Tejas Triathlon Race Report

Yesterday I did my second triathlon in May.

This is a funny one because I was feeling pretty pleased with myself until I looked at my splits this morning!

Let's talk it out.

Left the house at 4:50, transition was closing at 6:45 but the race was about an hour away.  Did a brilliant thing and stopped at a gas station about 5 miles from the race so I could take care of some business without a line and with a real toilet and more calm, given my wardrobe issues at the CB&I.  I should always do this.

Got to the parking lot, and the race packet said it was a .5 mile walk but it must have been at least a mile because it took forEVER to get there.

Got to transition, walked in and almost immediately realized I had forgotten my running shoes in the car.  Sent P back for them but it was going to be a near thing for him to get back before transition closed.

While I waited I set up my transition area, which was complicated because the chick next to me had like 10 people gathered around her talking, so I couldn't get through to my spot, then she had her bike racked in the wrong direction, but I wasn't 100% sure whether it was her or the chick on the other side - just knew someone was wrong, so had to find a ref, blah blah.  Anyways, got my spot all set up other than shoes, then headed for the bathroom (again).  Luckily there was a real one, and I was willing to stand in the line.  Did my business and managed to re-suit myself, then went to grab the camp chairs and pick a nice spot for P.  He made it back with LITERALLY 3 minutes to spare, and I got my shoes onto my towel and got out of transition.

I haven't yet mentioned the mud.  It was soooooo wet and muddy.  Houston has had flooding rains over the past week, and this tri was in a hard hit area.  I was actually checking the website on the morning of to confirm it was still happening, the rains were so severe in that area.

So once again my wave was second to last, so after transition closed, I ate a granola bar, applied sunscreen, got my swim cap on, and generally hung out a bit.  Watched several waves start and begin to finish, then headed over to line up. 

The water temperature was nice.  I was excited about the swim course because it was a long out, then a right turn.  Bouys would be on the right, which is to my advantage.  I lined up right beside the bouys, but about 4 ladies back (which was essentially the back row other than the ladies who decided to stand on the shore til the gun went off).  It was a freaking madhouse this time.  Lots of bodies all in the way.  Lots of contact.  I felt like it took forEVER for me to get some clear water.  I felt pretty good though, like I was holding my own.  I began passing ladies in the previous wave, and when I got near the turn it didn't look like I was too far behind the leaders of my wave.  That was weird because that was also when I got passed by the fasties of the following wave.  But I didn't freak out on that because that was the wave that included relay teams, and the people passing me were men.  I realize now that some of this was misleading because my wave included my age group, plus the 35-39 age group, and apparently they were the ones that I was pacing, now that I look at the very disappointing results.  I have GOT to figure out what is going so wrong on the swims that I am so much slower in open water than in the pool.

Swim: 16:45 for 2:48/100y

Transition, omg transition.  I was actually surprised when I saw this number because I was veeeerry disappointed with this transition.  Ran to area, was happy about all the bikes still there, stood on towel.  Put on run belt, arm sweatband gets stuck going on because of all the wetness, lost seconds here.  Put on sunglasses.  Put on helmet, sunglasses fogged.  Take off sunglasses, wipe with towel, put back on.  Try to dry feet/clean some of the insane amount of grass/mud off them.  Put on socks, put on shoes (I switched to Yankz, good move!).  Sunglasses have filled with water dripping off face, take off, say out loud, "Slowest transition EVER!", clean with towel, put back on again, grab bike, head out.  On the way realize that sunglasses are over helmet straps, take off again, put on correctly.

T1: 1:38  (Seriously, shockingly fast given all that!)

Head to bike mount line, 5 women spread all over road in front, have to wait a bit, but get some clear and get mounted.  Had mud all up in shoes so took a while to get feet positioned comfortably on the pedal grips.

Got going and was really pleased, maintaining a nice 17-18mph speed.  It was an out and back course and when we hit the first few hills I was excited about coming back because I'd get to go down them.  When I hit the turnaround, duuuuuude.  So disappointing.  I realized that I had had BOTH a tailwind AND a downhill false flat for most of the way out.  Speed dropped to a struggling 14mph.  Blarg.  Eventually I hit one of the turns and was able to pick it back up again.  And I must say I LOVE the 12 mile bikes.  Somehow that seems soooo much shorter than a 15!  By the time I was back in transition I was feeling very good about the bike despite my low point on course.

Bike: 43:13 for 16.7mph

Transition was no big deal.  Helmet off, grabbed a quick swig of water.  Struggled to place bike on rack because of how the other ladies had racked theirs, but managed it with a little finagling.

T2: 1:06

Ran out, was pleased to find almost immediate Gatorade.  There were a lot of people around, so even though my normal strategy is to walk to calm my heart rate and breathing before running, I kind of felt like I needed to run.  So I ran past Preston and people, and stopped to walk where it was calmer.  I had grabbed my phone, so started RunKeeper, stowed it in race belt, and adjusted hair.  Then began running with a 4:1 goal, that ended up being closer to a 3.5:1.5, which I was really pretty pleased with.  I'm aware that I need to work on some speed.  I also think maybe getting the old garmin out would help because I feel like some of my issues are mental out on the run.  It just feels like it kind of goes on forever!  With a garmin on I can use the numbers to encourage myself.

