May started off really strong. I raced to a new, BIG PR, and felt high about my training for the next week or so. By the end of the month, though, I was unmotivated, missed lots of workouts, and was ready to be done. Hopefully I can get back on the wagon and stay pumped up for another three months.
The most exciting thing to happen in May? I passed 1000 miles for the year of bike riding. :)
Swim = 18,050 meters
Bike = 208.03 miles
Run = 43.42 miles
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday Thoughts
Confession: I LOVE to sing! I love to sing at the top of my lungs in the car, in the shower, anytime, anywhere. And Dave? Well, he usually sings right along with me. :) My guilty pleasure song is The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men."
What's your guilty pleasure?
What's your guilty pleasure?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A week in review
Last week was my biggest week of training, thus far, and wouldn't you know it rained 5 out of 7 days. I had to check the news just to make sure it wasn't the week of the Memorial Tournament. (For those of you not local, during the Memorial Tournament it ALWAYS rains.) I tried to plan my long workouts for the week so that I would avoid the rain. That didn't happen. Dave and I did our long run starting in the pouring rain. And since we have to do nothing but hills, our local metropark provided a very muddy setting.
My favorite part of the run was towards the end when a man in a bird watching group threw a fit like a child when I scared off the bird he was looking for. Seriously? There is a trail that runners are not allowed on because it's specifically for bird watching! Go there!! Plus, you're in Central Ohio. What are you seeing? A robin?
I was able to get in my long bike ride in the HOT, blazing sun. My workout wasn't all that complicated with a long warmup and cool down and 4 X 15 minute stuff in the middle. Of course, though, I made it way more complicated as I programmed my watch as 4 X 45 minutes in zone 3 plus another 15 minutes after each interval. Dave helped me find a route for these long intervals and I wrote them down to remember the turns.
As I'm part of the way through my first interval, I think a little bit more about it. Four X 45 minutes plus another 15 minutes equals four hours itself, which was the total of the ride. I've screwed up. After my first interval I stop at my parents' house to use the restroom, check my email and sure enough, I've majorly screwed up the workout. I then try to do the 15 minute intervals but I've got to figure out a new route. I'm a little off, but it still works out. As I head back to start another interval, I approach a 4-way stop where I came to the stop sign first and had right-away. But instead of stopping fully since what a pain in the butt with clip-in pedals, I slow down nearly to a stop and then creep through the intersection. A man on a motorcycle at one of the other stop signs yells at me, "You're supposed to stop." I scream back, "I know." It's not like I was in danger and I wasn't hurting him. What the heck was his problem? At this point I was tired, HOT, and totally rattled by everything that has happened. I stop again at my parents' house and call Dave. I'm done and ready to go home. He comes rolling up on his bike and talks to me for a bit while I lose my cool and start crying. He gets me back on my bike and we head for home, except he still has more riding to do so he asks me to just do a little more. I do and now I'm feeling good. So I tell him I'm going to do one more interval and then finish up the super-long cool down portion of my ride. I finish the 4 hours right around 62 miles.
We're not finished yet, though. I had a 1/2 hour run off the bike. I fill my water bottle, put on my hat and shoes, and head back out. And...my legs have said enough. I'm just toast. I try to find a rhythm, but nothing's happening. I made it nearly a mile and stopped.
Of course this week it's not supposed to rain at all. Damn you, Central Ohio!
My favorite part of the run was towards the end when a man in a bird watching group threw a fit like a child when I scared off the bird he was looking for. Seriously? There is a trail that runners are not allowed on because it's specifically for bird watching! Go there!! Plus, you're in Central Ohio. What are you seeing? A robin?
I was able to get in my long bike ride in the HOT, blazing sun. My workout wasn't all that complicated with a long warmup and cool down and 4 X 15 minute stuff in the middle. Of course, though, I made it way more complicated as I programmed my watch as 4 X 45 minutes in zone 3 plus another 15 minutes after each interval. Dave helped me find a route for these long intervals and I wrote them down to remember the turns.
