Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Last of 2010

There is something about wearing a wetsuit in public that just reeks of superhero...


I have slowly been getting back into the groove of exercising: a few spin classes here, a 6am ride there and a dash of open water swims. They have all been great- and most importantly knee-problem-free!

Most happily I have found an open water swimming buddy in Kai :) This has been the most happy new development. We've gone for a few swims at the SF Acquatic Park- last week we even logged a full 2 miles total- but this weekend we were able to convince Erica to get her ass out of bed on a rainy Sunday morning to come swimming with us! It was pretty awesome :)

The morning definitely started with a few texts that read:

"It's raining pretty hard. We still swimming?..."
"Its not raining here"
"Hum ok..."

I decided that it was in Erica's best interest to give Kai full authority when picking her up to use force if necessary to get here into the car :)

But we all made it to the Acquatic Park and even though it was deary it wasn't raining! Then it was the task of putting on the wetsuits. Erica had forgotten how to put hers on- luckily I was able to introduce her to the wonderful new world of pam pre-wetsuit.. it's as magical as you would imagine! I also had a new wetsuit that I was trying out so I was pretty excited to take this puppy for a joy ride.

Clearly Erica had forgotten how to put on her wetsuit!

The weather was easily in the 40's, misting and the water was also in the high 40's. So... we needed a bit of pre-swim hyping up before we got into the water.

Hence these:


and this...

Oh ya... and then we took a video:




Any who, after all of these shenanigans we actually did eventually hop into the water!

I must say for Erica first real open water swim in....a year? or more she did a great job and was up for everything that we asked of her. We didn't do a huge amount of meters, but we were able to work on our siting - which got increasingly harder as it started to rain more and Erica was even able to do a full 250m straight in her wetsuit multiple times- which is pretty great! She even listened when I kept shouting for her to put her head in the water!

All in all a great reintroduction for her to open water swimming- AND she even liked it enough that she is excited for more in 2011!

I have to say that I am pretty excited for 2011 too. Not just for the ability to do some more triathlons, but I really want to do some open water swim races. I sort of missed the boat on the whole open water swim season this year, but really want to explore more of it next year! Hell, maybe I'll even be around to do my bridge to bridge swim that I so want to do...that would be pretty awesome!

In prep for 2011 and swimming I went to return my rented wetsuit to Sports Basement and actually ended up impulse buying this awesome Orca wetsuit that I have soo been coveting! It's the Orca Alpha and I am super in love with it- so much so that I think it might be bordering on wrong. Can a girl love a wetsuit too much?...

And what is even better I got it for more than 50% off :) So it was like finding the love of your life AND realizing that they are a cheap date :)


I am super excited for my first open water swim in 2011 when I get to try it out for real! It has these great blue neoprene panels on the arms that make it much easier to swim in- so no more my-shoulders-are-so-tired-they-are-going-to-fall-off mid swim. They were on the Blue Seventy wetsuit I rented for the swim today but only on the shoulders and it made a pretty big difference.
The specs are below if anyone was to check it out:
http://www.orca.com/product/orca-alpha-female-

So all this will probably be the end for 2010, but there will hopefully been much much more to come in 2011. There will inevitably be more running in 2011- and with that comes more self-deprecating posts- and hopefully I'll be able to actually get in a long ride here and there.

Have a great holiday season all and see you in 2011!

Friday, November 19, 2010

I'm Back Bitches! (Literally and Figuratively)

YAY! I am back in action!

After over a month of baby-ing my knee and two weeks of a very painful pinched nerve in my back- that kept me from doing anything- I am finally back to cycling, running and swimming! And it feels good!

This break also taught me a very important lesson- Stretch like the dickens pre-workout and post-workout!

Well, Sunday was my first ride in over a month and it felt really good to get back to cycling.


We decided to take it easy on my knees and my legs and do a mild ride that went over the
Golden Gate Bridge and into the Sausalito/ Tiburon area. Happily this was the first time I have biked over the bridge and it was also probably the last beautiful day in the bay area for a while.


Erica and I enjoying a beautiful day and clear skies!

So we started out a bit late in the day (and as we realized later too late to be starting a ride in the winter time), but were still able to enjoy some incredible views of the city from Sausalito. We quickly made it to in n out where we of course had to make a pit stop. You know that it is nearly impossible for me to pass up a chance at in n out (and when I say "nearly" I actually mean "certainly").

After that we started to ride again and Erica thought that she had a flat tire... turns out yes indeed it was- and it only took us another hour and half for her to fully get a flat. Sadly on her folding bike the tires and tubes are too small to bum a tube off of another rider. At this point Andrew and I had biked all the way to the tip of the peninsula and by the time we biked back and figured out the issue with her bike it was getting pretty late. Andrew and I thought that we could bike back all the way before the sunset- but after we got to in n out I felt that we wouldn't make it. We had no lights nor did we have any reflective gear- it figured it was better to be safe then sorry and since Darwin was coming to get Erica any ways we figured that we would just get a ride back with him.

It took some AMAZING bike/ human tetris on Ze'ev and Andrew's part but we managed to fit four people, two normal sized bikes and a folding bike into Darwin's 4 door Toyota!

Here we are smushed into the back of Darwin's car - I said that we managed to fit it all I never said that it was comfortable!

So it was a strange first ride back, but two things came out of it: 1. my knee seems to be in good shape and not hurt any more - even though my legs are WAY out of shape now. 2. I got to wear my new awesome arm warmers!

Here I am capturing the moment of de-virginizing my awesome mini-skull arm warmers!
I love the ridiculous shit that you can wear as a cyclist!

Since then I have been back to swimming and running. Neither were as hard to get back into as a thought. My running actually stayed at a decent level as well (which, might I add, is still very slow).

I even think that my time off might have been a good thing because now I feel super motivated and am really excited to be training again! I can't wait to get back to really biking and all the fun that comes with harder work outs!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

An Ode To My Two Tadpoles!

Because real pictures of Tadpoles are quite ugly!

Just wanted to put a shout out to Laryssa and Erica who are becoming quite the swimmers!

After 2 months of from-scratch-swim-lessons, Laryssa is finally doing a full freestyle stroke across the whole 25m pool length! Whoot whoot! Now that we are over that initial hump it is time to start to work on arm- kick coordination and arm strength. I am super excited to introduce Laryssa the Tadpole and soon she will be kicking tri butt in 2011!

And a second shout out goes to Erica- who is FINALLY realizing that she is a way better swimmer than she thought. Congrats on doing 2950m last swim practice and look forward to many more painful swim practices that I will concoct for you. :)

Yay swimming and yay tadpoles!

