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.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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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