See Nancy RUN - RIDE - RUN (and swim)

Shamrock 2012

2012-02-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

As of today I have got 25 people registered for the Fire District 6 team!!! Very exciting...the crazy thing is that nearly half of these people are not connected with Fire District 6 - they are kind of - through one of our former members.Tracey lives in LaCenter and she is fortunate to live in a neighborhood that has quite a few runners. How cool is that?!

Anyway, just need to collect money for two more people and we are ready to go!

This year will be AWESOME!

If you want to join the team I won't be turning in everything until Feb 6th or 7th.

Go to www.shamrockrunportland.com, print the entry form and get it to me with your registration money and you'll be part of the fun!

Resolutioneers

2012-02-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

I feel this way each day I show up at the gym to either run or swim.

Oh please newbies who aren't going to stick with this, please get a clue when I give you the stink-eye!

What Is My Problem?

2012-02-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

It's February 1 and my training for January was VERY pathetic - although with my back giving me a problem early on, it makes sense that my training is messed up! There have been quite a few mornings that I have felt too tired to get out of bed to go and work out.

This must change NOW!

This is the month that I'm going to try to get back on track and get as much running and swimming in as much as possible. We made it to the gym early this morning and got into the pool. It was a decent swim session - YAY! Need to build up my swim time though today was a very brief swim, so I need to get on it! With 128 days until Blue Lake, I think I can make it...Sprint Distance here I come! Also need to get on my running too...Shamrock is in a month and a half and I am planning to run the 5k - very doable!

The other thing that has been slowing me down is the fact that there are more people at the gym so I gotta get on the ball if I want to get into the pool early in the morning or if I want to jump on the treadmill. The past few weeks have been very frustrating, with so many new faces at the gym. One morning ALL of the treadmills were being used and that's just plain wrong! Lots of people on the elliptical machines too. I am just hoping that the "new year's resolution newbies" will figure out that the gym isn't for them and figure it out soon!

I like the start of a new month though, gives me a chance to re-assess my training from the previous month and then adjust my schedule accordingly. I tend to over think my training - it's time to do it!

A Little Snow

2012-01-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

So there was snow on the ground early this AM so Tom and I decided to stay put. Who knows what kind of not so great drivers are out before 5:30 in the morning? Besides it was cold and I was nice and comfy under my blanket :)

Looks like tomorrow we'll be back at the gym. For some reason I'm not letting these set backs get to me. Well, not too much. It's so early in the year and to try to get all dialed into a training plan is going to take some time. Although, I don't think I should dilly-dally Blue Lake will be here before I know it! ANYWAY, it would be best to get back on track after having my tweaked back last week and today's snow. All things considered, I did get a decent run in on the treadmill (first time since tweaking my back) and did a little time on the elliptical, which by the way is an acquired taste that I'm still trying to acquire.

Soon we'll sign up for the Shamrock and I will HAVE to get going on my running! 32,000 people...COOL BEANS!

I LOVE IT!!! Swim, Ride...RUN!

Stationery card

2012-01-14T13:24:00.001-08:00

Falling Hearts Valentine's Card

Send special Valentine's Day cards from Shutterfly this year.

View the entire collection of cards.

Pain in the....

2012-01-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

I tweaked my back this past Sunday...it's been a long time. So no tri training this week :(

So annoyed, I was just getting started with my training and then this...bah!

Hoping to get back onto the treadmill soon and back into the pool too...I think the pool would be gentler on my body than being on the treadmill, but I've got the Shamrock coming up. I think I'll run the 5K this year.

Back pain really is a PAIN!

A Very Long Time...

2012-01-04T16:24:00.000-08:00

This morning I was on one of these for 35 minutes....

Which feels like twice than the time I was actually on it.

THEN

I was on one of these for 20 minutes....

35 minutes and 20 minutes on another stationary machine...that's like an eternity!

So, I'm really back into this tri training! I was kinda sweatin' it when I was getting close to being done on the bike...the availability of a treadmill was changing with every moment. Seriously, at least yesterday there were a couple of treadmills available here and there, but today - NOTHING. Someone would finish, but then someone else would hop on...over and over before I finished. Fortunately ONE treadmill opened up and when I finished my "ride" I quickly wiped down the bike and made my way over to the treadmill, threw my stuff down and hopped on for a 20 minute steady run. It didn't feel good, but I did it!

I think I may be changing up my training again next week. Tomorrow is a swim session and possibly weights.

155 days.

Back in the Pool

2012-01-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

If only I could look this cool!

I had every intention of doing a run workout and then into the pool for a swim. However, upon our arrival at LA Fitness I saw that most of the treadmills were occupied and quickly made a change of plan to just swim and then lift some weights - I'm pretty smart that way!

I have not been in the pool since late October (I think). I was focusing more on running, but as I mentioned in my last post...the half marathon is currently off the schedule, for now at least. Today's swim was actually not that bad. I didn't know how I would feel after pretty much two months of just running. Breathing was all good, but then my training for the day was to swim a length of the pool and then rest for 10 seconds...for 10 minutes. Not a bad plan so far! I think I'll be doing a timed swim later this week....YIKES! I don't know that that will go well. I get winded after one lap...two tops...it's all good though. I have a few months to train so it's all good.

Tomorrow I'll have to make my way to a treadmill AFTER I do a bike session on one of the stationary bikes - a brick workout yeah...that's the ticket. If I have to give some walker the stink-eye for just walking on the treadmill I'll do it! Hee Hee...

156 days until Blue Lake!

Time

2012-01-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

We find time to do the things that are important to us. Period. ~Scott Douglas, Scott's Original Miscellany, Running Times.

Up until the new year I thought I really wanted to do a half marathon. Then Tom went and strained his calf muscle and I kind of lost interest in the whole training for a half. It really was Tom's goal AND the half that I had picked out is far to close to the Blue Lake event in June. So - naturally I'm choosing to train to do a sprint tri instead of doing the novice distance again.

I haven't been terribly motivated to go and run or anything else at the gym. Now that I'm in the VERY early stages of training I'm very excited to get back into the pool and all that. We even went out and did a road ride yesterday after church and I rode to the gym to meet Tom today.

Yeah...this triathlon thing is important to me ;)

Delinquent

2011-12-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

I want to be a cheetah!

I have been very delinquent with my blogging in recent weeks. Have been busy and tired...tired of being busy, tis the season!

All I have really been up to is running and some strength training. The running has been good and not so good, but more good than not. After Run Like Hell I decided that I would start a new run plan (1/2 marathon) and lift weights when I go to the gym. The busy season is enough to drive me mad and I don't need the stress of trying to figure out what training workout I'm going to do - so running it is! Something about a 1/2 marathon is in the back of my mind ;) I'll be getting back into the pool in January - which really means I'll start training for a Sprint Distance Triathlon...too much...Too Much! I love it :)

So my latest revelation is that speed isn't really that important. Just getting the run done is my goal anymore. I have started noticing that in the past few years I have been slowing down a bit. I want to say it's because I have been doing multisport and I'm not in that great of shape, but now I'm thinking it's because I'm getting older. It's hard to say. I want to blame it on my crazy desire to do all three sports in one event, but that age thing keeps coming up. Maybe what little strength training I have been doing will help...I don't know, I should keep a diary starting in January.

ANYWAY, this week my run schedule is Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - 3, 3 and then 4. I'm already off as of this morning. So very tired so I did a run/walk treadmill session (2 miles). I'm pretty sure that I can make up the additional mile tomorrow and then get back on track for my other two runs.

Looking forward to going home and crashing with my Kindle on the couch...then falling asleep and then waking up and maybe dragging myself to bed.

Aaah, now that is inspiration!

2011 Ironman Statistics

2011-11-22T14:58:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure that I won't be participating in an Ironman Event - ANYWHERE - but these numbers are fun to ponder. And it's a pretty cool poster :)

Brought to you by: Triathlon Training Schedule

Week 2 - Almost Through The Week

2011-11-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

We are on week 2 and I'm still pretty much on track. Had a slight hiccup on Monday and only ran 2 miles on the treadmill - I didn't even try for 3. That's how crummy I felt. So I made up that mile on Tuesday before getting into the pool. Ran 2 yesterday and will do 3 on Saturday. Next week will be super easy 2, 2 and then 3. After that we start adding more distance, but I'm not going to think about that right now. Today we did yoga - hoping for another swim tomorrow :)

I have figured out that I feel bad on my Monday runs because I'm so bad with hydrating on the weekends. This weekend I'm going to try an experiment and see what happens if I drink water like I do during the week. Also, I thought maybe I don't get enough sleep, but I usually am a little sleep deprived during the week, so that probably isn't the problem.

To help improve my running we have been doing strength training after our runs, I can tell that it helps. My runs feel so much better now - not so sluggish - so I suppose I should keep that up. Also, I read this online:

"As a rule, muscle mass declines with age, starting in the 40s and picking up speed after about age 50. Then the typical rate of muscle loss really begins to outpace the rate of muscle gain, so that there's an increasing net deficit..."

Picking up speed? Goodness...I've got a lot of work ahead of me. Lifting weights is not one of my favorite things to do, but just so I don't decline too much, too quickly, I'm going to have to make an effort to make strength training a part of my fitness routine!

So, today is Tom's birthday and the celebrating started with breakfast at Biscuits Cafe and coffee at Starbucks. Tonight I'll make Mushroom Risotto for dinner. Afterwards we'll go out for a sweet treat, Tom's choice. This Sunday we'll be heading out with our core group for a little Happy Hour at Lapellah...oye.

I might have to work extra hard next week to work off all the calories that I'm consuming now and will consume this weekend...hehe.

So I need to drink more water...I will consume lots of calories...and work out harder.

