Resolution Run

Saturday morning we are heading to Downtown PDX to do the Twenty11 Resolution Run and I have done exactly one run that consisted of a 5k distance since the end of July. I'm good to go! It's not that I haven't been running, because I have, just not 3 miles...usually a mile and a half or two miles. Three miles might be pushing it on Saturday...but I felt pretty good last week when I ran my first 3 miles in months that I think it will be good!

I'm pretty sure that the cool temperatures will keep me moving because standing still for too long will result in frozen extremities...boooo...not good.

This is the first event that will hopefully be followed by many more...I'm really looking forward to the sporty-sport opportunities of 2011!

See you at the World Trade Center at 10 o'clock!

Who is a runner?

If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.


John Bingham, Runner and author
 
This is the best quote EVER! Give me a good pair of shoes and I'm off!
 
I AM A RUNNER!

5K Success!

I posted yesterday about how I suck at running. Well, I still suck (as far as time goes), but I did a 5K road run this morning just for to see if I could do it...WOO HOO! I think the key is my short training "runs" that I have been doing on the treadmill at work and the occasional road and/or track run. This is a good thing since this morning I signed Tom and I up to do the Twenty11 Resolution Run on New Years Day which will be in beautiful downtown PDX...

I love running! Well, today anyway ;)

Run-Baby-Run!

Effort

If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort ~~
Dave Weinbaum, Businessman, writer and part-time stand-up comic.


I've said it before, I suck at running...and I'm starting to realize that I'm a so-so swimmer. At least I can ride a bike. Even so, I have to keep up on the running and swimming if I am going to do a tri in 2011. Blue Lake Sprint Tri is in June, so I have 6 months to continue preparing. I have a feeling that I'll be doing the Tri-It, which is fine, it's really where I need to start.


Having done a couple of Duathlons as an individual and a couple as a team I have to say that I'm hooked! I like the challenge of doing all multisports and pushing myself to do things that I think I can't do. It's just a big mind game ;)


So my goal is to keep on swimming, running and get back into cycling. The VBC time trials will start up again in April, so that will be my training for the bike leg. I'll sign up for various 5K runs to keep my running going. It's the swimming that I have to be deliberate about. We don't have a pool in the back yard so it's off to the gym at least 3 times a week and more if needed.


With all the effort that I put into each of these elements, I know I'll make it and really talent is overrated!


Here's looking to a Triathlon in 2011!

Run Week Wasn't So Bad

(click pic to expand)

Okay, so I didn't run everyday, but I did get onto the treadmill most days this week, ran a couple of days and walked the rest of the time. Today I decided to run from our house to a specific location and then back home again. I forgot how much I like running on the road. I guess all of my Saturday runs will need to be outdoors from now on, until Daylight Savings starts again at least.

Today I thought it would be best to run at least two miles one more time before I try to increase the distance. I could push myself, but the Twenty11 Resolution Run is only a 5K. I'm pretty sure that I can do 3 miles without feeling like the next step will be my last!

I have to admit that I prefer the cooler weather...and without rain too. Today was perfect, not much traffic on the road and no unsavory people out and about. Hopefully I'll have Mr. Tom along with me for a whopping 2.5 miles! Last Fall/Winter we were pretty lucky with our long run days and had mostly non rain days. I can only hope that this year we'll be just as lucky!

Here's to more running!

Baby it's cold outside!

So cold that I am back on the treadmill running…and doing more running than walking! I really need to get serious about all this running stuff if I think I’m going to do the Twenty 11 Resolution Run. The other day I was talking to one of the Captains at work and how hard running seems to be right now. Kristan confided that for some reason her running hasn’t been happening like it once was. That gave me a sense of normalcy, I’m not the only one. It might just be the season too. As much as I would like to go out for a road run, that’s not really so much an option. The mornings and evenings are just too dark. I’m pretty wary about weirdos and who might be watching so switching up where I run for now so I don’t have to feel freaked out all the time. The other issue is time. My lunch break is only an hour so my runs at work are pretty short. I suppose a short run is better than no run. At least I can look forward to the weekend to do a “long” run.

As we move into the holiday season I hope to continue running as much as possible and also getting into the pool too. My goal is to start looking at training plans at the start of the new year and figuring out how much time I’m going to need to get enough swim, bike and run time before my first tri.

I think things are starting to look up...well, at least I'm doing some running...

Finally - Running Again!

pre-Shamrock Run 2010

It has been a while since I did a decent run - pretty much since All Women's event. After the end of that event, I focused on time trialing - which I miss. A couple of weeks ago I got back on the treadmill at the gym and at work and just managed to run 5 minutes at a time, but that's to be expected, Treadmill running is not fun.

So we bundled up and went to the track and I made it my goal to run at least a mile with no stopping - goal attained! I even ran that mile at 12:37 so that's not bad for being such a slacker for the past couple of months! I've been really good about starting a running plan during the cold months - so getting out this morning while it was brisk did me good. Layers are gooood. I better go thru my running clothes and pull out all my cold weather running tops.