Oh, on a side note, I got a new swim buddie Kai. We are going to start to do open water swims in the frigid cold of the SF Bay come Oct 30th! Wish me and my extremities lots of luck!



Monday, September 27, 2010

Down for the count...i.e. how I am slowly falling apart


Lesson 1: Do not get yourself stuck on a ride with no shade in 90 degree weather and your only way out is up, up, up.

Lesson 2: Liz makes bad decisions

These were the two crucial lessons that I took from my Saturday ride.

Saturday was going to be my great return to riding after 3 weeks of not being able to do anything due to life and the hectic-ness that has become its norm. I was super excited to do the three bears ride- one that I hadn't done since way back when in June when it was just me and Erica riding. I had even planned my whole weekend so that all the other things that I needed to do this weekend could happen around this ride.

So I get up and over to Berkeley with all my gear ready and plenty of water (it was to be in the 90's down near the reservoirs). We start up Spruce and start to head into Wildcat Canyon and oh no... my left knee starts to hurt. At this point it could just be warming up pain due to the fact I hadn't done this in a while.

Ok, so I keep going. The pain moves from being localized in the back two tendons behind my knee and starts to creep up the inside of my left leg. Probably not great- luckily we all stop at Inspiration Point to assess.

Inspiration Point is the point of no return on this ride. I either: A. go down Wildcat and do this whole damn ride (37 miles) or B. jump ship and head home at this point.

Of course a normal and sane (I have to add sane here- it is crucial) would have said it was time to pack it in and go home since this was a particularly hilly ride. Of course, see Lesson 2 from above, Liz makes terrible decisions.

So of course I decide to "just go down Wildcat Canyon" and then "see how I feel". Some how this ended me half way through the ride in lots-o-pain thinking who the HELL can I call to come and pick me up?! Of course, even in the day and age of ubiquitous cell phone usage, I managed to have a group of car-people who collectively don't pick up their cell phones at that exact moment. I was even hoping that a mini-van filled with a happy, non-deranged family would drive by and pick me up (ya that didn't happen either).

Since I had gotten myself into this mess the only way out was to finish climbing up the rest of the hills... so not good.

I couldn't even finish the ride completely. By the end of it all my knee was in too bad of shape to finish the last climb up Wildcat Canyon- I had to bike to the bart station so I could get out of the valley. ::sigh::

Luckily, Andrew's family's bbq was filled with a whole slew of doctors all of which thought my left knee tendons were inflammed.

So basically I need to take it easy until my knee stops hurting and then be "reasonable" about working out. HA! reasonable?!

But they did say that if I wasn't more careful I'd only suffer for it later. So in order to listen to the doctor's advice I am taking this week off from training and only doing yoga. I have personally decided that part of this is due to lack of stretching on my part. I have noticed lately that my flexibility has gone way down. So I have decided to do yoga/ stretch everyday regardless of whether or not I am working out. Hopefully this will kick the bad knee habit in the bud.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Attempting to not be a mono-athlete any more


So I finally went back to running to day - the first time since my tri for fun! It has been a good hiatus, but it was sure hard to get back into the swing of things. I have decided to do some nice easy short runs during my lunch break, since my after work schedule doesn't allow me to do much training until my grad school apps are over with.

Today was shitty, but it is probably a good thing that I am back to running. I am hoping that by March I can do 13 miles no problem.

I am also hoping that even though I am only doing a few miles at lunch that that qualifies as me as bi-athlete again, right?!

Also, went back to the Cal's swim practice on Monday for their recovery workout swim. It was good and no cramping happened - although it came close at one point! I think that I need to do some calf strengthening exercises when my foot is flexed and pointed so that my calf doesn't cramp during butterfly and breast.

Here's our recovery workout (we were in a 33m long pool so the work is a bit wonky):

Warm Up:

200m free

10 X 66m: 1st 66m: build up (i.e. start slow and get fast by the end), 2nd 66m: cruising pace, 3rd 66m: build down, 4th 66m: slow and 5th 66m: fast. Repeat

5 X 100m: 1st, 3rd and 5th are free style, 2nd and 4th were either free style drills or non-free

5 X 100m: 1st 100m: free, 2nd 100m: IM, 3rd 100m: free, 4th 100m: backwards IM, 5th 100m: free

4 X 133m: 1st 133m: regular IM, 2nd 133m: free, breast, back, free, 3rd 133m: free, free, back, free and 4th 133m: all free

Cool down:

200m free

And that's all she wrote folks! Enjoy!




Thursday, September 16, 2010

Sad Calf is now Just-Barely-Making-It-By Calf


Oh and the workout

I forgot to post the workout that we did so that anyone training can do it as well.

Here we go:

Warm up:

200 free

10 X 100m free sets: 1st 100m: is 25m fast 75m slow, 2nd 100m: is 50m fast 50m slow, 3rd 100m: is 75 m fast 25 slow, 4th 100m: is all fast, 5th 100m: is all slow. Repeat

Main Set:

6 X 300m free kick sets: the kick set is comprised of 7 kicks with the left arm stretched out in front then 3 strokes then 7 kicks with the right arm stretched out in front then 3 strokes and so on. This is to work on rotation as well as working your kicks. Also you learn to appreciate the 3 strokes you get in between.
It goes as follows: 1st 300m: kick set for 100m and 200m free, 2nd 300m: kick set for 200m and 100m free, lastly 3rd 300m: is all kick set. Repeat. These should have a 10 sec rest in between the 300's

3 X 300m free and non-free: 1st 300m: 100m non free of your choice (but you could do an IM to make it spicy) 200m free, 2nd 300m: 200m non free 100m free, 3rd 300m: 300m non free

Cool Down:

200m free

So that is it folks! I also gave a modified version to Erica which is basically the same just less intervals.

Here is that:

Warm up:

150m free

6 X 100m: Every 3rd 100m (so the 3rd and 6th) do the close fisted drill for the whole 100m. There should only be a 5 sec break in between 100s.

Main Set:

3 X 300m free style and kick board: 1st 300m: kick board for 100m and 200m free, 2nd 300m: kick board for 200m and 100m free, lastly 3rd 300m: is all kick board. These should have a 10 sec rest in between the 300's

3 X 300m free kick sets: 1st 300m: kick set for 100m and 200m free, 2nd 300m: kick set for 200m and 100m free, lastly 3rd 300m: is all kick set. These should have a 10 sec rest in between the 300's

Cool Down:

200m free



Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sad calf is Sad


So Monday I went to swim with the Cal Tri Team for the first time while I try and decide if it is a good idea for me to actually join the team. There are a couple of reasons why I am still on the fence about joining- even though it is a great team and would be an awesome way for me to push myself- the least of which is the fact that all the Cal-Hoorah kinda scares me a bit. (What can I say I went to NYU for god sake... college spirit just isn't in my nature! I'm trying to reform and be happy/ spunky about it... also, not in my nature!)