Wet Run

2011-11-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

At the finish of All Women's Event

Today wasn't exactly a downpour, but it certainly wasn't dry. We got out and did the 3 miler for today and it wasn't too bad. I spent a lot of time dodging little puddles on the sidewalk or road. I was also determined to not stop at 30 minutes, but to keep going to the 3 mile mark.
I DID IT!

I don't know why I'm so excited about that...but I think mostly it is because it's so easy to talk myself into walking and if I can do a run without giving in to my mind telling me to stop I feel pretty good about that - yay :)

So I get a break from running until Monday morning so I think tomorrow I'll get into the pool and try to do a few laps. My swim yesterday wasn't that great, so of course I want to try to fix that. I really shouldn't take too much of a break from swimming, I'll never get better at it!

We go back to standard time tonight so the extra hour will be nice!

Week 1, Run #2

2011-11-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today was supposed to be Run #3, but I was still in lazy mode on Saturday - the supposed first day of my new training plan.

Today was another whoppin' two miles on the treadmill. After just trudging through my Monday AM run, I felt TONS better today! I don't know why or how, but it was just good.Although, I did have some pain here and there, but nothing that lasted long. I'm figuring the pain was my body still working over my mind and trying to get me to stop running.

I remember a couple of years ago I was sticking to a running plan pretty regularly and the running felt pretty good most of the time. Sure there were days that I just plain didn't feel so great, but I was always happy to have gone out and do the run anyway and usually finished feeling a little better. So I just need to stick to it and it will become a part of my regular training routine!

We did strength training again today which is a good thing - Tom and I travel around the gym together so it isn't as awkward. If I need help he is there to lend a hand :)

Tomorrow is a spin class day for Tom. I am going to get into the pool and see how that goes. I really should be spending as much time swimming as I possibly can. The sprint tri swim distance is a half mile and I am only at a quarter mile right now. It's a bit daunting to think that I need to swim another quarter mile! Just need to chip away at it and over time it will come.

So, right now it's running, strength training and swimming, maybe throw some yoga in the mix for something a little more gentle.

Looking forward to my next run - 3 miles on the road on Saturday.

WOO HOO!!! I love Saturday Runs!!!!

Looking Forward...

2011-11-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

I like my collection of running shoes!

Now that we have finished most of the events for this year - just one left to do (Winter Wonderland Lights Run/Walk) It's time to start looking at my potential events list for 2012!

January - Resolution Run (Battle Ground)

March - Shamrock Run Portland, Fort Vancouver Run

April - Monster Cookie Metric Century (?)

June - Blue Lake Sprint Tri, Vancouver USA Half Marathon & Tour de Blast (?)

July - 4th of July Run (Ridgefield), Cycle Oregon Weekend Ride, All Women's Event

August - Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour (?)

September - StumpTown Sprint Tri, Peach of a Century (?)

October - Harvest Ride, Run Like Hell

November - ???

I don't think I have enough on my list...I better look for more stuff to do!!!

Took a week off after we did Run Like Hell the Sunday before this past Sunday and it was a super lazy week! Did go to the gym, didn't think about running, riding or swimming...aaahhh. Yesterday we were back at it and at the gym bright and early 2 mile run and then some strength training. Tomorrow is another 2 miles and I probably should do more strength training. I'm trying to be smart about my training now. Before it was just a willy-nilly thing. I think it will still be willy-nilly, but at least there will be some structure here and there ;) I can dream right?

If anyone is interested - Winter Wonderland Lights Run/Walk is on November 26 at PIR. Come join the fun! The Party In The Pit starts at 3pm there will be a sock hop, Mrs. Claus Hula Hoop contest, a Lil Elf parade and then the run/walk at 5pm!

This year has been a good year with all the events and pushing myself a little more than usual to run a 10k and do a couple of triathlons. Now I'm looking forward to more of the same for next year and new challenges!

2011 RLH

2011-10-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

Run Like Hell is DONE! I did it!!! I ran my first 10K!!! Not TWO 5K's interrupted with a bike or rest, but one full 10K!!!

I have realized that it is MUCH easier to run a 10K than doing a Duathlon - although the duathlon is a fun challenge, but not as fun as triathlon...

anyway...

Tom and I ran together more than half way, then he pulled away and I continued to run a nice steady pace. I'm so psyched! The finish wasn't bad and I felt pretty good - I think I like this running stuff!!!

Since this was my first 10K I allowed myself and hour and a half to complete this seemingly monumental distance...my official time was 1:24...not bad right?

This week is rest week. No running, no riding, no swimming...just hoping to sleep in and be lazy. I like lazy! If I feel like getting into the jacuzzi at the gym I may get out of bed early to do that, but really, I just want to rest!

A little make up to complete the look?

Okay, so the make-up didn't survive the sweat!

Interesting sights at the after event party.

Pink Tutu anyone?

Empty Roads?

2011-10-18T16:16:00.000-07:00


click to expand

I TOTALLY get this...we have gone for rides during Super Bowl just because we knew that most people would be at some party somewhere...PERFECT.

Speedwork Mondays

2011-10-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

It seems that my default run workout for Monday's has been doing speedwork for two reasons. First Sunday night is a "late" night for us - we go to our small group at 6:30 get done by 8:30 and I'm all jazzed up for a good while after we get back home. So, we get to bed later than usual.

The other reason is that I think that Monday is too soon after doing long runs on Saturdays to jump straight back into doing a 3 or 4 mile run. On a treadmill no less.

So Monday has turned into the day that I do Speedwork. Which is good because I get a break every few minutes and don't have to push myself as much - pushing myself to keep running that is. This helps me look forward to my Wednesday run so much more! Make one run a little less fun to do so that the next time will seem like a breeze!

Swim tomorrow and most likely strength training afterwards. Both are not necessarily my favorite things to do, but I noticed on my run on Saturday that I felt much stronger and was able to cover more distance than I was supposed to. Also, I am determined to do a sprint distance triathlon next year, at some point. So swimming all winter and through the spring will be key in getting me to that goal! I should think about Open Water swimming too, but it will be far too cold for many months, so I can think about that later!

I am looking forward to doing my 10k on Sunday though, get it done and over with. It seems that with the things that we sign up to do all I want to do is get to that day and just do it. I guess that just means that I'm tired of training...not surprising. Once I finish though, I am always happy to have done another event and finish with a little integrity.

Whether or not there is another event this year is unknown right now. I did mention to Tom that I would like to do a Turkey Trot somewhere in Vancouver. We'll see, that's just over a month away. Even if we don't do another event, I'm going to keep running whether it's here at the station during my lunch break or at the gym in the early morning hours during the week. It would be nice to be able to sleep in a little more during the week.

LOVE all the activities and can't wait for next season - but first Run Like Hell on Sunday!

Long Run Saturday

2011-10-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I fret so much...we went out for our long run today and I felt good pretty much the whole way. At 30 minutes I took a walk break. At first I thought we would walk 3 minutes, but then I realized that the narrowest part of the road was just a little further than I could walk in 3 so we probably walked closer to 5. Then onto 149th Street. I LOVE running west on 149th - it's pretty much a nice gentle down hill grade for MOST of the way. I have to be careful though, my Saturday runs are supposed to be Long and SLOOOOW....like today was supposed to be a 14:38 per mile pace. My pace today was probably a minute faster than that. Kinda wonder what it would be if I didn't walk. Hmmmm....

Overall I had a great run and I'm feeling much more confident about running our next and last organized event of the year. Although I have spied a couple of other events, so this may not be the last ;)

My goal is to always keep running even if it is just a little bit. We joined LA Fitness a couple of years ago, so it has gotten easier to train during the wet rainy season so I really don't have an excuse to not run, right? Sometimes the laziness sets in and I end up not going to the gym much. I guess I'll have to continue looking for events to train for like the Shamrock Run in March. The past couple of years we have run the 8k route - it would seem silly to do the 5k route, where's the challenge in that?

So, 2 more training runs this next week and a couple of days of rest then RUN LIKE HELL!

Funny How Things Work Out...

2011-10-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

On my way to work this morning I was thinking about how on earth I'm going to be able to run that 10K a week from this Sunday - as I posted earlier this week I got 3 miles on the treadmill this week. Tomorrow should be a 4 mile run and then 3 on Monday and 4 on Wednesday. Race day on Sunday the 23rd!

At each event that I entered this year I was NOT 100% prepared, yet, I was able to finish. THAT was the theme of the year, to finish. More specifically to finish without puking, tripping or just plain stopping and taking a Did Not Finish (DNF). There is no such thing as a DNF in my vocabulary and there isn't Last Place either. My goal this year has been to finish.

So, with Run Like Hell coming up I'm sure I'll finish, but I am wondering just how much I'll be walking. I have already previewed the route so I have an idea of where it goes, but that's a lot of city streets to run through - oye.

Looking forward to a week of rest after this event...that just might include sleeping in. I wonder what that's like?

run, Run, RUN!

Two Things...

2011-10-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

First - I had an AWESOME treadmill run this morning!!! Up until today, I haven't been able to get past the 2 mile mark. Something happened in the last couple of days and today I actually set the 'mill on the 5K program and went for it. I started up by walking for a couple of minutes and then increasing the speed with each "lap" that I completed. By the time I got to two miles I was still feeling pretty good and knew that I could do the final mile with no problem. SUCCESS! I think this is it...I'm in indoor running mode...yaaay!

Next..."rundies"

I get weekly emails from Runner's World and today's edition had these special underwear...go HERE

Weird.

At $65 I don't think I'll be getting a package of these.

Zombie Run

2011-10-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Tom was able to get his work partner to stop in at FitRight Northwest to get us registered for the Run Like Hell on October 23rd!