I'm looking forward to more running and our first event for 2011 - the Twenty 11 Resolution Run is on January 1 and I want to do a decent time!

Run Baby Run!

Dreading...

I have really been dreading having to start up running. I don't know why, but it's just something that I'm not feeling right now. Today was good though, I managed to run 10 out of 25 minutes on the treadmill at the station. I just have to remember it's not all awful! I know that in the past I was getting pretty comfortable with running, but when you take a very extended break from it, it's really hard to get back into it!

The only thing that I'm seeing that is making me want to start running again (besides the TRI) is that there are a couple of running events in the next 6 months that I want to do and I want to do them well. The first will be the TWENTY11 Resolution Run in Portland on Jan 1 and the other would be the Shamrock run. Just so I don't really over-extend my training, I'm just going to train for the 5K distances and try to improve my time doing that distance instead of trying to increase my distance overall. I don't see the point in running more than a 5K if all I need to be able to run for a tri is a 5K...makes sense to me.

I seem to have a knack of starting running again during the Fall/Winter months...it must be my own personal curse - I'm thankful for treadmills...they aren't so bad afterall.

(click pic to expand)

Feeling...

pretty good today!

We were up at o'dark thirty and off to the gym before the "neighborhood" had any inkling that it was Monday again. I was intentional about getting on the treadmill and doing some running this morning...it wasn't that bad - truly! Then after about 20 minutes of run/walking I made my way over to spin class for interval training with John. OH MY GOODNESS - Tough workout, but good. I think when we do the Lactate Threshold testing again my numbers may end up very different. I spent a lot of time in Zone 5 when I should have been in Zone 4. It was a good workout though, and I'm feeling all jazzed up right now - more than 4 hours later! John is a great instructor and I try to follow whatever he would have us do and not make the "ride" easier. I am prone to not liking to feel uncomfortable, I'm a wimp! I'm getting there, I have thoughts of easing off, but I power through - as Tom would say.

Now I know what my numbers are and am sporting a heart rate monitor I'm finding that I'm being a little more mindful of my training - which should be good. Maybe my times will be better during future multisport events whether I'm doing a tri or a du...I'm REALLY excited now! Even if my times don't change much I will at least have trained better than in the past.

Now all I need to do is my running LT test...

Different

Yeah so I did my leg maintenance and went to the gym for my swim workout. The difference between my swim yesterday and the one from earlier this week was less drag...less drag and less sinking feeling. So, I will have to keep up on the shaving during the cool winter months...which I suppose is a good thing.

The not so good thing...there were several people milling about the pool and in the hot tub area. It was enough to make me feel intimidated - mostly because of the 4 people in the pool, only two of us were actually swimming. The two teen-age goofballs in one of the lanes were just goofing around. Then there was a woman waiting IN the pool for a lane to open up so she could get a headstart on her non-swim workout (Aquafit) so that wasn't helping my nerves any. Swimming after 5pm is very different than swimming in the early morning hours.

If I had an extra 10 grand laying around (HA!) I would figure out a way to get one of these...

 

Endless Pool -  Fastlane set-up

 

 

 

A girl can dream...although if I were to dream big my choice would be a full size pool in my house. That seems to be an unlikely dream, so it's LA Fitness and the goofballs forever!

Psycho...

...logical.

Yeah, so I have noticed for the last 3 or 4 swims that I have not been "gliding" through the water as easily as when I was shaving my legs all the time during the summer for cycling season. I've gotten lazy in the last week since there haven't been many days to get out on the bike and wear shorts...thus sporting smooth legs. For some reason I am feeling definite drag in the pool as I'm swimming - could it be a psychological thing or ???

It's hard to say, but I think I will do a little leg maintenance tomorrow and see if there is a difference on Wednesday.

I'll report later this week....should be interesting.

Lazy, lazy...

My inspiration kind of went downhill after we did the Harvest Ride on the 9th. I had hoped to ride the Century route, or the 75 mile route at the very least, but with the rain, I wasn't in the mood to ride past 45 miles all soaking wet.

So after that ride, I kind of felt run down and tired. So I took time off from the bike (including spin) and treadmill since then. I did keep swimming though, so it's not like I abandoned everything all at once. Just took a break from spinning and running. The running just takes a lot of effort, so I was okay with leaving that behind for a while longer.

Well, I'm starting to feel like a slacker, so it must be time to start up again. More swimming of course...but need to really get serious about running. The spin part is not a problem, riding a bike is easy for me...I'll work on gaining more speed later as we get closer to Time Trial and Multisport season.