Run: 35:59 for 12:00min/mi.

Total: 1:38.42

Post race: I was very very very disappointed with the post race food.  They had run out of pizza completely.  They had raisen and plain bagels.  There were cookies which were quite good.  I also got watermelon (nice),  grapes (sour), and literally the most disgusting banana that I have ever eaten in my entire life.  It was like the starch hadn't turned to sugar.  I actually had to spit it out, it was so sick and wrong.

Then there was the looooong walk back to the car, followed by the quest for food (Taco C and Starbucks, yum!).

Ok, so the long view.  I had better T1, Bike, and T2.  My run was about the same, meh.  My swim, blarg, so disappointing.  All in all, I was really happy with my time, which is funny.  Based on the differences in distances from the CB&I, I was hoping for a sub-1:40, which I totally accomplished!  I just didn't get the time back where I expected it, which has me shaking my head.

Take-aways:  Still need speed.  SPEEEEEED!  Garmin for the run, RunKeeper isn't good enough because I can't see it easily.

Last week rundown

As I was waxing poetic and nostalgic last week I was wandering away from the meat of the plan.  The day after tomorrow is April, y'all.  We've got 3 weeks (THREE WEEKS!!!!!! EEEEPP!!) til the MS150 and one month til my first post-baby tri.

So last week I did:
Monday: 3.2 mile run with a little walking.  But the distance was covered.
Tuesday: 1400 yard swim, no prob.
Wednesday: 2.25 mile run, focusing on running longer intervals and faster.
Thursday: 1400 yard swim, did I mention I love swimming?  Oh, and also I woke up early so I did yoga that morning.
Friday: P90X3 MMX.  I know, I was supposed to run.  But I just didn't want to, and I thought it might be nice to mix it up a little.  This definitely taxes my aerobic system and my legs and ass, so I figured it'd work.
Saturday: 26.6 mile HILLY freaking ride.  Yes, I planned to do the 40-something route.  No, I didn't do it.  I just didn't want to.  And I had a busy weekend and it would have killed most of the day.  And did I mention, HILLS?  (Btw Head for the Hills is an absolutely lovely MS150 prep ride.  Highly recommend!  The bluebonnets were out, it was a gorgeous day, the hills are great training, and the local fireman make a good burger for lunch after.  Really nicely run.)  The good news is I never walked, and I love my new brakes.  The bad news is I'm still fighting my big ring shifter and I need that sucker for big hills.  There were 3 hills where I ended up in the easiest possible gearing combo, going about 4mph.  But I didn't walk.  I win.

This week the plan is very similar, except I think I'm going to drop the Thursday swim in favor of MMX and then add back in the Friday run (but I'll switch that to Yoga if I'm feeling especially run down).  I would prefer to swim twice BUT it looks like rain on Thursday, plus I'm going to have a kid-free night and swimming makes me get home later, which I don't want to do because I want to go see a movie or something.  So you know I'm still sane - not sacrificing fun in favor of exercise.  At least on Thursday. ;-)

You, sir, are my brick wall

So yesterday I was swimming along happily in my beautiful new pool.  A cold front had come through earlier in the day and my arms were cold but the water was perfect.

Swimming is so therapeutic for me.  I just one-two-three-breathe myself into a sort of hypnosis.

And then, a fastie came into the lane next to me.

Do you want to know what the equivalent of a headwind in the pool is?

The fastie next to me, doing the 'fly, when he was coming towards me.

Brick. Wall.

It wasn't really that bad, though.  I mean I'm not upset about it.  It is good tri practice, swimming with people around, making waves, making brick walls... everything is good practice.

But I was sort of waxing poetic about biking and swimming and brick walls and losing count of my laps and I ended up trying to make a haiku about brick wall dude and do you know what?  Haiku is to swimming and breathing as Sudoku is to my job.  Apparently I can't do them at the same time. 

At. All.

So now we know that too.

Tri Training

In the fear of the MS150, it has kind of been lost in my mind that in a fit of insanity, I signed up for a triathlon at the beginning of May.

Up until I went for that first swim, I was most worried about the swim leg, just due to general rustiness.  But I swam again yesterday, and really, the swim is going to be no problem at all.  I swam 500 straight, twice, the first time in 11 minutes and the second time in 10 minutes.  That is basically race pace for me when I'm fully trained.  I must reiterate how absolutely stunning it is to find myself in good swim shape after such a long lay off, but there it is, I'm going to try not to look the gift horse in the mouth.

So that leaves me with 2 concerns.  The first is the bike.  I am not at all worried about the distance.  Not. At. All.  However, I need to be a bit faster.  Now I think I can be.  What I remember of the course is quite flat, and I am hoping that if I use my philosophy that won me my 5K PR all those years ago - if I use up 75 miles of biking energy in 15 miles, surely I'll be faster than when I'm riding to go far.  But I will not be clipping in this year, for the first time in a tri, so that is also a factor, since I know clipping makes me faster.  What I would really love is to find a short course somewhere where I could actually try to ride a short fast ride and gauge where I am.  Perhaps if the R2R ride gets cancelled tomorrow, I can make that happen on Sunday.

