Viva Las Vegas!

Back in January, my husband put in writing (and signed it) that he would run the Las Vegas Marathon with me. Really, I have it in my house and have considered scanning it and sending it to his mother in case he tries to hide it! So, yesterday I got an email with a offer to register so I sent this on to my delightful spouse and he replied to sign us up! I DID! So...VIVA LAS VEGAS! He has not run a marathon before but I have written him a training plan and he assures me that he is running! So, now he has to put his money where his mouth is...and RUN!!!!!!

FUN! FUN! FUN! We love Las Vegas and maybe we could even get hitched again. We went there last year for our 10 year anniversary but we did not get to get married again...maybe year 11 is the lucky year!

My best laid plans...usually go kaput!

It is not always bad when things do not work out the way I plan...this is what I keep telling myself anyway.

Monday-swim and taught one spin class
Tuesday-run with Ginger (absolutely delightful and got some confidence back into my run), yoga, and ride with Hal (kept HR under 130 most of the time as I planned)
Wednesday-swim, run, weights, taught spin class, yoga
Thursday-I planned to do my long brick today. Have a summer cold and spent half the night up coughing and overslept....Hopefully, I can ride this afternoon for a few hours before the rain comes.

Rest of week plan
Friday-swim, weights and run
Saturday-ride in Carthage
Sunday-long brick

Usually people pick on me constantly for being slow and it does hurt my feelings, however, one of my good friends, Furman, told me yesterday someone I would have never expected actually commented me. Last Sunday, we left to do our regular Sunday ride but I forgot something in my Jeep and then my friend, Quincy, forgot his gloves...needless to say we got left so Hal, John, Quincy and I set out on a different but pleasant 56 mile ride. When the other group got to the parking lot, Furman was teasing about me not wanting to ride with him because I was afraid of his speed (this actually is not that far from the truth) and another rider who does not often hand out compliments said I had been to the top of Mount Mitchell and he had not! It made me feel really good...maybe I am better than I think I am.

Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

"Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about." This is from an email that my good friend, John K., sent me. Sometimes I spend so much time comparing myself to others' that I forget their lives are a journey too. Perhaps they are good at one thing but may have other struggles in their lives. Triathlon sometimes is one of those things. I think I wish I was a better cyclist like __________ or a better swimmer like ________ or a faster runner like __________. This frustrates me a lot. This quote reminded me that other people might struggle with things that are easy for me. Luckily, my parents raised me to be an independent and pretty level-headed with money. I do okay by myself, which is good for my husband as he is gone ALOT and I keep our money straight and he never has to worry about that (except for I might buy another bicycle ;)) I take these things for granted while others may struggle with them. Thanks John for the reminder! So, today remind yourself of the things you do with ease that others may struggle with and be thankful for them.

Again, my weekend workouts did not quite go the way I planned. I rode 90 miles Saturday and ran .74 miles. I sort of felt crappy with a sore throat. I got home after a lovely dinner with one of my favorite friends and it only got worse. Finally, I figured out I have a little summer cold. Sunday, I rode 56 miles with a great small group of Hal, John, Quincy and me. The pace was good recovery pace but my saddle was killing me and I struggled especially on the last 15 miles.

Honestly, I am very worried about my run at Ironman. I haven't been running long. I have been running 3-4 days a week but not long. Luckily, my friend, Ginger, is coming to run with me on Tuesday. I am so excited! Hopefully, we can run more often together!

Workout Schedule for next week
Monday-swim, run and teach spin
Tuesday-run, ride, weights, yoga
Wednesday-swim and teach spin class
Thursday-long brick
Friday-Swim (hair appointment, too! SO EXCITING!)
Saturday-100K ride in Carthage
Sunday-Run (maybe easy ride)

Friday...

Run on treadmill for 7 miles (4x1 mile intervals with 4 minute recoveries after 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down)
Swim 3700 yards...Started to actually visualize Ironman even down to time on the clock coming out of the water, after bike, and final time. I can do this...

Tomorrow 6:30 hour ride and 1 hour run

Got my new Trigger Point stuff to roll out the lactate acid in my legs. My legs were hurting quite a bit and feel a bit better now. Hope I will ride great tomorrow.

Back in the saddle again...

Went for my first ride on my regular ride in a week with one of my favorite friends, Hal. At first, I felt like everything was all wrong on my bike but after about an hour, I felt pretty good. Practiced climbing out of the saddle alot and sent my heart rate into the higher zones...I just keep reminding myself how hot my quads are going to look and what an awesome climber I will be when it hurts like heck! Don't think I ate enough because I sort of bonked in the middle and thanks to Hal (Clif Blox) and Tim (Gatorade) I got home. Did a little yoga earlier and plan to lift weights while watching So You Think You Can Dance in a few minutes! Have to get up earlier and get to Operation Spin Cycle in the early am, then a run and swim.