I'm not the greatest runner, I've made my peace with that, but if I don't run I'll never improve. So I'll have to get on the treadmill next week and start up again. Will need to get new shoes though, but that will have to wait for a another month or so. Plus I want to check out what shoes are out there for my running style which is mostly slowly-but-surely-don't-laugh-at-me running ;)

Some people say this is the off season, which may be true, but for me it's about getting ready for the real training. I've only got a couple of months left of this willy-nilly doing this and that type of training. January I will start getting serious about EVERYTHING and really try to get more structured about training. Right now I'm trying out different scenarios to see how things work. I'm thinking if I can swim every other day that will be a little bit of variety from week to week I suppose I could do the same with my running too...alternating enough so that my days are more interesting. I guess the good thing with running is that I can easily do my run workouts on the Treadmill at the gym before going into spin class if I wanted to do that instead of schlepping everything to work for my noon workouts...oooh...I like options!

Here's to preparing for real training for a Sprint Tri

Results Are In

John actually showed up early this past Wednesday and we did our Lactate Threshold Field Test. Tom said it's like doing a Time Trial - um, no...it's not. It's MUCH harder than that, all out effort riding as hard as you can for 30 minutes...the only thing that resembles a Time Trial is the 30 minutes part.

Anyway, I've got my numbers...that's the good thing. The bad thing, I don't know what to do with them yet. Oh, and I don't have my own Heart Rate Monitor - YET. I think Tom mentioned that John has some that he would sell at a super discount. Discontinued models...discount gooood....here are the numbers

I'll have to see what Happy Hard is all about. I mean really, who does Happy Hard anything?

I'm on the road to better training! 

Inspiration

Looking for inspiration wherever I can...this guy moves so slowly to the bike start it's no wonder what happens to him before he actually starts...

Time To Get Serious

The last couple three weeks or so I have been a slacker - sort of. I haven't run at all, did the very minimal amount of anything and got back into spin class. Just lazy I guess.

So, this past Saturday since I was thinking about swimming so much that I decided that after leaving Jenni's house (PartyLite gathering) I would go to the gym before going home. The gym isn't exactly on the way home from Jenni's but I thought that more swimming isn't a bad thing. So, 20 minutes and eight and a half laps later I went home and felt pretty good about my extra swim for the week!

This week I am getting back into my 8-5 work schedule and just to get on track I brought my running clothes/shoes and went upstairs and got on the treadmill. No running just yet, just walking for 30 minutes right now and watching a little TV so that the time goes a little quicker.

It's time to get intentional about everything - running, spinning and swimming. Especially swimming and running since I don't do either all that well, but I am seeing more improvement with swimming all the time. I suppose if I kept at running as I should I would see improvement there too - Go figure.

Now all I have to do is work on my nutrition...ugh. Let's save that for another day.

Here's looking forward to Blue Lake 2011 and other events!

just swimmin' and spinnin'

Haven't been running at all these last couple of weeks. My knee was hurting during the Peach on Sunday so I took it easy.

POOL TIME
Got into the pool on M-W-F and did alright. Getting better each time. I am amazed that I can do 2 laps in a row only stopping to turn around...2 laps!!! Doing FREESTYLE!! A year ago I was the goof-ball trying to get to the other end of the pool swimming any ol' stroke that would keep me going. Now I'm actually getting back into swimming and able to swim a total of 7-8 laps - MOSTLY FREESTYLE. I'm a little excited :) Now all I need to do is swim at least a dozen more laps to make up a half mile distance...swim, Swim, SWIM!

LACTATE THRESHOLD
Good ol' John was supposed to have done a Lactate Threshold Field Test on Wednesday, but he ended up oversleeping and getting to the gym too late. So now we are hoping he doesn't oversleep NEXT Wednesday! It should be interested to find out what my heart rate zone is...John says it is a good training tool. He should know, he's a trainer of sorts, so when John says anything it's free training tidbits! Check him out HERE or HERE.

TUNE-UP
I took my bike into the shop on Monday for a tune-up and it would be my luck that this would have been the best week to do some bike commuting to work. Oh well...when I get my bike back later today Tom and I will have to go for a quick ride to make sure all is well. A new chain and brake pads - cool beans!

So yeah, a sprint tri in 2011 maybe even two, but not one of these -

Almost Fall

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of Fall - Summer JUST started right?

So I was thinking about what all we did this year. There have been a few events, but not as many as before (I think) -

March - 8K Shamrock Run
April - Monster Cook Metric Century
May - Ride Around Clark County
June - Blue Lake Duathlon & Tour de Blast
July - 4th of July Run, Cycle Oregon Weekend Ride and All Women's Duathlon
August - The Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour & Vine Ride

This weekend we are heading to Salem to ride the Peach of a Century (75 mile route) and then in a couple of weeks we'll ride the Harvest Century (full century).This has been a pretty good year overall; although I did less cycling and more running and added swimming after All Women's.

The other bonus for the year is that Tom and I have started doing yoga. I had wanted to do yoga, but didn't think that Tom would be all that interested - little did I know that it took John to inspire Tom to try something new. Recently I read on a website that yoga is beneficial for people who suffer from asthma. By golly, after I had read that I thought about how much easier my breathing has been while running and even during my swims. It must be true!

