Mechanical Problems

In the last two weeks my bike has decided not to shift into the big front gear.  I don't know what changed but something did.  I messed with a few screws here and there and wound up with my front derailer cable coming unattached and frayed.  Awesome.  I contacted my local running shop and they were able to help me out the same day.  Dave took his lunch time to drop off my bike and picked it up after work.  I had to have my front derailer cable replaced.  In addition, my front and rear derailer were aligned, my rear brake adjusted, and the front headset tightened.  The bike guy said it was "dangerously lose."  Who knew?!

When Dave brought my bike home he left it leaning against the dining room table.  I moved it downstairs later in the evening.  But for one minute we both took our eyes off Anderson and this is what happened...

Don't look at the ugliness of this bathroom.  It has yet to be renovated.

I should also mentioned that my husband, without the baby in tow, somehow managed to knock over a bunch of bikes, domino-style, while getting my bike into the store.  Seriously, I could have done that myself if I had brought Anderson.

Unfortunately, my shifting is still not great.  It's better but still problematic.  Soft-pedaling doesn't really work, but pulling up with my left pedal seems to get the gear in place.  For now, it's okay.  But, I might take my bike back in a few days to see what else can be done.  Almost all my workouts have big gear work, so I kind of need it to work.

Have you ever tried to fix your bike mechanical problems by yourself?  Did you create more problems that you solved?

Roller Skating

My niece had her 6th birthday party at a local roller rink this past weekend.  At first, Anderson wanted nothing to do with roller skates.  He screamed and cried and threw a complete fit.  (Welcome to the terrible twos!)  We decided to put him in his stroller and wheel him around the rink.  He seemed to like that.  Then we put his skates on while still in the stroller.  He seemed to tolerate that too.  Finally, we got him out of the stroller and started skating with him.  He skated, maybe, one loop with us holding our hands and then he decided to do it all on his own.  He was good at it!  He would fall but didn't hurt himself or cry.  He was even able to get back on his feet all by himself after he fell.  He's so big.

Week in Review

The week started out so well and fizzled out by the end.  I blame the weather.  Really.

Swimming - 2400 yards
I only had one swim on the schedule this week.  Seems weird since I was coming off a race, but I'm not complaining that I didn't have to get all my junk together, get the kiddo ready, and drive to the gym, etc.

Biking - 34.87 miles
Three bike rides this week.  One was just a spin to shake off the race legs.  The other two contained more stuff like cadence and power.  One of the rides had a lot of hard stuff in a big gear.  In the last week my bike has decided it doesn't want to shift to a big gear anymore.  I haven't had time to take it to a bike shop, so I suffered through this workout.  I would have to stop my Garmin before each interval, figure out how to get the gear to the big ring, and then restart the interval.  This was really a pain in the ass as the intervals were maximum of 30 seconds in length.  Halfway through the ride I decided to do a little mechanic work on the bike.  I tweaked and rearranged, got back on my bike and immediately dropped my chain.  Argh!  Of course, I had trouble getting the chain back on which resulted in grease ALL.OVER.MY.HANDS!!!  All of this crap made it impossible for me to do my run off the bike; I had an appointment I had to get to and still needed to get myself and the boy showered.

Running - 17.23 miles
Seventeen miles is not very much when you're training for a marathon.  And it should have been at least 10-15 miles more.  Gosh darn it!  First, I missed the run off the bike as mentioned above.  Then came the long run.  My long runs are scheduled for Sunday.  I have been trying my best to follow the schedule and do my workouts when assigned.  Sunday morning I awake to snow and lots of it.  And it snowed all day.  We got, like, six inches of snow.  Did I moved to Boston???  I had specific paces I had to hit during this workout and I knew I couldn't get them done in the snow.  So I headed down to the treadmill, again.  Gah!  I'm so sick of the treadmill.  And I like to treadmill run!  I decided to break the run up into two different runs - the first would be an hour of "warmup"; the second would be the "meat" of the run with the paces and whatnot.  Unfortunately, I only did the first hour.  I just couldn't drag myself back downstairs to do another treadmill run.  I am sooo over winter!!!

Strength - 0.25 hours
I only had a core workout this week.  All the exercises were done with a medicine ball.  Some of them were hard and left me quite sore for many days.

Now that it is March I hope to be running lots of miles as my marathon is just around the corner and of course doing a lot of swimming and biking too.  Training never stops.  Which reminds me, I better get my buns out there and train.  See ya!!!

February Totals

I had a great month in February.  I've gotten into the rhythm of getting in all my workouts.  I only missed two workouts the whole month.  I missed one swim because the weather was just crappy the whole week and I didn't want to leave the house or take the baby out in the elements.  I also missed a run off the bike on the last day of the month because I had terrible mechanical issues on the bike, which made the workout long and I had an appointment I had to get to.  More on this tomorrow.

Here's the rundown:

Swimming - 15,300 yards ~ 8.7 miles
Do you want to know how many lengths of a 25 yard pool that is?  612.  Wow!  My aunt used to describe to her sons how far my marathons were by telling them how many laps of a track it would be.  I kid you not, I swear I have that many laps just this coming week in the pool.  The workouts are starting to get serious!

Biking - 102.99 miles
Seriously?  Only 0.01 miles from 103 miles??  Good grief. 
It was a good month of biking.  I'm starting to get used to it.  Maybe not exactly liking it, but not griping about it either.  It's often a nice break from the pounding of running plus the workouts are hard enough that it is definitely complimenting my running and perhaps even helping it.  Once a week I might have "just a spin" but usually my bike rides are structured with different cadences and power zones.  It makes the time go quicker and keeps my mind fresh too.

Running - 108.15 miles
Look, I know y'all are running like a billion miles per month.  I don't know how you're doing it.  And frankly, I don't know why you're doing it.  Maybe if I wasn't swimming and biking I would have more miles?  Maybe I'd be injured too.  I just can't do those miles.  I wish I could.  In my 14 years of marathoning, I've learned I don't need high mileage.  I have succeeded and achieved all my goals with only about 40 miles on a big week.  So, although I'm jealous of your mileage, my 108 miles and I will hang out and be just fine.

Strength - 2.5 hours
For me, the "build" season is just about over, which means the strength workouts are starting to subside and the swimbikerun miles are starting to climb.  Now I'm seeing less strength on the schedule and more core and core and core and core! 

YMCA visits - 19 visits
Not as many visits as last month.  The month was shorter.  I didn't have as many swims, although the ones I had were longer.  I utilized my treadmill at home instead of going to the Y to use theirs.  Whatever I don't need to justify it.  Nineteen visits in 28 days?  That's still a lot.

YMCA cost per visit - $4.49
Yes!!!!

March is all about lots and lots of miles.  My marathon is only, like, 7 weeks away.  The focus will be miles and pace.  I have big goals for this race.  I'm working my tail off like never before.  I surely hope it pays off.