As I'm part of the way through my first interval, I think a little bit more about it. Four X 45 minutes plus another 15 minutes equals four hours itself, which was the total of the ride. I've screwed up. After my first interval I stop at my parents' house to use the restroom, check my email and sure enough, I've majorly screwed up the workout. I then try to do the 15 minute intervals but I've got to figure out a new route. I'm a little off, but it still works out. As I head back to start another interval, I approach a 4-way stop where I came to the stop sign first and had right-away. But instead of stopping fully since what a pain in the butt with clip-in pedals, I slow down nearly to a stop and then creep through the intersection. A man on a motorcycle at one of the other stop signs yells at me, "You're supposed to stop." I scream back, "I know." It's not like I was in danger and I wasn't hurting him. What the heck was his problem? At this point I was tired, HOT, and totally rattled by everything that has happened. I stop again at my parents' house and call Dave. I'm done and ready to go home. He comes rolling up on his bike and talks to me for a bit while I lose my cool and start crying. He gets me back on my bike and we head for home, except he still has more riding to do so he asks me to just do a little more. I do and now I'm feeling good. So I tell him I'm going to do one more interval and then finish up the super-long cool down portion of my ride. I finish the 4 hours right around 62 miles.
We're not finished yet, though. I had a 1/2 hour run off the bike. I fill my water bottle, put on my hat and shoes, and head back out. And...my legs have said enough. I'm just toast. I try to find a rhythm, but nothing's happening. I made it nearly a mile and stopped.
Of course this week it's not supposed to rain at all. Damn you, Central Ohio!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Foto Friday
I made the OSU women's varsity crew team as a coxswain because the coaches said I could steer the straightest line. You would think that would translate into sighting for swimming. What do you think? :)
Now, I had the watch on my wrist, it kept losing the signal, and I didn't smooth this all. But, seriously funny!
Now, I had the watch on my wrist, it kept losing the signal, and I didn't smooth this all. But, seriously funny!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Thursday Thoughts
The people who know me in real life would never describe me as "mild mannered." To say I'm high-strung is a drastic understatement. Right now I'm under a doctor's care to settle down and control the probable ulcer I have. Yeah, I'm that high strung. As Ironman training goes on, I'm starting to lose it. My temper will flare at anything and everything. I'm likely to make a scene or maybe even get arrested for assault. Okay, not really. But I will cuss at you if you're being a dingbat in the swimming pool.
So, what gets you all fired up?
So, what gets you all fired up?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
New Found Confidence
I've had a love/hate relationship with triathlon for the last 5+ years. I want to love it. I really want to do it. I want to be good at it. But with every race I've done I haven't felt satisfied and always give up on it. After a very success 2009, I decided to give triathlon another try. Why? I don't know. And even worse, I put HUGE races on the schedule and PAID FOR THEM. Which totally means I HAVE to do them. Darn it!
The previous olympic duathlon and triathlon I tried, I absolutely hated. HATED! But, I really enjoyed my experience at Rev3 and now I'm staring at triathlon with a whole new outlook. I'm excited to be racing again in just a few weeks. I'm seeing my workouts as challenges instead of dreadful hours.
Maybe I'll look at it differently after Kansas in a few weeks. For right now, I'm going to ride the high of my new found confidence.
The previous olympic duathlon and triathlon I tried, I absolutely hated. HATED! But, I really enjoyed my experience at Rev3 and now I'm staring at triathlon with a whole new outlook. I'm excited to be racing again in just a few weeks. I'm seeing my workouts as challenges instead of dreadful hours.
Maybe I'll look at it differently after Kansas in a few weeks. For right now, I'm going to ride the high of my new found confidence.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Foto Friday
I found the official pictures from the triathlon last weekend. And some of them are not so pretty. But, I'm putting them out there anyway because why not? Enjoy! (I "borrowed" these and they were thumbnails so the quality is not so good.)
This look says, "woah, I did awesome on my swim so I better run hard because I have a great time going."
Looking good starting off on the bike.
This looks says, "damn, those downhills are SCARY!!!"
Obviously, I am not working hard enough on the bike. :)
Chuck and I. He's looking happy to finished. I look like I'm gonna hurl.