So while we transition into the rainy season I hope to continue my training for the 2011 Blue Lake Sprint Tri! I have informed my supervisor of my desire to change my work schedule more permanently to work 8:00-5:00 and use my lunch hour for treadmill time...WOO HOO!

For the end of a cycling season I'm feeling pretty upbeat. I'll try to get out on my bike when I can during my lunch breaks...hoping for a not so rainy fall/winter this year :)

Looking forward to having a very fun 2011 swimming, riding and running season!

Streamlining

Tom learned this week that if you want to do a faster Time Trial, the thing that will help you speed up is to get an Aero Helmet. This might be a little overkill...

Swimming is...

not so bad afterall :)

Okay, so this swimming thing is REALLY starting to stick! After reading my post of almost a year ago, I can't believe how much improvement I have made just by being consistent with getting into the pool! Check out my post from September 2009 and my attempt to start swimming...HERE

My swim drill for the week (and probably next week) has been to start my swim by swimming as far as I can and then resting for one minute at the wall before continuing on with the workout. I have to be honest, I have been stopping after one lap even though I think I could probably do more. I am going to change that next week and do exactly what the workout is wanting me to do. The really cool thing is that when I stop, I'm not as breathless as I have been in the past - I no longer am gasping for air! Now for me having exercise induced asthma that's not so bad. Although today I did run on the treadmill so my lungs got a pretty good workout before I even jumped into the water. So, what I have read is true - it DOES take about 6 weeks to notice improvements!

My first tri will be a reality, I can feel it, but first...Open Water Swimming! I'm pretty sure it won't be like this video...

Final Vrrooom!

We have had a pretty good time this year with the Vancouver Bicycle Club Time Trials. The season started off a little slow as we missed several weeks, mostly due to weather (too much rain or too hot). Come to find out later, there were a few cancellations along the way.

Riding the time trials has been a fun way to challenge ourselves on a weekly basis, trying to get a better time each week. The week that I got my first sub-33 time was the week that Tom flatted…he was trying to flag me down when I realized I was having a great night…so I yelled back to him that I would be back. Right, I’m going to stop when I know that I’m going to get a good time…hehe. Although, I almost did stop – I slowed down a little. So really, my time that night could have been better. SIGH. All in all, I’m happy with how the season went. I made a huge improvement since the first TT…just over 2 minutes better! So that’s all good. I think the obsession has begun…fast goooood!

Looking forward to next Spring and the start of another time trial season!

	NANCY		TOM
DATE	TIME	AVERAGE	TIME	AVERAGE
April 22	34:38	17.32	31.37	18.98
May 6	33:10	18.09	31.25	19.10
May 13	32.58	18.20	DNF	----
June 17	33:10	18.09	30.16	19.82
July 15	33.53	17.71	30:16	19.82
July 29	33:44	17.79	30.00	20.00
August 5	33:18	18.02	29.23	20.42
August 12	33:09	18.10	----	----
August 26	33:14	18:05	33:09	18:10
Sept 2	32:25	18.51	30:21	19.77
Sept 9	32:35	18.41	30:15	19.83

At the end of some things...

Our Time Trial season will come to an end effective tomorrow, September 9! It has been a fun season of riding...really fast...or just plain fast...or what might pass as fast ;) Actually for being an old chick riding a road bike with aerobars attached, this year hasn't been too bad. I did manage to shave off more than a couple of minutes from the first TT this year so I'm happy with that. I picture myself riding a time trial bike, but that is a seriuosly expensive dream I have going right now. Check out this sweet bike...

This is a thing of beauty!

Yeah...so cool and very much a budget buster...a girl can dream right? My plan is to convert my Trek to a TT bike once Andrew has officially outgrown it. There are a couple of things I can do to make it more TT worthy, a new seat post and saddle. Those items along with my aerobars will make a nice poor-man's TT bike.

Anyway, TT bike or no TT Bike, tomorrow is going to be the BEST!

Less wind please...

Vacation Time...

This week has been a vacation week for me, but not as far as my workouts are concerned. Still have been running & swimming because I need to work on both of those the most.

Tonight is the VBC Time Trial - woo hoo! Last week the wind was so bad, fierce...WICKED! Even so, my time wasn't too much more than the week before when I posted my fastest time of the season. My attitude last week was to go out and enjoy the ride, but the wind...ugh. That sort of killed my desire to enjoy the next 30+ minutes. However, the tailwind was like no other I have ever experienced before, so it was easy to make up some time and still ride a decent Time Trial.

It will be a warmer day today so tonight should be a good ride....NO WIND! Or less wind please-oh-please...

One more TT and we are done for the year. Then we start counting down for next spring and the start of yet another season of time trialing - WOO HOO!

Vrooom!

