Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Weekend Update

I can't believe it's already Wednesday and we haven't chatted about my amazing weekend yet!

We went to Wintergreen for a long weekend with Corinnie Beanie and her family. Cate couldn't join us the whole time, but they were able to come Sunday for the day. This was my kids' first skiing experience! And the first time my husband and I have skied in eight years - since the winter before I was pregnant with my son. We were all very excited!

We drove up on Saturday morning, got settled in our luxurious three bedroom condo, then hit the tubing hill, "The Plunge." It was a great run - very long and fast. We were able to hook all four tubes together and go down as a group.

Unfortunately, the Bean and family got kicked off the Plunge. They had tickets for the smaller tubing run. We did too, but we didn't get caught.

I'm not sure who had more fun - the parents or the kids. My husband liked to get us off to a fast start, then he figured out that he could pull the rope connecting us to bump me and pick up speed. Good fun!

On Sunday, we went skiing. The older kids did ski school in the morning; my daughter and one younger girl weren't old enough for ski school so we booked them a private lesson. My husband and I are not strong skiers so it was definitely better for them to learn from someone who is proficient.
It made all the difference in the world! They were much more comfortable after the lesson.

The adults were able to get a few runs in while the kids were in lessons. Hubby and I did four runs down the "Dobie" which is a green hill but pretty good. There was some ice on the slopes but also a lot of powder from the snow making equipment. The ability to ski came back to us pretty quickly, and we were more comfortable on our own skis by the time we picked the kids back up.

My daughter absolutely loved it! She didn't want to go to lunch because she wanted to keep skiing. She is mini-me, so for her to skip a meal is a big big deal!

My son wanted to try snow boarding, which was a mistake. I wish someone there had advised against it. Snow boarding seems much more difficult and uncontrollable. It was a frustrating experience for all involved, although after the fact, he said he loved it. We convinced him to try skis the next day, which he said he loved equally. He seemed much happier, and therefore so were we.

By the end of the weekend, they were both little kamakazies! They flew down the mountain. It was hilarious! I started out saying they are going to be better skiers than me by the time they are 10; I ended up saying they are going to be better skiers than me by next year.

On the way home, we made a quick stop at Veritas Vineyards for a tasting and to purchase some wine. They are fairly young and very good. We joined their wine of the month club while we were there. Hopefully the case we bought will last us until the first shipment which occurs, um, next week.

I can't wait to go again!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

January in Review



How'd the goals stack up for January? Well, the evil cold that I can't seem to shake took it's toll on my swimming, but otherwise - not too bad. I ended "January" in my record-keeping on Saturday, so last night's cycling and today's run will go on next month's report. I just had to slip that in there in case you wonder why these totals don't match my year-to-date totals on the right, because I'm sure someone else is looking (not!). Anyway, here's the comparison:

Actual / Goal / Difference

Run 46 / 40 / 6
Swim 4300 / 6400 / -2100
Cycle 80 / 50 / 30
Weights 8 / 8 / -
Yoga 5 / 4 / 1

Now granted, these were minimum goals... but still, I'm pleased.

Tag

TriGirl40 tagged me with the following questions:

1. Describe a memory from your first triathlon ever
2. Describe a memory from your most recent triathlon
3. What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a tri?
4. What's the most thrilling thing that's happened to you in a tri?
5. What is something you discovered about yourself by doing triathlons?
6. What is The Big Goal that you're working towards?

Here are my answers. What are yours?

1. Describe a memory from your first triathlon ever
My first tri was the ACAC Sprint in October, 2006. My favorite memory is finishing the swim, getting through T1, settling down on the bike and starting to ride. I was biking along, trying to settle down, and I saw a cute little family tucked on the side of the rode watching the action and cheering on the bikers. As I got closer, I realized it was MY cute little family! My kids (ages 5 & 6) went crazy when I rode by. They went to another spot along the bike course, drove past me going to ACAC as I was finishing the bike leg, and waited for me at the finish line, cheering wildly every time they saw me. It was such a great feeling! My babies were so cute and so proud of me when I finished. I felt really great that they saw what Mommy had been training for and totally got that it was important to me.

2. Describe a memory from your most recent triathlon
My most recent and first are one and the same! Another memory is that I was soooo jacked up on adrenalin and nerves before it started! I was literally jumping up and down beside the pool because I couldn't stand still. By the time I finally got in the water and started swimming, I was a lunatic and passed 4-5 people in front of me. I finished 5th out of 47 in my age group.

3. What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a tri?
Well, the photos of me coming out of the pool are certainly embarrasing! Also at T2 I couldn't remember what my number was or where to rack my bike. Some guy to pity on me and, after reading my race number to me from my body markings, pointed to my row. I thanked him profusely for adding some time to his own T2 to help a poor clueless novice - thereby adding more time for him! I felt pretty silly. It was a good learning experience for me to find a landmark or bring a balloon or something.

4. What's the most thrilling thing that's happened to you in a tri?
Guess what? Same tri. I think the most thrilling thing was how exilerated I felt at the finish line. I finished strong to an awesome cheering section of my kids and husband, and a huge rowdy group of TriGirls! Immediately, I couldn't wait to do another one.

