I realize it has been a fairly long time since I wrote on here. I guess after all the papers I had to write, along with the writing I do for my internship, I just wanted to take some time off from writing!
I also happened to take time off from training during my summer class. It was just too much to handle, and training was the one thing I actually had the ability to temporarily give up. But now that summer class has come and gone, I am back on the swing of things.
I've been training as much as I could during the past few weeks, although it wasn't nearly as much as I would have liked. I really did not sleep at all last week, with two papers due on the 20th, and my parents came into town that night. I worked Friday and by the time I got around to go to my practice on Saturday, I was sick from exhaustion. I drove half way to the training, and turned around, came back home, and slept until noon. That afternoon my parents and I went shopping - we went into the bike store, only intending to get a CO2 cartridge for my gear pack. My dad takes one look at the bike, realizes it's probably not fit to ride (which I've been arguing for months), and next thing you know I'm getting fitted for a new bike! It's a bare bones road bike, but it's new, I don't have to worry about it falling apart on me, and it's not a big clunker like my hybrid bike is. Of course they didn't have the right bike size for me - the womens medium was still too small. They didn't have any women's larges left in their inventory, not even through the manufacturer, so we're trying instead to go with a mens medium, which they also did not have in the store. So that was ordered on Saturday and will get to the store sometime this week. But it's amazing that I have a new bike!
Tomorrow is our practice triathlon. It's all short distances, basically to give us a feel of what it will be like, with transitions and everything. I am looking forward to it, but I may have to cut it even shorter - I have to catch a plane at 3:30!
I am heading off to LA for the next week and a half. Not necessarily the fun and the sun that one might think, especially with all the fires going on right now. But I'll get some running and hopefully some swimming in while I'm gone. The only worry I have about swimming is that I will be going straight from my practice tri, running home, showering, and heading to the airport. Because of this, I'm not sure if I will be able to bring my wetsuit. I don't know if it will be dry and/or if I will be able to fit it in my suitcase. I guess we'll just play it by ear...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Prioritizing
This week has been a new challenge for myself. I have started my summer class, which means the need to reprioritize everything in my life. Summer classes at DU are short, four weeks, and therefore very intensive. By August 13th, I will have attended 8 classes, probably read about 800 pages worth of comparative politics, written two 4-6 page papers, and still have a final due on August 20th. So, I have had to reorganize my life as the following:
1. School. I pay enough money for my education that school undoubtedly comes first.
2. Internship. While I am not making any money with the internship, it is invaluable experience. However I am not able to bring work home anymore, everything must be done while at work.
3. Training. This has been bumped down the list in priority. During the weeks it is even harder to get all my training in. I still run with the dogs in the morning, because I know it's best for the dogs and myself. I try to keep swimming in the afternoons after my internship, it depends on where I am with reading for school. Tuesday and Thursday training sessions are going to be harder to make, with the new schedule. I will continue going to the Saturday sessions, they should always fit into my schedule. At least in the next few weeks we aren't going to have our Thursday swim practice anymore; we start open water swimming on the weekends after we get our wet suits next week!
Today's ride was really nice. It was south of Denver and west of Castle Rock, starting out of a town called Sedalia. From the beginning, I was still having technical difficulties with my clips. I know they were on right this time, I made sure of that after they were on backwards AND upside down last week. But for the life of me I still could not clip in to my pedals! I went roughly five miles on the hills still attempting to clip in; it was getting rather frustrating! Finally Justin, one of the coaches, stopped and fixed the tension on the pedal part of the clip, and I was able to clip in! It was such a relief. Now I just had to deal with the trick of teaching myself how to ride while clipped in. It changes the way I keep my knees and my feet on the pedals, and that took some getting used to. I think it should help in the long run, but today it was really hurting my knees.
Last week I had also asked Justin the all-important sock question. What I had asked was whether we should change socks in between biking and running, he said that he didn't wear socks while riding. He said that he didn't wear socks on the bike ride! Well, I decided to go with that route today. Well, not exactly decided...I forgot my socks. So I went sockless. I don't know if I need to break my shoes to barefeet, or if I just need to go back to trying to remember to bring socks at a really early hour on a Saturday morning, but my feet definitely needed some getting used to it. It also probably didn't help that this is only my second time wearing the bike shoes, and the first time while actually clipped in to the pedals. I'm sure it was just the combination of everything, but regardless I am pretty sore today.
Well, here's the route I did:
Not entirely sure of where the turn-around point was, but this looked somewhat accurate. All I know is that the turn around point was at the end of a ridiculously difficult hill.
My other fun way of training in general, not necessarily for the triathlon, is with my new toy. I just got a Wii system, and got the Wii Fit with it. I am loving it! It offers yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance exercises. Needless to say, I have a lot of improvement to work on in many different fields. But it is still great fun, and I am really feeling the workouts.
1. School. I pay enough money for my education that school undoubtedly comes first.
2. Internship. While I am not making any money with the internship, it is invaluable experience. However I am not able to bring work home anymore, everything must be done while at work.