I was also worried that I was going to be the "old" person on the team with a bunch of über- spunky freshman and they were going to shame me... which actually sorta happened- just not in the way I was imagining.

After amping myself up for the whole evening (the practice is at 8pm) and telling myself that I was a highschool swimmer and "God damn it can TOTALLY do this", I get there and the practice starts. First of all let me preface this by the face that in highschool our swim coach was an ex-navy seal, and while he was an amazing coach and great guy he was a yeller. Actually I have NEVER had a swim coach that was not a yeller (now that I ponder on this fact it could be due to the fact that when you swim your head is in the water and you are actually unable to hear your coach talking to you so by the time you DO get to the wall they are irate from trying to talk to you the whole way and there for are ready to yell at you. Just things to ponder...) And by yeller I mean: point at you in the pool "Why have you stopped swimming?! Did you completely misunderstand the concept of sets with only a 5 second rest? You are not fast enough for this lane today" and suddenly you have been demoted a lane IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE TEAM. So... going on THAT experience I really thought that it would be more along those lines.

In actuality I don't know if the swim coaches really cared if anyone new was there or not. Not because they don't care- they do- it was just that there was only two of them and a WHOLE lot of us with seriously varying skill levels. They could not keep track of what everyone was doing. It would have been much more helpful if they had a board to write the sets down on so that they didn't have to recite them to us each time we finished one... but oh well you live and you learn I guess.

Once there you kinda just hop in a lane that you *think* you might swim at the same level as everyone else and you just start down the lane in a crazy free for all and hope you are able to make due. It was actually kinda crazy/ fun in a way - I have never been to a swim practice that was that disorganized, but it was a great way to sorta just melt in with the rest of the team without sticking out like a newbie-sore-thumb! I must say tho, not all the lanes had lane lines and in the frenzy that was the swim I got smacked, kicked and even scratched while swimming! A bit too reminiscent of water polo practices, HAHAHA.

The sets were great, but not too challenging. I got to be the leader in my lane- which was bad because I was in a lane too slow so I didn't really get a great workout. I should have bumped up a lane, but it was just too crazy so I stuck with it. And here is where the most embarrassing thing that can happen at a swim practice happened: mid butterfly, in the deep end of the pool I get a majorly intense calf cramp. So intense I actually started to sink to the bottom of the pool because I could not concentrate on anything but the pain. Of course this holds up the whole lane that I am heading- and I have to struggle to the surface and pathetically doggie paddle over to the wall where the coach is standing and staring at me. Let me reiterate: I doggie paddled at a freaking swim practice! Needless to say I am glad that they really didn't know me at this practice.

Any who, after a few minutes of waiting to see if this cramp would go away I sheepishly crawled out of the pool and left the practice hobbling down to my car. Unfortunately by the time I drove home (Thank GOD it was my left leg or else I would have been stranded there) the cramp had become so intense that I couldn't put any pressure on it and therefore was stranded in the garage. Of course it was also the day that Andrew had left his phone in the car so there was no possible way of calling for help. Finally I got up stairs to my bottle of ibuprofen and a heat pack- it took over an hour for the cramp to die down enough so that my foot was not forced into a relevé.

Of course Erica, the-soon-to-be-great-doctor, diagnosed it over the phone: evidently the leading cause of cramps are dehydration and imbalance of electrolytes. I.e. me: not eating pre-practice and drinking coffee the day of were my downfalls. The succubus that is coffee strikes again! Now, I am once again going cold turkey with the no-coffee plan, thankfully I have ol' reliable green tea to get me through the day!

Now we are on day two and it is still super sore and hard to walk. I feel like such an old person right now. I asked Laryssa if this is a sign that I am officially old and she said that I wasn't officially old until I was sore and hurt, but couldn't remember why... So I guess I'm not old. I'm just young and embarrassed instead... Great!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Laryssa's Birthday Ride

It was a BIG weekend for team Shut up & Sweat.

We kicked off the birthday festivities on Saturday with a 9am Laryssa- Liz swim lessons. It was nice and frustrating- just the way I am sure that Laryssa likes her swim lessons! We have been working on kicking, breathing and proper body alignment and even though it doesn't seem that way to her we ARE making progress. I WILL have her ready to swim come race season 2011 damn it!

After that it was a little R & R time until the big night where we caught dinner at Ryoko's near Union Square and then off to MJ's Birthday Bootie Mash Up at DNA.

Where we were doing a bit of this:


and this....
oh, and of course some of this:


You know, exactly the kinda of things you want to be doing til 4 am the night before a 30 mile ride that ends in a climb up Pinehurst!

Any who, we were all back up bright and early at 9 am to go to St. Francis's Fountain for a breakfast so huge that the waiter's couldn't believe how much we were consuming. They kept coming over to our table with orders and asking "Do these waffles with strawberries really belong at this table that already has hash browns, huevos rancheros, many sides of eggs, two cheesy-potato-egg-sour cream-concoctions and a milk shake?!". Oh yes they do!

Then off to Berkeley for our Sunday ride. The Pinehurst ride is Laryssa's nemesis just the way that Wildcat is mine. The first time we went on this ride Laryssa and I had only stopped drinking about 3 hours before the ride and it was brutal going up that hill. So of course it was the perfect ride to do on her birthday!

We had a few new riders as well: Erica's friend Sven, his friend Paulie, and Erica's boyfriend Darwin who cycles with us off and on.

All in all the ride went really well and luckily it turned out not to be too hot or cold that day. It was Erica's first hang-over ride and she was quite the trooper! It was also my first ride after a long night of dancing in heels- and let me tell you my knees did NOT appreciate that decision by the end of the ride!

While my knees might not have appreciated the weekend I sure was happy to have a chance to wear my favorite Pepto-Bismol T-shirt that was happily donated to me by Erica :)

Of course Laryssa had that Birthday Energy going for her so when it came to Pinehurst she powered up that hill and put us all to shame!

Her victory photo at the top!

That girl dominated that hill and can now proudly say that Pinehurst is no longer her nemesis! We all have to move on to bigger and better things eventually...


Darwin, happy to be at the top of the hill- he was a bit worse for a wear since his job has been working him 24/7!

After that it was smooth sailing down hill and off to a yummy Chinese dinner at Mandarin Garden- where we actually ate the restaurant out of food! HA!

Poor owner he had no idea what he was getting into by having us all eat there after a long weekend and long ride!

Team Shut up & Sweat good thing we aren't obese after all the food we consume!