Week in Review

Oh my stars!  I'm so over winter.  This was another week of treadmill, treadmill, treadmill.  Plus it was too cold and snowy to even take the boy to the Y to get in a swim.  -8 degrees without the windchill is just stupid.  STUPID!  Soon, spring, soon.

Swimming - 1800 yards
Unfortunately, I missed a swim this week.  It was just too cold to take the boy outside.  And how can you get motivated to get into a cold pool when it is below zero outside.  Maybe I'll try to make up this swim next week.

Biking - 22.03 miles
There were only two bikes on the schedule this week.  One was just an easy spin and the other had some cadence work to it even though it was still considered easy.  Everything was a little on the lighter side this because of the race yesterday.

Running - 26.67 miles
Well, it's not as many miles as I'd like, but again, the week was centered around the race.  The week had mostly easy short runs with snappy parts to them, and one "track-ish" type workout that was done on the treadmill.  Although the weather was terrible yesterday for the race, it was nice to get outside for a run.  Guess I better bundle up, buttercup, and get those runs outside.  That marathon isn't going to run itself.

Strength - 0.5 hours
Only one strength workout on the schedule this week.  This was week three or four of this particular strength workout.  A quick glance at the upcoming schedule shows there aren't a whole lot of strength workouts left between now and the marathon.  Guess it's all about the miles now.

How was your week last week?

Last Chance Half Marathon 2015

Last year I raced A LOT!  This year I have very few races on the schedule with all of them intended to be RACED!  Today I ran a half marathon in which I had very high hopes.  My training has been going very well, I've got some speed going on, and I really thought I might be able to bust out a very fast race.

Brrr, I'm cold.

Unfortunately, mother nature had other ideas.  Yesterday we got dumped on, approximately eight inches of snow.  (Check out our playtime in the snow here.)  And then this morning the temperature was 13 degrees at the start of the race.  The race course is a one mile loop that you do again and again.  Honestly, I thought they would have cleared it better, but a good half of it was snow covered.  Not just a little snow covered, like ankle-deep in some places.  It was like running through soft sand.  It took a lot of energy and really zapped your pace.

Nonetheless, I tried my best.  The parts that were clear I ran hard and fast.  The parts that were snowy and slippery, I found the clearest spots and picked up my knees.  Although it wasn't as fast as I hoped, my paces were consistent - my slowest mile was 8:12 and my fastest mile was 7:59.  I latched on to some other girls who were running the same pace as me and we pushed each other to keep it up.  It really helped the miles pass by.

One of the girls I ran with.  We've already exchanged some texts and it looks like we'll see each other at the marathon.

In the end I ran a 1:45:39.  Not bad.  Not what I was wanting or had trained for.  I was the 7th overall female.  The winning female time was 1:37:30, if that tells you how rough the conditions were.  Unfortunately, right now, I do not have another half marathon on the schedule this year.  Maybe this fall I can find a good one and go after a big PR.

It was so cold I had icicles on my eyelashes.

 Top ten finish.  Not bad.

Playing in the Snow

We had a big snow storm blow through today.  With it, we got about eight more inches of snow.  But, today was the first time we also got 'warmer' temperatures, which allowed us to actually go out and play in the snow.  This was the first time Anderson has ever played in the snow.  We had a blast!

New Workout Clothes

There's something so awesome about getting new workout clothes.  At least for me, it helps me get pumped about my workouts. 

First, I got a new swimsuit this month.  I bought it from SwimOutlet.com for a whopping $17.99 plus shipping.  The whole thing cost me less than $25.  It is tiny!  I'm a card-carrying member of the Itty Bitty Titty Club and this thing makes me feel like Dolly Parton.  I sure felt like my boobs were going to pop out of it when I was swimming this week.  Hopefully it will stretch a little bit.  Or else, the lifeguards at the pool might get a great show.

Then for Valentine's Day Dave got me some new shorts and sports bra from Lululemon.  Honestly, I'm not a huge Lulu kind of girl, but I have heard great things about their running shorts and sports bra so I wanted to give it a try.  And it didn't disappoint.  The sports bra is TIGHT, which made me a little nervous for chafing, but I wore it on a 15 mile treadmill run and had no problems.  It did cut into my shoulders but I'm sure it will stretch with wear.  The shorts are the 4-way stretch speed shorts.  I have to admit, I freakin' love them!  They don't ride; they're the perfect length (I like my shorts on the shorter side); and I barely even noticed they were there.  I want, like, 20 more pairs of them in a variety of colors.  The shorts are definitely contenders for marathon-worthy shorts.

Now to save up my money so I can get some more workout clothes.

What's your favorite workout gear that gets you pumped up?

#BeBetter - Lent 2015

A few years ago when I was dealing with debilitating depression my therapist said I needed to fix my chemical imbalance before he could help me with my behavioral issues.  At the end of my pregnancy I went on Prozac and finally, finally started to feel like a human being.  Two years later I am still medicated and NEVER plan on going off the meds.  NEVER!  But there are certainly behaviors and activities in my life that still need corrected to help me be better.  I don't plan on going back to therapy; it's not something I enjoy.  But I am dedicating this Lenten season to being better - a better mom, a better wife, a better athlete.

The medicine has helped me feel real.  It has kept me from sitting in the bathtub crying.  I has helped me get out of bed every morning.  But, I still need work in the 'patience department' and that has become even more evident as my kiddo has reached his toddler years.  Some days I feel like it's an all-out war between Anderson and me.  Other days are great.  No matter what kind of day we're having, I never feel like I am being a good enough mom.  I'm sure that's true with all moms.  I want to try harder, though.  I want to find ways to connect with him and build him up.  I want to know that becoming a mom was the right choice.  I can be a better mom.

I never really wanted to be anyone's 'wife'.  Luckily, I married a guy who supports my independence, my decisions, my intellect, and my athletics.  Now that I'm a stay-at-home mom, though, I feel like a lot of the 'wifely duties' fall to me - childcare, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.  I've got to be honest, though, I don't love those things.  I grew up in a household of equality.  My dad was every bit involved in those things as my mom was.  So, when I feel like it's all my duties, I get a little pissed off.  And I hate to be that chick who is angry as soon as her husband walks in the door.  He gets to be the hero while I'm his frickin' maid.  Ain't gonna happen!  I need to be, again, more patient and encouraging.  I can be a better wife.

I was looking back at my training log from last February as I turned the calendar this year.  Holy wow!  I think I did less training than I did when I was pregnant.  And I was paying a coach to train me!!  Last year, I think, I expected to magically return to the runner I once was.  You know what?  It didn't happen.  This year I have dedicated myself to my goals.  I have begun to be a better athlete starting in December.  I have done nearly ALL my workouts since then.  I do them as assigned, in order (mostly), and without complaint.  I have found ways to get the family involved or found ways to keep the workouts from taking away from family time.  I will be a better athlete in 2015.

What ways can you #BeBetter?
What are your thoughts on this Lenten season?

How About Some Cute Pictures of my Boy?!

