little interesting doing the intervals with stoplights but I made it work.
Tomorrow is my big day: Master's and Team Mermaid. I hope the legs keep working!
Friday, May 1, 2009
And, it begins . . .
Training for Vineman 1/2 AquaBike (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike)
Assignment: Ride 1 hour 30 minutes.
1 hour 30 minutes? Where? By myself? How? When? Why?
I thought I was going to be babysitting tonight (but it was canceled) so I decided to see what it is like to ride during lunch. I work very close to a nice long recreation trail and figured it would be a good place to start. At at 11:40am I headed out on my adventure.
The internal dialogue:
"Okay, here I go 45 minutes out, 45 minutes back."
"It's only been 2 minutes?"
"Oh, look it's the velodrome."
"What is that rubbing sound?" Stop and check the front tire.
"It's only been 5 minutes?"
"What is that weird feeling on my legs?" Who knew that my bike would kick up all of the pollen on the road?
"Why is it rubbing again?" Who knew that pollen and crap on the road would accumulate between my tire and brakes.
"Oh, look some geese and goslings. How cute. Please don't attack me."
"It's only been 7 minutes?" Okay, time to switch the mode on the bike computer from time to miles.
"I'm already to Bernal? It's only 4 something miles."
"Dude, its windy."
"My back kinda hurts. Zip up that zipper!"
"6 miles, 2 before I can check the time."
"I hope the wind gives me some help on the way back."
"Geez, I'm practically in Morgan Hill."
"7.5 miles almost there."
"Oh, look cows."
"8 miles! Let's check the time. Ah ha! 44 minutes perfect."
I turned around at 45 minutes and had the wind at my back the whole way. 16 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes, close enough. Maybe next time I will try the road. And, I think I need to add a destination to my workouts. Clearly, time isn't enough for me.
Assignment: Ride 1 hour 30 minutes.
1 hour 30 minutes? Where? By myself? How? When? Why?
I thought I was going to be babysitting tonight (but it was canceled) so I decided to see what it is like to ride during lunch. I work very close to a nice long recreation trail and figured it would be a good place to start. At at 11:40am I headed out on my adventure.
The internal dialogue:
"Okay, here I go 45 minutes out, 45 minutes back."
"It's only been 2 minutes?"
"Oh, look it's the velodrome."
"What is that rubbing sound?" Stop and check the front tire.
"It's only been 5 minutes?"
"What is that weird feeling on my legs?" Who knew that my bike would kick up all of the pollen on the road?
"Why is it rubbing again?" Who knew that pollen and crap on the road would accumulate between my tire and brakes.
"Oh, look some geese and goslings. How cute. Please don't attack me."
"It's only been 7 minutes?" Okay, time to switch the mode on the bike computer from time to miles.
"I'm already to Bernal? It's only 4 something miles."
"Dude, its windy."
"My back kinda hurts. Zip up that zipper!"
"6 miles, 2 before I can check the time."
"I hope the wind gives me some help on the way back."
"Geez, I'm practically in Morgan Hill."
"7.5 miles almost there."
"Oh, look cows."
"8 miles! Let's check the time. Ah ha! 44 minutes perfect."
I turned around at 45 minutes and had the wind at my back the whole way. 16 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes, close enough. Maybe next time I will try the road. And, I think I need to add a destination to my workouts. Clearly, time isn't enough for me.
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