For good measure, here's a video that Erica filmed while biking- very safe of her!


Monday, August 23, 2010

First Triathlon: Tri for Fun 8.21.2010

My first tri is over and done with and I can honestly say not only did I have a great time doing it, but I met all of my personal goals!

Laryssa helping me pin on my very official bib!

I participated on Saturday in the 23rd annual Tri for Fun in Pleasanton, CA and I have to say that it is a great race if you are looking to do your first tri race in a not super competitive environment. Before the race I was really worried that no one was going to be crazy enough to wake up at 4 am to go to a tri race in Pleasanton and I would only be one of a hand full of people competing- which would have been intimidating and sad. Luckily, there are plenty of crazy people who want to get up early, pay money to work out and be in Pleasanton way too early in the morning! I should never underestimate the outdoorsy-ness of Bay area folk!


Pre-race photo with a back drop of all the people participating. I am looking very sleepy eyed in this photo because well- I was very sleepy! A big thank you to Laryssa and Andrew who woke up pre-sunlight to watch me race. You're the best!

About 1,000 people were competing that day and most of them were tri newbies like myself! That made the whole feel of the race very welcoming. A few days prior to the event I was starting to get a bit nervous and second guess my ability to even finish this short little tri, but once there at the event, the fact that so many people were new like me, made all the pre-race butterflies go away.

I was definitely happy that I had gone a few weeks before to watch Brian's race so I wasn't totally clueless on what to do/ expect. But it was nice that they had people there assisting you in setting up, understanding the course and walking you through the ins and outs of the whole experience.


Everyone waiting for their swim leg to start.

The swim was a short 400 meter in warm 70 degree water- no wetsuit needed thankfully! Those things are a pain in the ass as I am realizing. I got some really good advice pre-race from Brian to just sprint when the race starts so that you can get away from the throngs of other swimmers and have some actual room to swim. So I waded up right into the front of the crowd and started the race with a nice sprint to the first marker. I had SO much adrenaline going at that point that all my training to pace myself went out the window and I ended up sprinting the whole 400 meters- which isn't too bad cause it was a short distance. This turned out to be good because I ended up being one of the first girls in my division out of the water. Laryssa and Andrew said that they had to run over to the transition area to even see me get out of the water. Ok, swim part done!

Waiting with Laryssa for my portion of the swim to start. It was quite cold outside of the water, but once inside it was a great sprinting temperature.

The biking was 15 miles, short, not hilly and actually really beautiful. It was a really nice ride and we were all able to go pretty fast due to the mostly flat terrain. I did quite a bit of passing on my bike (but don't worry all those people whizzed past me when it came time to run!) and it was quite the array of bikes that people were racing with. Some people had full out tri bikes with special wheels and tri handle bars and others were doing the race in totally beat up old bikes or beach cruisers. It was a huge mix.

Lastly, the run... my nemesis! All I can say about the run is this- I really wanted to stop running- often, but all I could think of was 'what will I tell Laryssa if I stop running and walk? She will kill me!' Oh and she would know if I walked- since she pretty much knows my running times and ability (or lack there of!). Any ways like I said all those people I passed on the bike ride went right past me in the run! Hahaha! This race definitely showed me that I have a long ways to go before I am ready to really run an Olympic distance tri.

This was a hilly run on a loose gravel trail so there were some obstacles for me as a new runner, but I am very happy to say that while I ran slowly, I ran the whole time. Thus completing my goal of wanted to be able to start and finish my first triathlon without stopping in the middle.
I was also able to accomplish my other goal which was to finish in under an hour and a half. I finished at 1 hour 14 minutes with the winner finishing at 55 minutes. I am super super happy with that time and am glad that it is my jumping off point for future races.


Finishing the race after being passed up on the run by many many people. But finishing strong. my actual time was 1:14- you have to deduct 15 minutes from the time due to the swimming wave I started in.

All in all I think that this race was great closure to a summer of training and I can say that I fell in love with this sport. Sadly, for the next few months I need to back off of the training so that I can get my grad school applications over and done with. Also so that I can save some money for X-mas and 2011 races (the start up for this sport is mad expensive!)

However, since I am reducing my training schedule it has opened up time for me to really start to teach Laryssa to swim! We have started with the basics (kicking and breathing) but I am hoping to get her ready to do some tris in 2011! I can not wait to see her progress in the pool and be at HER first sprint triathlon! In exchange she is going to attempt to make me a runner :)

We'll have to see how the trade off goes for the next few months! I am sure there will be many peg-leg days in my future, but I do feel satisfied to know that Laryssa will also be feeling the burn from swimming!!


Thursday, August 5, 2010

Elevations a Bitch: Liz:0- Running:1

Went for an easy 4 mile run today now that I am staying with family in Utah for the next few days... and I nearly died. Why did no one remind me that I run at sea level in San Francisco and that my family lives WAY above sea level. It is also damn hot and dry here. I think I was only able to run about 2.5 miles of it and the rest of the time if felt like ralphing on the side of the highway.

Oh running, my evil nemesis, you never go away do you?

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

A shout out!


I just wanted to give a quick shout out to two people here.

1. Robbie- for being an awesome sport and now swimming with me on Wednesdays (when I don't flake on his ass...). He pounded out two 500 meters last time with a smile on his face. I am super excited for next Wednesday when I KNOW he will be up for a pyramid of 400's, 500's and 600's :) (I might even be able to eek out a 800)

2. Laryssa- who on her first time swimming went into Lake Anza with us on Sunday and did some open water kicking drills. Open water swimming is totally scary, but she pulled through and didn't give up! Next time- swim class in a pool, and I know it will be so much easier.

A big Whoot Whoot! to all of my new swimming buddies!




Monday, August 2, 2010

Somehow we are now in August!

Wow I can't believe that we are now in August! I have no idea how that happened. Well work has been crazy- which is the main reason for why I haven't posted anything in ages. That and my mom came for a visit so no training happened when she was here.

The past two weeks have been pretty standard. I have been running more with my co-worker Laryssa and she has been helping my running a lot. It has been a nice change of pace to get out and run around the neighborhood instead of on a track or on a treadmill. It is a bit easier to try and keep myself motivated when I am running on the streets, plus Laryssa keeps me entertained the whole time :)

I've had a few good swims here and there, but apart from our last long bike ride I hadn't been on a ride til this Sunday. This Sunday we all decided to take it a bit easy since some of us were sore, some of us were still reeling from the party we went to on Friday and some were feeling a bit lazy. So we all decided to do the "steepest" hill in Berkeley.

It was short, but tiring. Centennial gets up to 11% in its grade at one point so it is by no means a little hill. Luckily, it doesn't last for too long.