Finished! Looks like I won the mirror ball trophy from "Dancing with the Stars!"
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Rev3 Knoxville Olympic Triathlon 2010
When I woke up Sunday morning before the race, I was already writing the blog post in my head about how much triathlon was not for me and that I was ready to either return to running or ready to move on with my life.
You see, it started Saturday morning with the team meet-up. I'm quite intimidated by my teammates. They are studs! They are wearing their kits; my kit is wearing me. I keep quiet and just absorb the moment. Where they rock in triathlon, I totally rock jumping pictures. :)
After some mandatory team commitments, Dave, Rachelle, and I headed down to the river to get in a practice swim. Although I swim decently, open water swims are my nemesis. Being in the deep water scares me. And this practice swim was no different. The temperature was just cold enough to take my breath away and seeing the bridges ahead that I would have to swim under and bike over were FREAKIN' ME OUT!!! I had to stop several times to calm down.
Then Dave and I went out and drove the bike course. It was hilly but didn't seem to scare me as much as maybe it should have. Finally we checked in our bikes and rested the remainder of the day.
Sunday morning I was nervous, but I felt better once I began to set up transition.
Rachelle, Dave, and I headed down to the water and got ready for our swim. Dave started 5 minutes before us and then it was our turn. I got in the water, got comfortable, found my position (slightly back and to the far left), and was ready to go. The first part of the swim was rough. I had trouble finding my position and often found myself stopping for a stroke, letting people get out of my way, and then beginning again. Once I made the turn around it was smooth sailing. I found a good rhythm and cruised to the finish. After rolling like a seal onto the dock (seriously funny--wish there was a picture), I peeled off the top part of my wetsuit to see my watch say 24:XX. Holy sh!t! I was flying! My goal was to go 30 or better and I accomplished that. The course may have been short; the current may have been strong; anyway, I'm taking it.
Total swim time - 25:41 (1:42/100m pace)
We don't need to talk about transitions. There is room for improvement. :)
I felt good on the bike, surprisingly. I kept the cadence high, spun up the hills (passing A LOT of people--it's awesome to be a featherweight), and flew down the hills. Seriously, I hit 30 mph at one point. Scary!!! I kept within myself and didn't worry about pace or that I was all alone by the end. I was doing what I could do and that was enough. The bike was one mile longer than advertised so my pace wasn't really what was stated. I'm not sure what I could have done differently to be faster, but Coach and I have been talking about ways to improve.
Total bike time - 1:33:37 (15.9 mph, actual pace - 16.5 mph)
When I started the run my feet were blocks of ice. It was COLD on that bike. I could barely feel my feet when I started the run. I took the first mile conservatively right around an 8:00 pace. Then in that second mile it felt like there was something stabbing me in both my shoes. What was inside my shoes? I stopped and took off both my shoes to find out what the problem was only to discover it was actually the feeling returning to my feet. Pins and needles. Even with that break, I still cruised the second mile right around a 8:00 pace. After that I was flying. My pace was around 7:30s and I was feeling great. At one point I passed a girl who said, "damn, girl! You're flying." Goal achieved.
After the turn around I started to hear someone breathing heavily behind me. I turned around and he said to me, "I don't have the energy to pass you." But, he did come beside me and talked to me for the last mile and a half. His name was Chuck and he was such a gentleman. When we arrived at the finish he told me to go ahead of him. He said I had paced him and he wanted to show his appreciation by letting me finish first. Super sweet! Thanks Chuck!
You see, it started Saturday morning with the team meet-up. I'm quite intimidated by my teammates. They are studs! They are wearing their kits; my kit is wearing me. I keep quiet and just absorb the moment. Where they rock in triathlon, I totally rock jumping pictures. :)
Photo by Eric Willis
After some mandatory team commitments, Dave, Rachelle, and I headed down to the river to get in a practice swim. Although I swim decently, open water swims are my nemesis. Being in the deep water scares me. And this practice swim was no different. The temperature was just cold enough to take my breath away and seeing the bridges ahead that I would have to swim under and bike over were FREAKIN' ME OUT!!! I had to stop several times to calm down.