The second concern is the run.   Once again I'm not worried about the distance.  After all these years, it is amazing to say, 5K doesn't phase me.  It is hard to be scared any longer of a distance when I know the worst that happens is I walk it.  But I don't want to walk it, and I'm not well trained on the run right now.  This morning I think I averaged 14 min/mi?  Running and walking.  Sooo... I have what, 6 weeks?  And we know that a lot of that, in terms of weekends, will remain tied up in MS150 training.  However I will have a tune up 5K on April 16, BUT I need to not blow my legs for MS150 since it is only 2 days before, so I'll be running that conservatively.  What if I did two runs per week for the next few weeks, one in which I don't go 5K but I try to go faster, and the other in which I do go 5K and I try to minimize walking?  Part of the problem is I'm not getting my ass out of bed fast enough in the mornings.  I need probably 40 minutes to be comfortable with 5K... I'll work on that.  I'm not trying to go crazy here - but if I could get a 30ish minute 5K time for the tri, that would make me really happy.

So, ok, the tentative plan for the next 3 weeks (before conference and MS get thrown into the mix):
M: Run 5K
T: Swim
W: Run for speed
R: Swim
F: Run easy
S: Bike FAR
S: Off or Yoga

I can always do a morning bike on the trainer on swim days, too, since I'm swimming in the afternoon, but I don't want to lock that in - I still am wanting to be mentally flexible and am trying to be careful not to ask too much of myself.

First Swim in ForEVER

So I have a new job.  And the new job provides me low cost access to a gym with a VERY nice outdoor pool that is open year-round and is about 2 blocks from said job.   This is no small thing, since I think it is well documented how much I looooooove to swim, how well it helps me control my weight, and did I mention how much I love it!!??

What I do not love, however, is going to a new gym.

So last week I girded my loins and made it in the door, took one look at the line at the overtaxed front desk, and turned around and walked out again.

Hey, I never said I was proud of my social awkwardness.  I just... couldn't.

So this week I packed all of my lonely swim stuff, tried to think of all the variables, and committed.  Thank goodness when I walked in, there was no line.  So I walked up, said I was new, and asked to be shown around, and THANK YOU to the super friendly girl who did just that.  Then I changed and armed with my success, walked out to the pool and up to the lifeguard to asked about the unwritten rules of pool use.

Because - have I mentioned? - that was my experience at the Y.  It was all unwritten, but it was a 4 lane pool, inner two lanes were for the fasties.  Outer two were for the pokies.  There was often lane sharing, and if there was, you were to keep to one side if there were two peeps, but if you went over two, you began circling.  And on and on we go.

Now I'm not convinced that I know everything about new pool.  BUT it wasn't super mega crowded at 3pm on a Tuesday, I didn't have to share a lane, I had a lovely swim, and I know enough things hopefully now not to make an idiot of myself.  That'll do for the first outing.

Oh, and did I mention that my swim was simply lovely?  It was a beautiful sunny day.  The water was cool but not cold.  I was having some goggle issues, so my first 500 took 12 minutes, but really that isn't bad for not actually really training in... years!  And then I lost count.  I swam for 30 minutes and I didn't care about counting and I just went back and forth until my mind was nothing but 1-2-3-breathe and it was juuuuuuust glorious.

I am so very happy to be swimming again!

(Oh, also, I don't know if I've mentioned, but my body has been surprising me.  I've been shocked, literally shocked, at how well my body is adapting to the cycling training.  I am always same-day sore, but by the next morning, I'm simply tired but not sore.  That is seriously cool, given that running for me is a 48 hour soreness.  Additionally, this first swim, based on all the other first swims I've had in my life, should have been pretty rough in terms of breathing.  Normally when I've been off for a long time, I can just barely eke out 500 and I spend half my time clinging to the wall gasping.  Now I wasn't trying to break any speed records the other day, and I was in deficit, but it was never to the level of gasping, and I reckon I got in AT LEAST 1200 before throwing in the towel and frankly I think I could have kept going.  So my guess is all the cycling, even though I don't think of it in that way (because it doesn't kill my aerobic system like running) has been doing good things to my fitness level, and that is just very cool.  I love it when I can see real progress!)

Abs Abs Abs

So, day 1 of February plan complete.  No ice cream.  And I've told P not to give me any, either.

And when I swam yesterday morning, I tried to think about engaging my abs.  It must have worked, because when I went to do my 100 crunches that evening, they were already sore!!

It was 70 yesterday morning when I left for the Y, and by the time I got to work it was 40.  This morning it was 20!  I'm patting myself on the back for the brilliance of going to the Y yesterday, because there is no way I'm leaving the house to exercise in this cold.  This morning I did Tae Bo (trying to think about my abs), and tomorrow morning I'll probably do a spin on the bike.

In baby news, I'm worried about my milk supply.  It seemed to take a bit of a dive over the weekend, Sunday specifically, and it hasn't really gone back up.  I don't know if nursing exclusively on the weekend actually adjusted my supply down (as I was over producing before) to closer to what Z actually needs, or if the 5K screwed me up (don't really think so), or what... yesterday I pumped exactly what she ate, and that worries me!  I tried eating oatmeal yesterday morning, but it seems to have a 12 hour delayed onset, so I filled up as I was going home.  Might try eating some tonight so I'm nice and full tomorrow at work.  I am also vaguely considering supplementary pumping on the weekends.  Before I'd do my morning pump but then exclusively nurse through the day.  It is nice to have a break from the machine!  But if I have to, I can try to pump more on the weekend to try and up my supply.  I know that I shouldn't really be freaking out yet, but it is just that when you go from oversupply to exact supply, another dive could mean you aren't making enough, you know?  I want to nip this in the bud!