My Mom's 24 inch Huffy

Back from vacation...got a lot of workouts in but the most enjoyable were my 2 bike rides on my mom's 24 inch Huffy...I am sure I looked ridiculous but it was great fun. I really enjoyed my short rides and loved the scenery. There was this great donkey who followed me and I longed to pet it but he wasn't having it! It was a nice vacation and I needed it. Now, only a few more weeks until IM Louisville. Got to refocus and get my stuff together and then taper and work my bootie off to hopefully get my PR. My running is not going great. I can't seem to get to it like I did before. My swimming was great when I was on vacation because I needed a change of scenery...tomorrow will tell.

Today-bike, weights and yoga
Friday-run and swim
Saturday-long brick
Sunday-run and ride

Friday

Wednesday-taught spin class
Thursday-travel and walk 4 miles
Friday-run 30 minutes, swim 3250, weights

Change of scenery was good for swim - did not feel like I was swimming in jello. Run did not go great but there is hope for tomorrow.

Long Brick Already...

Tuesday-rode 86 miles and ran 3.75 miles...ride got better as it went along but the run was not good as it was so hot and I did not have enough water. Note to self...do not freeze water, take it out immediately before the run and expect it to thaw on the run so you can have enough water! However, I did it. I miss my friends when riding but I had a good ride. I think it was the ride I needed to have because sometimes I get very frustrated at not being able to keep up with the pack. I went at my pace with no pressure on myself. I realize I put the pressure on myself because I feel like I am so slow and people always have to wait on me. I did the first 60 or so miles in the hills and ended up on the flats. I feel more confident about running off the bike with the bricks. Now, if I could just get my long run in and if the water in the pool did not feel like jello. Maybe I just need a change of scenery.

Wednesday plan-lift weights and swim
Thursday-travel
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday - run (maybe if I can go to the Y with my folks I will get a swim or weights in but if not - no worries).

Only 7 more weeks.

Only 7 more weeks to IM. Things are going okay...I wish it was going better but I can do it.

Tomorrow I have to do my long brick as I am going to visit my parents for a week.
Wednesday-teach spin class, swim, weights
Thursday-travel
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday-run

Haven't been able to get my long run in and my swims feel like I am swimming in jello.

It will get better!

Will I ever get any faster?

Monday-teach spin class and swim
Today-run 30 minutes, lift weights, ride

Today was quite a frustrating day for me, as far as workouts go. I got up and went running and it was supposed to be a tempo run. It was hard and I wonder if I will ever get faster. My long runs have been hard to get in and that scares me at IM Louisville. Especially when a 30 minute run seems so long and hard.

Today, I tried a different weight plan...two sets of 10 reps, then add weight and two sets of six reps. That went really well.

This afternoon, I went on my regular Tuesday ride. IT was supposed to be a 2 hour ride with my heart rate under 130. That did not work out. I was really working hard and my speed did not correspond. I met up with some of my favorite folks, Leo and Hal, and rode another 10 miles with them and I felt like they had to wait on me because I was so slow. My hill work seemed to be getting better but not I did not feel like it today. I really need to work the hills and I felt like I was doing so well but now my legs feel heavy and I feel sooooooooooo slow. It is really frustrating. What went wrong? Am I working too hard on my easy days? That is probably the answer. I did get a new saddle and although I really like it, I can't quite get in the right position. I feel like I lost some power. Will I ever get any faster, period? Will I ever become a better hill climber?

Tomorrow, I was going to ride to work but rain is forecasted so no ride. I will teach 2 spin classes, run, and swim. I would love to get home early enough to get a few miles in on the bike but I doubt it since I won't get home until 7:30 pm or later.

The Fourth and end of the rest week!

Happy Belated 4th of July! Hope everyone had a great one! We were at the beach with my sister and her family and some of our other favorite friends, including Lee, whom we have adopted as our older sister! She is fabulous! We spent the majority of the day at the beach including swimming, playing scrabble, sun and fun. After the beach, we had a yummy dinner of sushi, BBQ ribs from Harris Teeter, salad, pasta and potato salads and yummy chocolate mint pie! Gosh, I will need to work out for weeks!

Saturday, I got up and ran for 40 minutes. I was afraid I would not get my bike ride in but I did but not in the manner I normally do. My husband and I rented a bike for two (not a tandem but a double bike) and rode for an hour and we scooted on down the boardwalk and passed tons of people. We actually were working pretty hard! It was so fun too! Since it was dreary out we did not get to go to the beach but we had fun anyway! We also did a little shopping and ate at this gorgeous restaurant on the beach.