Pre-Training For My First Tri

My Book Du Jour

I have been contemplating doing a tri for over a year now. The first time I kind of thought of it was when Tom and I were in Albany to do our first Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour last year and we were walking through a shopping center and for no particular reason either Tom or I asked the other about swimming and trying to do a Triathlon. I'm pretty sure Tom brought up the subject and I'm pretty sure that I replied that I had been thinking about it. So, being fashion forward about things I started to hunt around for a swim suit - finally found one that I liked (which fit) on TeamEstrogen.com and even got a couple of accessories too.

So, it took most of the year, but I've actually been getting into the pool at the gym and swimming! Earlier this week there were a herd of people in the pool, each lane with at least two people and some others just hanging out in the hot tub area. It was crazy! Normally, I would probably just turn around and leave, but I actually stayed and swam in one of the over-populated lanes. I think I'm getting serious about this tri stuff! In the last 3 weeks I have gone and swam at least twice a week, sometimes 3 times...that's a good thing!

Running has been pretty slow since All Women's...mostly non-existent. A couple of weeks ago I got on the treadmill again and I remember now why I have not been in the gym to run almost all summer...it's BORING! I know that my time on the road will be limited so I decided it's time to get back on the dreadmill and just do it. I'll be going back to weekend road/trail runs pretty soon so I better make good use of the mills at the gym.

Tonight is the first of the last three time trials at the Port. Last week I beat my fastest time from the beginning of the season. At that time I decided that for the rest of the TT's I would go out and just have a good time and ride hard of course without trying to beat last week's time. I don't know how that will go...we'll see if I ease off and just enjoy the night or not.

My pre-training will consist of following one of the 12-week plans in the book I have been carrying around with me almost always. Then next spring I hope to step up the training and add open water swimming - that's on the condition that I can actually swim the distance without too much trouble. Oh, and open water swimming in the spring...yeah, that doesn't sound good at all. That might just have to wait until right before Blue Lake.

Blue Lake Sprint Tri here I come!

This look makes sense in the water

If she can do it...

I think I can too.

So, met Kristen at the gym and did a few laps this morning. I did a total of 8 laps, mostly freestyle, with some breaststroke because I have this knack of swallowing water which makes me want to stop. I am hoping to get over that at some point. I'm pretty sure that if I didn't have Kristen to rely on for a morning swim, I would have happily stayed in bed because I did not get a good night's rest as I had hoped. Anyway, Kristen was swimming away and I was plugging along taking rests in between each length - have I mentioned that swimming is hard? Overall today wasn't so bad.

Around 6:10 I decide it's time to get out and get showered/rinsed and dressed and meet Mr. Tom and go to coffee. All was well and I was in and out of the shower lickety split. I had a little trouble with getting my sports bra on - I was still a little wet. If you have ever tried to pull one of these things over wet hair and still wet back...don't. It's not pretty. I am half dressed and another woman comes in after her shower and we started to chat a little. Mostly because I had put on my All Women's T-shirt and that peaked her interested. Enough that she declared that she would be doing her first tri this coming weekend! This very nice woman, I would guess, in her early to mid fifties and a little on the plump side. She is going to do her FIRST TRI! Well, if that just doesn't give me a little encouragement! With encouragement from her daughter she trained and trained her little heart out and will be out on the course on Saturday in Seattle. She was very excited...which made me excited for her upcoming challenge. This is what I needed to remind myself what I'm working for.

Yeah, I know I can do a tri at....Blue Lake 2011!

Thinking about...

starting up training again.

Didn't run all last week, did a big event ride on Sunday and actually swam a couple of days last week. I have the picture above as my wallpaper on my monitor at work as inspiration...that should keep me going to the pool...I hope. More goals abound - a Tri in 2011!

Tomorrow I'll be heading to the gym early with Tom and might get a little treadmill time before changing and meeting Kristen for some swim time. This will be the first time for us meeting to swim at the gym - there were a couple of other attempts, but schedules got in the way.  This will be good though, last week I had every intention of walking on the treadmill until John showed up to lead Tom's class and then get into the pool. That was a great plan, but he never showed up! I walked on the mill all the way until 6:00 and went marching into the spin class to find out what the deal was. I decided it was time to go home - so Tom hopped off the bike and gathered up his stuff and we were out of there!

I'm glad for Kristen though, now I have someone to be accountable to ;) although I'm sure that there will be only a few opportunities to meet at the pool. Should be a good time though, she is so laid back and relaxed and fun to be around. I'm pretty sure I won't feel like a big fat loser - she's looking to do her third tri this summer in a few weeks. 

So, before last week I hadn't been in the pool since the middle of June. I have to admit that it didn't so freaky this time around. Progress maybe? We'll see...I've got a long way to go to get to half a mile, but then I have 10 months to do it...it's seems doable.

Swim, Ride...RUN!

All Women's 2010

We raced. We finished. We WON our Age Division!

The win was questionable for a little while, there was another Du team, they were wearing matching flower bikini tops and hats with flowers on them. The gal in transition had a team number on and she was hanging around the team transition...but later on when we checked times, we were the only team listed. Not sure what happened, but that's okay...we WON!