I've done running events before and am not so crazy about them. It's the same thing I do regularly, just with a lot more people and a few water stops. But the tri was a totally different experience. I was combining three sports sequentially and trying to perform well in all of them. It's something I'd never do on my own, and therefore I loved the race experience as something different and new and challenging.

5. What is something you discovered about yourself by doing triathlons?
I discovered that I am very competitive. Not so much with other people, but definitely with myself. I wanted my times to line up with my expectations, and now, I want to beat those times.

6. What is The Big Goal that you're working towards?
I'm seriously thinking about the Patriot Half in September. It scares the hell out of me and I have to admit that's part of the attraction. I really believe I can do it if I put my mind to it; however, I'm concerned that I will have to make too many sacrifices to put in the proper training time. No committment yet, but maybe soon.



I'm supposed to tag six other people to answer these questions, but the only triathlete bloggers I know are the ones TriGirl40 already picked so I'm going to cheat and pick the same ones. Susie Q, Carmen, Melissa, TriMom, Nancy Toby and TriGirl40 - you're it twice!

Silenced!

Apparently Blogger got tired of all my recent whining and complaining and wouldn't allow me to log on for the last few days. I'll have to figure out what the problem was, because I can't bear to go through that again! I have been obsessed with getting in - I have lots to say. : )

Check back later today for a real post!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Tired Puppy

That's me. I'm tired of blowing my nose. I'm tired of waking up from a nightmare that I'm being choked in the middle of the night because my throat hurts so badly. I'm tired of the taste of cough drops. And as tired as I am of listening to myself bitch and moan, I'm sure you are too! Please stick with me. I will be well again one day, hopefully in the very near future, and I will return to my normal pleasant charming self. (HA!)
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In the meantime, I've been trying to maintain some semblance of baseline workouts. No swimming or intense cardio - those are too tough when I can't breathe through my nose. I skipped Som's swim class on Sunday and Ed's Shenanigans on Monday. Instead on Monday, I did the elliptical for a bit followed by free weights in the weight room. I always kill my legs when I work out on my own, so that was kind of nice. Tuesday, I ran four miles (9:16/mile average, which was surprising). Yesterday I felt a little better and pushed too hard - spin in the morning and yoga in the afternoon, and this morning I ran four miles (10:03/mile average). I'm not sure whether I'm being stubborn or wimpy by continuing to do something. It does make me feel a little better though, mentally if not physically.
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Tonight, I am scheduled to go to a Women in Technology meeting followed by (yet another) Silpada party. At this point, I'm leaning towards going home, putting on my pajamas, and snuggling with my kids instead.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Little Sister

Grandison created a new Big/Little Sister program for TriGirls this year, as you may have read about in various other TriGirl blogs. While I am by no means qualified, I volunteered in case Grandison was in desperate need of someone. I ended up getting a terrific little sister, Jen. We met for coffee on Saturday. She has an extensive fitness background, although she has been out of it for awhile, and is a very cool lady. It turns out that we live near each other and I have met her before. She is friends with new TriGirls Jennifer and Caroline, whom I've known since childhood.

Jennifer and Caroline both have fabulous big sisters, but I doubt their relationship will involve much hazing. That's where I'll step in to enhance their triathlon experience. I have lots of skill in that area from my college sorority days. HA!

Anyway, Jen will participate in her first triathlon at the Shady Grove Sprint in June. That will probably be my first race of the season as well. It is preceeded by the kids tri that my children are doing.

And - am I CRAZY???? - I'm thinking about doing the newly announced Patriot Half which is 1.2 mile swim in the James River, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Can I do that? I believe I could do the individual components although I've never biked or run that far, but I have no idea whether I can string the three together.

I had been contemplating the Naylor's Beach Olympic distance, but that has lost appeal to me since they moved it to the end of September. I've also heard scary things about traffic and hills at that race.

Hmmm... something to think about...

At some point, I really need to run my potential race schedule by my husband to make sure he's good with all the kid duty!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Still Sick

I'm still fighting off this nasty bug I caught last week. I hate being sick. I realize what a stupid comment that is... it's not like anyone enjoys being sick. But still. Thanks for letting me vent.

Today, I went to the gym and did 15 minutes on the elliptical and some free weights, mostly legs, chest, back and abs. I'm not sure whether I'll make it to cycling or not. I feel like I'm using my cold as an excuse to skip a workout I don't like.

Week 4 goals are shot.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Cold

I've managed to catch a cold. It's my first of the season, thank goodness. My son had it, then my husband, now me. I hope my daughter remains unscathed. I've been pretty miserable for a couple of days and have been chugging Tylenol Cold like crazy.

