Sunday, July 29, 2007

Ahh, the weekend again...

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days - I've been enjoying some down time at the river with friends:



Forgive me now? It was as fabulous as it looks. Here's how I passed at least some of my time:
Our friend's parents own the house. They were there all week; we rolled down on Thursday afternoon. Our kids are the same ages so a great time was had by all.

Rainbow is an avid fisherman and Taz discovered the thrill of crabbing with a net on the dock. We played in the river and pool, did a little row-boating, and mainly just hung out and relaxed. My parents have a river shack themselves so I grew up fishing, crabbing, and water skiing. We haven't gone to their house much because the stinging nettles are terrible on their part of the river. (Stinging nettles are jelly fish for those of you who don't speak Southern.) Now that the kids are a little older, we'll have to go more often.

I did fit in some workouts. Thursday, I ran before we left. I was actually having a pretty slow run but picked it up at the mid-point for a serious negative split to finish 5 miles at a 9:19/mi average. That included a final mile at 8:36. And on Friday, I swam for about 30 minutes in the small pool pictured above.

This weekend, I was supposed to ride 28 on Saturday and run 10 on Sunday, but I didn't want to take my bike with me so I swapped the workouts. Saturday, I made it 9 miles (9:56/mi average) before I completely died. The run was flat but hot and exhausting. The last 1.75 miles were particularly brutal. I did see a shop called Anna Banana's and Corbett Road so I felt that TriGirls were with me in spirit.

This morning, I biked 32 miles (17.9 mph average speed). I rode to West Creek to have a familiar route and the company of other cyclists. I may have seen Deanna L up there. (DL, were you at WC today wearing a cute hot pink top?) I yelled "Deanna!" several times, but either she didn't hear me or it wasn't her. I'm sure I looked completely normal to those around me.

Soon after I got to West Creek, another cyclist went blasting past me like I was standing still. Another guy passed me shortly thereafter, but I passed him back. A lot of people out there today seemed to be a tad clueless - runners side-by-side blocking a whole lane of traffic and several packs of cyclists taking up the entire road. I weaved through one group and passed their leader on the right because he was so far over. He immediately hopped in my draft and rode with me for awhile, never saying a word or otherwise even acknowledging me. Then he jumped right in front of me on the u-turn, slowed down and grabbed some water. I couldn't wait to blast by him again and leave him in my dust.

He was wearing a UVa jersey. Calling him an a$$hole would therefore be redundant.

(Sorry, Annnnnn!)

I tried a new way to get home thanks to a forum tip from Cyndi - it was hilly and excellent. As I dragged into my neighborhood, some guy passed me from out of nowhere. That perked me back up again, and I soon passed him back.

Training has definitely made me realize how competitive I am.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

A lovely day for a bike ride

This morning when my alarm went of at the absurdly early 5:30 a.m., I was resigned to it. I hopped out of bed, threw on my bike shorts, and headed outside. (Okay, okay... I did a few more things but not many! I was out the door in six minutes. Really!)

I hadn't paid any attention to the weather forecast and was a bit surprised to find a light rain. No worries; I raced in rain - I can train in rain right! Oh wait isn't that supposed to be the other way around?

Nonetheless, I headed to the Y to meet TriGirls Deanna L, Meghan, Jonah, Kathryn, and newly anointed (by me anyway) TriGirl Richard. I think he really likes that, by the way. We had butts in seats at 6 a.m. as planned. Love that! We were all pretty compatible speed wise and stayed together which was great. Some of us were doing the full 12 mile race loop and some of us were veering off the path to get a few more miles. As the rain picked up, the numbers in each category shifted towards the shorter ride. For the smart people that is...

Richard, Deanna and I split from the rest of the group to do a quick out and back. Deanna totally cracks me up - she started out saying she was going to ride 30 minutes, then 45, then she said, "I'll do 30 miles if you want." She is always self-depreciating about her talent then goes out there and lights it up. It was really fun to ride with her today.