Thanks Rachelle for taking this picture. Look at that bridge behind us!!!
Then Dave and I went out and drove the bike course. It was hilly but didn't seem to scare me as much as maybe it should have. Finally we checked in our bikes and rested the remainder of the day.
Sunday morning I was nervous, but I felt better once I began to set up transition.
Photo by Eric Willis
Rachelle, Dave, and I headed down to the water and got ready for our swim. Dave started 5 minutes before us and then it was our turn. I got in the water, got comfortable, found my position (slightly back and to the far left), and was ready to go. The first part of the swim was rough. I had trouble finding my position and often found myself stopping for a stroke, letting people get out of my way, and then beginning again. Once I made the turn around it was smooth sailing. I found a good rhythm and cruised to the finish. After rolling like a seal onto the dock (seriously funny--wish there was a picture), I peeled off the top part of my wetsuit to see my watch say 24:XX. Holy sh!t! I was flying! My goal was to go 30 or better and I accomplished that. The course may have been short; the current may have been strong; anyway, I'm taking it.
Total swim time - 25:41 (1:42/100m pace)
We don't need to talk about transitions. There is room for improvement. :)
I felt good on the bike, surprisingly. I kept the cadence high, spun up the hills (passing A LOT of people--it's awesome to be a featherweight), and flew down the hills. Seriously, I hit 30 mph at one point. Scary!!! I kept within myself and didn't worry about pace or that I was all alone by the end. I was doing what I could do and that was enough. The bike was one mile longer than advertised so my pace wasn't really what was stated. I'm not sure what I could have done differently to be faster, but Coach and I have been talking about ways to improve.
Photo by Eric Willis
Photo by Eric Willis
And now all alone at the end of the bike.
Total bike time - 1:33:37 (15.9 mph, actual pace - 16.5 mph)
When I started the run my feet were blocks of ice. It was COLD on that bike. I could barely feel my feet when I started the run. I took the first mile conservatively right around an 8:00 pace. Then in that second mile it felt like there was something stabbing me in both my shoes. What was inside my shoes? I stopped and took off both my shoes to find out what the problem was only to discover it was actually the feeling returning to my feet. Pins and needles. Even with that break, I still cruised the second mile right around a 8:00 pace. After that I was flying. My pace was around 7:30s and I was feeling great. At one point I passed a girl who said, "damn, girl! You're flying." Goal achieved.
Photo by Eric Willis
After the turn around I started to hear someone breathing heavily behind me. I turned around and he said to me, "I don't have the energy to pass you." But, he did come beside me and talked to me for the last mile and a half. His name was Chuck and he was such a gentleman. When we arrived at the finish he told me to go ahead of him. He said I had paced him and he wanted to show his appreciation by letting me finish first. Super sweet! Thanks Chuck!
Total run time - 48:25 (7:49 pace)
Total time - 2:53:43
I set a new PR by about 17 minutes and the course was one mile longer. Of course, this is only my second Olympic triathlon. Overall, I'm very happy with the way I performed. I kept my mind in check which helped my body to perform the way it was supposed to. Sure, I may have been one of the slowest Team Trakkers members, but I faced my demons head on and finished confidently. I'm not quite ready to give up triathlon yet. :)
Some thoughts about the race itself...
- Knoxville was a fantastic host city. Dave and I love going to races where we can walk or take public transit and can be part of the event itself. We found everything to be close by and convenient. The people were friendly, the food fantastic, and the city welcoming.
- Although there were some glitches with the Trakkers devices themselves, mine worked for the race and looks like my race played out well online.
- For once I was happy I didn't freak out in the water, but I would have liked to have seen more patrol on the water. Even if I wanted/needed to hang off a surf board or kayak, I didn't see many around.
- I would have liked to know where the transition ins and outs were and where the timing mats were for the transitions. I just clicked my watch randomly in and out.
- Rev3 still has some bumps to work through as they progress as a company, but for a first time race using a new timing system and hosting a big event, I though they did a good job. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing them again in Cedar Point. (Dave's doing it; not me).