Fortunately, Grandison has thought of every contingency to help us train. She has a post on our forum about training while ill, with tips from Dr. Teresa Stadler. Dr. Stadler describes symptoms of the common cold as compared to other similar illnesses like the flu. So I've ascertained that it is just a cold, and I can continue to workout to the degree that I want. This morning, I went for my ususal run only because I called Masha too late to cancel. We did a fairly slow three miles - average 10 minutes/mile. I didn't have anymore in me.
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Dr. Stadler, who specializes in sports medicine, advises that swimming is not the best idea with a cold. That's all I needed to read to miss tonights class with Som. And I will miss it. Honest.
Dr. Stadler is an amazing woman. The first time I saw her was at the ACAC sprint tri. She was six months pregnant and she was on a relay team. She swam and ran; someone else biked. She said the baby threw off her center of gravity on the bike and she didn't want to risk a fall. Seeing her from the back, you would never know she was pregnant. She just had a tiny little tummy with super-fit everywhere else. I'm since met her and discovered that she is as nice as she is fit. Gotta love the network that Grandison has built!
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I'm off to blow my nose for the 3,659,872nd time in the last five minutes.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Massey Cancer Center

TriGirls are participating as a team to raise money for the VCU Massey Cancer Center, one of the beneficiaries of the Monument Ave 10k. I know that you are constantly bombarded with requests to donate to many worthy causes, but if this is a cause that resonates with you please consider a donation. My fundraising site is : https://www.usraceworks.com/personalDonation.do?registrationId=65342 . You can enter another runner's name to assist their fundraising efforts, or you can donate to the cause without supporting a particular racer.

Massey provided some startling statistics. Cancer will affect one in two men and one in three women. I sincerely hope that pioneers in cancer research like Massey receive the funding they need to continue their efforts.

To help raise money, TriGirls are sponsoring a happy hour at the Pour House in Short Pump on Friday, Feb. 23. The owners/managers have graciously agreed to donate proceeds for all domestic draft beer puchases between 6 and 9 p.m. to TriGirls' fundraising efforts for Massey. Come join us!

I personally hit my lifetime quota of beer shortly after I graduated from college. I will have to take one (or two or three...) for the team I guess. Or perhaps I can throw $5 in a collection bin and drink something I'll actually enjoy!

Swimming swimming swimming

I'm quoting Dory again from Finding Nemo in the title. I actually swam yesterday! I was a little dissapointed to discover that the Shady Grove Y Masters Swim is not coached. Someone did leave a workout though and it was good. I didn't have enough time to do all of it but swam 1600 meters in about 45 minutes. So I hit 3000 meters in a week for the first time this year! Yeah!

Today I did a fairly tough weight workout - a lot of legs. I will remember those dead lifts and lunges again tomorrow I'm sure.

So for week 3, I hit all my fitness goals - ran 10 miles, swam 3000 meters, biked 27.5 miles (a total assumption based on time since both workouts were stationary), weight trained twice and did yoga once. I've been doing pretty well with eating more fruits and vegtables, too. I've found that eating fruit with breakfast is the best way for me to get the recommended daily value. I haven't been tracking my food very well, and instead of losing weight I've actually gained a pound. That doesn't seem quite fair considering that I've added cycling and swimming workouts to my schedule this year. I'm pretty certain it's additional muscle mass. NOT!

Book Club



My book club meets every other month. Whoever hosts selects the book, and we have read a nice variety of fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, and trash.

For last night's meeting, our book was The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer selected by hostess extraordinaire, Beth. If you don't believe in a higher power, don't bother reading this book. It is about an all-encompassing force in the universe to which we are all connected. He calls it the Source. (Funny girl Corinne says, "May the Source be with you.")

I think the overall message is interesting, but I did not like Dr. Dyer's writing style. Members of my book club agreed that he appears to be condescending and egotistical. Which is ironic, because one of his points is to disengage the ego to connect more fully with the Source. The book was also repetitive. As Cate pointed out, some of the passages read like a college student trying to add 100 more words to a paper.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the following message, which he wrote is posted in his children's bedroom:

Good morning,

This is God.

I will be handling

All of your

Problems today.

I will not need

Your help, so have

A miraculous day.

My other favorite was "Rule Number Six." The concept is that whenever one is upset or freaking out over something, remember rule number six, which is "Don't take yourself so goddamn seriously." There are no other rules.

I would recommend the Reader's Digest condensed version of this book but not the whole thing.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Workout Update

Lest you think I have been slacking off the last two days since I haven't mentioned any workouts, let me assure you that I am not.

Yesterday, I did spin and yoga classes at the Y. Both were more get-it-done workouts than anything really to write about. The Y is always so crowded in January. On one hand, I wish the New Year's resolutions would stick so we have a healthier, happier community. On the other, I'm looking forward to February when I can have some personal space back!

Jon and I were going to run again this morning, but unfortunately he has gotten sick during his brief foray from Chicago to Richmond. He wisely decided that a little extra sleep was more important than a run this morning. So, I was back out with my iPod for company.

What a difference a few days makes in Richmond! Tuesday morning, it was 64 degrees for our run. Today, it was 28. Brrrr! Fortunately, I had my snuggly warm TriGirl fleece to protect me from the elements. It was so cold that my eyes were watering like crazy for the first part of the run. I'm sure I looked lovely with my bright red face with tears streaming down it! I chugged out five miles at an 8:55/mile average.