The rain picked up and we hit some rolling hills. Truck traffic was heavy, particularly on the way back. At one point, Deanna was in the lead and we were riding pretty tightly when a big service truck zipped past us and almost immediately made a right turn - right in front of Deanna. She handled it really well but it kind of freaked me out. Almost immediately thereafter, a contractor van passed us and I'll just say he was not inclined to share the road. I know he had to see us but he certainly did not make any accommodation for us. I was very happy when the road widened to two lanes each way.

We somehow managed to finish our ride unscathed, albeit a bit dirty, for a total of 20 miles at 17.2 mph. Considering that we couldn't see, we were pleased.

Next I headed into the Y to get a little swimming in, since after all it was still only 7:30 a.m. TriGirl40 was in the pool and I got to catch up with her for a few minutes. Always a pleasure! She was more motivated than me and kept swimming, so alas, I had to get started.

I decided to do a timed 1000 as my main set today, hoping to build a little confidence that I won't have to walk at Luray. Which actually isn't an option since we're swimming in what I believe is a deep reservoir. I'm told it used to be the town's water supply. After a lazy warm up and an unnecessary rest, I started. It didn't feel great but fortunately it didn't feel horrible either. I swam the 1000 in 21:30 (approximately) which is an improvement of a minute over the last time I tried this in... um... April. Very significant when you look at it this way: 1:045/50 versus 1:05/50. Impressive, eh? Still I did it and that's what counts!

I followed that up with a 300 free then for some crazy reason I decided to do a 100 IM. Which fortunately I did before the guy next to me started busting out his multiple sets of 50 fly. He had an amazing stroke. I meekly did my cool down and got the heck out of the way!

And even made it to work by 9... this week anyway...

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Weekend Update (continued)

Okay so before I regale you with stories of how precious my new nephew is, let me just tell you what fuels my best workouts. I have to write it down so I can duplicate it come race day.

Yesterday for lunch I had most of a super-nutritious pint of Ben & Jerry's mega fat New York Super Fudge Chunk ice cream. No, not the light shit. The real deal. I would have eaten the whole thing but I thought 1200 calories was just a tad excessive. I wanted to though.
I followed that up with a reasonably healthy dinner of a sirloin salad and half a bottle of Merlot. Slept like a rock, got up, had two sips of water and ran.

Ironically, I felt a lot better than I did in the race Sunday. I ran five miles at an average pace of 9:15 min/mile. Does that make any sense at all?!?

Clearly, I'm in need of a nutrition clinic... fortunately, Grandison has me covered as always. TriGirls are holding one tonight.

So anyway, Sunday after I so abruptly left the scene of the race (calling encouragement out of my car window to TriGirls on the course like the big loser I am), I zipped home and got ready for the trip to Northern Virginia. Thanks to all the writing on my billboard-body, I had to wear a dress with a long skirt and sleeves. (Totally worth it by the way to sport TRIGIRLS ROCK on my calf...) Fortunately we made it with time to spare, but south bound traffic looked horrible. I-95 is a disaster.

Scouter's brother and his wife are almost exactly where we were a few short years ago with kids so close in age. They have a just-turned-two year old and a 2 1/2 month old. My guys are 15 months apart - yes, we are insane! And if we weren't before, we totally are now. As much as I loved those days when they were babies, I'm glad that my children are more self-sufficient now.

The baptism ceremony at the church was a special event just to baptise four babies, so it was really specific and fast. We were joking that the priest must have had another engagement because he started the service before the parents were even ready. It was very nice though and Scouter is a proud godfather.

My brother and sister in law hosted us all at their house afterwards. Scouter is the oldest of five and it was great to catch up with his brothers, sister and parents. In addition to my kids and the two little ones, my 13 year old nephew Ryan was there. Taz and Rainbow idolize him. Also my sister-in-law's family including four kids ages 7 to 22 months were there.

Taz spent most of the day playing football, throwing a baseball, or playing video games with Ryan. Rainbow just wanted to hold the baby. She loves babies! She thinks I need to have at least two more. I can't really give her the same response that I give Scouter's mother, which is that she can tell it to his next wife, so I just say "We'll see." Which she knows usually means NO.

