swim.bike.run.

monday funday.

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 15:04:21 -0800

Monday is the day. The day to begin a serious effort to get back on the workout wheel and to start eating healthy. My kryptonite…Coke and chocolate. Cold turkey, (happy belated turkey day by the way) I don’t think is the way to go, but I do think I need to cut back…..way back. Here’s to getten’ er’ done :)

ahhh :)

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:41:33 -0700

finally, finally school is out for the summer :) This means two things 1. Only 57 days until I will have my very own classroom full of 3rd graders and 2. only 6ish weeks until Vineman 70.3….holly stinging jelly fish. As noted before my preparation has been less than stellar, my attitude could have been a little better (to the least), my IT band could have cooperated, but I am so looking forward to the whole experience. I’m looking forward to the atmosphere, the amazing people, a nice little day of ~~racing~~ enjoying the view, and a relaxing time with my family after we finish. So all in all it should be a great experience. I haven’t even completed the race and am looking forward to the next time when I can really show my stuff (or at least not get last place :)).

rrrr.

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 21:05:23 -0700

My training is going…craptastic for Vineman. After taking a bit of a break for a visit to see my sis in NC, I went for a pretty easy run with rolling hills. It felt great to start, then the IT band situation came back with vengeance. Seriously…wtf! I took a day off and went for a 25 mile bike ride. My bike ride consisted mostly of one leg peddling…awesome…..NO not awesome at all!! I am so, so disappointed. :(

On a more positive note….I think I can finish before the cut off time…hopefully :) I’m also hopeful that it will be a nice cool day…..oh please let it be a nice cool day!

55.10 mile bike.

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:05:00 -0700

This weekend we did a long ride, well long for me anyway, ride from Carlsbad to San Clemente. After reading some reviews of the ride through Camp Pendleton, I thought oh this will be easy. A few reviews said it was pretty flat and easy going. News flash ****IT IS NOT FLAT****!!!! It is indeed super hilly and kicked my ars, but felt good :) We stopped halfway at PizzaPort in San Clemente for, you guessed it, pizza…num, num, num! On our ride back we rode through an angry swarm of bees, not cool. Our ride back seemed so, so much easier. I actually took a moment to enjoy the view :) I feel so relieved to know that I am going to be able to finish the bike portion of my upcoming race…progress!

cheers.

8 mile run.

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:54:57 -0700

Success!!

My run was down the coast, which means hilly, and my IT band hurt only a little bit. It was nothing that didn’t go away after a few seconds. I’ve found that running at a slower, who am I kidding super slow, pace triggers less pain. So as long as I get the work done, who cares. It’s not like I’m in contention to win anything at the moment :) My IT band not hurting makes me soooo, soooo happy!!!

This morning we are going out for a long ride, somewhere. We need ride in the heat, but are still trying to figure out where. Our climate isn’t exactly smoking hot, unless cool ocean breezes classify as hot. Hmmm…;)

Happy Monday!

cheers.

swim.

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:20:29 -0700

Today I wanted to swim about 2400m and was only able to do half. Damn motion sickness..this was in a lap pool by the way. I threw up a little in my mouth, nasty right, and thought it would be appropriate to stop. No a lot of people enjoy swimming through barf.

Does anyone have suggestions for curing me of my motion sickness issues?

PLEASE HELP!!

cheers.

motivation.

Wed, 09 May 2012 20:25:16 -0700

Yup, I’ve got it. My inner motivation has finally come out….thank you baby Jesus (and Will for the quote :))! It’s been a long time since I saw it sprinting out of sight. It was sort of required to come out, otherwise I would be one sorry sucker come race day :) Thankfully it has just sort of come out on its own. YES!!!

Lot’s of hard work to do between now and July 15th. Hard work I’m actually looking forward to ;)

Shoes….

I need to get a new pair of running shoes. Neutral shoes are what I normally wear. I have a pair of Brooks PureFlow and I love them, but need a bit more support for my longer runs coming up. I use to find shoes no problem, recently ,nothing fits. It’s either to big or to small and it’s a pain in my ars!! Regardless of the difficulties faced while shoe shopping, I love it :)

cheers.

hi.

Tue, 01 May 2012 18:54:39 -0700

Yup, we had visitors for 10 days. Those visitors you ask…..the in-laws. It was a nice visit. Despite my ability to get annoyed with virtually anything, I did a good job hiding it. It doesn’t sound like much, but for me it’s a ~~small~~ HUGE victory!