And... as if that's not enough... I packed my gym bag with (drum roll, please) goggles, bathing suit and swim cap. I even put waterproof mascara on this morning. In the spirit of full disclosure, I've taken these exact same steps three times, and there it has ended. Why will today be any different, you may wonder? Well, I made a date to meet a friend at the pool at noon. Because I know she'll be there waiting for me, I will be far more inclined to actually go. And I know that once I get in the water and swim a lap or two, I'll like it.

I can't help but think of Dory in Finding Nemo... "swimming, swimming, swimming... just keep swimming, swimming, swimming..." But for me, instead of just keep swimming, it's just start swimming!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

MP3 Update

I have been in MP3 hog heaven! My husband gave me an iPod shuffle for Christmas. It was completely unexpected. My old MP3 player is fine, but it doesn't hold much music. He also gave me, at my son's wise suggestion, an iPod gift card to purchase music. (This from a six year old!) I've been loading tunes from the Apple store and ones I already had on my computer like crazy! And I bought a $50 iTunes gift card at Costco yesterday for $44.99 - bargain! All the songs on it right now are fast running songs. My current favorite is Scissor Sisters "I don't want to dance" or something like that. I'm taking it with me to cycling class on Monday. Hopefully my girls will like the selections. (Melissa, I even have some Salt & Pepa on it but I can't remember which song.)

On a total tangent - Grandison said Maramarc has extra trainers and I can rent one! Yippee!!!! I don't have to beat myself to a pulp lugging mine through the street, up the steps, through the big heavy door, and into class every week. Maybe I'll be a happier cyclist.

Back to topic. Santa brought my kids CoolP3 players for Christmas. They wanted iPods - target marketing is amazing. These players are made for kids, have kid-sized headsets, and are more rugged. Thank goodness, as they've been dropped several times already. I loaded my kids' choices of music on them, including High School Musical, Jump Start, Bon Jovi, and Hannah Montana. They have ecclectic taste already and are so cute walking around with their headphones on, singing their little hearts out.

Alas, in sad MP3 player news, the waterproof MP3 player I bought myself recently doesn't work. I think it is a defective player. I heard music on it once but can't get it to play again. That could very well be user error! But it also won't turn off - I have to pop the battery. So something's wrong. I need to call user support (if such a thing exists for this brand/model) and probably exchange it. When I get a functional model, I'll let you know how it is. I can't wait to swim with music.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Comments

By popular demand (okay, one person), I changed the comment option to allow anyone to comment instead of requiring a registered user. Hopefully, it will work and I'll leave it this way unless I get lots of spam comments which I understand can happen. I admit it, I'm a comment addict. I love the feedback!

But to Run is Fun

After beating myself up about my lack of cycling ability last night, it was fun to run this morning. Something I can do! To make it even better, I got to run with my friend Jon. He is in Richmond on a business trip from his home in Chicago.

Jon and I used to work together and traveled together fairly regularly, so we've run before. He is a strong runner - usually hurts me! He's having some hip and lower back problems, unfortunately, so I was able to keep up with him today. We met in Innsbrook and ran around the lakes. It was a nice, flat run and really nice to catch up. We've been reading each other's blogs, so we were pretty current already!

We ran 3 1/2 miles together, then Jon had to go to work. I did another 1 1/2 to get 5 in for today. Since I missed my Sunday run, I had to do 5 today and 5 Thursday to hit my minimum goal of 10 miles per week. I don't know the split time, but in total I ran the 5 miles at a 9:28/mile pace. With lots of chatting, I'm happy with that.

Note to Jon: I passed the older couple again on my own, and the man wanted to know if I had worn you out! hee hee

Cycling Sucks

... or more accurately, I suck at it.

To be fair, I am not in the right mindset to cycle when I arrive at class on Monday nights. I don't like leaving my kids, and making two trips to my car at the beginning and end of class to haul in my trainer, bike, shoes, towel, water bottle, etc. really pisses me off. That trainer is heavy! And invariably, I whack myself in the shin with it, leaving a huge painful reminder of class for the rest of the week.

I thought I was being so smart buying a trainer instead of renting one from Maramarc - that way, my husband and I can use it at home during the week. That actually hasn't happened, for me anyway. I prefer spin class or getting outside on my bike. My husband has used it a few times though. I think I need to check with Maramarc to see if there are still trainers available to rent. It will be worth it to save myself some aggravation.

Last night, Ed had us in the big chain ring for most of the class again and we spent a lot of time in levels 7 & 8, and some in 9 and 10. I'm pretty certain there's not a route I will ever willingly take in my lifetime that is 45 minutes straight uphill. On the bright side, cycling outdoors should seem like a piece of cake in comparison. And I definitely have room to improve on cycling. It is my weakest of the three triathlon activities.

Thanks to Melissa for providing fun riding music last night. I particularly liked Salt & Pepa and Madonna. : )

Monday, January 15, 2007

FIM

That's my very own acronym to follow TGIF. It stands for F*&^, It's Monday.

My goals for today:

* Weight train (check)
* Cycling torture... I mean training... with Ed
* Drive past Krispy Kreme without stopping on the way home from cycling

I had a great weekend playing with my kids and seeing family. The High School Musical concert was a highlight. It was absolutely hilarious to see my kids dancing in the aisle as they sang every word.