3. Training. This has been bumped down the list in priority. During the weeks it is even harder to get all my training in. I still run with the dogs in the morning, because I know it's best for the dogs and myself. I try to keep swimming in the afternoons after my internship, it depends on where I am with reading for school. Tuesday and Thursday training sessions are going to be harder to make, with the new schedule. I will continue going to the Saturday sessions, they should always fit into my schedule. At least in the next few weeks we aren't going to have our Thursday swim practice anymore; we start open water swimming on the weekends after we get our wet suits next week!
Today's ride was really nice. It was south of Denver and west of Castle Rock, starting out of a town called Sedalia. From the beginning, I was still having technical difficulties with my clips. I know they were on right this time, I made sure of that after they were on backwards AND upside down last week. But for the life of me I still could not clip in to my pedals! I went roughly five miles on the hills still attempting to clip in; it was getting rather frustrating! Finally Justin, one of the coaches, stopped and fixed the tension on the pedal part of the clip, and I was able to clip in! It was such a relief. Now I just had to deal with the trick of teaching myself how to ride while clipped in. It changes the way I keep my knees and my feet on the pedals, and that took some getting used to. I think it should help in the long run, but today it was really hurting my knees.
Last week I had also asked Justin the all-important sock question. What I had asked was whether we should change socks in between biking and running, he said that he didn't wear socks while riding. He said that he didn't wear socks on the bike ride! Well, I decided to go with that route today. Well, not exactly decided...I forgot my socks. So I went sockless. I don't know if I need to break my shoes to barefeet, or if I just need to go back to trying to remember to bring socks at a really early hour on a Saturday morning, but my feet definitely needed some getting used to it. It also probably didn't help that this is only my second time wearing the bike shoes, and the first time while actually clipped in to the pedals. I'm sure it was just the combination of everything, but regardless I am pretty sore today.
Well, here's the route I did:
Not entirely sure of where the turn-around point was, but this looked somewhat accurate. All I know is that the turn around point was at the end of a ridiculously difficult hill.
My other fun way of training in general, not necessarily for the triathlon, is with my new toy. I just got a Wii system, and got the Wii Fit with it. I am loving it! It offers yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance exercises. Needless to say, I have a lot of improvement to work on in many different fields. But it is still great fun, and I am really feeling the workouts.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wash Park bike ride
This morning I took a nice little bike ride over to Washington Park. It's not too far away. I was supposed to meet up with my friend Nick. There was an event today called Donor Dash. I had not been able to sign up for it, I missed the deadline. Unfortunately I could not find him. It was still a nice bike ride.
I feel like what I wrote above could have been written by a third grader. I have started reading for my summer class that starts next week, and that has apparently shut my brain down. Or maybe it's the heat. I don't really like the hot weather. I prefer my air conditioning.
I feel like what I wrote above could have been written by a third grader. I have started reading for my summer class that starts next week, and that has apparently shut my brain down. Or maybe it's the heat. I don't really like the hot weather. I prefer my air conditioning.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
First brick workout
Today was my first brick workout. Of course it had to be in Boulder. That means waking up at 6:00 am on a Saturday morning. Making sure I really did pack everything last night. And taking off at 7:00 am so I could make it there by 8:00 am. Of course once I get out there, I realize we weren't supposed to meet until 8:30. Oh well.
The first thing that I discover is that I obviously put the clips on my shoes wrong. Backwards AND upside down. I'm smart like that. So I spent the better part of the ride unsuccessfully trying to clip into my pedals until I finally just gave up and rode on the flat side. I have something called campus pedals, which means that they have the clips on one side, and regular flat pedals on the other so I can still use it to commute short distances such as to school. I also apparently did not put my odometer on correctly, but to be fair I did try putting it on at 10:30 last night.
We did a nice route, just north of Boulder, in the area where Zach used to work. We almost went by the greenhouse, but it's on a dirt road. It was a nice 23 mile ride, although it was really hilly! Most of the hills I could get momentum from the downhill, but there was one that was particularly nasty. I also used my first energy goo. It's really gross, has a consistency similar to warm yogurt, but it certainly did the trick. I took it either just before, just after, or during the really nasty hill, I don't remember where anymore, but it definitely gave me the second wind that I needed.
23 miles later, we get back to the parking lot, and are told to change our shoes and go running. I can honestly say I have never felt so physically awkward as I felt this morning. Trying to run after riding your bike for two hours is so weird! My legs wanted to keep going in the cycling motion. My brain kept telling my legs that they were supposed to be running. My legs did not want to listen. It took about 10 minutes of really weird-feeling running to get over the mental/physical dichotomy I was experiencing.
But I made it and have now experienced my first taste at what the triathlon will be like. Of course, there was no swimming at the beginning. But we also rode 7 hilly miles further than the flat 16 mile course we will be doing. And ran about the same distance.
Two months to go? I think I will be over the weird leg/brain issues by then. Maybe. Hopefully. :)
The first thing that I discover is that I obviously put the clips on my shoes wrong. Backwards AND upside down. I'm smart like that. So I spent the better part of the ride unsuccessfully trying to clip into my pedals until I finally just gave up and rode on the flat side. I have something called campus pedals, which means that they have the clips on one side, and regular flat pedals on the other so I can still use it to commute short distances such as to school. I also apparently did not put my odometer on correctly, but to be fair I did try putting it on at 10:30 last night.
