A lot can happen in 6 months!

You'll notice that it's been a while since I posted...6 months, to be exact! It seems that committing to triathlon training, working full time with a heinous commute while trying to keep your marriage intact and your kids familiar with who you are leaves little time for things like blogging. Who knew?

So what have I been up to? Well, I really got into the tri training. The Y Triathlon team that I trained with (I like to think of them as the YTribe) grew into a group of really wonderful friends. Bonds were built and friendships formed, and along the way, my inner athlete made her way to the surface.

A typical week's training consisted of 5 days of workouts, and 2 'rest days'. Weekend workouts started at 7:00 a.m. and I would get home somewhere between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., depending on what we did. During the week, we'd meet at 7 or 8 and run, bike or swim. Weekends were long run days, and on Sundays, we'd do a brick workout, and later on in the season would do some open water swimming. Now that I'm out of the routine, it's hard for me to figure out how I fit it all in! I am incredibly lucky that my husband is so supportive of me; I couldn't have done it without him, and I'm just talking about childcare! At no point did he ever say "Are you sure you can do this?" He was behind me all the way, and I know how lucky I am in that regard.

I entered several 5k races during the summer; I figured it was good practice since I was running a lot anyway! I ran the Run of the Mill, the Seafair Torchlight Run (my favorite run - along the parade route!) and the Aflac Iron Girl 5k (another great race; looking forward to doing that with my Mom next year). I also, in late June, did the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I walked more than ran, but had a blast and have already registered for next year's race - and I'll be running it this time.

So - THE triathlon. Actually, I competed in three! I attended a seminar at Greg's Cycle in July, and met the amazing Sally Edwards (she's the force behind the Danskin triathlon series) and was inspired to register for the Trek Women's Triathlon - it's the same course as the Danskin, only a month later. In between the two, I rode the bike leg of the Finish Strong triathlon, which was the target race for the YTribe. It was the week after the Danskin and I didn't want to do the full race, but was lucky enough to be on a team with Michael (run) and Steve (swim) so we all got to participate with the rest of the group, which was awesome.

The Danskin was an amazing experience and I will never forget it; likewise, the Trek. It's been said that the woman who finished a triathlon is not the same woman who started it; I have to agree, and will blog about both races later. (I promise it won't take six months!)

And just because I'm a glutton for punishment, I agreed to run the Pineapple Classic 5k obstacle course race; that was today and I'm still recovering from it! Had a blast but lesson learned: deconditioning happens. So I need to get off my butt and back out on the road. The road ahead is calling my name...next up? CF Stair Climb, I think. The Jingle Bell Dash, for sure. And then, who knows? But my athlete is out and I'm going to keep her here, because I think she's a pretty kick-ass woman. She may not be the fastest but she's enjoying the ride.

Bike Workout

Wednesday = Bike day! 4 of us met for a ride from the Y, on a crisp spring evening that was remarkbly clear, considering the deluge we suffered through earlier in the day. I was glad for my new bike gloves, though - it was cold!

Frustration of the day: my feet slip off the pedals. I need toe clips, or something. This is an expensive hobby.

Today's Stats:

Route: Tri Training Bike
Activity: Cycle
Google Maps URL: http://j.mp/9Mv4wK
Started: May 5, 2010 7:09:05 PM
Ride Time: 42:24
Distance: 8.40 miles
Average: 11.89 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 22.56 miles/hr (this was a sprint, downhill, with a tailwind!)
Climb: 135 feet
Calories: 576

Man, I love my geeky stats!

Cheshiahud Run

Tuesday = run day. I decided to take advantage of my new work 'hood and run during my lunch hour. As an added bonus, that meant that I could run alone, without having to chat while sweating like a stuck pig, and I could also enjoy a flat run, while avoiding the hilly run the Ytri guys take us on!