Now it’s time to get down to business and do my “beefy dude” workouts suggested to my by letsbefitfriends (thanks for the great advice :)) and get my swim, bike, run on. It would be nice if the sun would come out to visit, I do live in SoCal after all, but I guess it is as they say (and I have learned)….May haze and June gloom. RAAA!!! I can’t complain, I’m from Michigan, no complaining going on her, not at all (wink, wink), but I do want to see the sun!!!

So my focus is….

*drop some lbs…chubby=injured for me. damn cupcakes!

*start to enjoy riding my bike. After all I’ll have to ride it for 56 miles I might as well enjoy it right?!

*do more yoga, it makes me smile even though I hate every minute of it (did that make sense?)

*run like the wind and swim like a fish. Who knows it might be possible :)

So there it is. My very small list of things to accomplish. I do enjoy making lists. I think I make more :)

cheers.

Chrissie Wellington - Top 50 Race Tips

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:54:10 -0700

Chrissie Wellington - Top 50 Race Tips

running up, up, up, down.

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:50:09 -0700

Yesterday, N and I did the Hot Chocolate 15k. Chocolate fondu and, duh, hot chocolate waited for us at the finish. It was the best part for sure. The race, well, it sucked. It was much, much more hilly than I expected. We ran 5k and my IT band gave me a big f*** you for trying to run up a hill for 3 miles. Awesome, so I walked more than half of it and N ran the last 5k. I finished, with frustration, disappointment, annoyed, I wanted to go to the top of a mountain, which I couldn’t climb because of my f***ing IT band, and scream at the top of my lungs. I iced and rolled and today I am happy to report that it is feeling so much better. Phew, I thought I was going to go through agony again. I’ll take it easy for a few days, but this girl is smiling :)

Today I swam about 1300 meters. I did 8 x 100, and 2 x 200. If felt pretty good, but my arms got super tired and it wasn’t really that far. Oly well.

4 miles. yoga. happy back.

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:50:39 -0700

Let me start off by saying my back has hurt, oh for the last two years. When I wake up in the morning it is sooo achy. I thought it was from my little, err big, puppy dog sleeping in the bed with us. She got kicked out of the bed, it felt a little better. It still hurt. Errr. Not to long ago I did yoga once a week for about 2 months and my back was feeling better. Well, I did not make the connection between yoga and my happy back. Yesterday, I ran an up hill 4 miles followed up by a yoga session. Running uphill…well it sucks. Yoga…it doesn’t suck, I just suck at it and get very frustrate. I am happy to continue to keep a happy back and be able to sleep properly at night. I do think we need a new mattress still, ours has a big hill in the middle, but we can hold off for a cheaper and healthier option…YOGA!!! So happy :)

Does anyone have beginner training plans for the swimming portion of a 70.3? Ours is a bit aggressive for us. We are not strong enough yet to swim what the plan is calling for. Any help or suggestions are very much appreciated!!!

cheers.

first day.

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:03:44 -0800

Today was my first day of training for Vineman. So far I’ve biked 30 minute no the trainer. I found many excuses to slow down, stop…like change the channel on tv, check my timer, exc…easily distracted :) In a few minutes I need to go run 30 minutes. My legs currently feel like j.e.l.l.o! I’ve been sick for two months it seems and have chosen to, well not workout during that time…..super slacker!!

After work I went to Road Runner Sports to purchase a sports bra. Found one and I love it. I’ve had a hard time finding one that I like and lasts for a while. The RRS Star Peformer Sportek Bra in Ruby/Pink feels like it will be great for any high intensity workout. Will see how I feel after my run :) I also purchased Honey Singer Waffles. They are delicious. Not sweet, but not overly sweet. Good for an energy boost!

Today I did a bunch of calculations, i.e. body fat, BMI, measurement hips, exc. Ya, not exactly a stellar showing. I’ve set my goals and look forward to reaching them sooner than later, much sooner. So although I am a pretty disappointed with my current calculations, I am looking forward to reaching my goals. TENACITY!!!

Workouts for the rest of the week…

2 swims

2 runs

2 bikes

2 weight training sessions

Maybe some yoga. It helps with my IT band issues :)

Of I go…well in a few minutes :)

cheers.

sfcaveseekers: The Importance of the ILIOTIBIAL TRACT aka IT...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:07:10 -0800

sfcaveseekers:

The Importance of the ILIOTIBIAL TRACT aka IT BAND

During my swimming sessions at the gym over the past year, I met a few people in the pool that were also new to swimming. Eventually the quick and polite conversations would end up with, “so what got you into swimming?”. All of the answers I got were, “I don’t run anymore because of an IT band injury. My doctor advised against it.”