I'm tired.  5-7 hours of sleep each day... I'm built for 8!

What else?  Oh, work has been frustrating.  That's all I'm going to say about that.

142.0 yesterday and also today.  Been floating around 142 for a week or so, hopefully I'll be looking at another drop soon.

Not So Ghetto Any More, Baby!

Or, my return to the Y.  Which is located in a new place.  In a new building.  That I had seen exactly once when I was 9 months preggo.

So I knew this morning I needed to build some time into the schedule.  I was going back to the Y, where I had a locker that was empty that I claimed on a preview day when I was all ginormous.  I couldn't remember the locker number.  I sat down the night before and programmed the combo lock so I'd be ready.  I figured I'd just walk in and start asking questions, and that's just what I did. 

I found out my locker number, and where to scan my card, and that I need to grab towels on the way into the locker room.  I talked to the nice lifeguard who is now a greeter-man, and showed him a pic of the Zig.

Went into the locker room, and my lock didn't fit through the holes.  Went back to the desk, got a new lock, had the lady help me program it.  Went back to the locker room, talked to a lady that used to have a locker right next to mine, stripped to swimsuit, discovered that I couldn't close the new lock.

Went back to the desk in my swimsuit, asked for help, received it, finally got locker locked.  Took a pre-pool-rinse and put on my swimcap.  Went to pool.

Bitch was crowded.  Started circling with old-Speedo-man and 2 other dudes.  I used to be faster than OSM, but now I was working hard just to keep pace with him.  It was the best circling experience I've ever had, though, as no one in the lane was fast.

Knocked out a pitiful 700 in 20 minutes, and my arms were screaming for mercy, so I called it a day.

Back to locker room, shower, dress, ready for work.  Go to leave and realize I've left my swimsuit hanging in shower.  Retrieve.  Go to leave again, realize I'm not wearing my rings.  Return to locker, can't find.  Go through bag, can't find.  Assume I left them at home, leave Y and go to work.

Get to work, go through bags one more time, still can't find.  Have uneasy feeling... call Mom at home and ask her to retrace my steps, no rings.  Call Y and ask if they turned up in lost and found.  No.  The same nice lady from earlier offered to go look near my locker.  No dice.  Escalate to full on panic.  Call Preston.  Decide to sneak out of work and go look for them at the Y.  Recheck my car.  No.  Drive to Y.  Start where I parked that morning and walk in with eyes on the ground searching the whole way.  Get to locker.  Pull out each and every item within, shake it, lay it on bench.  On the very last, and I mean very last item, there is the box.  Underneath everything.  Thank goodness!!  And UGH!!!

So, hardcore insane morning.  But on the positive side, the new Y is lovely.  Very nice.  I will enjoy working out there.

Week 33

Cravings:

Cookies 'n' cream milkshakes (from Chick-fil-a). French fries. Fish. Those really yummy potatoes we make...

Aversions:
I think we're pretty much done with these.

Other symptoms:
Still tired. Have been since last Thursday. Heartburn. (Does this mean I can hope for a full head of red hair??) Little insomnia working too.

Things bugging me:
I could do without the tired, the insomnia, the heartburn. Oh, and the cat pissing on the rug.

Current weight: 162.8

Renovations:
Preston has laid most of the flooring between the guest room and the office. It was hard because that hall is on an angle, and one side butts up against an irregularly shaped stone fireplace, so it required lots of cutting.

Now we need to finish cleaning out the office so maybe we can put my parents to work this weekend!


Other stuff:
I got all my thank yous written from the shower last weekend, and a lot of the stuff put away = good.

Think I'm gonna downgrade to C25K Week 1 on Thursday. *le sigh*

Got out the recumbant to ride this morning, that went fine.

Went swimming last Friday after work (I only work half-a-day on Fridays). Oooo! My arms were sooooo sore afterwards!! I only did 1000 yards. I was super slow, but I didn't realize as I was going how sore I was gonna be after! I think I might make it a goal to go at least once a week til the end.

My non-work baby shower is this Saturday - it is mostly going to be family, but I'm looking forward to it!

Week 18

Trying to post a little more often.... Trying to get you some pics (Jocelyn). Promise.

Cravings:
Not really. But hungry a lot. I did well with my eating this past week.

Aversions:
Still some types of chocolate.

Other symptoms:
God, I am huge. I'm a freaking barge. And I'm not even halfway though this. My book says The Kid is bigger than my hand. My hand!! That is huge! There is a giant human in my belly!!!

Things bugging me:
There is too much shit to do around the house before this baby comes out. (How can it be this big and I'm not halfway through??)
My neck stopped hurting. And then yesterday it started again.
And you'd better not make me miss my bedtime. It won't be pretty.
Oh, and I am fat.

Current weight: 139.6

Can feel The Kid pretty reliably when I lay on my belly. So I'm squishing the little guy at least once a day. For the fun of it.