The theme this year is Zombies and Tom is on board! We have decided on old PJ's to zombie-ize and we even talked to one of the gals at Starbucks who is in "make-up" school (according to Tom) and she agreed to do our make-up before the event...sorry Brittney - it's gonna be an early morning girl!

I'm excited, despite the fact that I'm not sure how far I'll be able to get with my training...what's 6.2 miles right?! Tom has assured me that I will probably be surprised by what I can do. Somehow I think he's right. I figure I can move continuously for 2 hours doing a duathlon or triathlon and that's with transition breaks! 6.2 miles straight...piece of cake!

Here's to running zombies!

Continual Starting Over

2011-10-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

I just feel like all I do is start over with running...even if I have been running some. I feel like it's practically brand new.

This morning was different though, I actually felt pretty good (on the treadmill) and to not jinx it I only ran 2 miles. I'll be kicking it up to 3 on Wednesday and see if I can eke out 4 miles this weekend. I only have 2 weeks left until Run Like Hell....yikes!

Sleeping In

2011-09-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Mr. Decaf when he was little and cute

This morning I had no energy to get up out of bed and go to the gym to run on the Treadmill. Three miles, a treadmill and being sleepy tired do not add up to be a good workout (in my mind at least). So I took a rest day and slept a little more.

Should be good to go tomorrow morning - SWIM TIME!

Treadmill Fun

2011-09-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking that I would enjoy the treadmill more if there were classes that were like this...

How To...

2011-09-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

take off your wetsuit.

Okay, so this isn't so much for educational purposes as it is for the entertainment factor. The kid that is running around her is a crack-up!

Enjoy!

Taking Off Wetsuit

What's On Your Mind?

2011-09-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Yup, I've got triathlon on my brain...already thinking about next season! I don't think that it can be here soon enough...SIGH.

I have reflecting quite a bit on my two triathlons that I did this summer and I am pretty convinced that I like them A LOT!

My big goal was to do better on my swim at StumpTown and that has been achieved! I can't believe that I cut 4 minutes out of my time...so EXCITED - there is hope for my swimming skills yet! I gained so much more confidence the second time around. I am already thinking about preparing to do a Sprint Tri next year, which just means that the swim is a half mile instead of a quarter mile.

So I know what I need to do until next spring...more pool time to build up my endurance! When I'm in the pool I usually end up losing track of how many laps I have done. Then one day, not too long ago, I arrived at the pool to see a guy in the first lane with a bunch of pennies at the end of the lane I didn't get it at first. After a couple of minutes it was very clear - he was using those pennies to "count" his laps. Swim a lap, move a penny from the bag to a pile. SO clever! I'm going to borrow that technique and use it to keep track of my laps...we always have lots of pennies! I'm thinking I'm going to start with 10 and time myself and go from there. My goal for this fall and winter is to start adding time and getting myself to 30 minutes of almost continuous swimming. I say almost continuous because my asthma tends to slow me down a little and it's so easy to stop and rest while pool swimming.

While I work on my endurance, I think I will need to start training to do Bilateral breathing. Bilateral breathing is alternating breathing while swimming freestyle on the right and left side instead of continually breathing to one side only. This is a timing thing and I think I'll need lots of time to practice as I am a right side breather. During the StumpTown event I swam more freestyle and was also able to do my breathing every stroke along with every fourth stroke. It worked out pretty well and it was nice to switch things up a little. Always something to work on!

Doing triathlons will be my big challenge for a long time. I thought I would just stick to duathlons, but I finally realized that I really don't enjoying running TWO times in one event. Yeah, it's a challenge, but it's more unpleasant than doing all three sports! So really, getting back into swimming was probably the best decision I ever made...and I never thought that I would enjoy it so much!

Looking forward to doing a Sprint Triathlon sometime in the Summer of 2012!

Time to start...

2011-09-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

Planning for next year's events! And training too...So much fun!!!

Yesterday was my second novice tri and my goal was to have a better swim time and I beat my June swim time by just over 4 minutes! I think that's pretty cool considering I haven't been that diligent about swimming since Blue Lake, but I at least was able to get into open water a few times since then.

There were fewer people in the Novice group, which was nice, but also a little annoying as they were novices (like I'm not) and it showed! I know that there were a couple of gals behind me that were freaking out in the water, so my goal was to get away from them! Another thing about this swim was that I actually hung with the group for a lot longer than at Blue Lake and I really didn't like that so much. I REALLY need to join the swim group that meets at Klineline, that certainly wouldn't hurt. I think I just need to get over myself and just do it!

So, 17 minutes after we started I'm out of the water and making my way to transition - after looking at my watch I'm pretty convinced that I did better this time around :)

Transition #1 was more than 7 minutes, stupid wet suit. It took me a while to peel that thing off! I'm going to have to work on that.

The bike course is exactly the same as the Blue Lake and All Womens event...same with the run course. So really nothing to report there other than I was consistent with my times in each one. I kind of took it easy on the bike, but that would not have mattered because the run was soooo bad!

What a blast! I love the challenge of doing something new and different. My future goal is to do multisport events well.

What events will I do next year? Probably Blue Lake and possibly StumpTown...I think I need to throw one more in the mix for the fun of it! Time to start planning and training!

Next up, Run Like Hell - Portland on October 23...zombies baby!

Duathlons are...

2011-09-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

MUCH easier to pack for! All I need for a duathlon are my bike and shoes...and clothes for post race.

BUT

This is just a part of the stuff that I pack for triathlon...

Just in case you are wondering the following are the items that I have laid out so far to pack up -

Race Shirt

Swim Cap

Swim Goggles

Body Glide

Flip Flops

Running Shoes

Cycling Shoes

Bike Helmet

NUUN

ShotBloks

Transition Mat

Race Number/Belt

A couple of optional hygiene items to get the lake cooties off of me

My wet suit is hanging up in the hall and I still need to find my race shorts and gather up some clothes to wear afterwards. Until tomorrow evening I'll just let things sit while I check and re-check my items against the list and then eliminate items that I probably won't need - I tend to bring more stuff than I really need.

I already have my bike ready to load onto the rack...so I'm good there. Oooh...maybe I should consider a my CO2 inflator and an extra tube. This would be the time that I get a flat tire!

Tom will be an event volunteer Sunday morning which means he needs to be at Blue Lake at 5:30 to check in at the Volunteer Tent. That means that I'll be traveling to Blue Lake extra early - woo hoo. I think it will be okay, I'll just get lots of sleep the night before and then I'll just rest when we get there. When I am allowed to set up in the transition area I'll just mosey my stuff over there and chill until race time. I just hope that he isn't too far away when I need to pull on my wet suit...it is possible that I'll have to ask someone to help me in zipping up my suit....UGH!

Looking forward to my second tri...after I'm done with that I'll have about 6 weeks to prepare for Run Like Hell!

Back To The Gym

2011-08-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

I have been starting to feel a little guilty about not going to the gym as often as I had in the Spring...but really, who wants to train indoors when the weather is so nice out? Today was my first weekday back in the gym...that just means rising early two or three days a week and hoping to get into the pool before too many others show up or hoping that my preferred treadmill is available.

Today's swim wasn't all that great. I had a little open water action on Saturday (however brief) and then back into the pool on Sunday. I felt a little sluggish and my body just didn't feel like doing the swim action - and moving forward seemed more like a theory than actual reality. So I kept it brief and kept at it for 15 minutes and then out of the pool to get changed to get onto the treadmill.

Oh yeah, the treadmill...not exactly my favorite piece of gym equipment, but that's not a surprise, I'm not sure anyone really likes running on a treadmill. It's been a few months since my last run on the treadmill so I decided to keep it brief, knowing that I'll be able to get on the road later this weekend. I will need to get a radio tuner that is easy to clip to my clothes so I can enjoy the news or whatever is showing on the monitors while I'm running. Anyway, today I ran probably about 15 minutes on a treadmill that had a weird noise so I kept focusing on that instead of just ignoring it. I hate it when there is an odd noise - can't concentrate on the task at hand. I should have known, I should have just gone to the treadmill that I usually use at the gym...next time!

Less than two weeks and Stumptown will be here! So excited...but also, just wanting to get done with this so I can move on to my next goal.

So much to do...so little time (sigh).

collect the whole set!

2011-08-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Alliance Durafast Splice Maxback Training Suit

Okay, so there are just two colors, but at $70 it's hard to justify getting two suits at a time...but with the sale price at $49.99 a much more pocket-book friendly! My other 2 year old suit has finally decided to become not so pool friendly and seems to be losing it's shape over time. So, since I already own the black w/red I decided to go ahead and order the navy with white. I'm pretty sure it will fit!

Shipment from teamestrogen.com arrives tomorrow...woo hoo!!!

Very Profound Words

2011-08-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

A comedian once claimed that all running does is allow you to die in good health. Okay, I'll buy that. - Hal Hidgon

Enough said.

Counting Down the Days

2011-08-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

At this point I'm counting down until I do StumpTown - once I am done with this event, my second tri this year, I will start training for Run Like Hell. I won't have much time, but I think I can eke out the 10k distance if I stay consistent.

The sun is rising a little later each morning and the opportunities to run out on the road will become less frequent...so we'll have to go back to the gym on a regular basis to run on the treadmill. If you have been following me here, you know that not only is running something that I'm continually trying to embrace and learning to appreciate, but that running on the treadmill is not my favorite thing to do.So, that just makes the enjoyment of running even harder.

Right now I can picture myself lugging myself upstairs at the gym and going to the far end so I can at least check the happenings in the weight area and at the entrance. That's the only thing that keeps me somewhat engaged and not watching the console...ugh.

It's going to be a long fall and winter season....oye.