That was a good push for all of us. I must say it was very taxing on the legs and was by no means a piece of cake. On the way up we ran into a guy trying to do the hill as well. He was doing little switch backs to try and make it up- I think he almost took down each of us as we tried to pass him! He almost ran right into me and I don't think that if he had I would have been able to do anything fast enough but just fall flat on the pavement!

After our short little ride we went on a 3 mile run- which was not super enjoyable, but something that I need to get used to doing more and more. On the way we ran into a little blue and white Budgerigars Bird (a budgie) that was clearly a lost house bird. We were able to scoop it up and spent some time trying to find the house that it came from. Luckily one neighbor was home and we left the bird with him in hopes that if he couldn't find the house the little guy belonged to at least he would take him to an animal shelter. Then back to the run.

My running is slowly getting better- ever so slowly. I am still not up to running on real hills yet, but at least I have figured out a way to keep going even when I feel like giving up. It is a short 100 meter improvement each week, but at least it is improving! And thank god I don't get as horridly sore any more!

This coming week I'll be in Utah spending some quality time with my grandma and the only thing that I will be able to do is run, so I hope I am able to push myself to do it!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Mile Marker


I swam my first mile yesterday! YAY! And it felt really good. Swimming is by far the thing that I am the best at in this whole thing, but even though I have been on swim teams, and usually put in 3,000 to 5,000 meters in a swim practice, when you practice for speed swimming they never make you swim over a 800. So this was very exciting to actually swim a mile for the first time. It makes me feel very confident that I have a good stroke pace down and that at the end I will still have tons of energy left to really push towards the finish.

The mile sorta happened by accident as I was only going to swim a 500, but when I got done with that I felt really in the zone so decided to go for a 1,000. Once I got there I figured well it's only 18 more laps till I hit a mile-lets do it! Luckily I was also timing my 500 so I figure that I did my mile in 26 minutes. Which I am very happy about as a base number to work off of.

I am now very excited to get a wetsuit and do some longer swims out in the open. Doing a mile in the pool is definitely a bit boring and it was hard to keep track of my laps.

I also must confess, half way through the day my arms became very sore- something I hadn't felt from swimming in a long time. I have to say that it felt good. :)

In-N-Out Ride photos

Panoramic of the view at the top of Redwood

Finally some photos of our trek last Sunday. Even though it was very hot and sunny we did go through some really nice patches of redwood trees and pine trees.


Brian on a really scene stretch of Redwood


Mile 52- the point of no return... or at least that is what I thought at the time. My legs were pretty damn dead at this point.

Waiting at the top of Redwood after a long, hot and mild climb

Brian chilling

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Week 6


I am not quite sure how I got here but somehow, someway I am done with week 6 of my training! Ahhhh!

Okay, week 6 went well and I am happy to say that I only took my two alloted days of rest during the whole week. I think that my training is progressing quite well. I am happy with the amount of biking and swimming that I am doing- although I would like to be swimming more, but it's just so damn cold here! I am definitely getting stronger and my stamina for biking and swimming has gone way up... however as for my running it is slow going. I can't lie though, it is definitely getting better, but not by leaps and bounds like the other two disciplines are.

I am now about 4 weeks away from doing my Tri for Fun in August and 5 weeks away from doing the Luna Bar Race and I really need to start running more. I need to be able to show up at these races with these running distances under my belt at least a few times.

That is definitely the intimidating part of this whole triathlon process for me- the running. I am worried that I am going to push and push during the swim and biking and not be able to run at the end. Or just have not pushed my self hard enough during training and not be ready. However, maybe now that I know the magic of Shot Blocks I will be able to push through... hahaha!


Monday, July 19, 2010

In-N-Out Ride..formerly Fruit Stand Ride



So yesterday we went on the Fruit Stand ride... a whole 62 miles! It was a crazy long ride and I almost didn't make it!

The ride started out well, albeit we had to go up my nemesis to start it. Damn that Spruce Hill! It's not even that hard, but we start every damn ass ride going up that hill and every time I get about 5 minutes into it and my brain starts saying, 'why don't we just stop now and go back home to being lazy?' Then about 15 more minutes we are out of the hill and my legs are warmed up and its not so bad- but damn starting every ride on that hill!

On the Berkeley side it was a beautiful day for riding, but once we crossed over the hill into Orinda and Moraga man was it hot! You could actually feel it burning your skin. Good thing I wore sunscreen and a full coverage shirt or else I would have some irreparable tan lines right now! Unfortunately Laryssa didn't make out quite so well. Not only does she have tan lines to prove it, but also the burn :(

Sunday was also the day that Laryssa introduced me to Shot Blocks from Clif Bar. I had one before I started the ride and man that did it go to my system! It was like I was biking on speed. I am not used to taking anything that is supplemental and I abstain from coffee for the most part because the caffeine makes me crazy hyper, so biking on this was intense! For the first two hours it was kinda like being in a cracked out spinning class! HAHAHA. Needless to say Laryssa and Erica were a bit stunned- they had never seen me like this- and Brian was amused and maybe partially annoyed (but he's a curmudgeon so it's okay).

The first 30 miles went great and we made really good timing. We were at the in-n-out (the half way point) in exactly 2 hours from the time we started. I know that some people like to mark the middle of the ride with the Fruit Stand in San Ramon that is exactly across from the in-n-out, but let me say this:

I don't ride the distance for no damn Fruit Stand... I ride the distance for a double double with no onions and an ice tea!

This was also a big day for other reasons- it was East Coaster Laryssa's first time at in-n-out; a very very important mile stone in the life of every Californian! She did us proud by eating a double double, but next time we need to get her to have a milk shake! We took an hour break there and then were back on the road.


The rest of the way was more or less all up hill and man was that a bitch! Going up Redwood up that long, never ending, mild grade was took forever. The only way I got up it was by skipping between the shady bits. I would see a patch of shade up and head and think, 'just bike to that next bit of shade...ahhhh shade...okay now to that next bit of shade..' Eventually we all did make it up that hill and to that great view of what I suppose is Lake Chabot.

Then back down. After that things became a problem. So we went down Redwood and are doing a slow climb back up Redwood towards skyline. Laryssa and I are pretty much biking on flat ground with minor hills, but we are in the lowest of low gears... and we are maybe going 3 miles an hour! We are dieing - I am dieing- and I am thinking how the HELL am I going to climb up Pinehurst. Eventually I had to stop and when I get off my bike my legs are furiously shaking. I had no more control over my legs any more- I was the most tapped out I had been since this training started. It was bad. But what can you do? There is no other way to get back home. So back on the bike-going even slower- we start the slow climb up and luckily we didn't have to do Pinehurst- thank god!- we were able to by pass it. We only had to do one last hill to Joaquin Miller and then it was home sweet home- all down hill!