The weather was dry, overcast and warm. I changed clothes, (00h, fancy new locker room, thanks BigCompany!) fired up the Walkmeter on my iPhone, and headed out. Workout goal: 35 minute run. Turns out that a trail has been recently completed going all the way around Lake Union. It's called the Cheshiahud Loop Trail, named after a Duwamish Native American Chief who led a village located on the lake. I headed south, past, the float planes, Zymogenetics and I Love Sushi. Felt good, enjoyed the path, and the scenery. I set a goal to run for 15 minutes, then turn around and head back. I was pacing pretty well, and my first mile split was 12:33 - well above my normal pace! I reached Westlake Avenue, and turned around, walked for a bit to recover and then started running again. I split the rest of the workout between walking and running, ending up with a distance of 2.51 miles in 34.46. Great way to get a workout in, and made the rest of the day go by quickly!

I'm looking forward to more runs on the loop, and will bring my bike and ride the whole trail; that will be fun.

She's a BRICK...

I had my first weekend workouts this weekend. Saturday was a 30 minute run, and Sunday was the first "Brick" workout.

 

Saturday my alarm went off early and I managed to get dressed, suck down some coffee and get to the Y to meet the team for a 30 minute run. Due to conflicts with race schedules, Sharon, the program director, coached the run. Sharon is pretty kick-ass; she's one of those people who loves to exercise and looks good doing it. She coaches at the Y as well as running her own run coaching business. Needless to say, I was a little intimidated knowing that she was leading the run! So off we went, following the same route as Tuesday. I was bringing up the rear and doing ok, and then Sharon dropped back to run with me. Her natural "slow" pace is probably my top speed and I was working to keep up. But she kept encouraging me and before I knew it we'd reached the halfway point. The run back was a little more challenging, so I walked more than I ran, but my overall speed did pick up. I usually run about a 13:30 (and I'm using the term "run" loosely) but the first mile I did with Sharon was 11:13! Yikes!  One thing I learned is that I really need to be diligent about cooling down - that 5 minute cool down walk makes a big difference in how I feel later. I was a little wobbly after the run. It could be lack of fuel, though! It's hard to get up, eat and then run.

 

If you're a Facebook friend, you'll see that when I'm running, I'm using an app called "Walkmeter" to post updates on Facebook. This app is so cool! It will actually transcribe your comments and read them to me so keep those encouraging words coming! Facebook + iPhone = WIN.

 

So on to Sunday. The dreaded brick workout.

 

Up again early, this time I ate my Wheaties (actually, Cheerios, but close) and then to the Y and in the water. Brooke (swim coach) outlined our workout - 50 yard warm up, 50 yard crawl, 50 yard kick, 50 yard arms only, then 5 x 100 yard crawl with 60 seconds rest. GULP. I started the first 50 and realized about halfway through it that I wasn't working as hard as I was at the first workout; I was actually applying some of the principles Brooke told us about!  I actually enjoyed the swim, believe it or not. I worked hard, and didn't get through it all in the time allotted but it's pretty cool that I can see some improvement already. It's a good thing because I am most concerned about the swim leg of the race. But I have 3 months to go so I should be good to go by August.

 

Anyway, on to the second leg. Out of the pool, quick shower, dressed and out to the cold and raining morning for the bike leg. The goal was a 30 minute bike ride and I was happy to pedal around the neighborhood, feeling good...until my bike decided to act up. Argh! It kept popping out of gear. Coach Doug helped me get the gears set enough to finish the ride but it did delay me so I was, once again, the slow poke back to the start. Darn it!  Oh well, my legs felt good afterwards, and while I was tired, I wasn't DEAD.I guess that means I didn't work hard enough!

 

Then I dropped my bike off at Bicycles West for a tune-up. I'll pick it up after work today.

 

On a related note I just registered for the Seafair Torchlight 5K race / walk. My husband and I talked about doing it with the kids in the stroller. It's 2 weeks before the Danskin so it'll give me a good idea of where I stand with run training. Should be fun!

Splish Splash

It was time to face the truth: tonight was the first swim session. Agh. I've been dreading this. It's been years since I swam 'on purpose' and did more than splash around with floaties! But I had to start somewhere; it's 16 weeks or so until the race, and I need to get into condition to swim 1/2 mile, in a lake, with fish and seaweed and other unknown aquatic life.