Body says STOP

2011-08-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

So, last night we went and rode the Vancouver Bicycle Club time trial...the last time we went was June 30 and my time that night was a very disappointing 34:19. I don't know why, but even though it's a decent time, I know I know that I can do better. My best time from last season was 32:25 an excellent time! Last night I finished the 10 mile course in about 33:08 or so. I'll have to check out my official time on the website later.

This morning I got myself out around 6am for a run. It seems that this week has been short run week. I haven't done anything over 2 miles and threw in some hill repeats one day just because I know I need to do them! So, today, the day after going almost all out during the time trial, my legs were feeling a little tired. I wanted to stop so bad, but since I knew my run wouldn't be long, I had to continue on to get the maximum benefit from running and to win the internal battle of wanting to STOP. I know if I stop, starting up will be that much harder and the reality is, I really don't enjoy walking. Running is SOOO much quicker!

My morning runs will be coming to an end soon as the sun rises later each morning. That just means I'll have to go and run on the treadmill at the gym. Ugh. It's so hard to keep going on the treadmill stopping on the treadmill is so easy, just push a button! My motivation - the fact that we are going to run the Run Like Hell 10k in October! So that means I gotta...

run, Run, RUN!

Registering

2011-08-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have decided to mail in my registration for Stumptown - the processing fee is $6.20!!!!That's a lot of coffee money in my eyes...they don't need any more of my money!

I've got Open Water swim on the brain today...maybe I'll get out and get into Klineline (shudder)...I need the practice!

Klineline doesn't look so bad from this side ;)

So, What's Next?

2011-08-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

This has been a light event year, training seems to take up a lot of time, but we do have a couple of other events that we have chosen to do. Leaving lots of opportunity for other events that look interesting...but here are the ones we have picked so far. Actually, the tri is for me and the run is kind of Tom's choice (per my suggestion), but we'll both run it :) I am still looking to try to do a half marathon late this year - if that doesn't happen, there are plenty in the spring that we could train for, but for now I'm going to train as if I'm doing one in December!


I'm shooting for a better Novice distance finish

October 23 - 10k

2011 Team Felida Cycling...

2011-08-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

is soooo DONE!

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This year wasn't the greatest year...my running has been waaaay down and I guess Robin hadn't been training much either. At least we were both in the same predicament. We both knew the event was coming up and still just going along our business until race day. Actually, I like to think that I "crammed" a little the week before, but that's silly...I was just getting out to get out of the house!

So, my big observation is not about how I raced or how Robin raced, but how we COULD HAVE placed if I had a chance to apply my logic to the teams that were signed up.

Hopefully I don't get lost in my thinking...for I AM thinking clearly now...

Okay, there were a total of 6 teams. Out of those teams, one of those teams was registered for the 70 and Under division - yay, no competition there. From the 5 that were left, one of those teams should have been in the 70 and Under division, unless new math dictates that 32+34=over 91. So in my mind, that would be an automatic DQ for not being able to ADD. Now we are down to 4 teams - two of those teams had 3 people each. Another automatic DQ - not fair having 2 different runners to run each leg. That's cheating. In the end that would have left 2 REAL teams in the 91 and Over Division. And with our minimalist training performance we STILL could have placed! Which is kind of funny because we would have STILL been LAST!

First or Last...we still could have gotten a medal ;)

Swimming? Riding? Running?

2011-07-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so I feel like I fell off the face of the earth...hehe...I've been doing a little swimming, riding and running - just haven't done anything that is noteworthy I guess.

Since Blue Lake, I took a week of from pretty much doing anything physical. I celebrated a birthday, ran the 4th of July run in Ridgefield and went to Salem with Tom to participate in the Cycle Oregon Weekend ride.

After I decided I was done resting, I started running again. Now THAT has been going slowly! I haven't been really consistent with my run days...some days I hit the road and all is well, then other days it's not that great. I'm trying though. It's that mental struggle that I'm fighting most of the time.

With the All Women's Event this coming Saturday I am hopeful that I can get settled into a running routine that will still allow my cycling habit and also leave me with the time (and energy) to do some Open Water swims...my goal is to do better in the next triathlon I sign up for. Which will be Stumptown Tri and Du in just over a month!

So, this week is just a run week...no other activities to get in the way of trying to get my legs used to running.


This is my run chart for July - pretty pathetic!

I think I may have missed recording a couple of days of running - this just looks pathetic! I'm sure that I got out and ran during the week of July 11 - I think.

Posting this chart here will be motivation for me to keep on running. If I'm going to run a half marathon I need to get serious about this running stuff. Also, I'm getting tired of feeling like I'm not improving, but I know I can do more than 5 miles...I've done it before. I just need to keep at it! So, I'll be posting run charts more regularly after All Women's event.

This blog is to keep me motivated to continue improving...so I need your help to keep me going!

I've been running...honest!

2011-07-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

I decided to add a gadget from the runningahead.com website where I log a lot of my workouts. It looks like I haven't been running a lot this year, but I think I have...really. Now that I'm in run mode - looking to do a half marathon before the end of the year, I think there will be recording more miles in my log.

Today was the Ridgefield Runner's 4th of July run. The course is out and back which seems to do nothing but climb after 3/4's of a mile. The good thing is that it's down hill from the turn-around - then another climb and flat all the way back. I walk most of the hills because there's no shame in walking! I did manage to run part of the hills, but only where it wasn't too steep. The chances that I'll run a good time at this particular race is pretty slim, but at least I get out there and do it!

Tom ran great this morning, completing the course in 25:50 (I think). Way to go Tom!

Open Water Swim

2011-07-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

A beautiful body of water(?)

Yesterday was to be a open water group swim session with a group that swims with the Tornadoes coaches at Klineline Park.

Since I didn't see any swim type people in wetsuits and all, I decided since we paid the $3 fee to park, I should probably put my wetsuit on and go for it. I did see another guy and later found out he was just swimming on his own. So, after donning my suit, I made my way into the water and gave it a go.

At first when I started to swim, I immediately stopped...it seemed like I didn't have my goggles on, but I did. The swim wasn't all bad, but it is different being in an open environment. Also, there was a lot of plants growing in the pond. There was a spongy spot that just was plain icky. Note to self, aqua shoes...a must when swimming at Klineline!

After I swam out to a pylon, not too far out a couple of times, I decided to call it good. Definitely felt like $3 worth of swimming.

Even though it wasn't a great swim, once I got out and thought about it a while, I decided that I liked it. I'm looking forward to the next open swim session on Tuesday...looking to practice and get some more endurance and to actually learn how to swim in open water properly.

Time Trial's Revisited

2011-06-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since our last VBC Time Trial (that we both rode together). I was a little surprised that my time last night wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My May 12th time was 33:10 and last night was 33:54, not too bad.

I got my Trek back a little while ago and had it looked over by Mark (formerly of Performance) and promptly installed the Aerobars and my new seatpost. These are a couple of items that help me become more aero on the bike. The other thing - should I choose to indulge, would be an Aero Helmet because we all want to look like this guy...

Looks good right? I don't know - if I don't have a "real" tri bike, I don't think I want the helmet.

So, my fastest time is 32:25...I have until September 8 to meet or break that record...

Maybe I should get the helmet!

On the Run?

2011-06-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

Rest week is over and it was a good week of doing nothing!

This week I started up a new running plan so we can do a half marathon later this year. So far so good - looks like I'll have 3 or 4 days of running a week with my long runs on Saturday. Rest day ALWAYS on Monday and filling in the gaps with open water swimming, pool swimming, Thursday night time trials and whatever else we can think up because EVERY second of the day must be spent doing something! Not really...but it feels like it sometimes. What with working full-time and everyday living stuff.

So far after two days, I am sure that I will continue to improve. This morning was just a bit slower than Tuesday, but then we added some distance and I was a little tired. Just need to remember that there is NO SHAME in walking! Although, I'm not that big of a walker - especially if I'm in the middle of a run, it will just slow my average down!

The thing that has definitely helped is wearing my heart rate monitor during my runs. It's a little hard to whine if I know that I can work harder. That HR monitor has become an essential training tool I should ALWAYS train with it on!

Looking forward to a rest from run day tomorrow, just so we can hit it strong on Saturday!

36 days until the All Women's Duathlon...need to come up with a clever team name...now taking suggestions!

Tom's Race Report?

2011-06-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Since Tom isn't much of a writer (as if I am)...this is a brief recap of his race the Sprint Duathlon.

Since things were in a bit of disarray with the transition area being relocated due to flooding, the start of the Duathlon was a little willy-nilly. Evidently the race started at 8AM, but not in a very smooth fashion...you know, by giving the racers a proper countdown of sorts. It was pretty much, everyone standing there ready to go and a race official yelling GO!

Run #1, 25:10 - I want to say that he ran like crazy, but that just makes me think of Phoebe running on friends...

Not bad for a guy who didn't really trained much for this year's event AND had a little anxiety about his calf muscle starting to misbehave and becoming sore the night before the event. Bad calf muscle!

Transition #1 3:23 - personally, I don't think that the transition time should be counted in the overall time. Enough said.

Bike 36:19 - 12 mile Time Trial on Marine Drive...leaving Blue Lake Park and heading west toward the I-205 bridge. Tom's average was 19.83 mph - his fastest TT this year.

Transition #2 3:54 - this time COULD have been quicker had he not gone to the wrong transition section...the next one over Tom, the next one! See, transition times shouldn't count.

Run #2, 27:54 - Okay, so a little bit longer for the 2nd run, but a pretty decent time for riding a fast TT.

Tom's final overall time for the 2011 Blue Lake Sprint Duathlon was 1:36:40 which made him the 2nd place finisher! The first place finisher time in the 50-54 Age Division came in with a time of 1:26:11...DOPER!

Last year he was 3rd...Maybe next year, with a little more training, could possibly be his year to finish first...after we take out the dopers!

Tom with his medal

Now What?