We are just weeks away from my baby turning two (boo hoo!!!).  He's starting to learn some letters; he's saying more and more words; and he's getting pretty good with routine and following instructions.  His favorite things are trains and cars (duh, he's ALL-boy).  He loves pizza and macaroni and cheese (#motheroftheyear).  And I love him so much it hurts.

Here's some pictures I've taken of him in the last couple of weeks.

 I think he's going to be a software developer like his dad.

They say often you raise yourself.  And I am.  And it's hard.  We know how to push each other's buttons and we have the same temperament.  Poor kid.  Some days we can go round and round.  He exhausts me a lot.  But those days he always climbs into my arms and tells me he loves me in his way.  This day he just wanted to be snuggled.  I didn't mind at all.

Speaking of going round and round with the boy...about once a week now he decides he does not want to nap.  Last week I fought him for THREE hours.  For three hours he sat in his crib - not sleeping, not crying, just sitting.  He would not go to sleep.  The next day was an easy nap time.  Of course, I had to take pictures.  Notice, he has got his favorite train character Wilson from Chuggington in his hand.  He calls him "Chug".

Anderson is very detailed, precise, organized, although not exactly worrisome to me.  I'm the same way.  Again, poor kid.  He loves to line up his cars when he plays with them.  Today he lined them up in a sun ray around his balloon.  This is exactly how he did it.  I did not help him with this.

I wish you could hear this picture.  He was making owl "hoots" and I was responding with a series of crazy "hoots".  He would laugh and laugh.  This kid has a great sense of humor.

There's your dose of cuteness this week.  Have a great day!

Week In Review

I swear this blog is more than just posts about my weekly training.  Boring!  Expect pictures of the kiddo this week, an "exciting" post about my new workout clothes, and maybe a race report *wink*.

But first, here's all the training I did this week.

Swimming - 5200 yards
Just two swims this week.  One swim was nice and easy with a lot of backstroke.  The other swim had a million x 75 yards (or something like that) with descending paces.  By the end of it I was swimming as fast as my T-Rex arms would take me and only getting about 5-7 seconds of "rest" between sets.  Coach!!!!

Biking - 22.89 miles
I had three bikes on the schedule this week.  One of them was optional and I just wasn't feeling it, so I only did the other two.  One bike was just a spin.  The other was a threshold workout.  Seriously, I have no idea what I'm doing but coach keeps saying I'm doing them perfectly, so I'll keep on keeping on.

Running - 33.15 miles
Unfortunately, I never made it off the treadmill this week - not even for the long run.  Is winter over yet?  Most of the runs were easy, although I did have a tough track workout with lots of 800s, which I nailed.  The long run was 15 miles...ON THE FREAKIN' TREADMILL!!!  I also had some pace stuff short run off the bike.  Lots and lots of miles (for me). 

Strength - 0.75 hours
No core work this week on the schedule.  Yay!!!  I did have one basic strength workout and a lunge matrix pre-long run.  Getting stronger!

Extra!!!  I also went to water aerobics with my mom.  While I can't say I found this workout particularly difficult, it was a nice evening with my mom.

Week In Review

100%, y'all!  100%!!!!  I did ALL of my workouts last week including two optional workouts.  Who the heck am I???

Swimming
I did three swims last week: one pretty long one and two shorter ones.  There was speed, there was a long set, there were drills, there was backstroke, and there were even flip turns. 

Totals: 5900 yards

Biking
There were also three bikes this week.  One was a cadence workout; one was a threshold workout; and one was "just" a spin.  My poor lady bits don't want to ride the bike for a few days.

Totals: 34.2 miles

Running
I don't know how many runs I did this week.  It felt like a lot.  There were shorter runs: one off the bike and one before and after a strength routine.  There was some speed work including a shorter speed set and a longer run with longer repeats.  And then there was the long run - 14.42 miles in shorts, outside!!!!

Totals: 30.42 miles

Strength
I even did all the strength workouts.  Seriously, who am I???  This week started with a new basic strength routine that was really challenging on my T-Rex arms.  I was sore for days.  Then there were two more short routines: one for the lower body and one for the core. 

Totals: 1 hour

Another big week is coming up.  I told Dave the other day that I didn't work this hard when I was training for Ironman.  The hours might have been longer but I certainly didn't challenge myself like I am now.  Dave said he has never seen me this dedicated.  I sure hope it pays off this year.

Thursday Things I Shoudn't Admit (and some awesome #tbt)

This might be the most awesome post I have ever done...

Back in the sixth grade I had my first broken heart.  I had been "going steady" with a boy for quite a while and then I guess I broke up with him.  I really don't remember.  What I do remember is that I wrote a verse (rap, thankyouverymuch) to Biz Markie's "Just a Friend".   Here it goes.

We used to go together
And now we're a nothing
I decided to dump you
And that was a dumb thing
So now I want you back
And I don't know why
I've got a few reasons
But I am too shy
So now you've got a new one
I guess I'm just jealous
So when I ask you out
You don't have to say yes
You can say, that we are just good friends

And to make it even more awesome.  Here's a group of my friends from sixth grade camp.

That's me in the middle with the tiny pin-head and the half shaved head before it was cool for girls to shave half their head. 1990 y'all!!!

#LikeAGirl

I didn't watch the Super Bowl.  Well, I watched the last few minutes when the Seahawks called the worst play in the history of worst plays.  Then I flipped to the Cooking Channel and watched "Unique Sweets."  I didn't even watch any of the commercials.  I'm so lame.

The next morning I was checking out my social media sources and my Instagram feed was flooded with all these #LikeAGirl pictures of running and biking and whatnot.  So then I searched around the internet to figure out what the heck they were talking about.  That's when I found a bunch of YouTube videos from Always.  This was my favorite:


I have to admit, it made me cry.  Such a sucker!

I found my favorite #LikeAGirl picture from a previous race I had done and posted it to Instagram.  I think the picture speaks for itself.

What's your thoughts behind #LikeAGirl?

Bike Test #2

In the past years of triathlon, I'll be honest, I kind of blew off biking.  I just don't love it.  I'd rather spend my time on things that make me happy like swimming and running.  But this year, with qualifying for the national championships, it is time to get serious about my weaknesses - biking.  I'm learning more about how to actually push myself and it was time to test that again with another bike test.

Last bike test, I think, coach was a bit disappointed with my results.  She was right, I needed to push myself more, have confidence in my abilities.  If she had asked me to run a mile at a 6-whatever pace, I wouldn't even blink.  Why can't I do the same with biking?

This time I challenged myself, pushed outside of my comfort zone.  I spit, I snotted, I coughed, I saw my heart beat outside of my chest.  And in the end, I did better. 

Coach said I made progress - 6 whole watts.  That doesn't seem like a lot but I suppose it is okay for now.  I'm a little low on my mass-to-wattage ratio.  I'll keep working, though, and pushing myself.  I'm sure in a few weeks there will be another test and another chance for me to find confidence and do better.