The next day I wasn't sore- more just my body was exhausted! My legs were in a totally new place they had never been before- it felt like the bottom half of my body had been pummeled repeatedly and my brain was totally fried. I was going to swim, but instead went home and went to bed at 7:30! I woke up around 10pm ate chili for dinner watched some Tru Blood and then went back to sleep. Ahhh sleep is amazing! Today I feel like a totally new person- so back to training!

More photos are to come later when I get my camera back!


Friday, July 16, 2010

Morning Swims- A Warm Encounter


Robbie this post is a shout out to you...

Back to morning swims and my goal this morning was to do 4 500's.... ya that totally didn't happen, but not for lack of trying! The pool was freaking over 85 degrees! It was like swimming in my own saliva, i.e. pretty gross. A lap pool should be between 75 and 78 degrees, never above 80.

Any ways, I did a few drills (I had to remember them all since I am going to try to teach them to Robbie in the near future), some kick board work outs and then 2 500's. After the first 500 I was so hot I actually had to get out of the pool and lay down on the marble to cool off. I have never had that experience before! However, terrible the water temperature was the first 500 went well and I did it in under 6 minutes. The second 500 I could tell that I was much more sluggish, but I actually timed it and came in at 7 minutes 25 seconds. Not bad, not great. It is definitely a good start.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Open to Comments....


Guys I am leaving this post completely open to comments and help. I don't know what to do... I am eating easily between 2,500 and 3,500 calories a day- including usually 2 or 3 cliff bars- yet I am still getting really low blood sugar feelings and worse really bad hungry pains. Today I got such low blood sugar that I felt dizzy, sick to my stomach and eventually ended up throwing up all the food I had eaten. These hunger pains came on AFTER I had eaten a large serving of quinoa, garlic, onion, spinach and mushroom sautee and some bread.

I don't know what to do. I am usually eating protein for dinner along with lots of veggies and fruits. Lunch is usually a sandwich, a salad and some other veggies and breakfast is usually either oatmeal and fruit or greek yogurt and fruit.

I don't know what to do to stop feeling so hungry all the time-help me. Any suggestions at this point would be helpful.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

1st Triathlon... as a spectator!



Yay spectating as a sport!

So last Saturday I went with Erica and her mom to cheer on Brian during the Treasure Island Triathlon. It was a pretty awesome thing to watch and Brian did a great job. He only raced because he received free admission- so for a guy that hasn't been training he finished in just under 3 hours.


Brian at the start of the race, looking mighty spry.


Erica informed me that it was a more low key race than others. There weren't many people there cheering and there weren't too many people even there racing. None-the-less it was exciting to get pumped for a race and cheer someone on.

It was absolutely freezing on Treasure Island that crisp 6:30 am morning and of course I was not wearing enough layers. You would think that after living here for a year I would finally understand that it will just NEVER be warm in the summer time. Yet some how each time I go out I get tricked into thinking that it will be.
Here we are huddled together for warmth while we watching the swimming portion of the triathlon. There was even one guy swimming without a wetsuit! I have no idea how he made it.

I wish that the first triathlon I watched was filled with screaming and cheering, but on the other hand this race was good because it was easy to see all the of the technical aspects of the race, such as warming up, the transitions and the layout of the race area.

For most of the race we were watching the collegiate level, since that is the level at Brian competes in (he's still a baby). However watching all of those spry youngins' really made me feel old! I am not looking forward to doing my first triathlon and being completely annihilated by some 18 year old. it isn't going to be pretty....

Well, the day ended well and Brian did very well for himself. We then all went out for a celebratory Chipotle lunch :)

I have posted more photos on my flickr account if anyone wants to partake and of course I can take no credit for the awesome shots. All credit for the photography goes to Erica: A fantastic photographer and someone Brian is very lucky to have as a sister.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Moraga- Skyline- Tunnel Ride: Liz-0: Clips-2


Sunday's ride was quite beautiful, but painful. Sadly there are no pictures to be had for that ride- we were a bit time crunched. On the flip side though I think we made really good timing on the whole thing!

Let me preface this ride by saying Laryssa and I went out the night before drinking and dancing and then continued to drink while watching the World Cup Final on the same day as the ride! Those were both such bad choices I can't even tell you. Most of the ride I was torn between wanting to throw up, give up or rip my legs off. I only got about 10 minutes up Spruce hill before I was thinking "Maybe if I turn around now and use a different route back Brian won't notice that I left and gave up!" HAHAHA! I would however NEVER have lived it down if I did that.

Some how I managed to make it through the ride though and up Pinehurst. Which was hard, but not too bad actually. Pinehurst was by far the most beautiful ride I have ever been on. The pine forests below were incredibly magical and the smell was sensational! Even the winding part at the top still gave you a great view. At the top of Pinehurst while waiting for the rest of the crew to make it up I stopped, unclipped my right foot and wham fell to my left and into a pile of hay and grasses! Both Brian and Darwin (Erica's boyfriend who finally joined us for a ride) were just staring at me like I was some moron. It was fantastic...

On the way down it was freezing! We crossed over Skyline and into Berkeley and you could see the fog rolling in and it dropped well into the 50's within minutes. Needless to say it was an uncomfortably cold ride back where Erica had to give me her sweater and gloves so I could continue. Of course she grew up here so this cold snap was nothing to her- while by the end of the ride I couldn't even feel my toes!

Then on the last leg right when pulling up to Erica's house I learned my last lesson of the ride: abrupt stopping on a hill leads to not clipping out in time and therefore falling...again. It must have looked so comical and in fact Laryssa who was behind me thought I had done it on purpose. Imagine me riding up to her house, stopping and just flopping over on to the pavement- it happened so fast I didn't even have time to clip out EITHER of my feet! Erica had to actually hold up the bike while I was on the floor so that I could unclip one foot at a time! Uggg, these clips are totally getting the better of me and now puts me at 3 falls total! All of which were totally pathetic, but luckily not when there are any cars.

::Sigh::

Blast you clips!

Week 5


Week 5 has come and gone. I can not believe that I have been training for a whole 5 weeks!

This was the week of taking breaks. By the time that I had hit this week in my training I was getting too burnt out. And as Brian, in one of his fleeting moments of kindness, has told me- "The worse thing you can do is to over train." Of course from Brian this is a mixed message since he later told me - "with the training schedule you have I don't understand how you could be burnt out at this point." Ah, the joys of being young and not having to work for a living!