We did a nice route, just north of Boulder, in the area where Zach used to work. We almost went by the greenhouse, but it's on a dirt road. It was a nice 23 mile ride, although it was really hilly! Most of the hills I could get momentum from the downhill, but there was one that was particularly nasty. I also used my first energy goo. It's really gross, has a consistency similar to warm yogurt, but it certainly did the trick. I took it either just before, just after, or during the really nasty hill, I don't remember where anymore, but it definitely gave me the second wind that I needed.
23 miles later, we get back to the parking lot, and are told to change our shoes and go running. I can honestly say I have never felt so physically awkward as I felt this morning. Trying to run after riding your bike for two hours is so weird! My legs wanted to keep going in the cycling motion. My brain kept telling my legs that they were supposed to be running. My legs did not want to listen. It took about 10 minutes of really weird-feeling running to get over the mental/physical dichotomy I was experiencing.
But I made it and have now experienced my first taste at what the triathlon will be like. Of course, there was no swimming at the beginning. But we also rode 7 hilly miles further than the flat 16 mile course we will be doing. And ran about the same distance.
Two months to go? I think I will be over the weird leg/brain issues by then. Maybe. Hopefully. :)
Thursday, July 16, 2009
First Goal Accomplished!
I am very pleased to announce that I have made my fundraising goal for this event! Despite only needing 35% of the total by the recommitment deadline, which is July 21st, through the help of my wonderful friends and family I have managed to reach over 100% by the recommitment deadline! This makes me feel really great. Not only do I have to no longer worry about raising the final few dollars, but I also feel the love and appreciation from everyone who helped me out, either through monetary donations, or help with fundraising events.
The other thing I am looking forward to is that next Tuesday we are doing a 5K race as a group. I think this will be very interesting to see how far I have come from the race I did back in May.
The other thing I am looking forward to is that next Tuesday we are doing a 5K race as a group. I think this will be very interesting to see how far I have come from the race I did back in May.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Back from the Big Sky
Things have slowed down a little bit for me, as far as training goes.
Last week Zach was in town. Late nights, sleeping in. Not too conducive for training, but it was fun and worthwhile. It is always great getting to spend time with him!
We were in Montana over the weekend, for Zach's friend's wedding. It was a great time, but there was very little free time involved. I even brought my running shoes up with full intentions to go running, but we were staying in a ranch house out in the middle of nowhere (gorgeous nowhere, I must add) and in all honesty, I was scared to death of getting lost in the middle of the Montana wilderness, so I ran maybe a mile, up and down the driveway, but was reluctant to venture out much further.
Yesterday I was not able to go running in the morning because we had to pick up the dogs from the kennel before my internship! I did go to the gym after work and go swimming; I got 1200 meters in. Plus rode my bike to and from the gym, so got about 4 miles of riding in. I know it's not much, but it's a start, right?
I have to officially do my swim assessment on Thursday. Because I got sick halfway through it two weeks ago, and was not able to make my swim practice last week, this is my last chance to do so! I have to swim somewhere between 400 and 600 meters without stopping. I say that because we really only needed to do 400 meters (half the distance of the race), but two weeks ago our coach decided we needed to swim 600 meters instead. I heard that last week, as a result of the previous week, they had to swim only 500 meters. So I don't really know how far I need to swim, but I also don't doubt that I can do it. We do almost 2000 meters in practice (with stopping), and I think I should be able to manage somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 mile.
Riding my bike to and from the gym yesterday, I have realized I have not ridden my bike nearly as much as I should have. I really have not been able to get to a Saturday riding practice since May (!!!!) because every weekend we have had practice I have been out of town, and the weeks I have been in town, we haven't had practice! I need to get on my bike more often, regardless of whether or not I have gotten my new frame. I have a tear in my frame, and fortunately Trek has a lifetime warranty on frames, I just need to get to the point where I have time to make my way out to Aurora and get this taken care of. Needless to say, that has not yet happened, and I am a little skeptical of riding my bike too much, because, as the guy who tuned my bike said, it could explode at any minute. (I don't think those were his exact words, but it was definitely his point.) Well, this Saturday we have a brick workout up in Boulder; a bike ride followed by a run. It'll be two hours of physical activity, I just hope I am up for it!
I am back on to my schedule of running with the dogs in the morning and swimming in the afternoon. I have also included riding my bike to and from the pool to help out a little bit with the bike riding. I know it's minimal, but anything helps, I suppose. Next week we'll see how much I can keep with my schedule I have been doing so far, since I start summer classes. It's only two days a week, but I go to my internship after class. I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out somehow.
Last week Zach was in town. Late nights, sleeping in. Not too conducive for training, but it was fun and worthwhile. It is always great getting to spend time with him!
We were in Montana over the weekend, for Zach's friend's wedding. It was a great time, but there was very little free time involved. I even brought my running shoes up with full intentions to go running, but we were staying in a ranch house out in the middle of nowhere (gorgeous nowhere, I must add) and in all honesty, I was scared to death of getting lost in the middle of the Montana wilderness, so I ran maybe a mile, up and down the driveway, but was reluctant to venture out much further.
Yesterday I was not able to go running in the morning because we had to pick up the dogs from the kennel before my internship! I did go to the gym after work and go swimming; I got 1200 meters in. Plus rode my bike to and from the gym, so got about 4 miles of riding in. I know it's not much, but it's a start, right?