At one point, as Rainbow was sitting on the floor holding the baby, the two year old started tugging on his mom, reaching to be picked up, then pointing to the baby. He doesn't talk much yet but he clearly conveyed that he wanted her to pick up the baby - and when she did, he immediately planted himself in Rainbow's lap! She ate that up. And it gave me a minute to hold the baby - yeah!!!!

Rainbow and I slept most of the way home, then the kids and I all piled in my bed when we got home. Scouter just loves that!

All in all, another good weekend.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Weekend Recap

Hang with me, there's gonna be a race report in here somewhere...

What a gorgeous weekend weather-wise! For context, Richmond in mid-July usually brings oppressive heat and humidity with temperatures in the 90s and a heat index in the high 90s to 100s. This weekend, we had temperatures in the mid-80s with lower humidity. Glorious!

The kids and I spent Friday with Cate, Jackie, and kids at my friend (and fellow TriGirl) Jennifer's lovely home on the river. Rainbow in particular idolizes Jennifer's daughter, and both kids love to go to the river. We had a great, relaxing afternoon, then Cate & I headed back to the pool tempted by the promise of an easy dinner since they were having a cook out. We had dinner and cocktails pool-side while the kids became increasingly water logged. Great fun.

Somehow in the course of all this relaxing, I managed to pull a muscle in my back. Yeah I know - I hadn't injured myself in at least a week so clearly I was due. I originally hurt this particular muscle a year or so ago lifting weights and the only thing that helps is rest and time.

Sadly, one night was not enough rest or time. After an uncomfortable night, I decided that a tough cycling and running brick on Saturday morning was not the smartest move so I skipped my TriGirl workout. I am so woefully unprepared for my first Olympic in four short weeks that it is not even funny.

Saturday was spent running errands - grocery store, bank, gift-buying, cards... and oh yeah, packet pickup! Rainbow went with me and it was great to see TriGirls JRo, Melissa, and Renae, and to meet RTC president Erin.

Taz had a really rough day on Saturday which resulted in unpleasant times all around at home. He is going through a hopefully short-lived phase of not listening AT ALL. Or better stated, of perhaps hearing what is told to him in reverse because he does the exact opposite. Example: "Taz, don't throw the ball into the window again." Taz responds by winging the ball directly at the window and nearly breaking it. Then insisting, "I didn't HEAR you!" His bad behavior prevented any potential evening festivities we may have had which was actually good for me as I needed to get to bed early for...

RACE DAY! Sunday was the Shady Grove Sprint Tri and I was representin' on a relay with Annnn and her husband. Thomas swam, Annnnn biked, and I ran. What fun!

We met up at the Shady Grove Y bright and early on Sunday morning, got body marked (thanks Melissa for the huge TRI GIRLS ROCK down my left calf...), picked up our timing chip, then hung out with other fun TriGirls who were doing the event. I think there were more TriGirls volunteering than participating and it was great to see everyone - especially Grandison and sweet baby Hayes.

Thomas and Annnn rocked the swim and bike courses respectively, then passed the baton to me for the run portion. I have to say I was more pumped than I expected to be and the longer I waited to start, the more jacked I became. Annnn passed me the timing chip at T2 and I took off like a shot. I even remembered to (1) bring my Garmin, (2) wear my Garmin, and (3) start my Garmin! Quite unusual... Early in the first mile, two people blasted past me like I was standing still. I checked my pace - 7:09. What?!?!? Damn those people were fast. And hey, if I wanted to finish I'd better check my own pace. I settled down a bit and hit the one mile mark at 8:31. That's fast for me on the first mile.

For the first half of the out-and-back, I was just chugging along. There were lots of great TriGirl volunteers along the way like the ever-encouraging Cheryl, as well as strangers who yelled "Go TriGirl!" which I love. I hit the turn, grabbed some water and headed back.

At that point I became hyper-aware of my loud locomotive-sounding breathing and it was very distracting. I really need to train at least some without my iPod so that I'm used to the sound on race day. It was annoying and probably limited me more than it should have. Running is mostly a mind game with me anyway.