Week in Review

This was a rest week but I had no idea that rest week meant getting sick and spending all of Saturday in bed.  So, I didn't get in all my workouts - not even close - but I did what I could do.

Swimming 
I had rearranged my week so that I could have a rest day on Monday after last week's long run, but then I got sick and missed my solid swim.  I only got in one swim that was super short.

Swim Totals: 1450 yards

Biking
One cadence/threshold ride and a bike test is what the week had in store.  I'll write about the bike test tomorrow.

Bike Totals: 22.12 miles

Running
Unfortunately, running wasn't a high priority this week once I got sick.  I had a headache, literally, all week and the head just pounded with each step I took.  I did a run with some drills, a warmup/cool down run to a strength session, and a "long run" on the treadmill of 7.3 whopping miles.

Run Totals: 12.3 miles

Strength
This was my fourth week of doing the same strength session.  I'm totally a master of it now.  Too bad it changes next week.

Strength Totals: - 0.5 hours

Rest week is over.  I'm feeling better.  It's time to get back to work.

January Totals

I saw a few social media posts today regarding running totals in January - 160+, 180+ miles, etc.  How the hell are you running all those miles, people?  I let coach know I wanted to run more miles this year.  That was, of course, before I found out I qualified for the triathlon age group nationals but I still feel like I've been working out a lot and running quite a few miles.  I fell short of a 100 miles this month (caught a massive cold at the end of this week), but I have to admit I'm angry/jealous/wondering how the heck I can get my mileage up to that level?

And yet, at the same time, I know I don't need to be running all those miles.  When I run massive miles, I get injured.  I also set my PR back in 2009 with one of the lowest mileage training sessions I've ever done.  The longest run I did was 18 miles and the biggest week I had was 42 miles. 

Patience, Mer.  It's only January.

Here's what went down in January.

Swimming - 14,000 yards
This is approximately 8 miles of swimming.  I don't swim masters and I haven't had a swim test (yet) but I feel like I'm swimming pretty well.  I love swimming and I'm glad it is part of my training again.

Biking - 101.39 miles
I had two bike tests this month - one at the beginning of the month and one just yesterday.  I'll post about that in a few days.  I've been learning about training with power, about threshold workouts, about my actual limits on the bike (still yet to be found).  I still don't love the bike, but I have high hopes that this year will be different - that I will have a breakout year on the bike.

Running - 96.82 miles
Gosh darn it!  So close to 100!  I only got in 5 miles (thusfar) this week as I caught a stupid cold and it hurts my head to run.  The weather has sucked this month but any time I could get outside I would.  I've had some TOUGH, quality runs this month - the longest being just shy of 14 miles.  I'm really happy with where my running is right now for the season.

Strength - 3.25 hours
Strength training is so easy to skip and I have to admit, some of the core routines I have blown off.  But I've really tried to combine these workouts into my training.  I've not been lifting the biggest weights, but the workouts have been well-rounded.  Arms, abs, back, legs, you name it, I've been working it.  I don't look like some of those pro chicks (yet) but I'm really happy with my body development and how the strength has been helping me with my other workouts.

Y Visits - 24
Gosh, we visited a lot this month!!!  Lots of swimming!

Cost per visit - $3.56
This kind of cost per visit makes me feel like this is money well spent.  I'm such a nerd.

I ran one 5k race in January and finished 3rd overall.  I have one race on the schedule in February and I'm sure yet another bike test or more.  See you next month.

Thursday Thoughts

Last Friday I finally finished reading "Unbroken".  Then on Saturday I went and saw the movie.  It was a great movie but the book was so much more complete.  I spent nearly 20 minutes after the movie filling in the details for Dave who did not read the book before seeing the movie.

I kind of have an obsession with reading the book before seeing the movie.  Like, right now I'm reading "American Sniper" before I go and see it.  No, this does not ruin the movie for me.  Sometimes it enhances the movie because you know the whole story ("Unbroken", "The Help").  Sometimes you find out the book was WAY better (pretty much all other books/movies besides the ones mentioned above).

What is your favorite book/movie combination and why?

2014 Totals

I just realized I forgot to do a year totals count of all the miles run, yards swam, bike biked, and all those super-heavy pounds I lifted.

Swim - 36,950 yards
This is equivalent to approximately 21 miles.  I didn't really do any swimming for training in 2014 so all of this was kind of disorganized.  2015 will be completely different.  I have about 1/3 of that total already in 2015.

Bike - 173.56 miles
Again, these were miles that I just pedaled basically for spinning sake.  I did one triathlon in 2014 so there might have been a little training, but really only two rides outside.  I am not quite comfortable riding outside now that I have a little one.  I want to wear a sign for oncoming motorists that says, "Be careful!  I'm someone's mother!!!"

Run - 920.58 miles
I really wanted to hit 1000 miles last year.  Shoot, I wanted to do more than that.  But I really screwed around in the first part of the year basically hoping to get through my first half marathon.  I started getting more serious as I headed into my fall marathon.  Only now am I fully serious about all my training. 

Strength - 15-1/2 hours
If there was anything I was dropping from the schedule, it was going to be a strength routine.  That's why these hours kind of suck.  Not this year.  Everything is important including the strength routines.  I will be strong.  I will be ripped. 

YMCA Visits - 142
This includes visits by all three of us since our membership is a family membership.  I certainly utilized the childcare while doing treadmill runs and some swims.  It enables me to workout and it's good for Anderson to interact with other kids and get to play.  Sometimes I feel guilty about doing it, but I know it is best for both of us.

YMCA Cost Per Visit -$7.21
After all those visits, our annual cost per visit was calculated to be under $10 a visit.  I'm cool with that.  I know it seems silly to track this, but I like to know that my money is being USED and not wasted.

I'm off to a way better start to these numbers in 2015.  I love to track these things.  I use a 12 tab spreadsheet to keep track of it.  The engineering nerd in me totally geeks out over it.  What a dork I am!

Week in Review

This was the first week of the month where I just couldn't get it all done.  I was so darn tired this week!  The husband took the week off work and we did what we could to the renovations in the bathroom.  (I swear I will blog about this soon.)  On top of the renovations life was still lived: kid activities, trips to the grocery, and lots of working out.  There were not enough hours in the day and at some point my body and mind said enough.  Coach even told me to take a little time off.  I still got a lot done.  Here's the highlights.

Swim
There was only swim on the schedule.  I got the husband to join me.  The workout included longer sets.  For the first set Dave swam side-by-side with me.  It pissed me off!  I have been in the pool twice a week for the last 8 weeks.  He's been in the pool zero times since his race in August.  How is he keeping up?!  Finally, I had to stop at the wall and let him go and do my own workout. 

Totals: 2350 yards

Bike
I had three bikes this week.  One was an threshold ride that did not feel as tough as the previous one.  Another was a steady state ride that went really well.  The last one was just a spin. 

Totals: 31.71 miles

Run
The run is where I sort of fell apart this week.  I did many short runs but missed a tough run off the bike (the kid threw up everywhere and obviously being a mom comes first) and didn't do a tough tempo run.  I did have a great long run and you can read about it here.