I have to officially do my swim assessment on Thursday. Because I got sick halfway through it two weeks ago, and was not able to make my swim practice last week, this is my last chance to do so! I have to swim somewhere between 400 and 600 meters without stopping. I say that because we really only needed to do 400 meters (half the distance of the race), but two weeks ago our coach decided we needed to swim 600 meters instead. I heard that last week, as a result of the previous week, they had to swim only 500 meters. So I don't really know how far I need to swim, but I also don't doubt that I can do it. We do almost 2000 meters in practice (with stopping), and I think I should be able to manage somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 mile.
Riding my bike to and from the gym yesterday, I have realized I have not ridden my bike nearly as much as I should have. I really have not been able to get to a Saturday riding practice since May (!!!!) because every weekend we have had practice I have been out of town, and the weeks I have been in town, we haven't had practice! I need to get on my bike more often, regardless of whether or not I have gotten my new frame. I have a tear in my frame, and fortunately Trek has a lifetime warranty on frames, I just need to get to the point where I have time to make my way out to Aurora and get this taken care of. Needless to say, that has not yet happened, and I am a little skeptical of riding my bike too much, because, as the guy who tuned my bike said, it could explode at any minute. (I don't think those were his exact words, but it was definitely his point.) Well, this Saturday we have a brick workout up in Boulder; a bike ride followed by a run. It'll be two hours of physical activity, I just hope I am up for it!
I am back on to my schedule of running with the dogs in the morning and swimming in the afternoon. I have also included riding my bike to and from the pool to help out a little bit with the bike riding. I know it's minimal, but anything helps, I suppose. Next week we'll see how much I can keep with my schedule I have been doing so far, since I start summer classes. It's only two days a week, but I go to my internship after class. I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out somehow.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Time to be a Geek
Ok, I have a little time on my hands, so I am going to be a geek. There is a website called mapmyrun.com, which I discovered last year while training up in Longmont, but I have just rediscovered it. So my training runs and rides (not swims though, that might be boring) will get logged in here, both with TNT and on my own. The first is the short run I did yesterday morning with the dogs.
I need to find some way to make the puppies easier to run with, they just pull so much! I talked with Charley, one of our coaches, and he said that there are waist leashes or something like that, although I could see that being a disaster in the making with these two dogs! Maybe what I just need are some well behaved dogs :)
Did not get out this morning; I had some technical issues in my apartment. You may say, I had a shitty morning. (My toilet backed up and overflowed.) So there went my morning run, I took an hour to fix that problem and by that point it had started warming up. So back to cleaning and more cleaning. At least my apartment is coming through quite well, and I think once it's cleaned and organized I think my overall attitude will improve. It's funny how that happens, especially when you don't have to climb over things in order to get around the apartment. I already feel much better in my bedroom and my spare room, just need to accomplish my living room!
So yes, I will continue logging my runs and bike rides on here, and you can follow my progress! And maybe once we get to the open water swim I'll start adding those too! :-D
I need to find some way to make the puppies easier to run with, they just pull so much! I talked with Charley, one of our coaches, and he said that there are waist leashes or something like that, although I could see that being a disaster in the making with these two dogs! Maybe what I just need are some well behaved dogs :)
Did not get out this morning; I had some technical issues in my apartment. You may say, I had a shitty morning. (My toilet backed up and overflowed.) So there went my morning run, I took an hour to fix that problem and by that point it had started warming up. So back to cleaning and more cleaning. At least my apartment is coming through quite well, and I think once it's cleaned and organized I think my overall attitude will improve. It's funny how that happens, especially when you don't have to climb over things in order to get around the apartment. I already feel much better in my bedroom and my spare room, just need to accomplish my living room!
So yes, I will continue logging my runs and bike rides on here, and you can follow my progress! And maybe once we get to the open water swim I'll start adding those too! :-D
Friday, July 3, 2009
Swim Assessment Failed
No, the reality is not as ominous as this title may make it sound.
Last night we were supposed to do our swim assessment. It was either last night or next Thursday. Well, since I am apparently going to be in Montana next Thursday (my type A side of me is coming out and going crazy by not knowing the details of our trip next weekend), I needed to do my swim assessment last night.
Yesterday I tried to eat light (note back to my "Chipotle for lunch on a swim workout day is not a good idea), and I thought I did so. But whatever was in my light eating upset my stomach. By about 3:00 pm it was starting to get angry at me, and I just tried to ignore it. I did a good job of ignoring it (after warning one of our coaches that I had a stomach ache before practice) until 6:00 pm, half an hour into our swim practice and 200m out of 600m into my swim assessment. To make things a little less graphic, let's say I jumped out of the pool at the 200 meter mark (1/3 of the way through!) and hugged the toilet for a few minutes. Needless to say, swim practice was over for me at that point.
So yes, I technically failed my first swim assessment because I only made it 1/3 of the way through. The reality is that I was good, and could have kept going, minus the whole upset stomach thing. I know I would have passed the swim assessment had I been feeling well. Now I just have to reschedule a time to do the swim assessment, since I won't be here for next week's practice, although I might even be able to do it during the swim practice after Montana.