Nonetheless, I felt like I had a decent return run but somewhere along the way I lost some speed because my average time was 8:38/mile. I'd promised Annn sub-8:30 so I let the team down. Fortunately, we were in it for the fun since we finished 7th of 8 relay teams!!! There were some lightning fast participants on some of those other teams. And hey we dominated too... on transitions. HA! (Particularly impressive since Thomas and Annnn were transitioning not only a timing chip but a baby as well! We should get bonus points for that!)

Scouter topped his own pre-race encouragement from the last race ("We're not coming.") with an even better one - "If you're not home by 10, we're leaving without you." So I had to boogie home shortly after the finish... missed seeing a lot of finishes and the team picture... wah.

But more about the fun day to come seeing family at my sweet little nephew's baptism...

Friday, July 20, 2007

Fear as a Motivator

Okay this sounds really dumb but I swear when I signed up for the Luray Olympic, the site said the swim was 750 meters. Yes I know that's not standard, but I was in denial and thought it was cool. This week, I noticed that there has been a slight change to the site, correcting the swim to 1500 meters.

Gulp.

Consider exhibit A: TriDi who has not gotten her butt in the water for a good 5 weeks. Who is scared that swimming will hurt her still-recovering broken finger. Who doesn't swim well or much in a good week.

Yeah, I'm in trouble.

I finally did some laps on Wednesday - a measly 1000 which felt terrible. I was scared enough to swim again today. Yes friends you read that correctly - I swam twice in one week!!! Please hold your applause... at least until you see me and I can bask in the glory.

Not so glorious?

Today I was determined to do a real workout. I decided upon descending distance sets of 600, 500, 400, 300, 200 plus a 100 meter warm up and cool down for a total of 2200. At about the 800 meter point, I started remembering how to swim and it started feeling pretty good. I was gliding, rotating, and breathing fairly well. Ahhh, this is how it's supposed to feel! By about 1800 meters, I was tired and struggling again but at least I was at the shorter sets so I made it through, concentrating on form. My cool down was probably the slowest 100 every recorded, and then I was done. Yeah!!!!

I have my work cut out for me over the next few weeks to adequately prepare for a non-stop 1500 meter swim. And did I mention that I've never done an open water swim before?

I'm scared, but if I keep working hard, I just may be able to pull this thing off.

At least that's what I'm telling myself.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Movie Review

"Better than Nanny McPhee," declared Rainbow.

"Can we buy it as soon as it comes out on DVD? I want to see it again!" announced Taz.

That equals two huge thumbs up from my kids for Surf's Up! It was pretty cute although Mommy's workouts this week left me dozing a bit towards the end. I would definitely recommend it for the younger crowd.

But, if yours are anything like mine, get your own popcorn. My hand was slapped every time I tried to dip into theirs.

It wasn't pretty...

... but I swam yesterday morning! For the first time in (dare I admit?) over five weeks. Yikes!

Yesterday the alarm was set for 7:00 as opposed to the dastardly 5:30 of the previous morning. I awoke a few minutes before it would have alarmed and turned it off so I wouldn't awaken Scouter. Then I promptly fell back to sleep until - uh oh - 7:23. "Do I still have time to go?" I wondered. I tried to talk myself into blowing it off, but the thought of 1500 unprepared meters at my first Olympic in - gulp - four weeks convinced me otherwise.

I only had time to swim 1000 meters and it was UG-LY! I felt very uncoordinated and breathless. Of course, I felt that way five weeks ago too. I also had little endurance, which I will definitely need to improve, and fast.

Today I ran in the morning (5 miles, 10:34/mile average with Beanie) and weight trained. I will probably be sore tomorrow as I generally overdo leg weights on my own. That's what rest days are for!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

I woke up at 5:30 today to get to work by... 10?!?!

The sound of the alarm clock at 5:30 this morning really pissed me off. "This sucks," I muttered.

Why don't you do your workouts at night?" Scouter helpfully suggested.

"I wish I could, but it's too hot and I don't like to leave again after being away from the kids all day." It really doesn't work, unfortunately. Especially this week with thunderstorm warnings every afternoon.

So I dragged my butt out the door to meet a group of TriGirls and Richard. I blasted the radio on the way, especially Nickleback's "Rock Star." We had a good group which picked up my mood slightly.