Final time: 2:04:34

Free digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

Time Trial continues...

(My choice of shoes at last season's last TT in September)

We were back at it last night at the Time Trial. It's been a couple of weeks and I was hoping to get closer to my fastest time yet this year of 32:58, but it was not to be. My unofficial time is 33:43 that's about 10 seconds better than the last TT we did.

After we finished, Tom's spin class leader, John,  was hanging around the parking lot and rode over and asked how we did and all that and I mentioned that my glutes hurt...but good! He response was that I was doing it right! Woo Hoo! I understand what I need to do...pull up as I'm spinning...I guess I don't understand how I'm doing it. That's just one more thing to think about besides how much it hurts and that the turn around is coming up not soon enough! Seriously though, my goal is to beat my best time this year and there are 6 weeks left until the end of the TT season.

Once I'm done with the All Women's event I can spend more time focusing on cycling and swimming. I'll still be running, but I'm having a hard time right now figuring out where to fit everything with the time that I have available. I might have to make an adjustment in my work schedule to fit my runs on the treadmill at the station (ugh) - that's the only way I can free up a morning and/or evening to do the cycling and swimming [BIG SIGH] details!

Oh well, I need to think about tomorrow and getting the running done! Robin has it easy...lucky duck. Should be a blast and a perfect day to....

Run, Ride, Run....Bay-Bee!

Taper?

I think I've been tapering since Blue Lake when in reality I should have been continuing the training. Since Blue Lake I have had a few set backs...other events, allergies/illness and general tiredness. Not to mention a little bit of lack of motivation.

It would figure though, now that All Women's is this coming Saturday I have all sorts of motivation, but no time...unless I were to run morning AND evening, but I'm not that crazy....or am I???? So I have decided to do specific run training this week hills today and speed work on Wednesday...I did a 3 mile run on Saturday and man that felt good! Oh, and I also went out close to 8:00 just to get used to the idea of running at that time instead of 5:30....my oh my...I like running EARLY! It's much cooler and I don't feel as if I might wilt. I'll probably get out on Thursday night and do the Time Trial just for fun even though I don't have to train for the bike. Gotta beat 32:58 though...

It's time to not psyche myself out - if I do that now I'll just make myself crazy. So I'll just be sure to enjoy this week, eat well, hydrate and look forward to a fun Saturday morning with my Duathlon partner...wee haw!

Almost time to run, ride, run!

Confirmed

Robin and I should have no problem "defending" our Age Division win of 2009. That's how we get the medal! Looks like we'll be making a repeat win at All Women's this year...Wa-Hoooooooo!

TEAM #	TEAM NAME	RESULTS DIVISION
1	TEAM FELIDA CYCLING	ALL FEMALE TEAM - 71 TO 90

MEMBER # 1	1081	Nancy Olschewsky	F	45	R3	- Run #1 & Run #2
MEMBER # 2	1082	Robin Claudson	F	44	B	- Bike Only
MEMBER # 3	1081	Nancy Olschewsky	F	45	R3	- Run #1 & Run #2

I done signed up..

(All Women's 2009)

for All Women's 2010! Robin and I will be looking to defend our Age Division "Title".

Yeah, so we were the only team...but still!

This is it though, I have 20 days to run, run, run! Next weekend is Cycle Oregon weekend -  I don't think that I'll get much running done. I could bring my shoes...and I might do that, but the likelihood that I'll actually run is pretty slim at this point. At least I'm thinking about it.

This week I'll get two good runs in though.Tomorrow I'm planning to run the short hills on 149th Street which is close to home, a good thing. The quote I got a few days ago helped me to realize that if I do the hills which are not easy, running on the flats will be easy. It's a nice theory, we'll see how it turns out after tomorrow morning.

Run Run Run!

Running uphill...

makes you a faster runner on the flats. Hills build strength, and make the flats feel easy! Jon Sinclair, Running coach in Fort Collins, Colorado

Well, maybe I should start running hills more in the days before All Women's on the 31st! Hmmm...this could be my ticket to running faster...even just a little bit :)

Consistent

Slow-but-sure has always worked for me, in running and most other arenas. I wouldn't mind being a Carl Lewis or Usain Bolt, but I've found little payoff in attempting to be what I'm not. Amby Burfoot, Runner's World Editor at Large

I've been at this running thing for a couple of years and it seems that getting faster is not so much an option for me. I am consistent though and that counts for something. I can do speed work, hill runs (not that I want to)...easy runs and my pace remains the same. It might take another year of running to gain a little more speed, but after thinking about it...it doesn't seem to matter so much as I think it should - I think. 


Training Continues...
My cold and/or allergies have been affecting my training the past couple of weeks...so haven't logged many miles (on foot or bike) since Tour de Blast. This week things are starting to look up though and I'm hoping to get back into the pool soon.