Any who, taking a bunch of days off was really really good. By the time that Saturday rolled around I was once again able to think about going to the gym without wincing, plus I was able to buy groceries in those off days... always a mood elevator!

Saturday was a great training day. I finally broke 3,000 meters during my practice- which was something I was building up to. Usually in a swim practice we did up to 4,500 meters easily. However, since I am doing other types of training I want to try to keep my practices between 2,800 and 4,000 meters each time. It was a good mile stone to have broken during the week that I was feeling the least into my training.

Here is how my swim practice broke down:

Warm up:
3 X 100 warm up free style, quick so as to get warmed up

4 X 100 free style kicks 20 second intervals, quick and with my new fins!
4 X 100 butterfly kick 20 second intervals, quick and with fins
4 X 100 backstroke kick 20 second intervals, quick and with fins

Pyramid:
200 m, 300 m, 400 m, 600 m.

Cool down:
2 X 100 back and free style
1 X 100 free style and butterfly

So that was my work out. Two things of note: 1. I had not worked out in fins since I was in highschool- and I had completely forgotten how much they work your quads! At the time it burned, but when I went on a ride the next day it killed! 2. Butterfly is tiring! I was never really good at it as a stroke, but used to be able to get across the pool with decent form and not too out of breath. This time I was dieing! I need to really work on that; since that is the stroke that gives you awesome abs.

Any ways that was week 5. Still feeling a bit wary of my motivation behind training these days, but slowly getting back on track.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Things went well


After taking a few days off as a breather I went back to the gym yesterday and had a good workout that helped bring me back around to the idea of training again. Sometimes you just get into these life slumps and it is hard to pull yourself out of them and get back to doing what you need to do. Work is a bit slow right now and I am not doing the things at work that I normally love doing- so I feel that that has really been affecting my performance in all other aspects of my life. Go figure that something you do from 9 to 6, 5 days a week would affect how you deal with the rest of your life!

Any who, yesterday I did a cycling class and then a 2 mile run. I took the 2 miles at a slow pace and ended up doing a 19 minute, 2 mile run and not being out of breath or over exerted by the end of it. I am trying to build up my stamina so that this point I would rather run slower and longer distances than faster and short distances. This run was on a treadmill-which is new- and I had the setting at 5.9. Next time I am going to up the setting and try to maintain that pace throughout the whole run. Still hate running and dread doing it each time, but at least it isn't as painful as before.

I am hoping to get a good swim in this weekend. Haven't been in the pool since last Friday and the weather here is so cold that it is hard to get myself motivated to go for a swim! Bleck! These are the times that I wish I was back in LA!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

A Hiatus... and then a Wall

So after a brief holiday hiatus I am back at it. And man did I need a break!

Last week I was desperately needing to take a bit of time off and to reorganize my life. All of this training is taking a LOT of time! Sometimes I am at it from 6:20 am (when I get up for a morning swim) to 10pm. Luckily I have only decided to keep up this crazy workout schedule until September when I am planning to do my Olympic length tri. After that I will let it all cool down a bit for a the winter and then pick it up again in the spring.

All this training is definitely putting a strain on all my other side projects as well as my personal life. Simple things like buying groceries is even hard- cause when do it do it? If I get to work at 9 and stay till 6 and get groceries after than there is no time to train that day or if I work out after work till 9pm then I can't get groceries. Plus little things here and there, like going to a birthday and staying out till 1 am means not only am I tired at work the next day, but I am exhausted by the time training comes at 6pm.

So a break was definitely needed- I am still feeling a little burnt out and trying to pick myself back up again. I think the issue is that to train this hard the rest of my whole life needs to be put on hold, but I have too many irons in the fire right now to be doing that.

I really need to sit myself down and figure out a reasonable schedule so that everything fits in- a task that I should have been doing this weekend, but alas was not!

I don't want to completely hit this wall I am facing and not have any energy to train. So I think I am going to continue to take time off until I get the rest of my life back in order.




On a side note, last week was a good week. And I feel good about the work I put in. Now, if I could only train like that every week.

I am really excited to see my first in-person Triathlon with weekend. Erica and I are going to be there to cheer on Brian. Then next weekend I am going to go to the Tri For Fun in Pleasanton. I know that I am only doing a sprint and that this is a relaxed affair, but I am none-the-less totally nervous about it and scared I won't be able to finish. Race anxiety already :(

Any ways, to night I figure out all my shit, do LONG over due laundry, by groceries (I haven't had anything to eat in the house for a few days now) and make a plan of action! Tomorrow back to morning swims with a hopeful 3100 meter planned swim workout.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Knee Issues... am I officially old now?

This was one of the first images that came up when I searched Google for "Knee Images"!
Totally not related, but hilarious. It is a pillow sold in Japan in the shape of a seated woman.

So after my first ride with my new bike, shoes, pedals my knees were aching a bit, right above and below the knee cap. It was a dull kinda pain that went away by the time I woke up on Monday. I figured the knee pain might have been due to a number of things: new bike, first time with these shoes, first time using proper alignment, and maybe my bike just need a bit of tweeking to fit better. Until today they hadn't been bothering me. Unfortunately yesterday I went to a core class that had us doing a ton of squats and now my knees hurt :(. And have been achy all day.

This is something that I am not taking lightly. I have brought it up to a bunch of people to get there opinion on the subject. Brian thinks it's just because I was using my shoes for the first time and therefore my knees and feet had to be in proper alignment the whole time. My co-worker Sara thinks it is cause I might not be stretching enough after my workouts and that I need to get my bike re-fitted. And lastly my co-worker Laryssa thinks it is because I am not stretching enough. These are all very valid points and things that I need to take into consideration. I guess that I should be stretching more after runs and rides. I mean I can't hurt to stretch. I am hoping that this is a stretching issue and it could easily be since a lot of knee issues are due to quad muscles and the way you work them during a training session. I have also had perpetually sore/ tight quads and calves since I started training 3 weeks ago so all of that tightness could easily now be affecting my knees.

I have also made a new appointment at Mike's Bikes to have my bike refitted. So we will see what comes of it.

Not injured, just a bit sore and wanting to make sure that everything goes back to normal soon!


1/2 mile swim

Ahh... the good ol' days when we used to all hang out at the gym in our togas

Yesterday was another good morning swim. It almost wasn't due to the fact that people do not know how to A. pick lanes that are appropriate for their swimming skills and B. know what to do when someone faster than you is swimming on your ass and you come to the wall. I think that swimming it pretty self explanatory, if you are slower let the other person pass you when you reach the wall and if you choose to do drills on kick boards or with a buoy then go into one lane down. Swim lane etiquette... the trials of life.