We took off a little after 6 a.m. and traffic was surprisingly heavy for that time of day. I've done this route before at the same time without nearly as many cars and trucks. I'm wondering which ride was the anomoly.

Richard, Kathryn and I stuck together for the first 12 mile loop, then she stopped cycling to run. We averaged 18.5 mph. Uh-oh. No reverse split today... or so I thought. Richard and I actually averaged 18.7 for the second loop for an overall average of 18.6 mph (I'm really good at that higher math). Very cool.

Richard took off for work and I got started on my run - 3 miles, 9:16 average pace per mile. I cranked some tunes on my iPod and some endorphins kicked in to improve my mood a little more.

I headed to the Y showers thinking the day wasn't so bad after all. I got to work out for two hours before even going to work! Then I realized that I had forgotten to pack my bra. There are some things I can go without, but that is not one of them - especially in conjunction with my white shirt. Aaaahhhh! An unplanned trip back home took an extra half hour that I didn't have and returned my cranky mood.

Next on the agenda was a follow up visit to Dr. Stadler so she could check on my finger. The good news - the break has healed cleanly. The bad news - I have very limited mobility in the joint and a lot of pain from all the blood under the nail. She is sending me to a hand specialist for exercises and consultation. The nail may have to be removed to relieve the pressure. Yikes! I'll find out more tomorrow.

All of this happened before 10 a.m., which is when I finally rolled into work. I'm sure everyone there thinks I'm a big slacker and I wanted to announce that I'd already been up for 4 1/2 hours.

Some days, it just pays to stay in bed.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Saturday Brick

Man these are hard.

We were supposed to have friends over for dinner last night, and I have to admit to being quite a bit relieved when they cancelled. Sorry that they had a sick child, but thrilled that I could go to bed early. I had secretly been plotting what time I could sneak upstairs to go to bed while they were here. Sadly, I have a checkered history of doing that - usually when I've had too much to drink. Instead, I guilt-free went to bed when my kids did at 9:00. I didn't fall asleep until 10ish but at least I was resting prior.

Today's goals: 28 mile bike, 8 mile run
Actual: 29.5 mile bike, 6 mile run

This morning, I met Kathryn at 7 a.m. She rode to my house and then we rode to West Creek together. It is so great being able to ride with her. First, knowing she's going to be waiting for me forces me to actually get out of bed. Second, she pushes me to ride faster. She kindly let me keep up today. We rode to West Creek, did two loops (including 1/2 loop with Jonah which was fun) then headed home for a total of 29.5 miles, 17.2 mph average speed. The ride felt pretty good and since we actually rode together the whole way, it was a lot of fun. It definitely helped to have her with me on the last four miles especially when we hit some hills. I usually do those alone and start feeling really tired.

Before the ride, I had half an English muffin with peanut butter. During the ride, I had about 12 ounces of water and maybe 8 ounces of Accelerade, plus half a Cliff bar. After my ride, I ate the other half of the Cliff bar. I took 24 ounces of diluted Accelerade with me on the run. I tell you this because it wasn't enough. I don't like eating as soon as I get up, but I really need to get more calories in prior/during to my long workouts.

My new tri shorts were great on the bike, which is fabulous because I can wear them in my Olympic without fear now. However, they were less great on the run. I apologize to anyone who saw me adjusting things in my best major league baseball impersonation. It was still better than the full size diaper feel of regular cycling shorts.

I felt slug-like on the first mile of my run, which is typical, but actually clocked it at a little under 10 minutes. I carried my water bottle of Accelerade with me and found strategic places to leave it on my route. I'll definitely do that again. I hit the four mile mark at about 36:30, feeling pretty good. I retrieved my water bottle from a hiding spot behind a rock, walked for a few seconds to hydrate, then started up again with thoughts of a negative split floating through my brain.

It was then that the wheels started falling off. I got chills which I knew was a bad sign. I shook it off, blaming it on the fact that I'd just taken a little break, dropped my water bottle at another strategic location, and kept running. Yet the chills returned. At that point I was about 0.7 mi from my water bottle so I turned around and plodded back. I kept questioning whether I was being smart and listening to my body or being lazy and grasping at excuses. The time for the first five miles was 45:01 and I was really pleased (and surprised) with that - yet I slowed my pace to accomodate my clearly non-optimal feelings.