Swimming with Som and the TriGirls was fun too. I'm amazed by how much I enjoy the group swims. One of the best parts is meeting some more TriGirls or getting to know them better. Last night, we did some warm up laps followed by form conditioning, then Som told us to swim for 20 minutes straight and to count our laps. His expectation, I imagine, is that we will increase our lap count in the same amount of time with practice. After five minutes, I was already tired but kept going and swam 44 laps/1100 yards in 20 minutes. Towards the end, Som told me my stroke looked smooth. I was so excited! He then slid in a couple corrections to my form, but still.

I missed my run yesterday morning because I was preparing brunch for some of my husband's family. That's a valid excuse, right? I was hoping to squeeze in a run during the afternoon but it didn't work out. We still had guests when I left for swimming. I'm consoling myself with the thought that my heel needed the rest. And, there's always tomorrow!

FIM.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Running while Hurt

Here's a link to an interesting article sent to me by my mentor, Joe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/fashion/11FITNESS.html?ex=1169182800&en=bce3e4a57c211b67&ei=5070&emc=eta1

I'm applying the advice to my heel. It doesn't hurt any worse when I run than it does otherwise, so I keep running. Sounds like these doctors support that decision! I'm going to try the ibuprofin and ice advice to see if they help.

Joe is a triathlete, part-time university professor, CIO, and expert in my field (IT). He is very personable, smart, generous with advice, and kind. He doesn't really know that he's my mentor, but I'm pretty sure he knows I idolize him. Either that or he thinks I'm some freaky stalker.

TGIF!

Happy Friday!

I am so looking forward to the weekend. My kids and I have big plans - we're going out to dinner and to the High School Musical show in Charlottesville tonight with friends (theirs and mine). My kids are obsessed with the movie, and I must admit that I know all the songs. We went out last night and bought tee shirts to wear to the show. Well, I bought them tee shirts. I won't actually be wearing an "I love Troy" shirt or anything remotely similar. Even though I do.

Tomorrow, after my son's basketball and daughter's dance, we're going out to lunch and to a paint-your-own pottery shop with my son's Godmother. That's his Christmas present from her. We did it last year too and had a great time, both with the activity and spending time with her.

Then on Sunday, we are hosting a family brunch with my husband's parents, sister & husband, and aunt. I'm making a mixed green salad, potato/ham breakfast casserole, spinach balls, turkey/mozzerella roll, maybe stuffed mushroom caps if I have time, and strawberries with chocolate sauce.

Yes, all my favorite activities involve food!

On a workout note, I packed a bag to swim this morning but instead I went back to bed after putting the kids on the bus. I was actually looking forward to a swim, believe it or not, but I was really really tired. My son has been sick and getting up throughout the night all week. My daughter was up several times during the night too for whatever reason. I woke up extremely cranky; they on the other hand were excited and bouncing off the walls. Not only do they have High School Musical tonight, but today was pajama day at school. It doesn't get much better than that!

So, I will do my weight workout at lunch and call it a day. Maybe I will be able to sneak in a quick swim tomorrow to hit all my goals for the week...

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Running on Chardonnay

I think I do some of my best running after having some Chardonnay the night before. I wouldn't use it as a race strategy, or even a regular training stategy, but it does seem to work for me pretty well. This morning, I had a fairly easy run around my neighborhood and ended up averaging 8:35 minutes/mile for five miles. I wasn't looking at my Garmin at all, just trying to have a good run. I was very surprised and pleased with the results.

Last night, I had said Chardonnay at my neighborhood Bunco. In case you are unfamiliar with the bunco phenominon, it is not your mother's bridge game! Bunco is perhaps the simplest game ever conceived. You roll dice and count the number of times you roll the target number. In the first round, we roll for ones; in the second round, twos, and so on. The fun of it is that you change teams, circulate among all the tables, and get to play with everyone - hence, socialize with everyone. I initially met a lot of my neighbors through bunco. My group generally spends a lot more time socializing than actually playing the game, which is one of the things I like most about it. The other thing I really like, surprise surprise, is that we always have good food! My friend Cate, last night's hostess, served an amazing artichoke dip. I probably ate 90% of it. It was yummy! (TriGirl40, I used the word "yummy" just for you!)

To continue with my food obsession, today I am having lunch with my good friend Richard. We worked together for years at three different companies but sadly aren't working together now. We will again, though! We are a great team. We approach almost any situation totally differently, which means that when we combine our perspectives, we come up with better solutions. People used to think we didn't get along because we argue a lot - but it's just business and always with respect for each other's viewpoint. He is one of my favorite people.

Richard is also a big reason I started running. And biking. He started running a few years ago and was very enthusiastic about it and quite good at it. He ran a lot of races including two marathons, but he had to stop because he had so many problems with his knee. So he turned to biking, where he was equally good and enthusiastic. He made running, then biking, sound so fun that I had to try them! I call him "coach" because I often ask his advice.

I'm starving now! Hope I can make it until lunch...