Sunday, it was dreary so we headed to the aquarium and walked all over...of course, this was after IHOP! No workout...headed home and ran into a huge storm.

Great weekend but I cannot wait to get back to eating right and working out. My belly is not happy when I do not eat well. I can't wait to really get my next month in and get ready for IM Louisville.

Made some new goals while at breakfast this morning and plan to break them down further tomorrow...
1) Get weight to 135.
2) Get body fat to 15%.
3) Cut out fast food.
4) Cut out high fructose corn syrup.
There will be more but that is all for now...got to get to bed to get ready for the upcoming week!

Thursday...

Thursday is my ride day with one of my best buds, Pat. We started early and it seemed to be going okay. I was testing out a new saddle and it was a little high but I really liked it otherwise. We get to the turn off to our big loop and we had made it there faster than I had before. What a great day I thought it was going to be...we get to our regular stop for some fuel. We start riding again and WHAM...the wind...more hills...pain. This started to be the never ending ride, I did not ever think we would get to the turn off. My legs were screaming. Finally, we make it to the turn off and it is downhill for a long way. We manage to get in but both of us were glad the ride was over. Good news is we got over 70 miles in before noon.

If you do not know Pat, he is great! He is very kind and thoughtful. He is one of only a handful of people that I know would not leave me on a long ride. He always watches out for me and makes sure I am okay. He is actually one of the best all around cyclists in our club. He doesn't think he is but HE is! He can ride short, fast, long, not so fast and despite his thoughts, he can climb pretty well. He doesn't ever seem to mind that our rides take forever. We get to chat a lot and that is fun and therapeutic for me!

Yesterday, I did a 1000 yard time trial. Inspired by an article I read in Triathlete magazine and watching the Olympic Trials, I decided this week to try a four beat kick instead of my normal two beat kick. So, I felt pretty good in the water yesterday and despite my thoughts about getting tired too quickly, I tried the four beat kick. I did tire near the end but the laps seem to fly by and before I knew it I was at 850. The last 150 went quickly and I came out with a time of 19:08. Last month was an off month because I sort of felt like crap but the month before I did 19:37 so I was thrilled with a 29 second decrease! YEAH! If I can do that over 2.4 miles, it would be a 2-3 minute decrease in time.

Workouts so far this week...
Monday-swim and run, teach one spin class
Tuesday-bike, lift weights
Wednesday-teach two spin classes, swim trial
Thursday-lift weights and bike

For the rest of the week, I hope to ride and run over the holiday weekend. Headed to the beach soon to get rid of this cyclists' tan. If the riding and running doesn't work out, oh well. Maybe it is God's way of telling me I need a break. Next week, back to business and I do mean business. As of Sunday, 8 weeks to IM Louisville.

Rest Week

Changed my workout schedule around and made this my rest week since it will be a short and compact week because of the holiday and I am going to the beach for the weekend! Happy 4th!

This week will be a different rest week for me. I am trying to get my workouts in but I think I am not going to lift weights this week and start again next week with a new plan. I have 9 weeks to IM Louisville. Starting Monday, I must refocus as this week I feel a little overtrained because I really do not want to do anything. I rode today and my HR was extremely high and I had a hard time with my regular Tuesday ride. I did not even want to ride my bike. All signs of overtraining...the answer is a little more rest. Plan tomorrow is swim, teach 2 spin classes and try to squeeze in a run. Thursday is a long brick and headed to the beach. One day I am going to run and another a leisurely ride.

So disappointed with my weight and eating patterns. The scale is not moving and I know it is because of my eating habits. Trying to do some stuff to change these things. I would like to be down to 135 for IM Louisville. Can I do 9 pounds in 9 weeks? Yes, but I must change several things...first of all, emotional eating or eating when I am bored!

Yesterday, I read quote on a car that said "Do something every day that scares you." Another Eleanor Roosevelt quote that is great so I am determined to do that every day. Yesterday, it was getting back on terms with a co-worker after a fallout but to do this without saying sorry because I am not sorry for what I said. Today, it was going to UNCG to talk to 2 professors about getting my Ed.D. I am always so scared I am not smart enough or good enough so this was huge for me.

Next week, I will return to working out hard and trying to make the changes I need to be better, stronger, faster! I WILL PR at IM Louisville!

Some goals for July:
1) Lose 4 pounds.
2) Spend 20 hours in the yard.
3) Ride 1000 miles.
4) Do not miss more than two workouts a week.