Totals: 22.48 miles

Strength
One basic strength; one butt/hip strength; didn't do all the core work.  I weighed in recently and didn't like what I saw, but the body is getting tighter and I guess that's better, right??

Totals: 0.83 hours

And now it's rest week which means lots of swimming, a little running, and a bike test at the end of the week.

The Long Run

When the 2015 season began I shared with coach some pretty lofty goals.  She didn't tell me they were not obtainable, but let me know she was going to push me hard this year.

She was not kidding.

Today I did a long run.  I guess you could call it a progressive run.  It started with an hour "warmup", where I got comfortable, worked on my hydration and nutrition, and began dropping the pace.  Then it was a short build phase.  Frankly, I was already building pace.  It was now raining and I was getting cold.  The next part of the run was just crazy town.  For a half hour I was to drop the pace from "hmm, that's fast" to "are you NUTS!!!".  Let's put it this way.  That pace a year ago was about a 5K pace and now I was including it as part of my long run.  The rain was turning to snow.  I fought hard and dropped that pace.  I wasn't comfortable but I was doing it.  Finally, I reached the cool down and finished the run perfectly inside our neighborhood.

I logged my run and let coach know I thought she was out of her mind.  Here's her response.

This made me smile.  I know it's not much but this response is worth the hard work.  I'm doing it.  I'm putting in the hard work and it's going to pay off. 

Now on to rest week.  Thank goodness.

Things I Love: My Nathan Hydration Belt

I'm pretty OCD when it comes to hydration during my runs.  I only drink water and I drink on specific intervals.  On the treadmill I take a swig every 2-1/2 minutes.  On the roads I drink every mile on the mile.  This, obviously, requires me to bring water with me.  Now, I know there are a lot of yous out there who love your handhelds.  I have one.  It's cool.  But I cannot carry that sucker more than 6 miles.  It hurts my arm, it hurts my hand, and it just gets in the way.  Therefore, I carry my Nathan Hydration Belt...

This isn't the exact belt I have, but similar.

Each bottle holds 10 ounces of water which can get me through about a half marathon.  When I'm out training I will stop at my parents' house or the library and refill my bottles when I need more water during a long run.  In my last marathon, because the water stops were every other mile, I wore the belt and had Dave meet me at the half way point and hand off full bottles to me.

The belt also has a pouch that can hold quite a bit.  I have fit 7 gels in there, which is plenty for a marathon.  Mine also has a small compartment on the front flap that I will put my house key or some chapstick.

One thing I love about the Nathan pack as opposed to other packs I've tried is that it fits and does not bounce around.  I love this!  Despite the weight that is on my hips, I don't notice it, it doesn't get in the way while I'm running, and it doesn't seem to affect my pace or gait either while I'm running.

Do you have a favorite piece of running "equipment"?  What is your go-to hydration system?

Week in Review

I have been on a workout rampage this month.  I have missed two core workouts and that's it.  THAT'S IT!!!  My body is crazy screaming in soreness, yet I'm nailing each workout.  I have been a swimming, biking, running, and strength training fool.  Here's some of what last week entailed:

Swimming
Two swims - one was hard, the other was harder.  There were lots of pool toys.  I might have looked like I was drowning a time or two.
Totals - 4200 yards

Biking
I think coach might be trying to kill me on the bike.  That or she's trying to make me a better biker and runner.  Probably the latter.  I've been training with power and learning all about that.  One of the workouts this week had me maxing out power and pouring out sweat.  The other workout was all about cadence.  I don't really know what I'm doing or how it all goes together but coach continues to tell me the workouts are "perfect."  I believe there's another bike test coming up soon so we'll see how perfect those workouts actually were.
Totals - 24.58 miles

Running
I can't even count the number of runs I did last week.  It was probably five or six but it felt like 9 million.  There wasn't a single easy run.  I did hills, I did speed, I did tempo, I did intervals, there was a long run, and a partridge in a pear tree.  I'm getting faster, though.  I actually saw some pace numbers that started with sixes.  Yeah, sixes.
Totals - 30.38 miles

Strength
I missed a core workout, but still did a good basic strength routine and another routine that was mostly a butt routine.  I also did a lot of work to the bathroom remodel which should totally count as a strength routine.  (More on the bathroom remodel this week.)
Totals - 0.83 hours

I have never worked so hard.  I have never been so tired.  I have never drank so much recovery drink.  Hopefully this all pays off.  Either that or I'm going down in an epic ball of flames!!!

Thursday Thoughts

There are so many movies out right now that I'd like to see.  Of course, that's a total pipe dream.  I have a nearly-two year old.  I don't get to go to the movies.  Plus, all the movies I want to see were all nominated for Oscars this morning which means they'd totally suck anyway.  Seriously, Dave and I do not have a very good track record of actually liking the movies that were nominated for Oscars.  Two of the worst movies I have ever seen - American Beauty (what the hell was that about???) and Across the Sky.  Every time a Beatles song comes on the radio that was used in that movie Dave and I just laugh and then say, "remember how horrible that movie was?"  So, even though I'd like to see "The Imitation Game" and "The Theory of Everything" and "American Sniper" and "Unbroken", I think I'll stay home and save my money and time.

What was the worst movie you've ever seen?

O-H MY GOSH!!!!

What a Weekend!!!

Do you ever look forward to Monday just so life can return to normal?  Sometimes I do.  Today was definitely that kind of Monday.

Actually, the whole last week was kind of crazy.  We have begun the renovation on our master bathroom.  It's basically a total gut job.  The ONLY things we are keeping in there are our closets, the shower (which looked pretty new), and the toilet which we bought when we moved into the house. 

This is after day one of the destruction:

We have removed the wall paper, stripped the paint off the cabinet and sanded it, we're taking out the soffits, and getting rid of the awful vinyl floor.  This past weekend I removed the lights and finished up the floor.  Next steps are to completely remove the soffits, take out the countertops and sinks, and begin wiring for the new lights.  Unfortunately, that was the plan for the weekend but we got behind.  Hopefully we can catch up.  Dave has the week off next week and we hope to get the floor laid.  We bought beautiful tile that's going to make it look like a spa!

Dave spent all of Wednesday night running around town with my dad, renting a truck and bringing home drywall, the tile, and all the accessories that go with it. 

Then on Thursday we had to head to Best Buy to replace our broken TV.  We bought a new TV in April that we had professionally mounted above the fireplace.  A month or so ago the screen just went blank.  The Geek Squad sent out someone to look at it and he basically said, "yep, it's broken."  Well no shit!   They ordered a part for it and said they could fix it January 2nd.  Then the part got back ordered and they said they would fix it January 9th.  Good grief.  They called again this week and said, "yeah, the parts still back ordered so we're just going to replace your TV."  That's what they should have done in the first place!!!  We get to customer service and they have NO IDEA what we're talking about.  They've never had a replacement code given to them for an in-home repair.  After speaking to a bunch of people we finally spoke with a manager who took our old TV and just did the replacement.  He didn't care if there was a code.  Plus, because the new TV was $20 more, he just waved that fee.  Good job.  Dave was up until after midnight putting in the new TV. 