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Quick Update

This morning, I went to spin class at the Y. I got a good workout, but I definitely noticed that I don't work as hard in spin as I do in Ed's Shenanigans. I guess because Ed can tell whether I'm actually in that big chain or not just by looking at my bike! I'm hoping for some warm Wednesday mornings so I can get outside for some rides.

I also went to yoga today which was great. Dotti taught, and she is wonderful.

My chest is still sore from weights Monday and my heel still hurts, but I am whining less today!

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Karen Holloway

I just discovered that Richmond has our very own professional Triathlete, Karen Holloway. Her website is http://www.karenholloway.com/index.html. I posted it to the right for future reference under "Some of my favorite sites." I read her journal today and am awed by the amount of training she does regularly.

Go Karen! Woo hoo!!!!

Ouch

My body hurts today. I'm sore from doing weights yesterday, plus Ed whipped my ass in cycling class last night. I had been warned, and it was all true. We were in the big chain ring for almost the entire class, standing, sitting, "grinding it out" as Ed said. I hadn't been to class for almost a month which made it even worse.

I was very, very bad and rewarded myself with a Krispy Kreme donut afterwards. My husband bought a discount card and the shop is right by Maramarc, so that was my justification (aka, excuse). I ate one in the car on the way home - it was warm and quite delicious. My husband had some when I got home and gave me a hard time about blowing his nutrition for the day. Excuse me! It was his own fault! If he hadn't bought the discount card, I'm certain I could have driven right by. By the way, Krispy Kreme has a drive through now so you don't even have to be bothered to walk 10 feet to get nice hot donuts.

This morning, I cut myself a little slack and did a slow four mile jog around my neighborhood. My heel is still bothering me. I'm not sure what the problem is but since it's been a month and clearly isn't going away on its own, perhaps I need to consult a professional. I was ignoring my Garmin for the most part, except it kept beeping to display a weak signal alert. At one point, I ran about 1/2 mile yet the distance on the watch never changed. I ran for 40 minutes and am calling it four miles. It was still hard because, have I mentioned, my body hurts!

It's nice to be done for the day before 8 a.m.

Monday, January 8, 2007

Quote of the Day

This quote has been flying around on the Internet for awhile, but I absolutely love it:

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow!! What a ride!"

Isn't that great?!?

Week 2

It's the second week of 2007 already. I've been pretty good about remembering the new year, but terrible about knowing what day it is when writing checks, etc. Can't believe it's already the 8th!

For the first week, I hit my weekly goals other than swimming. The second week is shaping up to look similar, although I finally got in the pool thanks to Som. He created a TriGirl winter swim program which started last night. I didn't track exactly how much we swam, but it was probably about 1300 meters which puts me 300 meters short of my weekly goal. My second swim day/time is Thursdays at lunch but I have a conflict this week. Perhaps I can talk myself into some pool time on another day. Som says it is important to swim 2-3 days per week even with shorter distances, just to stay comfortable in the water.

Som is so great! He is such a patient and enthusiastic coach. He even called us giraffes last night (swimming with raised necks sticking out of the water) and we still love him. Swimming actually felt really good! I ended up in the fast lane where I didn't belong and got to meet some TriGirls I had heard of before but never met. It was educational just to watch their form.

My running buddies Corinne and Masha joined the winter swim program with me. We carpooled together along with TriGirl Kathryn, so even the travel time was fun. Other than the dark rainy miserable night I had to drive through to get us all home, but I digress...

Kathryn and I had never met previously but joined TriGirls at the same time. It turns out that we live near each other, have children the same age and at the same elementary school, and know a lot of people in common. She quickly became my closest TriGirl friend and car-pooler and is one of the big reasons I enjoy the group so much.

Today, I did my usual weights class at lunch, and I have the aptly named Ed's Shenanigans cycling class tonight with TriGirls. I'm scheduled to attend cycling class on Monday nights but have only been to two of them since the beginning of December between holiday madness, conflicts, and gym closures on the last two Mondays. From what I understand, Ed has significantly ratcheted up the difficulty level and I'm going to get my butt kicked tonight. Bring it on!!!!!

(Ahem, just kidding... really... )

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Speed Workout


Masha and I did our first official speed workout today. (That's her on the right - we had just finished the Ntelos 8k in November.) We jogged to a nearby track and ran one mile repeats with quarter mile recovery walks in between. My times were: 8:11, 7:55, and 7:46. Then we jogged back to our starting point for a total of six miles. It was interesting - the first mile repeat was tough. Maybe because I knew what to expect, the second two weren't as bad. So the good news is that we did it! Now we have to keep doing it regularly and improve upon our times. My friend and pseudo coach, Richard, says to learn to run fast, you have to run fast.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

Fun House

I have long held a theory that we women view ourselves in a fun house mirror. Body parts are either way too small or way too large. I, for example, see myself with a peanut head, small upper body, large hips, and elephant legs. I am essentially a triangle in my own little fun house mirror.

It is completely an unrealistic assessment of myself; one which none of my friends would agree with, and one which I would never use to describe another human being. Yet my own inner voice is the one I hear most; therefore, it is the one I believe.