Went to Adron/Judtona (not their real names)'s for a crib and a highchair and a pack-n-play this weekend. Holy shit, there is a *crib* in my house. Shit.

Oh, one more thing. I went swimming last Thursday morning for the first time in quite a while. It felt weird. Like, super-weird. Like my giant fat belly was hanging blimp-like below me in the water, and that was causing all my ligaments to stretch. It actually kind of hurt a little, before it loosened up and started to feel pretty good.


Non-preggo stuff:

Aw, shit, I don't know!

Oh, yes I do! Preston took me to Reef for my birthday. It would have been better with wine, but no. Anyways. Oh, and we had The.Most.Amazing dessert. It was, crap, I can't remember what it was. Yes I can! Buttermilk panna cotta (that tasted like cheesecake) with strawberries and the *most* amazing strawberry sorbet that tasted like gelato. Yummy! Would totally go back for just that. Like every day.

Swimming Sagas

I've been staying out of the pool a bit lately due to the resolutioners and now to the recovering marathoners. Hoping that next week'll be the last one I have to spend away.

It seems that, though, the last several times I've swum, I've ended up with interesting lane partners.

There's the Bulldozer. He actually scares me. He takes up a good part of the lane and he's fast. I ended up getting a crick in my neck the days I swam with him from watching out for him, and bruises on my hands from hugging the lane line so close. He's a regular, but I avoid his lane now.

Then there's the Freight Train. Dude swims with a Longhorn 70.3 bottle. Props. I'm not scared of him like the Bulldozer, but dude kicks up some serious chop. Swimming with him is like swimming in open-water on a windy day. Heavy chop. I actually rather enjoyed it, considering it good practice.

Then there's Dude-who-complimented-my-stroke. Haven't actually shared a lane with him, but he looks to be a pretty easy swimmer too, and I'd probably enjoy it. I sure as hell enjoyed the compliment.

And there's Old Skinny Speedo Man. Slow, safe, kind. Also a regular. I time my 100 sets on his swimming.

And finally, this morning's glory: Scissorkick Lady. Looks like she packs a serious punch every time she breathes. Not my favorite lane partner.

Recovery

Well, last week I was sick practically all week. Had a fever for 7 straight days. It really sucked. It also really sucked because I was anxious about not running. I even skipped my long run on Saturday because I knew I couldn't get through it.

Sunday night I was determined to run on Monday morning, fever or not. As luck would have it, that was the first day I was feverless. I ran 3 easy slow miles, just trying to remember that I *could* run.

Tuesday was a scheduled speedwork day, and I really wanted to do it. I was seriously fatigued when I woke up. I ran a very slow 1.5 mile warm-up, and then did the 10x30sec/30sec that I had planned. It went pretty well. I was able to maintain a fast pace through the intervals. I jogged every other rest interval, and walked every other one. I still totaled out only around 3 miles.

I have had a slight bit of heel pain since Tuesday...

Wednesday I biked for 30 minutes easy to give myself time off my feet.

Thursday was supposed to be a 35 minute tempo run. I did 30 minutes. It was the first morning where I could really tell that the (slightly) cooler temp was really helping me. It was about 70 degrees, and I was running 9:30's when I felt like I was running 10+s. It was nice.

I also got off work early yesterday, so I went swimming. Swam 2400 yards in about an hour. Did a nice 500 to warm up, 500 steady, 500 hard, 500 steady, and 400 cooldown. My arms are totally blown today, but in a very good way. I've really missed swimming. And how incredibly cool to not be there when it is all crowded in the morning!! I think I'll have to make that my regular gig when I get off work early.

I was freaking starving by the time I got home. Ate about 1000 calories and was still hungry! I forget how much swimming takes out of me...

Slept 11 hours last night, and still feeling slightly fatigued. Taking it easy today, because I've got 12 miles to run in the morning...

Is this thing still on???

Ok, I'm back. At least I think I am back. I hope I am back.

I DNS'd the Trolley Run last weekend. I had also planned on running the TLA Hetherington Fun Run the Thursday before. Not a DNS because I had never signed up, but definitely also a mental DNS. The reason? Sickness. I woke up sick on Thursday morning, not too shocking since Preston had been sick earlier in the week, but a little surprising because I haven't been sick in so long. I had to go to work on Thursday and Friday (TLA and speaking at TLA), and so I still felt crappy on Saturday. My entire focus for the Spring, blown in 3 days. And my first ever official DNS.

I'm not as upset as I thought I'd be. I really need a re-arrange on my priorities, and the fact that the CB&I Triathlon is a month out, and I have no more only running races planned means I can stop feeling like I always have to run (and like I'm cheating on running if I swim/bike/lift) and can just try and focus on getting my mojo back.

So, this week went really well. I was still a little tired from all the sick on Monday, but I didn't let it stop me. 5 miles run and 1900 yards swam. Tuesday I was exhausted because I had gone to the Astros Opening Day (YAAAAAY BASEBALL IS BACK!!!!) the night before, but I still got on the trainer for an hour. Wednesday another hour on the trainer. Thursday 4.25 miles run and 2700 yards swam. Gonne lift/core today, and want to brick tomorrow with Sunday off.