So what took all our time this weekend that I'm so happy it is Monday already? 

As I mentioned a while ago, we've been having problems with our water.  A week ago Dave ordered a new water softener from a wholesale company here in Ohio.  It was more than half the cost Culligan had quoted us, however, unfortunately, we were going to have to do the ENTIRE installation ourselves.  The new water softener arrived in two different shipments last week.  It was massive - two resin tanks and a separate brine tank in addition to five bags of resin and all the mechanical stuff.  Saturday morning we went to Home Depot to pick up all the plumbing stuff Dave would need.  The day started off well-ish.  It took two of us to put the resin in the tanks.  Dave would hold it and pour it, while I stood on a stool trying to get in through the funnel.  It was like wet, slippery sand.  And if it got on the floor, which it did A LOT, it was like ice.  We were literally skating around our basement.  After the resin, Dave started doing the plumbing to hook it up to our water pipes.  Around 8:30pm, just as we were putting the baby to bed, Dave had to head out to Lowe's.  The piping was a different size than he thought and he needed a different kind of connector.  I should mention our water had been turned off now for a while.  I was peeing without flushing and washing my hands with baby wipes.

Dave got back from Lowe's, we ate dinner at 10:00pm and then he headed back downstairs to finish the installation.  No lie, 12:00am he finished it up and we turned on the water.  Everything seemed to be going well until it wasn't.  We noticed a drip between the new water softener and the connection to the pipes.  Shit!  We turned the water back off, packed our bags, woke the baby up and headed to my parents' house to spend the night.  We would try again on Sunday. 

I slept horribly at my parents'.  Their dog kept barking, the baby was tossing and turning, Dave was snoring, and I couldn't get comfortable.  I probably got less than five hours of sleep.  I was in a great mood on Sunday when we had to start over again.

We returned to our house with no water and Anderson and I napped while Dave began again.  I was awoken some time later with the sound of a flushing toilet.  Was our water working???  Dave hooked up the brine tank and then it was time to figure it all out.  We had to flush the water through the pipes and through the new tanks.  It probably took 10 minutes to run the water and clean it all out.  That was some gross water coming out of those faucets!

Finally, we poured some water and checked it out.  It appeared to be much much better.  Check it out:

The water on the left is before we installed the water softener.  Yep, that is straight out of our faucet.  Yuck!  The water on the right is after the new water softener was turned on.  We even taste-tested it.  Although I could tell the difference between bottled water and the new faucet water, it was much much better.  MUCH BETTER!  It will take a few days until the hot/warm water gets clear (because there is already some in the hot water tank), it looks like maybe our water problems might be solved.

This weekend was exhausting.  Unfortunately, our weekends look like this for the next several weeks.  But, the Cats and Brass house is starting to come together.  More pictures to come!!!

Thursday Thoughts

Garth Brooks was on the Today Show this morning.  Two things I love together in one!!!  It got me thinking...When I was in high school (maybe college) I got to see Garth Brooks in concert sitting tenth row at what is now Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.  It was AMAZEBALLS!!!  He played four notes of "Friends in Low Places" and the place went insane.  Four more notes, more insanity.  He ran from side to side of the stage.  He floated out over the crowd.  It was, hands down, the coolest and greatest concert I've ever been to.  For years I was hoping to go to Vegas (never been) to see him in concert there, but now he's going to start touring again.  And I will pay big money to see him if he comes to Columbus or anywhere near.

So, what is the best, most awesome, concert you've ever seen?

Week In Review

Oh my gosh!  It's a holiday miracle!  I did every single one of my workouts this week!!!!  That never happens.  In fact, I don't know if it has EVER happened.  I'm feeling motivated.  I'm feeling powerful. 

Here's the run down:

Swim: I had two swims this week.  One was a super hard, lots of sprinting that had me timing 25s.  If I didn't hit a certain time I had to do a easier 50 and then get back it.  Yeah, I had to do an extra 150 yards to hit all of the 25s I was assigned to do.  The second swim was WAY easier and short.  And I'm glad because it was done the day after the Buckeye game and I was tired and sluggish.

Swim Totals - 3850 yards

Bike: Two bikes this week.  Every workout is a lesson in using my new power meter.  One workout had me using different muscles to increase the power; the other workout had me changing cadence. 

Bike Totals - 18.04 miles

Run: Lots of short runs this week.  I did run a 5K race as a run test and walked away with a fun little 3rd place female.  I also had a sprint workout on the treadmill.  Treadmill paces always feel so much faster than on the road.

Run Totals - 19.74 miles

Strength: Core, arms, and other strength.  My body is starting to look muscular again.

Strength Totals - 0.75 hours

Commitment Day 5K 2015

What a better way to kick off the new year than running a race.  Actually, I had a run test on the schedule and I knew I would struggle by myself on the treadmill or on the track so I knew a race would be a much better option.  Although I am not a fan of the race organization putting on this race, this was the cheapest option at less than $30 and I will always take the cheapest race.

Gosh it was cold this morning - something like 20 degree with a "real feel" temperature of 8.  Plus it was windy.  I got to the race site plenty early and took a long warm up on the course.  The course was on a trail that seemed to go incline with the wind for the first half and then against the wind on the way back.  The course included having to up and down several curbs, through the grass, a little bit of ice, lots of turns, and even some gravel.  So, not exactly a PR course.  As we lined up for the race, it was clear it was small and perhaps not as competitive as other races I've run.  There were more women, including myself, lined up on the start line than men. 

The gun went off and one of these women and her son were in my way.  The shouldn't have been in the front.  Instinctively, I laid a hand on her hip and gently moved her out of the way.  Sorry.  I started out a little too fast but I was trying to position myself well and not fall behind in the overall competition.  By the one mile mark I was solidly the third place woman and that's how I would remain.  For the next mile there was a man and the 2nd place woman in front of me within reaching distance, but I just couldn't get myself moving the way I had hoped.  I might be in shape, but I'm not sure I'm in racing shape quite yet.

The 5K is so difficult.  Well, for me anyway.  It's so fast and so hard and yet long enough that you feel like you might die.  I am better at the longer distances as I can warm up and work my way into a pace.  I feel like in the 5K you've got to start out fast and hold on.  I haven't figured out how to do that yet.  Nor, have I figured out how to start medium-fast and get faster.  I don't love the 5K but I know it's making me a better runner so I'll keep trying it.

In the end, I was the third overall female and sixth place overall.  I even got some hardware.

I wish I could have run faster but I can't complain with a third place.  The year has started off right and inline with my goals.  I've seen my training for the next couple of weeks.  It's massive and frankly, scares me, but I know if I continue to put in the work and effort great things are going to happen this year.

Happy New Year!