Any who, yesterday was the first day that I have ever swam a 800. That was pretty exciting. In swim practice we used to do about 3,300 meters a practice, but I have never done 800 straight. I was never much for the long distance swimming, but it seems that now in my older years I have come around to it. :) I was always a sprinter before. Doing the 800 felt really good and I wish that I was able to time myself, but alas the Hearst Pool doesn't have a real swimming clock. I am hoping to get a stop watch this weekend so that I can start timing my longer swims. It was exciting to know that I had swam half a mile without fatigue and was feeling really good after. Seriously, swimming it the only positive reinforcement that I am getting these days as far as my training goes!

I also made a swim work out for Erica the other day. We have decided to make a deal: however many times I run in a week she has to get into the pool that same amount of times the next week. Hopefully this will push me to run and her to get in the pool.

Here's the basic swim workout I made for her.

Warm up:
2 X 100 meters slow 20 sec recovery
2X 100 meters medium 25 sec recovery

Practice:
4 X 100 meters medium kick with kickboard 15 sec recovery. This should be with your head in the water tol promote proper alignment. Also I like to work on bilateral breathing when using kickboards- something that was never too important when racing, but very important with open water swims

2 X 100 meters zipper drill working on proper alignment (i.e. being in perfect gliding form) and shoulder/ back rotation

2 X 100 meter catch up drill working on rotation and breathing

6 X 50 meter fast kick with kickboard 20 sec recovery. These should be fast and really get your heart rate up!

2 X 200 meter at whatever pace you think you can sustain for the whole thing. This is so that you can start to figure out the best pace of your arms and legs for the longer swims.

This whole work out is about 1,800 meters total which is a good amount to start at since a mile swim is just over 1,600 meters.

I am excited to see how she did during this practice and hopefully increase the times and lengths for next time!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Brick Work Out 1


So yesterday I did my first brick work out (or at least that is what Erica calls it). That is when you do two events back to back. Yesterday I did a 45 minute spin class and then ran with Erica for two miles! We finished off our work out with a few reps of dips, pull ups, squats and the rowing machine in the weight room. It actually felt pretty good.

To be fair the spin class yesterday wasn't that hard. It was more of a cardio past paced spinning class than a heavy uphill class. None-the-less after the class Erica and I went out a did two miles straight on the track. She said that we did the two miles in well under 20 minutes, which for me a very very good. I've never timed myself while running before so I feel that this is as good a place to start as any. I have also been working on my breathing while running due to the fact that I get so many stitches when I run. It really gives me something to focus on while I am pushing through the pain. I kinda like it; it's like thinking of puppies when you are getting a bikini wax.

I also found that the run I did yesterday was the least painful run I have ever done. Usually when I run my legs feel very heavy and that I am just pulling them along, but no so this time. Maybe it was because my muscles were already very warm at this point. Maybe I am better at running after doing other things than just cold? It is something to think about.

I think that my mental attitude about running has also changed greatly. I had a conversation yesterday with my co-worker Laryssa about running- recall she has finished 5 marathons including the Boston marathon in under 4 hours- she told me that she actually doesn't like running at all. Sometimes she even hates it, but that she keeps doing marathons as a way of challenging herself. This concept completely blew my mind! The thought of disliking running, but choosing to do marathons is a crazy concept. I had always figured that people who run love to run- just like how I love to swim. I mean I really love to swim. It is a time for me to just turn my body to autopilot, stare at the black line on the bottom of the pool and think. It is also a great time to work out aggression/ problems. All of that completely surmounts that fact that it just so happens to be great exercise. Lastly, I just feel great after swimming- unlike with any other activity.

So keeping in mind that Laryssa doesn't really like to run all the much yet still manages to have finished 5 marathons puts me in a mind set that in fact I can do this running portion of my triathlons. Hell, if it doesn't require the need to love running to want to do it I can get on board with that. I will never love to run, but can I get to a place where I can get through it without wanting to pass out on the the track right then and there? Probably!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

And then there was a little thing called a 10k

These are NOT what my legs look like...yet :)

So yesterday I did the unthinkable... I went running- on a track- by my own volition! Hell has officially frozen over and it is all my fault.

Okay, so I went running- it was terrible. Every moment, if I could think over the din of my body screaming 'WHY God WHY!', I was thinking 'Why the hell am I doing this?'

Will I ever over come my hatred of running? Laryssa says: yes, my mind says: maybe and my body says: no and stop trying....

Any who, this was my work out:

Four 400 meters at a jog with two sets of stairs in between each 400.
Four 100 meters of lunges
Four 400 meters with a 200 meter of walking in between
Four, 15 second, 20 second, 25 second and 35 second chair poses with my back against the wall and my tights at a 90 degree angle.
Lastly, two sets of sit ups holding a 6 pound weight, sit ups with legs raised and moving the weight from side to side to work my obliques, leg raises with my legs straight and NOT touching the ground at the bottom, and reverse crunches were you curl you legs towards your chest but when you bring them down you don't let them touch the ground- 15 of each.

I try before I start to do a workout that I hate to set limits for myself. Such as 'today I will do everything in sets of X', like yesterday in sets of four. This helps me push through some how. It gives me the mentality that if I start one portion I MUST continue until I am done with the amount that I set for myself. Without strict rules when doing a workout I find that I flounder and end up slacking off.

I also really like to us the carrot/ stick method for doing work outs. Like if I push extra hard I can skip doing some part of the workout as reward, but if I slack off then I am punished by having to do something I really hate. Hench the whole reason I am running three times this week. I could have pushed through the run after the ride we did on Sunday- but I was just plain lazy and didn't feel like it. THAT is not a real reason to not do something... so my punishment is running. Sadly, it probably always will be.

This 10k that I will eventually do after my swim and bike is going to be a killer, but I have to practice and practice for it if I am going to finish it!

Like I said after the failed run on Sunday: "Get me in a God Damn pool!"



Week 3


Week three was a bit of a mash up. I took off more time than any other week, due to Father's Day, but I also ramped up my work outs the days that I did actually train. So not bad. On the plus side however I did find the joys of morning swimming and on the negative side I also realized that I need to run more. So this coming week I decided that I must run at least 3 days out of my training week and I need to start to make that a mandatory thing. What is going to keep me from my goal of doing an Olympic length tri from start to finish without stopping will most definitely be the run! So I need to just force myself through the pain.

On a side note, my co-worker Laryssa does marathons (5 in fact- very impressive!), she said that eventually the pain that comes with running will go away. And that even when she doesn't run for two or three weeks her body starts screaming at her when she starts again. So in the mean time while MY body is screaming (and might I add very loudly and adamantly) at me I have to just trust her and hope one day it stops.