I hit my water bottle at 5.7 miles, grabbed it on the run and finished up the next 0.3 for a total of 6 miles in 55:03. Even with a last mile of 10:02, I still averaged 9:10/mile. I walked the remaining way home still feeling chills.

When I got home, Taz and Rainbow met me in the driveway and led me in some stretches. They come up with some pretty entertaining moves and some which I struggle to duplicate. I ate a banana and a big scoop of peanut butter along with two Bayer back & body pain pills and am actually feeling pretty good (albeit tired) now.

I just realized that I missed my weekly running distance goal but cutting off those two miles. Did I do the right thing by stopping?

Friday, July 13, 2007

Yawn...

I owe you guys an entertaining post, I know.

Sadly, this is not it.

I do have a reasonably funny story I forgot to post the other day... when I was biking with Jonah, she started teasing me that I look like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz when I clip out of my pedals. Apparently, my synchronized unclip is reminiscent of ruby slippers. I do it because I have wiped out so many times by only clipping out on one side, then almost immediately falling to the other. So anyway now every time I clip out, I will think "there's no place like home..."

In other exciting news, I got approval to sign up for yet another race. Yes, there was wine involved. Big Nut, here I come! TriGirl J generously offered her house to racers and there was no way I could resist that. Her husband and daughter are welcome to spend the night at my house in return!

zzzzz....

Oops sorry, I dropped off there for a minute... I am tired from returning to a "normal" workout week. Although I have to say I've been fairly lame. Monday - weights, Tuesday - run, Wednesday - bike, Thursday - run. I skipped swimming Wed because I ran out of time and biking last night because Richard bailed (legitimately - he was sick). Today is thankfully a scheduled rest day. My legs are very sore given the short distance I ran yesterday. Guess that speed work really did more than I thought. Tomorrow, I have a lot of making up to do if I'm going to hit my new goals! Yeah, I don't think it's going to happen either. At least the cycling will, and hopefully the running. Swimming is a lost cause for yet another week.

Oh I do have one funny thing... apparently, Taz has figured out what his squishy things are. Today, he told me he hurt his nuts.

It's really hard sometimes as a parent not to laugh when your kids say completely inappropriate things...

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Back in the Saddle

Yippee!!!

I rode my bike yesterday for the first time in two whole weeks. I probably would have bailed because I've gotten to be a big wimp about riding by myself lately (ever since some chick almost took me out on Ridgefield Parkway one morning), but the ever-fabulous TriMom agreed to meet me.

We did the sprint race loop from the Shady Grove Y. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to keep up with her but it turned out alright. For me anyway. Her tire flatted before and after our ride. So my fast speed = Jonah's speed with no air in one tire. We did 12 miles at an average speed of 17.8 mph. I love the stretch down Pouncey Tract where we can fly.

Today, shockingly, I got my lazy butt out of bed for the weekly TriGirl run. I'm up to oh I think four times in participation in almost a year. Impressive, right? I went because (1) we were doing speed work and (2) I had to pick up Kathryn which forced me to get out of bed. Speed work consisted of four, half mile repeats. Now I've heard about the joy of repeats but hadn't experienced it myself until today. I have to admit to thinking something like, it's only two miles in half mile increments. How hard can it be?

Plenty hard, as it turns out. I was panting like a locomotive, watching everyone else dart ahead of me. Most definitely not something I would do on my own. Just in case I ever do them again and want to compare, my times were 3:36, 3:39, 3:35, and 3:40. Now I need to figure out what they should have been.

At lunchtime today, I finally went to Performance to get a little bike storage bag that velcros to the front bar like all the cool TriGirls have. I also wanted a map holder but they don't carry them. I did manage to find a cute pair of socks (pink of course), some gloves for Scouter, and a tire changing tool since I realized yesterday that I've somehow lost mine. All discounted no less. And as if that's not great enough, they had my favorite chocolate Gu on sale for $0.25.