Luckily, the Y's pool was sparkling clean, no fish or seaweed to be seen! Into the water I went, and splish splash, I was swimming! Hurray! For about 5 strokes and then all of a sudden I realized, whoa, this is tough! I made it to the end of the pool, caught my breath, and then back I went. My form is not great, but Brook, the coach, gave me some good pointers. After that warmup drill, we did 25 yards with kickboards, and then 25 yards with a float between our legs, so we could focus on our strokes. I was really fatiguing at this point, so I took a breather while chatting with the other team members. Next up was a 50 yard drill, and I have lots of opportunity for improvement on that distance, if you know what I mean!

I did another 50 yards breaststroke and then called it a night. A quick 'cool down' in the hot tub, and then home to wind down. I'm TIRED. Swimming is a full-body workout and I know that I'll sleep well tonight - it's hard to believe that in 4 months I'll be swimming...then biking...and then running. All on the same day, on purpose!

Tomorrow is a rest day, and then Saturday is a run day, and Sunday is a "brick" workout; that's two sports back to back. In this case, a swim, followed by a run. Guess I should rest up!

Personal Best

Yesterday was the first 'official' team workout - a 30 minute walk / run. I was a little nervous as I headed to the Y, and was happy to see that there were 6 members of the team there, as well as two of the coaches that I met at the 'meet and greet' last Sunday. I was worried about slowing the team down, because I could tell that I was the most out of shape person there! (Wait, I'm in shape, round's a shape, right?) The coaches told us the plan - the goal of the workout was to try to figure out where we were on the running spectrum and not to worry about speed at this time. We'd follow an 'out-and-back' route along familar Puget Park Drive. I've walked and run along this road before so I thought ok, let's go! So off we went.

The group pretty quickly broke up into two groups - the speedy group, led by the amazing Ron (a more 'advanced' in age marathon runner who reminds me of my Dad) and Mike, a great runner who was tasked with bringing up the rear - with me! So my friend Deborah and I were jogging along, doing ok, running uphill, me breathing hard, Deb seeming to do ok and Mike was chatting away - do you know how hard it is to answer questions when you're gasping for breath? - and before you knew it, 10 minutes had gone by! I needed a break at that point and walked for a few minutes before starting up again. We got to the halfway point, and turned around and my legs were getting heavy but I pushed on. Mike was pacing me and giving me pointers and encouragement and it worked. Pretty soon we were very close to the Y - the finish line, or so I thought - but no, we had to run for 30 minutes. So Mike lead us past the entrance, down to the corner, back up the parking lot and then, finally - we were done! Yay!

The team regrouped and Ron and Mike started reviewing the stats on their heart rate monitor watches. My group (ie Deborah and I) did 2.38 miles (!!!) at about a 13 minute per mile pace. Not record breaking, but pretty darn good for not having done much serious training in the last 6 weeks or so. I felt pretty good!

While we were stretching, the subject of competetivness came up; I brought up a fear of mine, that I would be dragging the team down with my (lack of) speed. I was reassured that this is not a competive sport - the goal is to see what your body can do, and then try to beat your personal best. I thought, well, I don't HAVE a personal best yet...but I will after the race! So that's my goal, to establish my personal best, in more ways than one, at the Danskin Triathlon this year.

Today's workout: 30 minute bike ride. I'm missing this one, and as soon as I figure out how to get my bike downtown, will most likely do my bike riding at lunch time around Lake Union.

So what the heck is a triathlon, anyway?

A triathlon is a multi-sport endurance event consisting of swimming, cycling and running. Triathletes compete for fastest overall course completion time, including timed "transitions" between the individual swim, bike, and run components.

Triathlon races vary in distance. According to the International Triathlon Union, and USA Triathlon, the main international race distances are Sprint distance (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run), Intermediate distance, known as Olympic distance (1.5 km swim, 40 km ride, 10 km run), the Long Course (1.9 km swim, 90 km ride, 21.1 km run), and Ultra Distance aka Ironman (3.8 km swim, 180 km ride, and a marathon: 42.2 km run).

Since I'm only SORT of a glutton for punishment, I've opted for a well-known women's only sprint triathlon: The Danskin. http://www.danskintriathlon.net/seattle.html - 1/2mi swim, 12mi bike, and 3.1mi run. August 15th, y'all, mark your calendars.

First team training run tonight; more on the team later.

Today's training: 30 minute run/walk