Zoom-Zoom...
TT's haven't happened for several weeks now due illness, bad weather and now hot weather. It probably would be wise to not ride in really hot weather. Oh well, there's always next week! 


Looking forward to the All Women's Event on the 31st! All I have to do is RUN...I better get to it!

Cat pose, Downward Facing Dog...Cobra

YOGA Baby!

Ever since John O'Brien started teaching the Monday & Wednesday early morning spin classes he has been mentioning the benefits of yoga to the group (this is according to Tom). I don't go to his class, but Tom does and every time it's time for the cool down and stretching here comes the yoga talk. Then later Tom says, "John says yoga is good for cyclists."

Every time. Well, now we are doing yoga, because John said it's good...

We are skipping the gym a couple mornings a week and starting our day with yoga. A few years ago I bought a "Yoga for Dummies" DVD, used it a few times and then put it away for a while. It's a good DVD, but it just wasn't all that fun going through the routines by myself. Now that Tom has decided he wants to do Yoga we have been using the DVD - YAY! It's been fun...and I can already feel a difference after a few sessions of bending, breathing and stretching muscles that don't want to be stretched. This DVD is great because it is so non-threatening and really stresses to have fun with the moves and it has been fun!

Until Tom starts feeling confident with the poses, I think we'll be sticking with the basic routine. The other routine is the intermediate routine and goes thru a series of poses one to the next without stopping...vinyasa flow check it out...(this video isn't too spacey new agey)

We'll see how long this yoga kick lasts - I hope for a long time. I LIKE IT!

Namaste
 

Ailments

The past couple of weeks have been light on training for ANYTHING! Tom seems to think that I had a cold, but then I think it was allergies. I may have been suffering (still am suffering) from both. Fortunately each day I'm feeling better and I don't feel as drippy with each passing day. Which is good because my nose is getting raw from constantly blowing it!

This week I at least got to the gym a couple of times and got on the treadmill. The first day I was far to drippy to do any kind of running so I stuck to walking. My second visit I actually did some running even though I still had the drips, but my legs felt good - so I think tomorrow's 5k will be just fine.

My hope is that I will be able to get back into the pool and get to swimming again. I don't want to lose what I had gained in the 4 times that I swam in the last 3 weeks. I'm still shooting for being able to swim several laps of freestyle before the year is over and am confident that it will happen...with no more delays.

I found another run that will be later this summer. It's the Salmon Creek Run and it's nice and close to home so I think I'll be able to talk Tom into running this one. It looks like it starts in Salmon Creek at Billygan's/Applebee's and goes to Kline Line and back to Salmon Creek. Should be a fun run!

Looking forward to being drip free!

Forced Rest

What I thought was allergies actually turned out to be a cold. So...I've been resting this week. Definitely not my favorite thing to do, but necessary. Hopefully next week I'll be good to go again, but I'll have to still take it easy...blah. It would figure that I would have a cold during the best weather we have seen in a long time!

Ridgefield's 4th of July run is on Saturday (the 3rd) then a couple of weeks after that we will be in Monmouth, OR for Cycle Oregon weekend! I'm pretty excited about that :)

Until then, I need to lay low and take it easy. It is possible that the 4th of July run will be my first all out effort after being unwell.

33:10

 Just looked up my official time from our TT last Thursday...not too bad considering the last TT we did was May 13 (32:58) and there was some wind last week that slowed down some others that night as well.

Now that I have had a chance to use the aerobars for the intended purpose, I know now that I need to make some minor adjustments to my bike for optimal performance during the TT's. I'm going to try to raise my seat just a little so I can get a better extension on the pedal stroke....details! 

I like Thursday nights AND I like dry Thursday nights! Now if we could get a no wind Thursday...that would be PERFECT!

Runnin' Ridin' Swimmin'

I have no idea how I'm going to fit in all these activities during the week AND get rest too. Got my two days of swimming in last week and a day of running. Yesterday was the big ol' miserable Tour de Blast...blah.

I've been telling Tom that I plan to keep my run days Monday & Wednesday, but then I don't know when I'll swim if I think I'm going to bike commute. SO - here's another crazy plan...ride to and from work and then run when I get home...or this is even better (for the sake of tme) run in the early morning and then ride to and from work...swim on Tuesday & Thursday...Long run on Saturday and REST on Sunday.

Now, that looks like a good plan, but the organized events are going to mess me up!

Really...a Tri is 2011? Crazy!

Tri Training

I'm nearing the end of week 1 of pre-tri-training. I have taken it easy for the most part this week and not really gone all out and did crazy stuff. Although, I did do a brick yesterday - a run/ride/run brick...it was a short effort, but still, probably more than I should have done. Oh well - I don't do slow very well.