Let's resolve to train our inner voices to be kind. Assess ourselves as we would assess our friends, with a kinder gentler perspective.

On a related note, I think some men have a fun house mirror too but theirs seems to work in reverse - things they want to be small appear small and vice versa for large - whether it's true or not. Theirs can be equally unrealistic but at least it's positive!

Friday, January 5, 2007

New Toys

Nothing makes a workout more fun than new gear!

Yesterday, I did a little shopping at a local bike store and picked up neoprine (sp?) booties and long cycling pants. I wanted a long sleeved cycling jacket too, but they only had large mens sizes. Of course I have plenty of winter running tops, but they don't have the cool flap in the back to cover my butt like cycling jackets do. Or the many storage options. Guess I'll have to go online today to see what I can find!

When I got home with my new biking goodies, a box from swimoutlet.com awaited me containing my new TriGirl pink bathing suit and the waterproof MP3 player I ordered! Som will probably kill me if I bring it to practice Sunday night, but I'm going to load up some tunes and take it for a swim next week.

More good news - my friend Jennifer bought a bike and is definitely joining TriGirls! She is so cool; I can't wait to see more of her. Her sister Caroline may join as well, and her sister Jackie is still contemplating it. Yeah!

Thanks, TriGirl40, for posting comments on my blog. I'm so happy that someone is reading my crazy ramblings besides me! Anyone else, check out her blog at the link to the right. She's great, and it's a good read. You will notice that I blatently copied her format when I created my own.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

2006 in Review

I looked back over my 2006 logs and came up with the following:

Run - 697.8 miles
Swim - 15,050 meters (sounds better than 9.4 miles!)
Cycle - 280 miles
Weights - 73 times
Yoga - 28 times

For the first half of last year, I was running three to four days a week, which I intentionally cut back. I started cycling in late May and swam really only in Sept & Oct to prepare for a sprint tri. I didn't have as much time for weight training and yoga during my tri training as I would have liked, although I was surprised to see such low totals in those categories. And, I managed to gain two pounds from the beginning of 2006 until the end, although I hit an all time low adult weight in June (8 1/2 pounds less than I am now).

That made me wonder - if I achieve my minimum goals 45 out of 52 weeks in 2007, what would my numbers look like?

Run - 450 miles
Swim - 72,000 meters (45 miles)
Cycle - 562.5 miles
Weights - 90 times
Yoga - 45 times

This year, I am focusing more on cycling, trying to establish a weekly swimming habit, and good nutrition. The running and cycling totals seem achievable - I ran more last year and cycled only half the year, so if I double last year's number, I'm there. The swimming total looks daunting. I'm also concerned that I will not have time for weights and yoga like last year.

My tracking will be more detailed this year which hopefully will help me achieve this goals more consistently week-to-week. I've also started tracking workout times recently. It will be interesting to note speed improvements over time.

Carrot Soup

I admit it; I'm obsessed with food. I love to cook it and I especially love to eat it. I have a soup recipe that I thought I'd share (in case anyone else is actually reading this) because it is nutritous, easy, and delicious. It makes your house smell good, too. Even my husband loves it, and he never eats cooked vegtables!

Creamy Carrot Soup
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken broth
nutmeg
salt
pepper

Combine carrots, onion, and broth in a soup pot over medium heat. Add a sprinke of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 25 - 30 minutes until vegtables are tender. Cool. Move to blender in batches and puree.

Serve hot or cold (I prefer hot).

Serves 4 - 6.

Thursday Run

Got it done, not that it was pretty. I ran a different loop around my neighborhood today for five miles in 45:06 (9:01/mile). So I am getting slower as I suspected on Tuesday! Oh well, my speed goal is for the whole year and should feel unattainable in January, right?!?

TriGirls meet on Thursday mornings at 6:00 on a track that is 20 - 25 minutes from my house. As much as I'd prefer to run with a group, I just can't drag myself out of bed that early to meet them. I'm trying to convince someone to meet at 7:00 instead but so far, no takers. Maybe once it is light earlier and Grandison starts coaching the run, I will be more motivated...

Corinne should be able to run again soon. Her knee is feeling somewhat better since the cortesone shot, and she is in physical therapy now. It will be wonderful to run with her again!

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Happy Birthday, Carmen!

TriGirl's very own Carmen aka TriJinx aka Devil Face is celebrating her birthday on Jan. 8. Happy b-day, Carmen! I hope it is as fabulous as you are!

Spin

So now I remember why I don't go to spin class at lunch time - I am a sweaty mess when it is over. Even with a rushed shower, I feel yucky. (Can you tell I'm a mom? Who else as an adult would use a word like "yucky"?)

But good news - my Y is adding an 8:15 spin class on Wednesdays in January. If it is well-attended, they will continue to offer it. I'm going to attend as many as I can in support of the new time!

Nutrition

Our wonderful TriGirl coach, Grandison, posted this link on our forum: http://active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13708

It is a good summary of nutrition needs and typical problem areas for Americans.

I have a good tip for others who need to include more fruit in their diets - add dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, or other fruit to a salad. They add a nice zip and help cover two food groups at once.