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Track Me LIVE!!!
Tomorrow I'll be racing in the Rev3 Olympic Triathlon in Knoxville, TN. I've been through the hoopla today, swam in the river, drove the bike course, and got the bike checked in. I'm as ready as I'm going to be.
My race starts at 8:15am EST and you can track me LIVE on the Trakkers website. Follow this link, click on Rev3 Knoxville Olympic, highlight me (and my teammates) and then hit go. The tracking device will not be worn in the water, but will be available in real time once I am on the bike. I will not be wearing my heart rate monitor so you won't be able to get that data.
See you (online) tomorrow morning!
My race starts at 8:15am EST and you can track me LIVE on the Trakkers website. Follow this link, click on Rev3 Knoxville Olympic, highlight me (and my teammates) and then hit go. The tracking device will not be worn in the water, but will be available in real time once I am on the bike. I will not be wearing my heart rate monitor so you won't be able to get that data.
See you (online) tomorrow morning!
Friday, May 07, 2010
Foto Friday
Okay, so this is Video Friday but that's not an alliteration.
When I was in Florida a few weeks back I was talking to the swim coach at the YMCA. Her family is from Ohio and all OSU alumni. Her husband, on the other hand, is a Gator. She took him to Ohio one time to attend a football game. She kept telling him, "it's different." You don't understand unless you're from here (Ohio).
No matter how many times I try to explain to people the hysteria and love that is Buckeyes around these parts, you just don't understand until you experience it. When OSU went to the national championship in 2002, the city literally shut down so people could watch the game. I remember school sports being postponed, restaurants closing early, etc. It was crazy and awesome!
On Monday there was a flash mob (or as my mom calls it, a flash dance--ha!!) in the new Ohio Union on campus. The Ohio Union is the student union. It's been closed for the last couple of years, torn to the ground and rebuilt. I haven't seen the inside of it yet, but the outside is gorgeous. My college counselor in high school told me when I was visiting universities to look at people on campus and see how many people are wearing school t-shirts, hats, etc. Of the 5 or so universities I checked out Ohio State won that battle hands down. It was like every third person was wearing something OSU. Anyway, back on topic, the following video shows this flash mob. If you were there in the union and saw that many people wearing OSU shirts, it probably wouldn't phase you. And that's why this video is so awesome!
Go Bucks!
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Race Week
It's race week. Yep, my first triathlon I've ever actually trained for is this weekend. Now, I've done quite a few triathlons, including those two half Ironmans I'd rather not talk about, but I've always done those on basically running training with a few bikes here or there. This time around, I'm ready. Or at least I think I'm ready. Yesterday while doing some bike intervals, I was cruising around 21 mph and I thought to myself, last year 21 mph would have scared me. Now I want to go faster. Yeah, that ready.
Here's my thoughts about this weekend:
Swim - Be calm and consistent. I have always freaked out in open water even though I am quite a good swimmer. I have to remember to tell myself that I am a good swimmer and that there is nothing to be worried about. I want to swim aggressively and be proud of my swim when I come out of the water.
Bike - In the past it's been "don't worry about those people passing you!" But this year I think it's going to be a little different. I want to be able to stay competitive because....
Run - I'm gonna get you sucka on the run! I want to run off the bike like I know how to run on the open road. I want people to turn their heads and say, "woah, that chick can run." Yeah, that's how I roll.
Sure, I have some time goals and they're pretty aggressive, but I don't really have any reason to doubt that I couldn't achieve them. I'm pretty excited to finally see how all this hard work is going to pay off. I want to walk away from this race and think that I did well, something I haven't felt in any other triathlon.
See you in Knoxville.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Leave a Message Monday
Today is my ONE THOUSANDTH blog post. Yahhooo!!! To celebrate, I'm calling this "Leave a Message Monday." In the time I've had my blog (since November 2005) the most comments I've had in any post has been somewhere between 12 and 15 comments. So today, leave me a message just saying how much you dig this blog, or just to say hi.
A toast...to a thousand more blog posts. :)
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