Swimming right now is going really really well. For the past several weeks, every time I've gotten in the water I've felt really good, and I've been going faster too. Less stress on my aerobic system, less need for rest on the wall, more yards, and faster. I couldn't ask for anything more. Every time I get out of the pool I feel emotionally lifted. It is awesome!!

Running and biking are a slightly different story. The run on Monday was great, but Thursday blew, and I think that that is because I'm not used to running on dead legs any longer. Gotta do some bricks. Gotta suffer through this period of adjustment.

Biking is ok. I'm really focusing on it, and I am pleased with the amount of time I am able to spend in the saddle (up to 90 minute sessions so far), and I am seeing improvements in my speed, too. Biking will never be my favorite, and improvements are coming slow, but I keep reminding myself that they are coming, and for that I should be happy.

Been neglecting my lifting and core a bit, but that was to be expected when I started tri training again. That was why I focused so much on it at the end of the marathon training... actually I'm taking an aerobic-free day today, but I do plan on lifting and coring when I get done with this...

I'm really trying here. Trying to be back in the saddle, and trying to get my head inthe game. I'd like to try to neglect this blog a bit less too. Just the other day I was trying to remember some stuff, and I came back here to look at my race reports. And I got all the info I need. Sometimes I feel like I lose sight of what this blog was for. I started this thing for me, and its purpose continues to be to help me. I need to use it more. Everything else is a by-product.

Ok, I'm off to the gym!

Open Waters

Well, I had my first open water swims this past weekend.

I signed up for a First Timers Tri clinic thingy at the race site on Saturday. It was nice: a little info on simple stuff that has been driving me nuts worrying about - how to rack the bike, where stuff will be, a few tips and tricks. Then we all went down to the water and joined up with another clinic and did a practice mass start. Not. Cool. I treaded water near the back and started a few seconds after everyone and still got beat up by the people who decided to start on the beach and swim the tangent. Grr. But I'm really glad we did it, because I swam through some panic, and I know now that I can do it. Sighting was sort of a beast too... I couldn't see past my elbows in the murky lake.

After all of that, I decided that I should go back the next day and swim the course twice more. The first time my goggles fogged up really badly (water is only 78 degrees), and between that and the sun I went a little off course, even though I really do swim straighter than I expected. But I still finished in 11:56, faster than I expected! I debated needing to go in again, but decided that I really should, as the foggy goggles had frustrated me, and I wanted a good vibe on the course before the tri. On the second swim, everything really went pretty perfectly. I felt fast in the water, and better at sighting. I was surprised to see a slower time of 12:26 when I got out, because I felt so much better, but I can easily chalk that up to not starting the watch in exactly the same place...

So, some concerns about this coming weekend have been addressed, though I'm still really nervous... as of Sunday I've stopped counting the calories, but am eating only good-for-me stuff. I'm tapering off on the workouts a little bit leading up to a day completely off on Friday before the tri (as I normally do with my run races). Trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. In short, just trying to set myself up as best as I possibly can.

I'll follow-up with a post on my goals later in the week...

2 Miles in the Pool

For the first time this morning, I swam 2 miles.

(I rock.)

I had run a little 3.5 miler before I left home,

(Knee is feeling better today.)

then went to the Y for my morning 1500ish yard swim. But I have a little comp time coming to me at work, and my manager has said that I can take it flexibly in the mornings and just inform her afterwards.

(She rocks.)

So when there is no one at the pool, I keep swimming.

There was no one at the pool (at least not many), so I kept swimming for another hour.

3600 yards in 85 minutes.

(I know I'm slow. But I still rock.)

My First Tri-Dream

I think this dream was a result of stress at work and also starting to train for CBI Sprint Tri in May...

So, I had totally trained for a sprint tri, but I end up at an Ironman competition. Which for some reason, I didn't drop out of, even though I was totally unprepared. The competition was starting at 6am, and I set my alarm for 4:45am. But when I woke up I realized that I totally hadn't allowed enough time to eat and then poo before the start. And when I started getting ready I realized I hadn't packed my special needs bags or my T1 and T2 stuff. I hadn't even labeled the bags or taken them off the strange grocery bag type holder, you know not the roll of bags, but the flat one where you pull the bag off. I also hadn't read the rules/regulations/athletes' instructions. So I'm trying to read the packet to figure out what to do, but instead of reading the instructions, I get in this loop of reading the list of athletes' names that was included in the packet and cross-referencing the list with some other list that suddenly appeared in my hand (this is totally the work part). And I couldn't read the instructions until I finished.

Then I woke up. Feeling very very frantic.

Then I went to the Y and swam 2700 yards in 70 minutes to get out of the dream. Woot.

Which, btw, this week is my first week wearing a swim cap. Not my favorite. Not my favorite to get on (real struggle with the long hair, which I braid first). Not my favorite over my ears (makes funny noises, allows a little water in, then hurts eventually). Not my favorite feeling (is there an oven around my head? Oh, no, it's my swim cap! Grr.). But my hair loves it, and I know I have to get used to it. Surely it'll get better.

3 Per Lane = SUCK

-ing air, that is. In addition to being a sucky experience.

Both Monday and Tuesday, the pool was relatively uncrowded. To the extent that I had my own lane for part of Monday and all of Tuesday. I actually wondered this morning as I was driving in if the dearth in the early part of the week would make for a crowded Wednesday, but I had no idea how bad it would be! No.Idea.