(Note to Jodi - they had a very cool Rocketgirl cycling jersey which I will totally buy for you if you come down for Heart of Va! I know it's a long shot but think about it...)

And to top off my beautiful day in sports, I'm meeting Richard for a bike ride tonight. Did I say yippee? Yippee!!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

This one's for the TriGirls doing IMFL...


At the half way point...

I've been analyzing my statistics for the first 26 weeks of the year, comparing actual to goal. I can be a little anal, in case you haven't noticed, and I do love my numbers. Well, not the actual numbers but the process of tracking/analyzing anyway...

Actually, you should probably just skip this post. I'm guessing you figured that out already.

So anyway, just for me, here are my results for the first half of the year:

Run: 279.5 miles, goal achieved 21 of 26 weeks (81%)
Swim: 36,800 meters, 18/26 weeks (69%)
Cycle: 788.5 miles, 24/26 weeks (92%)
Weights: 39 times, 17/26 weeks (65%)
Yoga: 17 times, 16/26 weeks (67%)

Hmmm, not great. I'm surprised that my cycling stats are so high but I think that is less representative of good consistency and more indicative of a goal that is too low (only 12.5 miles per week which equals one spin class. Lame.)

Last year, I ran a lot more but I wasn't swimming or cycling nearly as much. Actually, I wasn't really swimming or cycling at all in the first half of 2006. And my June numbers were abysmal with all my injuries.

I need to reassess the goals themselves for the second half of the year to better align them with my overall goals. This is the year of the bike for me, after all. I'm basing my new goals on my upcoming events which are the Luray Olympic Triathlon in August and the Heart of Virginia two day cycling event in September where I hope to ride a metric century (100k/62 miles) the first day and 40 miles the second. Both are huge events for me.

New goals for the third quarter:
Run: Was 10 miles/week. I'm actually averaging only 10.75/week but I need to step it up in the third quarter to train for Luray. New goal: 15 miles/week.

Swim: Was 1600 meters/week. Lame, but sadly realistic. Once my finger is well enough that I can swim again (hopefully next week), I really need to be in the pool twice a week to regain fitness and prepare for Luray. New goal: 3200 meters/week.

Bike: Was 12.5 miles per week. Actually averaging 30. Need to significantly step up activity to train adequately for Heart of Va. New goal: 40 miles/week.
Weights: Was twice per week. I've given up my Friday weights class because it was killing me on my long Saturday rides or bricks, but I'd like to fit that second weight training session in somewhere because (1) I think it helps the triathlon disciplines and (2) it is my favorite. So same goal, 2x/week.

Yoga: Was once per week. This is tricky because I love it but it is the first to go when my other training intensifies or I have a busy week. Sadly, I think I'm going to have to give this one up for the short term. Perhaps my new goal will be once/month although I question if it's even worth it. Sigh.

You may have noticed that I totally bagged my nutrition goals very early in the year. I'm going to get back on that wagon and try to eat more fruits and vegetables, including a salad at least fives days per week. My recent vacation (and post-vacation) binging has made me disgusted with myself so I am ready to recommit. Grandison has made July the month of nutritional advice on the TriGirl forum which is great motivation as well. I really need to make smarter choices in this area.

Alright, let's see how it goes from here...

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Tuesday Miscellany

Oh yes my friends, the miscellany comes early this week.

I hit a new nutritional low - eating a bag of Cheetos while waiting in the McDonald's drive through. Is that sick or what?

It really annoys me to see through spelled thru by the way. Also the (non)word irregardless. And while I'm on this mini-rant, why would someone modify a noun as being unable to speak instead of irrelevant (which is in fact a word) ~ meaning mute instead of moot.

I'm cracking myself up. Weird grammar humor.

Wow, did I have a point here? No in fact I didn't... hence the miscellany.

Monday, July 9, 2007

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Oh, yeah, this blog is supposed to be about training, isn't it?!?

I am going to be soooo sore tomorrow. I did a bodyshape weight training class at the Y today for the first time in about a month. Carrie, one of my favorite very hard instructors, taught. And of course I tried to do the same weight that I was doing a month ago. Ouch!!! Push ups really hurt. Normally, I like dead lifts because they don't feel like much when I do them, but I can tell they worked afterwards. Today they hurt which means I will be walking funny(er) tomorrow. The only thing that really bothered my broken finger was bicep curls so I did them with light weights. It was so great to be back in the gym.