2011-06-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

I have spent the better part of the last year thinking, preparing and training for my first triathlon. Now that it is done, I've been thinking, "Do I want to do another?" I was pretty pleased with the fact that I actually did the Novice Tri and that I finished that my answer to that question is YES!

Not that I'm totally in LOVE with Triathlon, but because I want to continue improving my swimming, riding and running. I did enjoy the experience very much, that much I can say with confidence. I just keep thinking that I can do much better in the swim. With the Blue Lake event in late spring, I have realized that open water swimming without a wetsuit really isn't that smart. I get cold just thinking about it, what with the average temps this past Spring hovering in the low to mid 50s for the past month or so. Also, without a wetsuit, I could not participate in the local swim club's open water clinic a couple of weeks ago or the clinic that was at Blue Lake. Probably won't be getting in on the clinic at Lacamas Lake either.

That problem will be solved come my birthday...I have decided that I would like a wetsuit for my birthday and started researching what my options are. So many different models and prices to match! So far the one that has caught my eye would be the Orca S3...

This suit is a bargain at $199.00 and has received excellent reviews.

I thought I might want to save up for this, but Tom had asked if I might want a wetsuit for my birthday. At first I said no, but after some thought, I could get out into open water more often with a wetsuit and practice more for my next Triathlon. I had thought about going to the Ocean Shore tri, but I'm thinking that will be out this year. Too much to do in July with Cycle Oregon Weekend ride coming up and then All Womens event. I think it will be time to research what other events will be coming up later this summer and shoot for one of those.

It took a couple of days of reflecting on my Blue Lake experience. It would be really nice to actually do the Sprint distance next time!

In the mean time, I have decided to focus a lot on running (which still sucks) and my swimming. The bike, even though I need to ride to improve in that area, isn't as critical as my really poor areas...swimming and running. Rest first, start a new running plan and swimming when I don't run!

There is no rest for the weary!

2011 Blue Lake Race Report

2011-06-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

I don't recall when I first thought I would do a triathlon...it may have been right after the 2nd run at the 2010 event. That sounds about right.

Setting up my transition area

THE SWIM
Up until race day I had not been able to get out into open water - let's face it, we live in the Pacific Northwest and it's just too cold and no wetsuit equals no swimming in open water. So, I had to do some research and figure out what to do when I finally get to race day. A note, NOTHING prepares you for open water swimming, but actually getting out into a lake or river (or ocean).

Since I was doing the Tri-It my group of ladies started last. We were having a pretty good time standing in the water waiting for our start. I KNEW that someone was praying, because I felt no nervousness. I may have thought "What was I thinking?!", but that was about the extent of that not so positive thinking.

So we got going at 8:32 and the first thing I decided is that I would not panic or freak out. Which thankfully, I did not. The other thought I had was to just keep moving. All the freestyle swimming that I did in training did not even come into play during the swim. I may have done a little freestyle, but the breathing part was not happening very well. The best part about the swim....ANYTHING goes! Seriuosly, I did just about ever stroke that I could muster up and even made up some swim strokes, because I had the time. The comforting part - I wasn't the only one doing that. Hey, so I did a few strokes of freestyle, then a little propelling myself in my back. Then a little backstroke...doggy paddle? You bet! That was mainly during the times that I was sighting the buoys to make sure I was still heading in the right direction! All I needed to do is get myself the buoys. I could also hang onto the buoy if I needed a rest or the boat if needed. I was determined to NOT do that.

Finally finished the swim and got myself out and to transition. 20 minutes...not exactly an earth shattering time, but this was my first tri and I wanted a challenge and there it was, the swim and I finished it. The rest would be a breeze!

THE BIKE

My transition to the bike was sooooo long just over six minutes! Just coming up from the water to the transition area took a long time! Anyway, once I made it back to the transition I peeled off the wetsuit...got out of it as quickly as I could and took off with my wet shirt to pull on a dry shirt and get my shoes and helmet on and then grab my bike and head out. The chute going from the transition to the bike mount was so long and mostly on grass. I am not that comfortable running on grass (time to start training on grass!) so I did a fair amount of walking, mostly because I knew I could make up some time on the bike. The bike portion was fairly uneventful except when I got out on the road and saw Tom heading back to the park...that was like within a 1/4 mile of me starting the bike. This was my first time out riding my Trek Road Bike all decked out with my aerobars and new seat post. The most time I got on it was when I went over to the church next door to ride around and practice getting into and out of my pedals, which I was using yet a different pair of shoes than I have in the past years.

So, the bike portion is all on Marine Drive and goes from the Blue Lake Park entrance west and past the 205 bridge. Six miles seems like a long ways, but it was fun! Loved it! I passed several people, so I knew that there would be plenty of people behind me on the run. A comforting thought.

THE RUN

After completing the bike portion and upon my arrival back to the transition, there was Tom! He was finished! So he came over and we visited as I was taking off my bike shoes and getting on my run shoes...and off to run.

The run was actually pretty uneventful. What was different was that the course needed to be altered due to the flooding in what has been the transition area in the past years. So the turn around was a little further down the path and at the bottom of a hill. Oh yeah, I want to run uphill when I'm feeling a little tired! I always love the run portion, this is when you can see the other racers of all shapes, sizes and ages - Love it! Saw a lot of my Tri-it friends and felt not so horrible running even though all of my training runs have been very brief.

THE FINISH

As I came up and around toward the finish I saw Tom off to the side...cheering me on! Made it past the timing mat and to the volunteers who were taking off the chips, got a water and then a finish medal...VERY COOL! Final time 2:00:44. I could have hustled through all of my transitions and I know that my swim can be better...but I'm happy with my time. My goal for my first tri - to FINISH.

This is a fresh out of the lake look...I felt grimy!

So While I was off swimming, riding and running, Tom was running, riding and running and getting 2nd in his age division in the Duathlon! Next year will be his year!

So Proud

Blue Lake 2011

2011-06-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

Feeling a little tired...race report to come tomorrow!

Make your own free picture slideshow

1 Day 11 Hours

2011-06-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

Getting closer to the big day! Worked a half day so I could take care of some stuff.

Today's agenda -

1. Go to Athlete's Lounge to pick up the wet suit.
2. Visit Western Bikes
3. Buy a new battery for my bike computer
4. Go to the Thursday Night Time Trial.

Wet suit - done. Now I have to go back and have them repair a spot in the back that was overlooked while I was there picking it up. All is good, tomorrow is packet pick-up day at Fit Right Northwest and it's not too far from the tri store - I'll just visit them after I pick up my packet.

Western Bikes - forgot to get the address so I didn't go there :(

Battery - Arrived at Fred Meyer around 2:30 only to find out that the watch guy was away and would return at 3:00 - you have got to be kidding me. So I ended up wandering around the store for a half hour looking at stuff. Seriously, I never want to shop when I am in these situations. I just want to get the task done and vamoose!

Time Trial - Tom called around 4:15 or so to let me know that he and Floyd were stuck out in the boonies and that they might not make it back in time for the Time Trial. When Tom arrived home we decided to ride to the Fairgrounds Community Park to make up for not going to the Time Trial. NICE park! It will be an excellent option for running.

Tomorrow is going to be a little busy, but again, I have the afternoon off to go into Portland and then spend the rest of the afternoon getting my gear together and packed up and also get one last easy swim in before the day is over.

But, to start the day off right, we are going to Biscuits Cafe before heading of to work!

Perfect.

Blue Lake Here We Come!

2011-06-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

3 More Days

2011-06-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

YIKES! 3 more days and I'm off to do my first Triathlon!

Had an excellent swim workout yesterday. Did 8 laps without much trouble...I am encouraged by the fact that my rests in between each pool length are getting shorter as time goes on and I know at some point I'll be a lap swimmer. The other thing that I'm liking a lot is that the wet suit will make the swim easier! So really, all I have to fret over is swimming in a LAKE. With Blue Lake being this coming weekend, I am pretty sure that getting into open water is NOT going to happen before Saturday. So I'll just have to get all psyched up and not think about the freakiness of it all. I better do some reading on-line somewhere. What I hope will happen is that there will be swimmers who, like me, are not that great and that I will be able to hang with a few of the 44 others that are registered in the novice race. That would be ideal :)

I'm feeling pretty much okay at this point.This morning Tom and I did a combination workout (ride then a quick transition to the run) which was good. My legs didn't feel like they were filled with lead, but then our ride was only 9 miles...the extra 3 miles on Saturday might make a difference. It's flat and fast and since I'm keen on time trialing, I'm pretty sure that I will push myself hard. Hopefully not so hard that I can't run the 5k. The run will be really iffy as I have not run a 5k distance in quite a while. The last time I ran a 5k was on March 27, but even then I had to stop a couple of times and walk for a while. Now that I think back on that run, that was really a 6k - it was the additional KM that messed with my mind. I better come up with my magic word or phrase to remind me that I'm capable of running 3 miles. Running, just like the swimming is not really a strong point. Thank goodness I have the bike to try to make up time.

Other things on my agenda this week...picking up the wet suit, packets for both Tom and I and finalizing my game plan for Saturday morning. Since I'll have the wet suit on Thursday that will give me a chance to practice putting it on and getting it off. Also need to finalize my race clothes too. This morning I entertained the notion of wearing just my cycle shorts and a sports bra underneath the suit for the swim so that I can slip on a dry shirt for the rest of the morning. However, I'm not feeling THAT comfortable with being essentially topless in a coed transition area. The good thing is that since the novice group swims last, there might not be too many people in the transition area to worry about. Oooh, I should also set up my transition area at home so I will have a good idea where I should place my shoes, helmet, food etc...Yeah, that's the ticket! So many things to think of, it's a wonder I'm not more out of control.

I better get a check off list started!

BLUE LAKE HERE WE COME!