When I arrived at the pool after biking 6 miles on the stationary, there was a class going on in the "slow" lane, meaning that lap swimmers couldn't use it. The middle two "fast" lanes had two people and three people, and the "intermediate" lane had two swimmers. Now, I know when you go over two, you have to circle. And I know then you're limited by your slowest swimmer. And I knew because of that that there was no way in hell I was approaching a "fast" lane. I'm slow, people, especially compared to these people.

So I go up to the intermediate lane where my buddy and a fast lady were swimming. She asked if I wanted to swim. I said yeah. She said that she thought the class would be over soon. Not so much: 20 more minutes. She asked if I wanted to circle in their lane. I said yes. She told me my buddy was slow. I shrugged. (What did she think, that I'd go away or wait forever until someone left?? Hells no!) So I got in and started swimming. In circles. With a really fast lady, and my "slow" buddy who is really only milliseconds slower than I. Looking back on it, she is really the one who should have moved up a lane. But she was nice enough. She recommended that I get a swim cap to save my hair. I agree. She told me silicone, not latex. I'll remember that.

But swimming with 3 is no fun!! It was probably the farthest I've ever gone without a rest, maybe 500 yards, which is good. But the reason, feeling like I was being chased and judged, wasn't so good. And the effects, me sucking air, also not so good. At one point the fast lanes were actually up to 4 people each when the class finally let out. Then a few minutes later, a spot opened up and the lady moved up a lane. And then I could relax.

But diiiiiiizang, people, quit skipping the gym on Monday and Tuesday only to (literally) flood it on Wednesday. Then no one has any fun.

First Week Swimming

New job has started (as evidenced by the slowdown in posts), which means membership at the Y has started, which means I have access to a pool in the mornings now. I am choosing to make use of it.

Monday: got downtown, spent half an hour getting a locker rented (they really could develop a better process for this!), then went for my first swim. I picked the only lane with just one guy in it. His name is Jack, and he was waaaaaaay nice to me. Thank goodness.

500+ yards (I lost count) in 30 minutes.

Tuesday: decided to swim for half an hour, then bike for whatever time I had left. Remembered my locker combo (yay me!). There was an open lane in the pool when I got down there, so I went to it and got in. Then a weird thing happened. This lady walked up and said hi to the guy one lane over. He said something about not being able to save her lane. There were 2 in his lane so I asked her if she wanted to split. She said yes, I started swimming, but she never got in. I swam my half hour and got out. As I was toweling off before going into the locker room everyone in the pool stopped swimming and offered that lady my lane, which she got in. WTF?? She could have had it by herself in the beginning if someone else wanted me in their lane. I don't give a crap which lane I'm in - I just want to avoid the cowing feeling of akwardness that plagues me whenever I have to ask someone to get into their lane. Anyways, this really pissed me off and made me feel like an outsider who is an ass for breaking unwritten social rules. Even though there was no other way I'd have acted in retrospect - they just didn't give me enough information.

Anyways - 1000 yards in 30 minutes.

Wednesday: hopped into a lane with a really good swimmer, unfortunately. Even though we were splitting, so I didn't have to worry about slowing him down, I worried anyways. I finally figured it out that if I started swimming off the wall right after he did, then he'd be only about 40 feet behind me when I got back to that wall - basically he was swimming 4 lengths of the pool to my 2. I would wait for him to hit the wall, then follow him out again. This wasn't ideal, but it was the most comfortable I got.

1100 yards in 30 minutes.

Thursday: my last day swimming for the week since I won't work Fridays in this job either. I wanted to go "long". Again, glory of glories, there was an open lane. My buddy Jack from Monday warned me that the lane on the end was tough because the water feeds in there, creating a current. He offered me to split his lane, but I told him I actually wanted to try staying in the hard lane for a good workout. Around the middle I got to talking to him and asked him about the paddles he was using, so he let me try them - said they're a better upper body workout. I felt it, but not too badly - does this mean I'm doing something wrong with my regular stroke? Only swam 100 yards in them, because I felt akward with them more than anything. The current was tough, especially for the last 500 yards or so. (Of course, I'm rocketing through the water like a real swimmer on the laps with it!!)

1600 yards in 45 minutes.

I'm exhausted. I ran before the swimming on Monday and Wednesday, 4 miles each day. Stationary biked on Tuesday before the swim. Core every evening. Going to bike again tonight, then maybe Tae Bo for fun tomorrow, long run on Saturday and then well-deserved off day on Sunday - I can't wait!!!

Dead Legs in the Morning

In my mind, I was going for a 40 minute run this morning. Sure, my quads were still a little tight yesterday from my most awesome 5K on Monday, and I probably didn't help that by riding my bicicleta (pronounce: bee-chee-clay-tuh) last night for 40 minutes, but whatareyagonnado?

You're gonna blow up on your morning run, that's what. 2.25 miles in 25 minutes. Let's call it a "recovery run". I really probably could have pushed it out to at least 30 minutes, but my quads were so tight I just decided to throw it in. I finished up with 20 minutes of Tae Bo at home. It was so hot and humid outside this morning that my door handle felt wet when I closed the door behind me on the way out. When I arrived home, my 75 degree house felt about 60 degrees. I guess that's one way to convince yourself that 75 is really cool. Seriously, what happened to that "coolness" of last week's mornings??