December Totals

December 1st was the start of my new training cycle and so far, I've been smashing it.  Sure, I haven't done all the workouts or done all the workouts as assigned.  I've been consistent, though, and it's making a difference.  I feel confident, strong, and powerful.  Bring on the new year!

Swimming - 15,550 yards
Biking - 43.42 miles
Running - 67.43 miles
Strength - 3.5 hours
YMCA Visits - 16
Cost per visit - $5.33

My Super Cool Christmas Present

A few days before Christmas Dave said to me, "do we have any spray adhesive?"  What?!  And then a little while later, "do you know where you quilting cutter-thingy is?"  "Do you know where your fabric mat is?" 

What the heck are you doing??

I started to wonder if Dave had gotten one of our family pictures blown up for a gift and was doing something with it.  What that something was, I had no idea.

The last present I opened for Christmas was the big one; the gift Dave had been crafting.  It was a giant map of the United States.

What the heck??

Then he explained it to me.  It was a map glued to a push pin board so that we could mark where we've raced.  Yes, we have a goal to race in all 50 states.

So we started to mark it up.  We used big-balled pins to mark our major races - red for my marathons, blue for Dave's marathons and ironmans, and white for major races we have both done.  The smaller-balled pins are for more minor races like 5ks, half marathons, and triathlons.  The picture doesn't make the pins very prevalent but it looks so much better in real life.  I plan to hang it up in our entry way, with hopefully a homemade "Oh, the Places You'll Go and Race" sign so it's a great conversation piece for our guests.

In 2015 I will be picking up Wisconsin and hopefully Oklahoma.  Maybe we can even find a race in Florida.  I can't believe we don't have Florida.  We go every.single.year!

How many states have you raced in?  Do you want to race in all of them?  Do you plan on becoming a 50 state marathoner?

Kalahari Fun with the Fam

My sister surprised us all for Christmas with an impromptu weekend getaway to Kalahari, an indoor water park in Sandusky. This place is massive and a little overwhelming - water slides, wave pool, kiddie areas, bars, restaurants, arcades and games, and a huge hotel.  It was a little like Disney World on a smaller scale, but still, people EVERYWHERE!!!  We started off the afternoon with some family fun.  The older kids hurried to the water slides.  Dave, Anderson, and I took our time with a little lazy river, wave pool, and kiddie areas.  My mom held Anderson so we could take a trip down a water slide.

We went to dinner at Chet and Matt's (seriously the best pizza in Sandusky or maybe anywhere for that matter) and then everyone turned in while Dave and I hit up the water park again until it closed.  In about 45 minutes we were able to do five water slides.  My favorites were the ones with the individual inner tubes.  You betcha, I slept well that night.

Sunday, yesterday, we got up, had breakfast and started all over again.  Dave and I added some attractions to our list.  He went down a body slide, while we both did the boogie boarding.  Yeah, I got a lot of water up my nose with that one.  And some serious wedgies!!!  Most of the day was spent chilling with my homies and making sure Anderson didn't turn into a human Popsicle. 

The ride home was quiet.  Needless to say, we turned in early last night.  I'm still really tired this morning.

Week in Review

I'm now four weeks into my new training plans, and I tell you, I've been working harder than I have in a long time.  And consistent - I'm really trying to do things in order and do all the workouts.  This week was pretty good, even with Christmas and a surprise trip out of town this weekend (more on that Monday).

Monday
Planned: 2300 swim with a long set in the middle; strength training
Actual: The long set of the swim was near the end and I was tired by the time I got to it.  I really had to concentrate on my form throughout.  2300 yards; 30 minutes of strength.

Tuesday
Planned: track workout with a zillion 200s.
Actual: I felt like a rock star with this workout.  My 200s were fast and consistent with all but one with the same time and that one was one second faster.  Boom!  5.75 miles.

Wednesday
Planned: 2000 swim; 30 minute easy run
Actual: Unfortunately, I didn't get the swim in, but I did do an easy run on the treadmill.  3 miles.

Thursday
Planned: 45 minute bike; two different strength workouts
Actual: Yeah, I didn't get to the bike ride this week.  I probably shouldn't be skipping my bike rides.  I did do one of the strength workouts - short and sweet.

Friday
Planned: short run with hills
Actual: I just did an easy run on the treadmill as the long run I had planned this week was going to be plenty hilly.  3.5 miles

Saturday
Planned: Long run; strength training
Actual: I got to run with Amanda as she was home for the holidays.  We ran at a local metropark that has a hilly, rocky trail.  She and my friend Bridget really took it to Dave and me; I ran paces I haven't hit there maybe ever.  I wasn't able to do the full long run, but did enjoy some social time with Amanda before heading out of town with the family.  5.72 miles; 30 minutes of strength

Sunday
Rest Day

Totals:
Swim - 2300 yards
Bike - 0 miles
Run - 25.23 miles (this included some extra mileage that was not part of the plan)
Strength - 1.25 hours

Christmases #2 and #3

Christmas #2 was at my parents' house on Christmas eve.  It was CRAZY TOWN!!!  I swear my sister's kids must have had 10 gallons of soda each!  After the wrapping paper was flown and all the boxes were cleaned up, we had a great Christmas with the family.  Dave and I were gifted a new chest freezer which is great because our 27 year old fridge/freezer doesn't exactly have a lot of room, plus we had to leave our previous freezer at our old house.  We were also gifted six months of drinking water supply.  Great gift!  Personally, I got a new pair of Oiselle running tights.  Anderson got a billion matchbox cars.  The biggest surprise was a family trip THIS COMING WEEKEND!!! to a very large indoor water park.  More details and pictures next week.

Christmas #3 was our personal Christmas with just the three of us - well, plus my parents who came over to watch Anderson open his gifts.  I got a new reflective vest that also has flashing lights in it.  I also got a new training log.  And my coolest gift was a large map of the US.  Weird?  I'll explain next week.  Anderson got some cool toys and lots of camping equipment.  Yep, we're planning on camping this summer.  Well, maybe.  Maybe it will just be Dave and Anderson in the back yard.  I got Dave a new tool for our renovations and an entry into a local half marathon.  Is that a good gift?  I would have loved it.  I'm not so sure Dave was excited.

It was a great Christmas with fun family and cool gifts.  I enjoyed watching Anderson open his gifts and get excited about his toys.  Christmas has a whole new meaning with the little one.  I enjoy it so much more.  I hope you all had a happy holiday.

Foto Friday

Christmas was so awesome this year with Anderson.  With each gift he figured it out more and more and was totally an expert by the end.  I didn't take a whole lot of pictures because I wanted to experience Christmas with him, but here's a few I got.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Grandma

We were part of one of the sweetest things last night at the local supermarket.

Of course, we were last minute Christmas shopping - presents for the dog.  Yep, we're those people.  Anyway, there was a sweet old woman in the dog treats area with lots and lots of coupons.  She turned to us and said, "do you have a dog?"  Why yes we do!  She started going through her coupons and helped us pick out some treats and use her coupons.  She said she was 83 (I love that old people brag about their age) and she didn't have a dog but she cut the coupons for her 89 year old sister who has two dogs.  After we picked out our treats she said, "I know they don't like people to leave coupons for others, but I don't care what they think" and then she just left the coupons laying there for others to use.  Beautiful.  I might have cried.