PSB*R

2011-06-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Natural Sprinters...

2011-05-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

Man, this past Spring has been all over the place weather-wise! We have been able to get out to do some training runs and rides on the road and all, but over all, I haven't been out much to do much of anything else because of the training. We have been doing a lot of short rides 30-40 minute rides...and they don't add up to more than 7-10 miles at a time.

I can't help but think of this line from The Two Towers when Gimli says: "I'm wasted on cross-country! We dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances!"

Okay, so this refers to running, but yesterday I got the same feeling while on my bike. Our longest ride this season was 16 miles and that was a hilly route that we took, but still 16 miles. Yesterday, we met up with Mark, Robin, Andrew and JB for a "friendly" ride to the end of Lower River Road. I wasn't feeling so good after we reached the end of the road and was in need of nourishment. As I mentioned before all of my rides have been training rides and I'm not in the habit of carrying food with me at this point. When the ride isn't more than 30-40 minutes at a time, there is no need. I'll be home soon enough! Yesterday I had a thought, with all the short distances that we have been riding, I've decided that I must be part Dwarf...hahaha. I like to think that I could be "Very dangerous over short distances!"

I love Time Trialing - I think that's where I am with my cycling. We have done the big rides, the goofy rides and rides with our friends. All good, but not as challenging as riding a course as FAST as you can. Riding fast on a course that is notoriously windy no less...that's where it's at for me right now.

Part dwarf. That's me!

Less Than Three Weeks...

2011-05-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Blue Lake here we come! Actually, registering for the event would be good...especially since this event is very popular. Maybe tomorrow...

Have been pretty diligent at following the training plan after doing the Shamrock Run and somehow I have been able to keep up with MOST of the training. Somewhere along the line, I lost a week of training (that would be within the last month) and now I'm down to the final three weeks.

I think I have had another break through with my swimming. All of a sudden I'm feeling pretty good about it, maybe knowing that the wetsuit will make the swim not so terrible is in the back of my mind...hmmm. Today I actually followed the workout as written and it was pretty much the best swim workout in weeks! Started out by swimming 100 yards and then resting briefly and then swimming 25 yards at a moderate pace with a brief rest at the wall...a total of 4 times. Then swimming the length of the pool and resting at the wall for the remaining time. It was sooo good! I've been feeling more confident the past few days - I'm so looking forward to June 11!

Also, last week I bought some ear plugs to help keep the water out of my ears, and those things are AWESOME! Not much water getting in, so no more water fluttering about in my ear.

Swim, Ride, RUN!

Wetsuits goooood....

2011-05-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Took the next step in my triathlon quest and got fitted for a wetsuit today. I studied up a little bit on how to don one of these...it's not that easy, that's for sure, but with the help of a plastic bag was good. At first I thought I was going to hurt myself trying to pull it on while being careful not to damage the suit. I damage I buy...THAT would be bad!

So, I got the wetsuit on and popped out and got someone's attention - looking a little confused usually helps. It fit really well and my goodness, NOTHING moves! I jumped around and no jiggling anywhere...hahaha!

The woman (who was wearing a m-dot pendant) was quite helpful and told me after a quick once over that things looked good and that it was a good fit. Thank goodness for that, I don't think that I would want to try on any others...them suckers are HOT! After a quick tutorial on how to unpeel the wetsuit we were on our way!

So this wetsuit is going to make swimming easier...yay! I wonder what would make running easier...hmmmm.

I'm REALLY excited now and after looking at the training schedule, I somehow got off track. I lost a week somewhere...it's all good though. I'm not going for any records here, just want to finish. I would also like to enjoy my first triathlon, for I may want to do more this summer!

Swimmin', Ridin' and Runnin' BAY-BEE!

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Crazy Thoughts

2011-05-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

For some reason I have been thinking about half marathon training today. After a couple of quick searches I have found a plan that is doable - a training plan that will allow at least two rest days a week and will also allow me to continue cross training for triathlons. I am thinking, now that I'm getting closer to my FIRST TRIATHLON, that I will take a week off for rest after Blue Lake and then start my new running plan for a half marathon sometime this fall.

Now that I have taken a couple of days off, I'm feeling pretty good and motivated again!

Time Trials & Tri Training

2011-05-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

VBC Time Trials...
Last night was our 3rd Time Trial and it was a good night! The day ended up being MUCH nicer than anticipated and there was a pretty big turn out...I know I spied someone wearing #35...there may have been a few more - we were lined up quite a ways out on the road. This week I was #10 and Tom was #11 - I like to leave before Tom so that when he passes me I'll have someone to look at for a little while. I also like to start within the first 10 starts or so...that way there will be plenty of people behind me and I won't feel like I'm going to be the last person on the course when I finally get my butt across that finish!

My start was a little slow (new start line pusher guy), but I got up to speed pretty quick hit the high 18s low 19s and tried not to blow up too soon - I tend to do that and then feel like I might die. In fact, I spend the first couple of miles wondering why I'm even Time Trialing. Oh, to challenge myself each week...that's right. Anyway, Tom passed me a few minutes in and then another rider and that was it for a few minutes. Soon enough then the TT bike riders started passing me...cheaters ;) I think fighting the wind was pretty equal going in both directions. I'm not good at tell what is a cross wind or not, but we had it all, except for a tail wind. THAT was pretty much non-existent. Gotta love Lower River Road!

Overall, I'm really happy with how my times are getting better. From the first week to the next ride which was two weeks later, there was no question whether or not my time would improve, the wind was THAT bad...fierce! The time improvement was about two and a half minutes. This week I improved my time by around 40 seconds, which seems more in the normal range of weekly improvement. I had to put in a lot of effort at the end when I caught sight of the finish, so much that I thought I might die! John says that if you are having a good time, then you are not doing it right. So I guess feeling like I might die is a good thing...hahaha!

I think we'll be working on the bikes sometime this weekend. After rooting around the Bike Garage a little I found that we have some shims that I can probably use to make my aerobars work on my Trek and get that all dialed in so I can start riding my fast red bike instead of my Fuji on Thursday nights. Finally implementing the plan that I thought up so long ago! The only problem I have with my Trek is that I will no longer have a computer to use since I have little real estate on my handlebars to support Aerobars AND a cycle computer. Dang it, I might have to get a new computer! Actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea. That would work out just perfect so I'll know exactly how many miles I have put in Time Trialing each season...very clever ;)

Triathlon Training...
I'm nearing the end of my 7th week of tri training, and this week was one of those weeks that I just wanted to get through the workouts. Not that I'm feeling uninspired, maybe just wanting June 11 to be here already! What am I saying?! I'm not ready yet!!! There will be a Open Water Clinic put on by Athlete's Lounge on June 4th at Blue Lake. Perfect! That weekend is my last weekend of training before Blue Lake Tri weekend, so I think I'm going to get in on that. Might also think about registering for Blue Lake while I'm thinking of it too...oh and get that wetsuit reserved.

So, until June 11th it's train, Train, TRAIN!

Week 5 Complete

2011-05-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

I've reached the half-way point! Woo Hoo!!!

So this week I will have a couple of willy-nilly days because I loaned out my Beginning Tri book to a friend and I didn't have a couple of workouts written down. I guess those will be a couple of wild card days. I figure as long as I'm doing something, it can't be all bad!

Nothing really stands out from my last training week; however I am feeling a little unsure about my swimming. I am glad that I'll be doing the Tri-It distance...a 1/4 mile swim. That's a little further than 50 yards, which is currently what I can swim as I get started with my swim workout in a POOL. I know that open water swimming will be much different, I'm hoping that I just don't freak out (too much at least). I will need to reserve a wetsuit at Athlete's Lounge, maybe even take a trip to the shop one of these Saturdays. I know that I can do the swim, just need to have the opportunity to swim past the swimming pool walls!

Now all I need to do at this point is get over my allergies. With the trees budding out at different times, it's hard to say when I'll actually be done being drippy. There is still time.

Six weeks to go!

Tri Transition No-No's

2011-04-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm thinking that falling down is not good and it really doesn't matter if you are an elite athlete or just a goofball like me...

Slow Vroom

2011-04-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

I looked forward to the first Time Trial of the season for so long that when it finally came and we rode and then finished, I wondered WHY...

Last Thursday was the first Time Trial AND It had to be THE windiest evening that I can remember since we started riding the time trials. Yes, I know that the wind whips up going down to Frenchman's Bar, but my gosh, it was horrible! So bad that about a mile into the ride I actually thought about stopping and just going back - but that would be admitting defeat and I don't want to be a quitter. I like to stop, but only after I have finished what I started. I had this feeling one other time, my first Century go HERE for that adventure. Quitting could have been an option, but waiting for a SAG wagon...yeah...well, that wasn't going to happen.

So I slogged it out 5 miles into the wind, wind that would stop you in your tracks wind and quite possibly cause you to go backwards. I had my cyclocomputer on my bike (Tom did not)...after about 1/2 a mile I was instantly demoralized. It was THAT bad. When you watch your average speed going down it's just not a warm-fuzzy feeling. Couldn't even get the right gear to keep at a decent cadence either...it was BAD. My very first EVER time trial was the last time trial of the 2009 season and it was better than last week's time. So...bad! I missed my first TT of the season goal by 1:21. I was shooting for 35:00. It took me 20 minutes to get to the turn around...that's like 4-5 minutes slower than my average times from 2010. That's how bad the wind was!

Okay, last week was the first TT and theoretically, I should get better times as the season goes on...I hope!

The only thing stopping me now is the RAIN...VROOOOOM!

Week 3 Repeat

2011-04-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

With my allergies in full swing last week I decided to repeat week three of my tri training. Which was a good thing, because I only did two days of workouts the first time I started week three. So this week was much better as far as my allergies - each day was a little better than the previous day and my workouts were all good.