Since I bombed this morning, I'll brag on something from this weekend that I didn't post about. On Sunday I swam a mile. For the first time. Go me! I'm not going to tell how long it took. Suffice to say that it took a long time, but that I'm confident that I could actually do it faster if I didn't tool around so much in the pool. Oh, yeah, and if I got my endurance in the pool up to par. In bad news, the pool hours are down to weekends only. I'm really going to miss it... trying to look into other options for the winter, but not sure I can justify the expense.

Note to self: Hypothetically, let's say you wake up at 3:35 am on a 4:25 am alarm day needing to pee. You have two choices: ignore it and try to go back to sleep or get up and pee and try to go back to sleep. Now, option one may *seem* the better option because you are more likely to go back to sleep if you haven't just gotten up and walked around. However, since that means you are going to spend the next 50 minutes in a fitful sleep dreaming about peeing you might as well just get up and get it over with. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

I'm Feeling... Flat

Last night when we arrived at the swimming pool, there was a man in the lap lane. A big man. Swimming really slow. Breast stroke. Really really slow. Like he looked like the pool was filled with gel instead of water. I wondered if that could even really be considered swimming laps. We couldn't share the lane with him because we were swimming like twice his speed (and we are slow!!). So I climb into the next (unprotected from run rats by a floating line) lane and proceed with my swim. 42 laps for just over 1000 yards in about 35 minutes. Preston told me that he actually heard Big Slow Breast Stroker (BSBS) admonish some kids to get out of the lap lane!!

Anyways, I felt pretty good in the pool. I only swam 2 laps of breast stroke to warm up, after that it was all freestyle! I was starting to feel a little faster and more efficient, but I'm still having to pause every second lap or so to catch my breath.

This morning called for a short run on OHR: 30 minutes, which I would have increased to 36 if I was feeling good. (Yes, it messes up the order of the days, but it also makes it much less likely that I'll skip the longer runs on the weekend!) But there was lightening flashing outside at 4:20 when I woke up. I turned on the radar and saw a gi-normous red blob hovering over our area and decided to tae bo instead.

The irony? The lightening continued at least until 6, when I left, but it never rained. I guess I could have run after all.

Since I figured it was raining somewhere in Houston, and rain always means that some moron has smashed themselves into smithereens on the highway, I decided to leave a bit earlier than normal for my morning commute. I get all my crap into the Menace and set out. Backing out of the driveway: Wait? What's that noise? Hrm... that's new. I'll try speeding up a little as I go down the street and see if that stops it. No... it seems to be getting worse. I think I have a flat tire. Damn, it is a good thing I kept the Mustang! I turn around and drive the 100 yards home, and sure enough, the back right rear tire is flat. I move all my gear over into the 'Stang feeling totally stressed out: hands shaking, talking to myself, etc. I finally get ready to go and continue to feel twitchy because I haven't been in the Mustang in a few weeks and *everything* is in a different location than in the Menace, making me feel like a total moron.

Once I got re-acquainted with my old girl, though, this was the best commute I've had in a loooong time. I was going 70 mph or over allllll the way into work. Until I got to the smushed up idiot. So revise that to *almost* alll the way into work. It was beautiful. I miss my Mustang.

Cleanest Sinuses South of the Mason-Dixon Line

Soooo... I went for a swim last night. I wanted to do tons of laps and all, but I was feeling all slow in the water, so I spent some of my time trying to remember how to do flip turns.

Now I learned to flip turn when I was like 8 and totally fearless. Let's just say that the almost 20 years older me is a total chicken. So there I am, standing at the deep end of the lane, with Preston next to me promising that he'll stick his arm between me and the wall if I get too close while flipping, and I'm freaked out. I do my first flip from a standstill and come nowhere near the wall - when I stick my feet out to push off I just barely reach it. And of course water goes far enough up my nose to make its acquaintance with my brain. So I inch closer and try again, blowing out my nose this time. Same story. Preston has two things to say: "Why don't you blow out your nose?" (Unsaid, but he meant to add "Moron") and "You keep backing up while you're turning". Fine. I get a swimming start at the next turn and actually execute it rather well, albeit with additional water up the nose. How is it getting up there when I'm blowing out while I'm flipping????

Anyways, with a little additional practice and sufficient swimming endurance to not want to come up for air at the end of each lap, I'll try to start adding flip turns in. Go me.

Even though I felt slow, my fastest lap was still faster than last week's. Go me. I think I just need to concentrate on keeping my head down and getting the laps in. I'll work on that. I'd like to swim at least twice next week. I'll work on that too.

We're heading down to G-town either tonight or tomorrow. Looking forward to getting at least one, but hopefully two runs in on the Seawall this weekend. Would love to try to get an ocean swim in, parallel to the beach, of course, but not sure I'm ready for that!! Maybe I could try and have Preston walk along on the beach or in waist deep water with me... ooooo or he could put on fins and just fin on his back beside me!! (Don't you love me drafting my husband on my blog and him not even knowing it!) Or maybe I could get my runs in and just relax in the water.

Happy weekend!