And with Zach coming into town next week, I hope I keep up my routines. I am never good at waking up in the morning, but even more so when he is in town. But I have been good and running in the mornings with the dogs, although no longer on the days I have run and swim practice in the afternoons (I learned the hard way this past week...) and probably not on bike days, since those are so early. So an early morning run four days a week, swimming on my own four days a week, then track practice one day, swim practice one day, and I swear bike practice one day. I have not actually made a single bike practice since May! It's not my fault, it is just that every weekend that I have been in town, we have not had bike practice! Obviously there is none this weekend, so the next bike practice would be next week, which I am once again missing due to the wedding in Montana. But after that I will be able to make all the rest of them, I swear!
Last night we were supposed to do our swim assessment. It was either last night or next Thursday. Well, since I am apparently going to be in Montana next Thursday (my type A side of me is coming out and going crazy by not knowing the details of our trip next weekend), I needed to do my swim assessment last night.
Yesterday I tried to eat light (note back to my "Chipotle for lunch on a swim workout day is not a good idea), and I thought I did so. But whatever was in my light eating upset my stomach. By about 3:00 pm it was starting to get angry at me, and I just tried to ignore it. I did a good job of ignoring it (after warning one of our coaches that I had a stomach ache before practice) until 6:00 pm, half an hour into our swim practice and 200m out of 600m into my swim assessment. To make things a little less graphic, let's say I jumped out of the pool at the 200 meter mark (1/3 of the way through!) and hugged the toilet for a few minutes. Needless to say, swim practice was over for me at that point.
So yes, I technically failed my first swim assessment because I only made it 1/3 of the way through. The reality is that I was good, and could have kept going, minus the whole upset stomach thing. I know I would have passed the swim assessment had I been feeling well. Now I just have to reschedule a time to do the swim assessment, since I won't be here for next week's practice, although I might even be able to do it during the swim practice after Montana.
And with Zach coming into town next week, I hope I keep up my routines. I am never good at waking up in the morning, but even more so when he is in town. But I have been good and running in the mornings with the dogs, although no longer on the days I have run and swim practice in the afternoons (I learned the hard way this past week...) and probably not on bike days, since those are so early. So an early morning run four days a week, swimming on my own four days a week, then track practice one day, swim practice one day, and I swear bike practice one day. I have not actually made a single bike practice since May! It's not my fault, it is just that every weekend that I have been in town, we have not had bike practice! Obviously there is none this weekend, so the next bike practice would be next week, which I am once again missing due to the wedding in Montana. But after that I will be able to make all the rest of them, I swear!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Realizing My Limits
I have come to terms with everything, and realized that, at this point in my life, staying with the shorter, local race is going to be in my best interest. To begin with, I am already competing in a triathlon, which is one of my goals. Due to circumstances that are in my life right now, traveling to Washington D.C. for the week, as amazing and fun as it would be, just isn't the right thing to do in my life right now. I have several reasons, some personal, but it is not because I am underestimating myself and my abilities. I feel confident that if I were to participate in the longer, more challenging race that I would be able to finish the event. That is not why I am staying with my original plan. But, knowing that I had originally signed up for the local Oktoberfest Triathlon for a reason, I got swept away in the bright lights of the big city, only to face the reality of the situation as it gets closer to the time before my recommitment.
Recommitment is in the next two weeks. It will give me a little more time to validate my decision, but I think this is what needs to be done. It is a difficult decision to make, but it is for the best.
But watch out DC: Next year I'll definitely be there!
Recommitment is in the next two weeks. It will give me a little more time to validate my decision, but I think this is what needs to be done. It is a difficult decision to make, but it is for the best.
But watch out DC: Next year I'll definitely be there!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Early Mornings
I have started my early morning runs with the dogs. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a morning person. But it's the only time that it's cool enough that Atka (the big, black Malamute) won't die of heat stroke. Or myself for that matter. Even in the early morning hours it's still hot though. I really dislike summer for this reason. If I could live somewhere that was between 60 and 70 degrees year round (or at least during the summer) I would be happy. And yes, I realize that I used to live somewhere like that, when I was living up in the mountains.
I don't really count these as training runs, but I know getting out there and running is good, regardless. It is just difficult running with two dogs who are bred to pull sleds. They are always in front of me, and provide little slack for arm movement. Plus, as I discovered this morning, I refuse to run with a full poop bag. There is just something wrong about that.
This all works perfectly with my schedule right now, because my "early morning" runs still aren't early compared to some people. My internship doesn't start until 10:00 (sometimes 9:30) and when I start classes in a few weeks I will start at 9:00. This means I can wake up at 7:00, be out of the house by 7:30ish, and still get a good run in and have time to relax in the morning before I go to work.
I also plan on going one block further every day. I am not sure how this will work out once I get a couple miles away, I will have several obstacles to deal with. But I will work on that when it gets to that point; until then, I will do the best I can!
Speaking of running, I am off to go on my team training run. In 90 degree weather. Talk about not liking heat... But, as they say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.
I'm so glad the race is in September, when (ideally) it will have cooled down a bit. Granted the swimming part I don't care about the weather, but approximately three hours of biking and running sounds like torture in really hot weather.
