Archive for the ‘My Training Log’ Category
This morning’s workout was bright and early at Qi on Walnut. It’s always amazing to head over to the gym at an early hour and see it busy.
Anyway, one of our dogs was up every hour last night with stomach issues but despite my strong desire to turn off my alarm at 5:50 this morning and skip the training session I didn’t. I got up and made it to the gym. Once I was there I was happy to have made the decision.
We ran one mile around the club, came back and did a hard spin session for about 30 minutes then ran another mile. Good exercise to prep for transitions if you don’t have time to get out on your real bike.
The best part of the morning was the curried turkey burger patty I smothered in cranbery mango salsa upon my return home. It was before Steve and our daughter woke up, well kind of. I guess I actually ate the second half in one huge bite that I chewed as I ran upstairs to M who was hollering to get out of her crib, but at least I got to eat without somebody sitting on my lap:)
This is my taper week before doing a sprint triathlon(my first) on Sunday. I will be doing the Rattlesnake tri in Aurora with a group that I’ve been triathlon training with from Qi fitness in downtown Denver. So after my swim this morning Steve and I headed out for a short run.
Given the lack of trees in our neighborhood and the August sun we decided to drive to Bluff Lake Nature Center nearby and run mile loops around the lake. Our thought was it would be cooler and provide a fair amount of cloud cover.
The heat really got to me today as well as my attempts to keep in step with my speedster husband. Two miles in, I announced I would have to slow down and he could run at his own pace. He gleefully sped along.
The little hill climb on one side of the lake seemed steeper as I called out my go to running mantra to power me through it. Inhale strength. Exhale doubt. I made it up the hill but not without a large degree of urpiness and a promise to myself, “I’ll curb the midday runs in our area until the fall.”
This morning as I swam back and forth and back and forth staring straight down at the black lane line below me I found myself wishing I was instead swimming in open water.
For me, this was a major break through as the swim portion of a triathlon has always been the dreaded start, necessary to suffer through so I can get on to the fun part. The idea of swimming indoors was never exciting, but it beat the alternative. The thought of having to submerge myself in murky water I can’t see in, then get hit or kicked by those around me all while trying to swim was more than I could handle. Add to that the claustorphobic of a wetsuit and I was a mess.
This summer has brought many more open water swim opportunities than I ever knew existed. We also vacationed for a week in Hawaii next to a lagoon so I could swim in the open water every day for a week. These open water swims coupled with the indoor total immersion swim training we did this winter have gotten me past the point of just suffering through.
Heck, last week when doing a short open water swim(600 m) in very murky water with no goggles (I forgot them) I was not only doing it, I was enjoying it. I even caught myself thinking….. I could this for 2.4 miles some day:)
Full disclosure, my first tri has yet to officially occur. We have staged a number on our own in training, I have completed years of runs, rides and indoor swims. I recently did my first organized open water swim race/run and am registered to complete my first Sprint this August, The Rattlesnake Triathlon at Aurora Reservoir in Colorado. Yet as of today, I have not crossed the finish line of an organized official triathlon. So how did I get to this point?
After my husband got in to the NYC marathon he started a consistent running regimen. I started to see him change, get to know Central Park(we lived in NYC at the time) and consume any and every food he desired. His health was better and he seemed happier. This all made me want to run too. I would drag myself to the park to run and I say things like, “Ok, I’ll run, but never a marathon”. Time passed quickly, I would crave my runs while at the office during the day. I ultimately trained for and completed the Disney Marathon in January 2006 with my husband and other family members. All the while listening as my husband’s interest in triathlon began to brew.
So then as we would happily run, I would say things like, “Ok, I’ll run a marathon but I will never do a triathlon.” Yet somehow in the late Spring of 2006 my husband and I signed up for Team in Training and began to train for our first Olympic Distance Triathlon. Hmmmmmm, a pattern seemed to be developing.
Bike rides on the loops of Central Park dodging strollers and tourists, carriages and oad apples and loving it most of the time. We purchased our first training swim wear (I love Splish) and swim caps and would take the subway North to the far reaches of Manhattan to swim with TNT once a week. All the while running along our trusted routes in Central Park as well as sometimes up North in Westchester county of New York.
A couple of months in to this process after getting seriously lapped on a training ride then nearly passing out in the pool we found out we were expecting and I was benched. The race we were going to complete together was now a one man show for my husband, and I have to admit, I wasn’t terribly disappointed:)
All this being said I am doing my first official race in August, The rattlesnake Triathlon in Aurora, CO. and….. I am looking forward to it.
This morning I overslept. I overslept a lot. Actually got 11 hours of sleep. No, I am not sick just really really tired. Today I feeling much better and had a great workout.
With all the biking, running, and swimming the areas that I have let slide are Yoga and resistance training. This morning I worked out with my buddy at our local gym. We did a quick workout (17 minutes) that got the entire body and felt great.
The workout was simple
1min – squat with medicine ball throw
1min – cleans
1min – jump up on step, two feet (I used an 18 inch step)
1min – bar press
1 min- row machine
1min rest
reapeat for a total of 3 sets
The total workout only took 17 minutes and every muscle in body was shaking by the end. It felt great to do some resistance training.
Tonight I am going to the group run with the rocky mountain tri club. Only 2 workouts today. I guess that is what happens when I oversleep…
I have not posted in a very long time, but my training is still on schedule. I started the 30 week ironman Training plan from the book beIRONfit. So far it is going great. I have never done heart rate monitor and training for time rather than distance before. And I like it. I like it a lot.
Something about going out for an hour run at heart rate zone 2 is much different than going out for a seven mile run. It is a different approach for me and so far it is working.
I started off this morning with spin-yoga class at seasonsfit, that place is awesome!
Cassia and I are planning a 1:15 run this afternoon and tonight I am going to swim with the rocky mountain triathlon club. Now I have not been in the water for awhile so we will have to see how that goes.
I have always struggled with my swim and just came accross the greatest swim training package for triathletes. The drills are engaging and most important, helpful in shaving minutes off the swim. Check out the website and watch the video.
This week I am covering the office in new York. It will be a nice treat to run in central park again.
Here is a view from the place we are staying. I quickly forgot just how busy is here.
Todays training run started at 6:00 am. Although it was Buffalo Bill Day in Golden Colorado, where the run started, so we ended up starting a little late to allow everyone to find parking and arrive. Read the rest of this entry »
This week we were going out of town, so I went to the morning speed/hills workout with runners edge of the rockies rather than the evening. They start at 5:30 am, so it meant an early morning. But I was glad I went.
While getting the workout in first thing is a great bonus, the better bonus is that the sun is was not pounding on us.
This week wall ALL HILLS! Read the rest of this entry »