The best day this week would have to be my run this morning - did 3 miles and every step felt great! Even my breathing was decent despite the fact that I have a problem with my asthma during allergie season. All was as good as I could hope for and I was able to finish strong and within a time-frame that I thought to be acceptable for where I am in training and with my allergies :) We are up early tomorrow for a ride before church and most likely will go to the gym to get in the pool after church.

Getting back on track...feels good!

drippy...

2011-04-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

This hasn't been the best week for training. I was able to do my Tuesday workouts (swim & run) and my Wednesday bike workout (cadence). I think I even did yoga once. That's pretty much it...my allergies hit and I've been too drippy and can't breathe, blah blah blah, to do any decent training let alone just getting through the day.

Since I do have an additional week at the end of this training period, I could just start over next week. Maybe get out on my bike tomorrow - really exasperate my allergies and breathe in more junk...yeah, that's the ticket! We'll see how things go tonight and how I feel tomorrow. If I can get out and do a short ride I'll be happy. Running is out of the question at this point and swimming...sticking my snotty face into the pool would not be wise.

So, I'm not going to go crazy - not now anyway...I figure I'm more on track with this tri that I have been for either of my Duathlons...so I'm ahead of the game!

Repeating Week 3 next week - hopefully...

2 Weeks Down...

2011-04-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

10 more to go.

So far, training is going well. It has been fairly easy to following my plan, I haven't skipped anything (yet), but I do feel that maybe that my weekend run will have to occur on Saturday instead of Sunday along with my cycle session and we'll just do the optional swim on Sunday. That would be almost like two rest days in a row - I only think that because my swim sessions are very brief and at this point having been swimming for a few months now, consistently I am feeling more confident. The sprint distance may be possible yet...

This week's training is pretty much the same as last week, just stepping up a in a couple of areas. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for me as I'll be heading to the gym with Tom and doing my Swim session and probably my optional run as I will have lots of time while he is in Spin class. John will be leading tomorrow, so Tom is more than happy to head to the gym on a Tuesday and rearrange the week to accommodate my busy schedule for tomorrow. PartyLite calls...and I also have an appointment with my hairstyle magician...wee haw!

The beginning of week 3 is good so far. I like starting the week with a Day Off!

Flexible?

2011-03-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the idea that we would get up early and go to the gym for a swim workout, my main workout for the today. We got to bed a little later than I would have liked (darn Dancing With the Stars) and I got out of bed too early - Mr Decaf would have woken me up eventually had I not gone downstairs. With all that I would have had to pack for an early morning workout and to go directly to work, I thought it would be best to stay home and do a Yoga DVD or whatever Tom picked (pilates).

My optional workout for today is a run - off to the workout room here and onto the treadmill! 30 minutes of running in Zone 1 and gradually working up to Zone 2. I'll be swimming after work again this week and it will be brief as the Aqua Fit class starts at 6:00...and all the bobbers will be piling into the pool around 5:30...YIKES!

11 weeks of training to go...

Week 1

2011-03-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

So, I started my tri training this week...so far, so good...my week so far -

Monday - Rest or Optional Strength #1 (Strength Training= OUCH)
Tuesday - Swim #1 or Optional Run #9 (Yoga, Run AND Swim)
Wednesday - Bike #1 (Spin Class)
Thursday - Run #8 or Optional Strength (Yoga and Run #8)
Friday - Swim #1 or Optional Bike #1 (Swim)
Saturday - Bike #2

Tomorrow is the Fort Vancouver Run so that will be my workout for the morning. Tom and I will head to the gym for a swim and call it good for the week.

Week one almost done...11 more to go!

CONFIRMED

2011-03-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

My registration for the Fort Vancouver Run has been received...I'll be running a 6k this coming Sunday!

females: 45 to 49 years of age

						T-SHIRT
	NAME	CITY, STATE	RACE #	AGE	SEX	SIZE
1.	Tami Briggs	Portland, OR	1076	46	F	S
2.	Karla Ferderer	Vancouver, WA	1177	48	F
3.	Kathy Fockler	Vancouver, WA	1170	48	F	L
4.	Suzanne Frary	Vancouver, WA	1058	48	F	L
5.	Roxanne Kennedy	Sherwood, OR	1025	46	F	L
6.	Nancy Olschewsky	Vancouver, WA	1233	45	F	L
7.	Natalie Osburn	Portland, OR	1229	46	F	M
8.	Kris Osmus	Vancouver, WA	1215	45	F
9.	Cindy Shrum	Vancouver, WA	1196	48	F
10.	Tracy Smith	Vancouver, WA	1242	45	F
11.	Tammy Tumbaga	Vancouver, WA	1110	48	F	M
12.	Jeanette Van Beek	Camas, WA	1044	46	F	M

Tri Training Officially Begins...

2011-03-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

today!

So my first week of training started today, but I my training schedule for today was a rest day...hahahaha.... I spent the whole last week doing almost nothing, except a couple of runs and a really good swim yesterday....so I did the optional strength training instead this morning at the gym.

I absolutely do not like to touch anything that anyone else has touched, so I was having some issues this morning. It is something I have to get over if I'm going to do this tri with any kind of integrity. 3 sets of 20 for each machine that I went to except for the crunches. Let's just face it, 3X 20 crunches per side is just a bit much, add a twist and that just craziness! So I did just 3X 10 each side...I can't add that high, so you do the math!

Today I worked my legs, shoulders, back and abs. So far so good. We'll see how I feel coming morning time. Tomorrow is a swim and/or run day. Tom will want to do Yoga so I might be coming home late from work after a swim at LA Fitness. Wednesday is a light day - just a bike day. Easy bike, so spin class it is :) I'm looking forward to Wednesday!

12 weeks of training 13 until Blue Lake!

2011 Shamrock Run

2011-03-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Is done and over...!

It was a cool wet day - but not so much rain that it would drive away too many people. With Daylight Saving Time occuring this weekend, I wondered how many of my people would actually have showed up. I know that one didn't make it and she lives in Portland! Crazy.

We met up with Jim & Suzy and one of the volunteers from work and we all went downtown together. Mike signed up to run the 15k, so he was the odd one out and had to sit around for at least another 30 minutes before his race began. No matter...so we parted ways and Tom and I got in the crowd to get started. There were many surges before we actually made it to the start and our particular pace group could start. The start time was 8:05, but we finally crossed over the timing mat around 8:17 or so and we were off!

The first part consisted of making our way down past Burnside to circle around and run up onto the bridge and run to the other side and back. I was a little concerned about the bridge. I kept on trucking along and made it okay. The next thing was running up Broadway. Last year was okay because running on Broadway was really the first part of the run - with the change in the finish line location, the route was adjusted to make up the distance. I think I just really gave it my all on the bridge and just could seem to keep it up on Broadway. Lots of walking this year, but I was happy once we got to the turn around and it was all down hill from there.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my time. I didn't get out and train that much this year. Even with all my Tuesday and Thursday runs I just couldn't get out and get a decent run on very many Saturdays. So my time just reflects my lack of training.

At least I can say that I got out there in the rain and did it! I really did enjoy running with Tom. It helped to have him there with me encouraging me at just the right time!

Next up, the Fort Vancouver Run!

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Ready to Rock and Roll!

2011-03-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

Today all of our team run materials arrived via UPS - so very excited! I spent my break getting stuff put together and now I just need to make a couple of deliveries...a couple of phone calls and we are set!

The forecast for Sunday is looking very bleak or not so bleak, depending on the forecast that you might be looking at. The one I like the most would be from weather.com: Light Rain. I could do light rain, that would be A-OK with me ;) All of the other places I check were either rain or rain AND wind.

Oh well. We'll be running with 30,000+ other people so really, no whining is allowed.

The crazy thing that happened is that my particular T-shirt size (L) ran out...are you kidding me?! Now I have to make my way over to the T-shirt table to get my shirt :( That's all the whining I'm going to do for now. The good thing that happened was that they included the Stanford's gift card.

That partially makes up for the frustration of getting this team put together and waiting for our stuff to arrive...

Good Times!

Run, Run, Run!

Less than...

2011-03-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

...6 days and we'll be heading downtown PDX for the Shamrock Run! We ran just shy of 4.5 miles on Saturday, I'm pretty sure that I can slog out another half mile or so. Just hoping for good weather...

What's half of 26.2?

2011-03-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

This week I've had half marathons on the brain. Craziness!

Here's what happened - Tom and I went to a RaceCenter Expo at Foot Traffic over in Portland. As we were walking around looking at the various upcoming events Tom asked me if I would consider running a half marathon, my response was something like "I think I'll stick to 8k's." So really, I pretty much dismissed the idea on the spot.

Later on in the day I asked him if he really wanted to do a half marathon and he said it would be a good challenge. Hmmm...challenge. That word is dangerous. Anymore when I think of things I would like to do it's just because I need a challenge of some sort. Something to keep me motivated to keep moving and improving. Well, moving at least. Improving is relative. I figure if I don't die in the process of whatever I'm working toward that's good enough.

So, I've been kicking around the idea of doing a half marathon - as soon as this Fall. It would be possible to start training right after the All Womens Event at the end of July. The only thing is that I would have to find a suitable half for a not so great runner (that would be me). We'll see, anything is possible. I'm totally skipping the 10k distance, but I figure I have done 2 duathlons which was basically staying in motion for 2+ hours, and the run distance is a 5k on either side of the bike leg, a 10k! I'm thinking a half marathon would be doable.

As I continue to prepare for the Shamrock and then move to training for my first Tri I think I'll start looking around and seeing what will be available as far as marathons during the fall. There is so much to consider and plan for...but first -

I shall conquer the Sprint Tri course at Blue Lake! Woo Hoo!!!