I don't really count these as training runs, but I know getting out there and running is good, regardless. It is just difficult running with two dogs who are bred to pull sleds. They are always in front of me, and provide little slack for arm movement. Plus, as I discovered this morning, I refuse to run with a full poop bag. There is just something wrong about that.
This all works perfectly with my schedule right now, because my "early morning" runs still aren't early compared to some people. My internship doesn't start until 10:00 (sometimes 9:30) and when I start classes in a few weeks I will start at 9:00. This means I can wake up at 7:00, be out of the house by 7:30ish, and still get a good run in and have time to relax in the morning before I go to work.
I also plan on going one block further every day. I am not sure how this will work out once I get a couple miles away, I will have several obstacles to deal with. But I will work on that when it gets to that point; until then, I will do the best I can!
Speaking of running, I am off to go on my team training run. In 90 degree weather. Talk about not liking heat... But, as they say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.
I'm so glad the race is in September, when (ideally) it will have cooled down a bit. Granted the swimming part I don't care about the weather, but approximately three hours of biking and running sounds like torture in really hot weather.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Soreness
After taking two weeks off from training, I seem to be back in full scale training here!
Tuesday night we had our group run, which was a hill workout. Now I have never done hills well, not even when I was doing track in high school. Then again, I've never been a runner. But my knees (thanks to tendinitis from track in high school) can't really handle the hills all that well. I did pretty well, all things considering: I managed to make the hills except when it got really steep, and when my knee told me to stop, I slowed to a walk. The last thing I want to do is injure myself now, during the training period. Or injure myself bad enough that I won't be able to participate in the triathlon in three months.
Yesterday was Bike To Work day in Denver. So I turned it into Bike to Internship day. It doesn't seem that far, or that hilly, when I drive there, but my internship is just over seven miles from my house. And it turns out that Denver is actually really hilly, I just never realized that before! The ride was really nice, I took side streets, so I went through neighborhoods that I never would have otherwise gone through. I came across one major obstacle: I-25. The route I had taken showed a planned pedestrian tunnel under I-25. I didn't realize it was planned, and not actually there. So I came up to it and got slightly stumped, but just followed the freeway until I was able to find an overpass. But, with my laptop bag on my bag, I made it there with little problem (there was one extremely steep, albeit brief, hill). The way home was a different story. While the bag didn't gain any weight while I was at my internship, it certainly felt about 2 or 3 times heavier! I just kept telling myself that this is really good training, because it will be much easier to ride my bike without the bag. But I realized the repercussions of it too: my back is really sore today from the bike ride.
After I got home and plastered myself on the couch for about an hour, I then went on to DU's Rec Center to swim with a classmate/teammate. This was a nice, relaxing swim, just about 800 meters, because I was pretty sore from the past few days.
Today I have my group swim. I am a little worried about it, because I am so sore, but I figure, if it doesn't kill me, it'll make me stronger. Hopefully I don't drown!
Tuesday night we had our group run, which was a hill workout. Now I have never done hills well, not even when I was doing track in high school. Then again, I've never been a runner. But my knees (thanks to tendinitis from track in high school) can't really handle the hills all that well. I did pretty well, all things considering: I managed to make the hills except when it got really steep, and when my knee told me to stop, I slowed to a walk. The last thing I want to do is injure myself now, during the training period. Or injure myself bad enough that I won't be able to participate in the triathlon in three months.
Yesterday was Bike To Work day in Denver. So I turned it into Bike to Internship day. It doesn't seem that far, or that hilly, when I drive there, but my internship is just over seven miles from my house. And it turns out that Denver is actually really hilly, I just never realized that before! The ride was really nice, I took side streets, so I went through neighborhoods that I never would have otherwise gone through. I came across one major obstacle: I-25. The route I had taken showed a planned pedestrian tunnel under I-25. I didn't realize it was planned, and not actually there. So I came up to it and got slightly stumped, but just followed the freeway until I was able to find an overpass. But, with my laptop bag on my bag, I made it there with little problem (there was one extremely steep, albeit brief, hill). The way home was a different story. While the bag didn't gain any weight while I was at my internship, it certainly felt about 2 or 3 times heavier! I just kept telling myself that this is really good training, because it will be much easier to ride my bike without the bag. But I realized the repercussions of it too: my back is really sore today from the bike ride.
After I got home and plastered myself on the couch for about an hour, I then went on to DU's Rec Center to swim with a classmate/teammate. This was a nice, relaxing swim, just about 800 meters, because I was pretty sore from the past few days.
Today I have my group swim. I am a little worried about it, because I am so sore, but I figure, if it doesn't kill me, it'll make me stronger. Hopefully I don't drown!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
After two weeks...
Needless to say, taking two weeks off from training actually took quite a toll on me. The first week was due to finals. Not much got done during finals time except for the finals themselves. Each time a training practice came around, I was so immersed in my work that I wasn't able to take the time away. It would have been a nice break, but I was working around the clock as it was.
Then, I spent a week in Hawaii. I know, it's a rough life. And while there was a little bit of activity involved, it wasn't anything that could have been considered a workout. We went snorkeling, spent time swimming in the pool, and went hiking and a lot of walking, but nothing like cardio.