Exercise Update

I didn't start the first week of the new year very well! Sunday was Dec. 31, New Year's Eve, and I continued my holiday slacker ways with no exercise. Masha ended up going out of town, so I didn't have a scheduled run in the morning. My kids spent the night with Grandma the night before, so I had the unusual luxery of sleeping in and took full advantage of it! Then I had the nerve to take a nap in the afternoon and otherwise procrastinate until there was no time for a run before our dinner guests arrived. I really need a schedule, including a day, time, and preferably a work out partner to get my butt in gear!

Monday, I was in make-up mode. I gave myself two Cyclo Core DVDs for Christmas and I tried them both out. The program is geared towards using weights and yoga to improve cycling performance. The first DVD is a resistance workout using an exercise ball and light hand weights. It was pretty good, although I would prefer a longer weight workout. The next time I use it, I will do each section two or three times. The second DVD is Cyclo Zen which is a yoga workout. I did two of the sections - power yoga and relaxation yoga - which were both good but remarkably similar. My kids did all three workouts with me. They were hilarious, especially with the yoga moves. They said they loved it and asked to do yoga ever day when I get home from work. (Didn't happen in practice, at least yesterday. They were tired, hungry, and cranky after going back to school for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks.)

Tuesday (yesterday), I ran five miles through my neighborhood but due to user error on the Garmin (I forgot to restart the timer after stopping at a traffic light), I don't know my time. I'm estimating in the 45 minute range, which means I'm getting slower on each run. I'm not going to beat myself up, though, because I don't really know my time and anyway run speed is a secondary, not a primary, goal for 2007. Nutrition was better yesterday. It is enlightening to track my food intake. I hit my own fruit/ vegtable goal but fell woefully short of the government's daily fruit recommendations according to the food pyramid. I also had a dark chocolate Hagen Daas ice cream bar after my kids went to bed for no reason other than that I was obsessing over it. Today, I'm having an apple with breakfast to get an early jump on fruit intake!

This morning, I did Cyclo Zen relaxation yoga for 30 minutes and I'm scheduled for spin class at the YMCA during lunch time. I haven't taken a spin class in ages and am not looking forward to getting all sweaty at lunch time then having to return to work. Hopefully that will be motivation to get my trainer set up on Tuesday nights so I can cycle at home on Wednesday mornings throughout the rest of the winter! I also need to purchase some winter biking gear so I can get outside to cycle. Maybe my husband will even go with me since he has his own bike now! That would be great!

Other than Monday, I'm reasonably on track for the week. Onward!

Blog Notes

A few things I've noticed about my blog compared to others - most authors actually identify a subject and stick with it, whereas I usually post once a day and write about multiple random things. I'm going to start posting once per topic instead to keep this more organized. Next, I don't seem to have a comments link at the end of my posts. I tried to turn it on; we'll see if it works on this one. If not, back to the drawing board! Finally, I love all the fun pictures that other blogs have and need to spend some time figuring out how to do it. We'll see how it goes...

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Update: Comments work! Yeah!

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

2007 Goals

Happy 2007!

I've been thinking about my 2007 fitness goals. My main objectives are to improve my cycling form, build endurance on the bike, and to improve my nutrition. I have some lower priority objectives as well such as increasing cycling and running speeds. Here it all is:

  • Maintain an appropriate balance of training/exercise and family time.
  • Continue with TriGirls. Get to know the team better and have fun!
  • Improve strength, form, and speed on the bike. Dream goal: 18 mph average speed over 20 mile distance.
  • Improve run form and increase speed to 8:15 minute miles over 10k distance. Run 3x/week for minimum distance 10 miles/ideal 16 miles.
  • Be more consistent with swim and bike workouts - 1x/week minimum swim (1600 meters); 1-2x/week minimum bike (15 miles minimum/30 miles ideal).
  • Strength train two hours per week.
  • Yoga or pilates 1x/week for 45 minutes.
  • Track food intake on mypyramid.gov chart five days per week.
  • Eat at least three servings of fruits/vegtables per day.

I am extremely schedule oriented, so for this to work, I have to plan my week. Here's what my winter schedule looks like:

Sun ...... Mon ........... Tues ....... Wed ........ Thurs ...... Fri ............. Sat

run ........weights .......run ......... cycling ...... run ........ weights ..... rest

swim .....cycling ......................... yoga .......... swim (opt)

I've been doing most of it for the last two months, but in this schedule I added the Sunday night TriGirl swim which starts next week thank goodness, an optional Thursday swim, and a Wednesday cycling. I will either set my trainer up in my family room on Wednesday mornings or go to spin classes Wednesdays at lunch time. I have two cycling/trainer DVDs that will hopefully be good. If not, I can crank out some music or watch TV I guess.

This spring, I'd like to add another bike ride and have been thinking about riding to/from work once or twice per week. I'm concerned about traffic. Once the weather warms up, I'll have to do a test ride one weekend to see how scary it is. The swim will no longer be optional in the spring either, so this is my chance to work into it gradually.

So that's the plan, and I'm committing to it here.