Lots Of Good Things This Week...

2011-02-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

This week I have experienced a really good swim session and a really good run session. I don't know what gives, but I'll take it! Also other things are falling into place. I'm a happy camper!

Got into the pool yesterday and did 400 yards - not without stopping, but with brief rests at the end of each lap and really brief stops after each length. It gives me hope that I'll be able to swim the quarter mile in June without too much trouble. The next challenge would be swimming a 1/2 mile total. We'll tackle that after the Blue Lake event June.

Really good run after 3 not so great run days - one day last week I forgot my socks, on Saturday I had planned to do a long run, but my asthma decided to make my run difficult and this week on Tuesday I forgot my sports bra. I was better prepared today, mostly. Today I only forgot to grab a water bottle, which is fine because I figure I could run for 30 minutes without having to take a sip of water and I would just hydrate all afternoon anyway. My run felt REALLY good. I went a little on the slower end of the spectrum at 1% incline and did 2.22 miles and I feel pretty good about that. I'll try another 5k this Saturday - which is doable, just need to run early instead of later and stay away from all the stinky cars. Early in our run on Saturday I inhaled a bunch of diesel exhaust which was not helpful at all.

The other exciting thing is that the Vancouver Bicycle Club posted that the Time Trials start on April 21st!!!! Okay, so that is still a couple of months away, but I have been looking forward to the TT's starting up since they ended last September. I'm a sad little person...not really!

Shamrock Team is shaping up, as of today we only need one more participant. I have been assured that this will be done before the deadline. Next year I'll have to re-think how to handle getting the team together - I may move to do the mail-in registration which would also save us the $2.22 processing fee. Now that we are 99% there all I can hope for is NO RAIN! I can do cold (to a point), but rain is just plain miserable.

I'm so looking forward to all the events that we are planning to participate in. In some ways it has made this winter go by just a little quicker as we have been running and spinning and getting into the pool and splashing around.

Swim, Ride, Run - Baby!

Divorce by Triathlon?

2011-02-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

As I was listening to Here and Now on OPB I happened to pick up on this report on triathlons and their affect on marriages. I realize that this report really focuses on the serious type athletes...I could be serious, but that takes way too much energy ;)

I'm looking at my athletic endeavors as a hobby and will keep my marriage intact.

Go to this link for the report Divorce By Triathlon

Still Chuggin' Along...

2011-02-15T15:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last posted something here...truth is, nothing much has changed. Still running and swimming and we have been lucky enough to get a couple of road rides in too.

Have been focusing on getting a team together for the Shamrock run. MAN! We have a team of 7 people so far for the run and need at least 8 more people. I'm sure as the deadlines approaches those who have shown interest will actually register for the run. It is slightly stressful, but all good.

Having the Shamrock Run on March 13 is perfect! It will give me a couple of weeks to rest and get ready to start my training plan for my first triathlon. The crazy thing is at by the time the Shamrock is here and done Blue Lake Sprint Tri & Du will be 13 weeks away. Those training weeks are going to go by quickly!

I'm excited! Soon our calendar will be filled with cycling, running and multisport events and we'll also have the Thursday night Time Trials to look forward to as well. Here's to Swimming, Riding and Running!

SO PSYCHED!

A Rest Day

2011-01-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

After having done one thing or another nearly everyday for the past couple of weeks I decided to skip my swim for today and sleep in and take a rest day. I feel pretty good today, although having done a 4.25 mile run on Saturday and going for a pretty decent ride yesterday my legs are feeling a little tired. So, instead of being a super-freak about my pre-training I decided last night as I was hunkering down in the TV room watching stuff from Netflix that I would take a rest day today. I am going to be kind to myself today and just be at peace.

I have another month and a half before I start lining out my real training from week to week for my first Tri in June. So I'm going to take as many rest days as possible until then.

So Psyched!

It's been a busy week...

2011-01-23T06:08:00.000-08:00

Monday - Lactate Threshold Field Test at LA Fitness - UGH
Tuesday - Yoga at home and Treadmill time at work
Wednesday - Swim at LA Fitness and then Elliptical and weights at work
Thursday - Yoga at home and Treadmill time at work
Friday - SWIM
Saturday - First road ride of the year...went North through Sara and then to Carty Road. Then back to work to get my car.

Now, I was supposed to run yesterday, but I decided a few days ago that we would ride because yesterday was the first Saturday that the chance of rain was pretty low. Also, I just wanted to get out on my bike. It was a good ride yesterday.

I'm going to have to be a little more flexible this week - don't want to burn out just yet. So maybe Tomorrow will be a light day, just a swim. Yeah, right...we'll see about that!

SHAMROCK RUN
Got our team number for the Shamrock on March 13. There are several people at work that are interested in running or doing the 5K stride, so I'm hoping that we'll get 15 signed up by the end of February. There's time...so we have a pretty good chance at getting that many peoples.

Been kicking around the idea of running the 8k again. My running has been pretty good in the last couple of weeks and there is still way over a month to get myself running almost 5 miles. I'm pretty sure I can do it, but I am thinking about the fact that we run up Broadway and it does kick up a little when nearing PSU - I'm going to have to start hill training again - UGH. I really hate running hills, but there are some around here so I better get at it and quit belly-achin' over it!

If you are interested in running or walking the Shamrock let me know...I'll get you the team number. $5 discount for teams...that's $27! It's like buying the Tech T and getting the run for free...or is it the other way around? Either way, it's a fun event. Thirty Thousand people fun...

See you there!

A Time to Mourn

2011-01-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

John O'Brien
(pic pirated from Wenzel Coaching)

One of Tom's favorite spin class leaders is giving up one of his two days at LA Fitness - something about selling bikes and having a HUGE sales territory...whatever. So, I haven't really taken many of John's classes, but the ones that I have gone were always VERY good. Tom is a little bummed, but for the next few weeks Beth will be taking over the early class on Wednesday until a more permanent instructor comes up. This is good though, Beth is another fave!

John will continue to lead on Monday Mornings, so really, it's not all bad. We just hope that he doesn't totally abandon ship!

How To Spend The MLK Jr. Holiday

2011-01-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

Today is the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday - so no workies for me today. I don't have to go to work, but then I don't get to sleep in either...right?

Nope, John decided that today would be the day that he do the Lactate Threshold Field Test...go HERE for info on LT test.

So we were up early and went off for a 30 minute suffer-fest along with a few others who want to know what their training zones are. Here are the results from the last test.

Should get some numbers in a few days. I am guessing that my results will not change much from the last test. Today was hard, but I haven't been really working out terribly hard for the past couple of months. This will help me plan for the tri training...Blue Lake Sprint Tri is JUST around the corner!

I think it's time for a nap....

so...not...motivated

2011-01-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

This week hasn't been the best week - haven't been feeling 100% so I decided to take care of my body instead of trying to get myself to do MORE. Probably the best thing I have done all year....yeah the year is still young. I managed to get 3 days of yoga though, so really, not all that bad.

Today I brought my gym bag to work with me and decided that I felt good enough to do a speed interval workout on the treadmill upstairs during my lunch.

As of my lunch break today, I like running. We'll see how things go on Saturday.

Swim, Ride, Run Baby!

2011Upgrades

2011-01-13T10:22:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I found an old issue of Bicycling magazine laying around the house. Before chucking it into the recycling bin I thought I would take a look through it one more time. I'm glad that I did...I came across the gear page that listed 5 items to make a road bike into a multisport machine - SCORE! I have two road bikes - so why not convert the older bike to a Time Trail bike...yeah baby!

Here are the items:

1. AERO BARS - Check! Tom got me a set of bars for my last birthday and they are AWESOME!

2. CARBON WHEEL SET - this top of the line item cost over 2 grand - if I'm going to spend that much money, I think I would just get an entry level time trial bike.

3. HYDRATION PACK - Got this covered too - I actually went and bought a camel bak for the 2010 Blue Lake event and it was AWESOME!

4. AERO HELMET - Okay, this one I'm asking for my birthday (got that Tom?) I have a Giro helmet picked out and if I order it at biketiresdirect.com I will get a discount with my bike club membership and get to use my VIP points. AND if I decide to pick it up at the store...no shipping CHA-CHING!

5. SEAT POST - To change my position on the bike...more forward. Which I think will be good on my Trek as I think the reach is a touch far for me, but not so much that riding is uncomfortable. I am now wondering if a shorter stem would be good, hmmm....

So, the two main items that I am shooting for this year are:

Profile Design Fast Forward Aluminum Seat Post

and:


Giro Advantage 2 Helmet

Okay, so the helmet wouldn't go on the bike, but it would be helpful to cut down on wind resistance. With the addition of these two items maybe I can shave MORE time off of my fastest time last season of go HERE for those times.

It appears that I have become a little obsessed. Doing a tri is on my agenda, but riding the Time Trials is really high on my list of things to do...ALL SUMMER LONG! They are cheap (free for club members) they are close to home...and we have gotten to meet some cool people.

I am starting to realize what a geek I have become. What a sad commentary oh well, here's to riding a sub-32 minute Time Trial this year!

VROOOM....

2011 PR

2011-01-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

2011 PR - 37:43-ish. It's "ish" because we ended up having to stop at a railroad crossing - stupid trains, so my actual chip time was closer to 44:52...boooo...not my fault!

I THINK that this is the fastest I have run a 5K (event) in over a year. I haven't taken a look, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't run under 38:00 last year. So, my 2011 5K PR is set...maybe I can beat it a the Heart Breaker Half event next month.

Run baby run!

Resolution Run

2010-12-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-12-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-22T12:32:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

(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!

2010-11-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-11-09T16:47:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-11-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-10-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

...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...

2010-10-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

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'

2010-10-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-09-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-09-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

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...