Tuesday I had my final team leader meeting for the Avon Walk, which is next weekend. As a result, I missed my running session on Tuesday, since they were at the same time. So tonight was my first training session in two weeks. Swimming, I normally wouldn't have had much of a problem, but tonight, towards the end, I was really tired and starting to swallow a lot of water. Just a lot of fatigue made it difficult. But, the bright part of it is that after I got home, I realized just how much I had swam: 1800 meters! Which is longer than swims for either of the triathlons I could do. The shorter race is 800 m, 1/2 mile and the longer race is .9 mile so somewhere under 1600 m, (I'm not in the mood to do math right now). So I know I could successfully swim either race, which makes me thrilled! Now there's just the whole running part...
But the workout tonight also made me realize how important the training is and that I do need to get back into the swing of things now that there are no more reasons why I can't.
I also realized it isn't a good idea to have Chipotle for lunch on the day of a swim practice.
Then, I spent a week in Hawaii. I know, it's a rough life. And while there was a little bit of activity involved, it wasn't anything that could have been considered a workout. We went snorkeling, spent time swimming in the pool, and went hiking and a lot of walking, but nothing like cardio.
Tuesday I had my final team leader meeting for the Avon Walk, which is next weekend. As a result, I missed my running session on Tuesday, since they were at the same time. So tonight was my first training session in two weeks. Swimming, I normally wouldn't have had much of a problem, but tonight, towards the end, I was really tired and starting to swallow a lot of water. Just a lot of fatigue made it difficult. But, the bright part of it is that after I got home, I realized just how much I had swam: 1800 meters! Which is longer than swims for either of the triathlons I could do. The shorter race is 800 m, 1/2 mile and the longer race is .9 mile so somewhere under 1600 m, (I'm not in the mood to do math right now). So I know I could successfully swim either race, which makes me thrilled! Now there's just the whole running part...
But the workout tonight also made me realize how important the training is and that I do need to get back into the swing of things now that there are no more reasons why I can't.
I also realized it isn't a good idea to have Chipotle for lunch on the day of a swim practice.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Finals week
Needless to say, this week hasn't been incredibly productive as far as training is concerned. I have to prioritize my things in life, and, unfortunately, finals and getting good grades comes first. But it is just for one week only.
Last night I missed the running workout. Tomorrow I really truly do want to make my swim workout, we'll just see if it's possible! I still have one paper left, and just reread my other two papers to make sure they still make sense, so I'd love to squeeze the hour swim workout in tomorrow night, but I have several pre-vacation errands to run in the morning. I do have to take the dogs in to the kennel tomorrow afternoon, so maybe I can make it around swim time. We'll see where I'm at tomorrow!
And that's the other thing. I'll be on vacation starting Friday! So no official training for another week and a half. But...I'll be in Hawaii, so I think that makes up for it!
Last night I missed the running workout. Tomorrow I really truly do want to make my swim workout, we'll just see if it's possible! I still have one paper left, and just reread my other two papers to make sure they still make sense, so I'd love to squeeze the hour swim workout in tomorrow night, but I have several pre-vacation errands to run in the morning. I do have to take the dogs in to the kennel tomorrow afternoon, so maybe I can make it around swim time. We'll see where I'm at tomorrow!
And that's the other thing. I'll be on vacation starting Friday! So no official training for another week and a half. But...I'll be in Hawaii, so I think that makes up for it!
Monday, June 1, 2009
First entry
This is really just another way I am procrastinating while writing my finals, but this is for a good cause!
At the beginning of May (I can't believe it's June already!) I signed up with Team In Training, to do a triathlon! Can you believe it? Me? So I can swim, and I can ride a bike, and I can kind of run, but doing all three of those one after the next and within a timed period?
I'm doing this to challenge myself. Part of it is a really good way to get back into shape. I have known several people who have done this in the past, and a friend of mine in Texas is doing the half marathon this year. I figured I'd check it out, talked to a few of the people who I've known to have done it, and they pushed me in the triathlon direction. I have to admit, I'm kind of glad, because I don't think I really would have wanted to try and run a marathon.
So back on May 9th, we had our kickoff, where we got to meet our team and get some fundraising ideas. I honestly don't know how many people are on my team. Due to people's schedules, not everyone is at every training practice, but I'd say there are probably 15-20 of us training together, some for a sprint triathlon in Longmont, and others for the Olympic distance triathlon in Washington, D.C. While I am currently signed up for the sprint triathlon, we'll see how training goes and everything, and figure it out from there. I have to make my decision in July, so that gives me a month.
Another difference between the two is the fundraising. The local triathlon is $2400 to raise, the nationwide triathlon is $5000. But I think the events themselves are going to be the biggest difference for me. A sprint triathlon is a 1/2 mile swim, a 12 or 16 mile bike ride (I don't remember), and a 5K (3.1 miles) run. The olympic distance is a .9 mile swim, a 32 mile bike ride, and a 10K (6.2 mile) run. So it's basically twice the distance on everything. Then you get the really crazy people who do the long courses and the Ironman lengths....well, I'm not even going to go there.