Chickened Out

Let's just say, I'm socially awkward.  Well, socially-don't-want-to-participate?  I have a friend who is the most BEAUTIFUL woman ever and has this very put together life and family and she used to invite me to everything.  I would always accept and then find a million excuses to get out of it.  I love to be invited to things, but I don't actually want to go.  I figure I'm going to be awkward and weird and I'd rather just stay home in my sweatpants.

A few weeks ago, I contacted the local swimming masters program.  I knew they met early in the morning, which would work for my schedule, and I knew that they were good and had good participation.  I have been interested for years but never did anything about it.  Over the weekend, I heard back from the group with a very detailed email.  I was excited and returned the email with plans to attend this week. 

Last night I was crazy tired.  I had gotten up at 5:30am to work out; spent the day running around trying to get last minute Christmas stuff done; and then finished the day with yet another workout (seriously, am I training for a marathon or an ironman??).  I was exhausted by 8:00pm and crawled into bed at 10:00.  That's pretty early for me.  I was so tired that I was like "well, if I wake up at 5:00, I'll got to masters at 5:30" but I did not set an alarm.

Wouldn't you know I woke up on my own at 4:45 this morning?

I didn't go.  I don't want to go alone.  I feel like that new kid at school and everyone's staring at you.  I don't want to be awkward.  Plus, I just can't justify the cost of it when I already pay a coach who writes swim workouts and have a Y membership where I do my swimming. 

Do you all swim masters?  Do you do separate swim workouts from your triathlon coaches?  Do you have a separate gym membership in addition to your masters program?

Christmas #1

Due to work and vacation schedules, we celebrated Christmas with Dave's side of the family this past weekend.  We were excited to share this Christmas with our little guy as now that he is almost two we figured it would be fun to see his joy and happiness.  Well, that lasted all of about three gifts and then we started to wonder away.  Truly, I think our dog was more excited about the gifts than Anderson was.  Regardless, Anderson got some fun stuff that he has been playing with.  He got a miniature basketball hoop, a giraffe tricycle (starting him early in triathlon), and one of those popper vacuum-type toy.  He especially loves that one which his momma can attest to is LOUD!!!

Myself, I got a lot of great running and triathlon stuff.  I got a new bike helmet which was needed as mine has a crack down the middle and probably isn't very safe.  I got a winter running vest from Saucony.  I've never worn a vest while running but there are certainly days where I think "too warm for a jacket, not warm enough for just a long-sleeved shirt".  I got a new pair of running shoes.  Stockpile, baby.  And I got a pull-up assist strap.  I am going to learn how to do a pull-up!!!

Dave got some electronic stuff that I don't understand and he's already put it to work in the house, which I don't understand either. 

Christmas #2 is Christmas Eve at my parents' house and then we will have a simple Christmas just Dave, Anderson, and me on Christmas morning.  I hope your holidays are off to a good start.

New Toy!

When I found out I qualified for USAT Age Group Nationals, I had a serious conversation with my coach.  We discussed my thoughts on all the running goals I had and if I would still be able to go after those.  For real, my running is my love.  Triathlon is just a sometimes hobby.  And then we discussed my suckage (it's a word) at biking.  I suck at biking.  SUCK!!!  And I don't want to suck.  I would love to be able to hold my own and then catch those chicks on the run.  I shouldn't suck as bad as I do.  Coach has been gently nudging me for years to get a powermeter so we can get down to the bottom of my biking suckage.  A few years ago I saved enough money to get one and then spent the money on new carpet.  Priorities.  But this year I decided to get serious about this.  I'm not going to go into Nationals and hope to not finish last.  So on Cyber Monday I found a good deal and purchased a new powermeter.  Yesterday it finally arrived.

 

After searching for tools for nearly a half hour, I was able to get the chainrings off my bike and onto the powermeter. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to remove my crank as don't have the tools to do that, plus I wouldn't be able to install the new bottom bracket as I don't have the tools for that either.  Now I have to figure out how to get the baby and my bike into the local bike shop today...

Monday's Menu

I'm on a quest to get healthy, fit, and fast!  I would lovelovelove to get Whole30 a-go, but I've tried and tried and can't get past the first few days of cravings.  I always cave and wind up with cake or a martini.  So, I'm slowly starting to build my nutritious meals in hopes that some day I can actually make it through a whole month (and training cycle).

My new favorite breakfast is actually courteous of The Biggest Loser tv show and is Whole30 approved.  It's very simple too (although clean up is a different story).  Basically, you cut open an avocado, crack and egg into each half of it, and then cook it at 350 for 20 minutes.  Then we eat it with salsa.  It is so yummy!

As I've said, clean up is a different story.  The egg usually gets all over the pan and then is baked on.  Our dishwasher and terrible water does not do the job.  I try to remember to immediately put water and soap into the pan and let it soak.  Then I usually have to use a spatula to scrape it all off before actually washing.  If someone has a better idea, please let me know.

What's your favorite healthy breakfast?

Week in Review

I did better this week of getting the workouts done, although I still fell a little short.  Baby steps.

Monday
Planned - 30-60 minute run with a few drills
Actual - 40 minute run; 4.62 miles in the dark.  Only rolled my ankle once!  I also made up last week's missing swim workout.

Tuesday
Planned - 2300 swim with a lovely progressive ladder in the middle of it; 30 minute basic strength
Actual - 2300 yard swim in 45 minutes; did one mile of run before strength and one mile after; 30 minutes of strength.

Wednesday
Planned - 45 minute track workout (30 second pick ups)
Actual - Hit the track at 6:00am in the cold and rocked out this workout.  My picks varied from a 6:44 pace to a 7:06 pace.  5.35 miles.

Thursday
Planned - 2400 swim with lots and lots of drills; 15 minutes of core work
Actual - Unfortunately, I never made it to the pool but I did do the core work and made Dave do it with me.  He loved it.

Friday
Planned - 40 minutes of biking with specific drills
Actual - I didn't get to do the drills as Dave kept talking to me and asking me questions and then my mom called in the middle of the workout.  Regardless, I still rode my bike on the trainer for 45 minutes.  8.28 miles

Saturday
Planned - 55 minute long run with holding a sustainable pace after a short warmup; hip, arm, and ab strength
Actual - Rocked this workout holding a steady pace without using my Garmin as a guide miles 2-6 were 8:53, 8:53, 8:50, 8:46, 8:56.  I call that consistency!  55 minutes, 6.13 miles.  Unfortunately, I didn't get in the strength.  Hopefully I can do some of that next week.

Sunday
Rest Day

Totals
Swim - 2300 yards
Bike - 8.28 miles
Run - 18.1 miles
Strength - 0.75 hours