While I was there, I made the mistake of weighing myself. Not surprisingly, all those extra calories I ingested last week really added up. I gained about five pounds. Considering that I've lost muscle weight by not being able to train much lately, I'm pretty much a hog right now. And stupid enough to post pictures of myself in a bathing suit. Sometimes I forget other people actually read my nonsense.

I also had an appointment with the massage therapist at Commonwealth Sports Medicine today. I hestitate to call her a massage therapist. She's more like a torture queen. But she is really helping my plantar fasciitis more than anything else I've done by breaking up the connective tissue in my arch that isn't supposed to be there to allow the tendons to stretch properly. (SQ, you should try it!)

Tomorrow morning, I'm running with the Bean and hoping to get in a bike ride at some point. I haven't ridden in two weeks so it's gonna be ugly, but it must be done.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

What a fast week!

We had a fabulous time at the beach!!! I can't believe it's over and we're back home. Although it is quite lovely to sleep in my own bed...

We had unbelivably gorgous weather. The only day that was rainy was the first Saturday when we were driving down, which didn't matter anyway. And the only day that was unbearably hot and humid was yesterday, when we were packing up and driving home. On several days, the ocean actually looked tropical it was so blue.

Here's our house - or the top two floors of it anyway. It is huge and easily fit three families:


Here's the pool - a critical requirement of ours and a great late afternoon happy hour spot:


Not that the beach was bad for happy hour!!! Want to hear about my latest injury? I have drinker's elbow. Seriously, I have a rug burn looking spot on my right elbow from rubbing the arm of my beach chair while lifting a drink. Repeatedly. HA!!!


And here's the view from our deck. That's Scouter, Taz and one of the other kids in the house fishing one early morning:


I love to cook but don't do it often, so I look forward to it at the beach. My favorite meal on this particular trip was Buckhead's Crab Cakes from my Monumental Favorites cookbook. Buckhead's is an excellent chophouse in Richmond, and this cookbook has local recipes to support breast cancer research.

Buckhead's Crab Cakes
2 egg yokes (I used a whole egg instead which was fine)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Old Bay
1 tsp dry mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp capers
1 lb. lump crabmeat

Yield: Four 4 ounce crab cakes

Combine first six ingredients to make dressing. Blend until smooth and well-mixed. Gently fold dressing mixture into picked crabmeat unti ldesired consistency is achieved. (You may not need all the dressing. I actually used all the dressing b/c I didn't pay attention to the directions and had to add bread crumbs to dry it out some.) Chill dressed crab meat for one hour, then form into cakes. Gently saute cakes for 2-3 minutes each side in a little buttered heavy saucepan on medium-high heat. Serve with wedges of lemon.

Fabulous!!! I served them with corn pudding and salad for a good ole southern meal.

Other than drinking and eating, I really didn't do a whole lot. The Bean and I did get three runs in and were very proud. Monday: 4 miles, 10:31/mi average; Wednesday: 4.5 miles, 10:16/mi average; and Friday: 3.5 miles, 9:44/mile average. It was nice and flat but also very hot running down there. I had good intentions of renting a bike - even found the shop - but never did it. Conditions weren't optimal with a tiny shoulder, and really I was just lazy.

The fabulous TriGirl 40 lent me a wet suit from Richmond's own Karen Holloway, which I took with me to test. I wedged myself into it slowly and painfully on Friday morning and hopped in the ocean. I'm sure other vacationers thought I'd lost my mind. I only swam for a few minutes, getting beaten up by the waves and heavy undertow, then I spent some time wave-jumping with Taz who was thrilled. The wetsuit was great - no leaking and a good fit. One check later, and it will be mine. Hopefully some of Karen's skill and speed will stick with wetsuit...

I'm already looking forward to next year!!!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Wish You Were Here...

We're having a beautiful week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with good friends. The weather today could not have been more perfect. Here are a few photos until I have some time to give a full trip report...