It turns out that upon injuring it, it can become a nagging syndrome, especially for those new to running, or those increasing their milage. Up until recently I never did any research on it, but came across this great foam rolling video that teaches how to stretch the IT band and prevent it from being injured.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZIl0QxOgKc

Here’s a few more links for further reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_tract

13.1.

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:07:06 -0800

Yesterday N did an amazing job finishing ~~our~~ his half-marathon. We did have the opportunity to fully train for it…booo! But he ran the whole thing and got a bright shiny medal. I must say it was the bestest looking medal I’ve seen…..I’m jealous! I was sick…again so no running for me just and unused racing bib. rrrrr….so frustrating. I’ve been out of commission since Tuesday. I think a visit to the doctor may be in order. I haven’t decided.

Next on our plate, training for out first 70.3! So excited to start, but still have not found a plan to follow. What to do, what to do. It’s hard because N doesn’t have tons of time to do lot’s of workouts. I’ve considered hiring a coach to come up with a plan for us but it’s so, so expensive!! Decisions, decisions..I suck at making decisions :)

Kung Hei Fat Choy!! (Happy Chines New Year)

cheers.

inspiring.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:38:07 -0800

I’m watching the Olympic Marathon Trial….it’s inspiring! All of these runners have made such a commitment. Watching has made me think about choices I have made, choices that could have altered the way I am now, who I am now, what I do now. I have a hard time sometimes thinking about the past…I know, I know…the past is the past. I need to get the past out of my head and think about the future, making the future the best it can be :) Hell ya! So next weekend I will run my half-marathon, having done a half a$$ job of training and look forward to making a solid commitment to my 70.3 in July…woo…woo!!

cheers.

running.

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:34:50 -0800

N and I have been getting back into our running routine. It’s been going…ok :) We did a not so long run yesterday….6 miles. I felt great, then we ran up a huge, huge hill at about mile 4. It kicked my a$$, but I recovered quickly and was able to pick up the pace again. That was reassuring considering our longest run has been about 8 miles….3 weeks ago :) Hopefully we built a big enough base to not feel horrible after 13.1 miles!

cheers.

holiday.

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:42:28 -0800

N and I went home for the holidays. It was lots of fun and we really enjoyed seeing our friends and family. N, however, is dwelling on moving back, something I do not want to do….AT ALL. It’s so frustrating….rrrrrrr!!

Now we have the Carlsbad Half to look forward to…. :) Our training the last…month…has been sort of lack luster. We both have been sick and can’t seem to get rid of it. Ohly well, we will enjoy our run anyway :)

After Carlsbad we will officially start our training for our first 70.3…Vineman :) So…so…excited!!!

tinsel tri...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:38:55 -0800

This weekend N and I participated in a sprint…maybe its a super sprint…triathlon. It was a reverse triathlon startin off with a very cold run and bike, then finishing with an amazingly warm swim in a high school swimming pool. Loved it!! Despite not feeling well for the days leading up to it, that day I felt well enough to complete it, very slow, but completed!

While riding my bike, I was thinking about how much longer the 70.3 will be in July. All that thinking led to me getting excited about the opportunity to do it!!

8 miles.

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:04:05 -0800

Today after work I ran 8 miles. It felt pretty good, minus my feet falling asleep. I’ve had the most ridiculous time trying to find a pair of running shoes. I use to wear the Brooks Ghost 3, loved them, the Ghost 4 does not fit me :( I’ve returned shoes 3 times to a local, awesome running store, and felt like a fool doing so again today. So, now I have the Asics Gel Cumulus. They have great cushioning and fit my feet, woo, woo! I guess I should have broke them in before running 8 miles in them…whoops :)

cheers.

7 miles.

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:03:55 -0800

Today N and I ran, you guessed it, 7 miles. It was our “long” run for the week. We run at a much slower pace than I would run by myself, but I have found I am experiencing much less IT Band pain than I have in the last year. It’s an amazing feeling!! Running slow is hard sometimes, but I know it’s best for N and apparently it is just what I needed :) Lesson learned!

By the way the cartoon “Allen Gregory” is amazing!

cheers.