We meet up for training three times a week: on Tuesdays we run, on Thursdays we swim, and on Saturdays we bike, trail run, or later in the training, open-water swim. I already feel like I am benefiting greatly from these training sessions. I haven't ridden my bike for anything other than commuting in quite some time. In fact, before I started riding my bike to and from school this past quarter, I don't think I had touched it in at least 5 years, maybe longer! Swimming has always been second nature to me. Despite the fact that I have never swam competitively, I did grow up with a swimming pool, and, partially for safety reasons, I could swim before I could walk. And then there's the running.... Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a runner. Yes, I did track in high school, but did the field events for a reason. I have participated in 5Ks and 10Ks, but have never ran the entire distance. This is the harder of the three events for me. Even motivating myself to run is difficult. Riding a bike and swimming are fun activities for me. Running, not so much. But I will make it across the finish line even if I'm crawling. :) Hopefully that won't be the case!
Fundraising has been going really well for me. I have some really generous friends and family. I also had a bake sale last Friday, which some wonderful friends from school helped me bake for it. I ended up making over $100, which is really good, considering it was a slow Friday. Officially on my site I think I am at $800-something, but the reality, after I get the matching gift from my mom's company and the cash and check donations I have received, I am actually over $2000! Amazing! And I'm only a month into this.
Well, I must get back to writing for finals. Hopefully this woke my brain and fingers up to crank out about 35 more pages. The next two weeks are going to be pretty slow as far as training is concerned, but I have two very good reasons. The first is finals. Although my training sessions are definitely a nice break from writing, and yes, I'm actually looking forward to the running training tomorrow night. It will be a nice break from writing papers. Secondly, as soon as I turn in my finals, I am getting on a plane to go to Hawaii for a week! What a great way to end my first year of grad school! And, I will get some swim practice in (snorkeling), and there will probably be bike riding and hiking involved too. Plus laying out on the beach...not much for training, but great for relaxing!
At the beginning of May (I can't believe it's June already!) I signed up with Team In Training, to do a triathlon! Can you believe it? Me? So I can swim, and I can ride a bike, and I can kind of run, but doing all three of those one after the next and within a timed period?
I'm doing this to challenge myself. Part of it is a really good way to get back into shape. I have known several people who have done this in the past, and a friend of mine in Texas is doing the half marathon this year. I figured I'd check it out, talked to a few of the people who I've known to have done it, and they pushed me in the triathlon direction. I have to admit, I'm kind of glad, because I don't think I really would have wanted to try and run a marathon.
So back on May 9th, we had our kickoff, where we got to meet our team and get some fundraising ideas. I honestly don't know how many people are on my team. Due to people's schedules, not everyone is at every training practice, but I'd say there are probably 15-20 of us training together, some for a sprint triathlon in Longmont, and others for the Olympic distance triathlon in Washington, D.C. While I am currently signed up for the sprint triathlon, we'll see how training goes and everything, and figure it out from there. I have to make my decision in July, so that gives me a month.
Another difference between the two is the fundraising. The local triathlon is $2400 to raise, the nationwide triathlon is $5000. But I think the events themselves are going to be the biggest difference for me. A sprint triathlon is a 1/2 mile swim, a 12 or 16 mile bike ride (I don't remember), and a 5K (3.1 miles) run. The olympic distance is a .9 mile swim, a 32 mile bike ride, and a 10K (6.2 mile) run. So it's basically twice the distance on everything. Then you get the really crazy people who do the long courses and the Ironman lengths....well, I'm not even going to go there.
We meet up for training three times a week: on Tuesdays we run, on Thursdays we swim, and on Saturdays we bike, trail run, or later in the training, open-water swim. I already feel like I am benefiting greatly from these training sessions. I haven't ridden my bike for anything other than commuting in quite some time. In fact, before I started riding my bike to and from school this past quarter, I don't think I had touched it in at least 5 years, maybe longer! Swimming has always been second nature to me. Despite the fact that I have never swam competitively, I did grow up with a swimming pool, and, partially for safety reasons, I could swim before I could walk. And then there's the running.... Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a runner. Yes, I did track in high school, but did the field events for a reason. I have participated in 5Ks and 10Ks, but have never ran the entire distance. This is the harder of the three events for me. Even motivating myself to run is difficult. Riding a bike and swimming are fun activities for me. Running, not so much. But I will make it across the finish line even if I'm crawling. :) Hopefully that won't be the case!
Fundraising has been going really well for me. I have some really generous friends and family. I also had a bake sale last Friday, which some wonderful friends from school helped me bake for it. I ended up making over $100, which is really good, considering it was a slow Friday. Officially on my site I think I am at $800-something, but the reality, after I get the matching gift from my mom's company and the cash and check donations I have received, I am actually over $2000! Amazing! And I'm only a month into this.
Well, I must get back to writing for finals. Hopefully this woke my brain and fingers up to crank out about 35 more pages. The next two weeks are going to be pretty slow as far as training is concerned, but I have two very good reasons. The first is finals. Although my training sessions are definitely a nice break from writing, and yes, I'm actually looking forward to the running training tomorrow night. It will be a nice break from writing papers. Secondly, as soon as I turn in my finals, I am getting on a plane to go to Hawaii for a week! What a great way to end my first year of grad school! And, I will get some swim practice in (snorkeling), and there will probably be bike riding and hiking involved too. Plus laying out on the beach...not much for training, but great for relaxing!
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