This week I have gone and swam (swum?) in the pool at the gym...which was not bad, overall. Monday was not great as I tweaked my neck somehow. Today I went and did another 400 yards and actually swam 2 laps (or 100 yards) of Freestyle. Not in a row, but I did it and it was good! Just like with running I'll have to not push it too much with swimming, gotta build up slowly. No problem there - swimming is not easy. Playing in the pool is easy...but actual lap swimming is not easy. I'm pretty excited though, 2 laps and going all the way from end to end without stopping...that's huge! I'm getting excited, I might yet turn into a triathlete.

So, tomorrow is long run day. I have decided to run our Fred Meyer loop. At 4.5 miles that will be the farthest I have gone since the Shamrock run. If I can run two 5K's, I think I can do 4.5 miles!

Here's to turning into a tri girl!

And I Rest

The real purpose of running isn't to win a race; it's to test the limits of the human heart. Bill Bowerman

No training today, I felt more like sleeping than rushing around and getting to the gym by 5:15. So, we are back at it tomorrow with a run in the AM and if the weather cooperates a TT after work. I have been itchin' to try out my aerobars for real on a smooth road.

Making Up Time...

Tom was excited to hear that he made 3rd place in his age division - so much so that he wanted to start figuring out where he could move a little faster. He determined a couple of things that HE could do - do more running and quicken his time in transition. The first place guy did his transitions in half the time (I think). The other thing that would definitely make a difference is that Marine Drive could be paved and smooooth. We have no control over that so we just have to adapt and move on! Tom is definitely hooked...I think he has found his sport - Duathlons. We'll get him into the pool at some point.

This morning we opted to do a road run instead of going to the gym. The morning was cool and crisp and it felt good to be on the road instead of a treadmill! We ran 2.67 miles in 32min and some odd seconds and the pace turned out to be 12:17. That's pretty average for me...so I was not disappointed with that. Not bad for having done an all out effort a few days ago :) We need to do some hill repeats soon, I signed us up to run the 4th of July 5K in Ridgefield. I didn't realize how many hills there are on the way out of town as you are heading North. Even with the hills, my time wasn't all that bad - 38:18 (12.19).

Tomorrow we go back indoors - to the gym. I think I'll get into the pool again. My new swim cap should be delivered today so I'll just have to try that out for sure! Tom will be going to spin class...and be punished by John, one of the newer spin class instructors and a coach with Wenzel Coaching. Read about him HERE.

Oh, so if anyone is wondering where I placed I signed up for the Athena's division (or what I affectionately call the "big girl" division). This division is determined by weight and I qualify! Anyway, I "won" my division. Yeah, okay, I was the only one in my division, but it works for me! Be the only participant in that division and you can't lose! There are still too many faster women in the age division I fall under so I won't be trying to compete there just yet.

Swimming, Riding, Running Bay-bee!

For Next Time...

Yeah, so after the Du I forgot to scrub my legs to try to lighten up the body markings that we had tattoed on before the start of the race. I only remembered as soon as I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in a towel. The good thing is, I was not alone...

Tom forgot also and as soon as I told him that I forgot he realized that he had also...hahaha...look how vibrant the markings are, almost like they were just written on our legs. I love permanent markers!

So we put on our shorts anyway because it was such a gorgeous day and hoped that no one would say anything. We ALMOST made it out of Fred Meyer with our purchase, almost...then a cute little old lady said, "I really like your leg tattoos." Dang it! We engaged in a brief conversation with this nice woman and she seemed rather amused and awed that we would do multisport events.


We'll probably forget next time too ;)

Blue Lake 2011

Will be my first Triathlon!

Swimming has not been in my training routine, so I'm starting to figure out how to fit it in with the running and cycling. I figure that if I at least swim a couple of  times a week that would be better than not swimming at all. My goal is to get as much swimming in as possible between now and when I intend to start a real training program for my first Tri. It will not be easy and I'm fully prepared to be overwhelmed at some point either really soon or in a month or so when we are in the thick of cycling and I'm still trying to run a couple of days a week.

My hope is to recruit some of my FD6 people into doing Blue Lake next year...I know of a couple of the guys who have already done either a sprint distance or a novice distance in the last couple of months, so they will be on my list for sure!

So, today was my first time back into the pool in over a month! This morning I tweaked my neck as I was getting ready to go to the gym - so annoying. Because of that I was not able to do Freestyle, but I was able to swim 400 yards this morning with short breaks in between each length. It will be interesting to see how things go progress. It would be wishful thinking on my part to think that I might be able to do a Tri in September, but I can always work on it...it would be a stretch though.


I can't believe that I'm back in training mode! There truly is no rest for the weary...

Swim(?), Ride, Run bay-bee!

If there were a podium...

Blue Lake 2010 was very good to Tom! He would be on the podium...if they had one! Check out the times in his age division...

Males: 50 to 54

1.  David Pecora, 52 - 1:39:22
2.  Andre Perra, 50 - 1:42:36
3.  Thomas Bennett, 52 - 1:44:06
4.  Tom Teramura, 54 - 1:45:32
5.  Vince Bianchini, 52 - 1:49:15