4-30-08

Warmed up with 10 minutes on the rowing machine at the gym. Met with the trainer for an hour of circuit work. My butt is going to hurt tomorrow. After the work with the trainer I did a 16 minute mile on the treadmill. I then called it a night. Tomorrow I am going to try to get some biking in and maybe some swimming. Thinking about signing up for the triathlon in May as a relay and I know if that happens I will be doing the swimming which means I better get my butt in the pool.

Tried out the new shoes. I like them still have to get used to them they are a size or two bigger than what I am used to wearing so they slip a little on the run but I am sure that is only temporary while I get in the groove. Still looking for a bike.

New Equipment

My new shoes came in yesterday. Very comfortable. I have not gotten a chance to try them out yet but am really looking forward to it. I am also looking for a new bike. I will let you know when I find one.

The Big Day

Pre Race
Woke up @ 5am and got dressed in my suit and bike shorts. Didn’t sleep that well the night before. Packed all of my gear in the car and headed for Eunice. Got to my brother-in-law’s house about 6am. Put the bike rack on the car first, then went to get the bike. Looked in the first shed, No Bike, Looked in the second shed, No Bike, Looked around the house, No Bike. Called Brother-in-Law… Where is my bike? Answers Oh S..t! Left it in Paw’s truck. But where is Paw? He is at McDonald’s hanging out with his cronies. So I am off to McDonald’s to get my bike. Find Paw with his buddies… sure I gave them a thrill in my swim suit and bike shorts. Got my bike out of the back of the truck, strapped it on the back of the car. I am off to the race….FINALLY! Not the morning I had planned. Got to the race site aired up my tires, picked up my packet, laid out my gear, took a potty break and hung out with Max until the race started.

SWIM
Lined up according to bib #. I was #43. Each person started 10 seconds after the previous person. I entered a time of 3 min 30 sec for the swim. It was a snake through the lanes 6 lengths of a 25 meter pool. I passed the girl in front of me and finished in 2 minutes and 38 seconds. The girl behind me did pass by me on the pavement running barefoot to the bike and I didn’t want to run barefoot and slip.

TRANSITION 1
Got to my bike. Made sure to put on my socks and shoes, shirt, decided I would forego the running shorts till later, put on my 89 cent stocking cap to keep my hair under control and then put on my helmet. Grabbed my gloves and started to put them on while riding the bike. Forgot to grab my cool pack for my neck but luckily it was a pretty cool day.

BIKE
Affectionately I would like to call this part Tour De Road Kill. It was a nice scenic ride through the rice fields in South West Louisiana. Beautiful scenery but lots of sites and smells that I could have done without. I saw the following road kill: turtle, 6 snakes, rabbit, dog and a couple of unidentified animals. Back to the race….From the very beginning I noticed that I was putting lots of effort and not getting very far where others were barely peddling and just flying right past me. At this point I have decided that a new bike is in my future if I want to do another race. My butt was numb by the 5th mile. On the way back I just kept thinking “And now I have to run! My goal is to just finish!”

TRANSITION 2
Got off my bike and was in such a rush cause I wanted to get this finished. I forgot to put on my running shorts (no big deal) and I forgot my ipod which probably would have really helped.

RUN
The whole first mile of the run I just kept thinking one foot in front of the other. I had shin splints sooooo bad it hurt to walk. At the start of mile 2 they felt better so I started to jog/walk from telephone pole to telephone pole. Believe it or not I pretty much finished at the pace I had practiced even with the shin splints and not practicing outside. I finished the 2 miles in 32:41. My overall time was 1:31:34 to complete a 150meter Swim, 10 mile Bike, 2 mile Run.

After the race was over I realized that I need a new bike, I need to spend more time in the pool, I need to up my run so that I can finish a 5K with more running than walking. The next race on my list is the COMBAT triathlon May 24th. It is a lot longer so we shall see if I really am up for it by then. 300 meter Swim, 15 mile Bike, 3 mile Run. Maybe I can talk some people in to doing it as a relay with me. We shall see?

Outlook Not So Sunny

Ok now I am worried. I looked up the weather for the race tomorrow. I had done this earlier in the week too and it just said chance of showers. Now it looks like there is no chance I wont get wet. I don’t like riding in the rain, but running in the rain is a lot cooler than in the August sun.

The Day Before

Am I stressing? Just a little. Got most of my gear together for the race tomorrow. This afternoon when I get home from work I will go through it all with my list one last time to make sure I have all of the essentials. Haven’t packed anything for the rest of the weekend or for my son yet. So I still have a good deal of packing to do. Just took the last dose of my Z-pack for my sore throat. Getting ready to load the borrowed Ipod shuffle with some music incase they will let me use it during the run. Hopefully they will, as that would really help the run to go faster. You know something else to concentrate on besides the pounding of feet, the pain of the legs and the shortness of breath. I am still going to try to run by Academy this afternoon to exchange a shirt I bought the other night and pick up a couple of other things. Don’t know if I will make it but I am going to try. Just seems like there is so much to do before I head out this evening. I probably wont leave till about 8 or so. The puts me getting to LA at around 11pm. I am shooting to get up tomorrow morning around 5am. It takes 30 minutes to get to the race site and I need to go get my bike in Eunice, put on the new seat cover and air up my tires. Registration / Packet pick-up starts at 6:30 and the race starts at 8am. If I get up at 5am I should get there in plenty of time and get everything ready. Then hopefully an hour and 20 minutes later I will be crossing the finish line.

Oh by the way I didn’t do any type of exercise yesterday unless you count cleaning the house. I was just too tired so I took a nap. I thought I better get some rest before the race cause I know I probably wont sleep well tonight.
On a totally side note… Got a fortune cookie yesterday. Here is what it said, “From the floors of the ocean, the waves of the tide, a vacation awaits you far & wide.” I am so ready for a vacation. Sounds like there will be water, sandy beaches and fruity drinks in my future. Something to think about other than the race!

Deep Thoughts before the Race

This morning I spent some time looking up lists of what gear I need to pack. I also looked over some tips of how to lay out your transition area. While doing this I started to remember how my first triathlon went by in a flurry. I tried to think of all the things that went well and all of the things that I would have liked to have done differently. Hopefully this exercise of the brain will prove productive. I know for sure this time I will not go for speed over comfort in foregoing socks. BIG MISTAKE.. from the first race. I had horrible blisters afterwards. I was just in such a mad rush the first race trying to get to the next part of the race I think my brain shut down. The only problem with all of this thinking and planning is that I am getting more nervous by the second. Things racing through my brain right now: “When will I find time to put on my new cushy gel seat cover for my bike since I wont see my bike till right before the race?” “Is the time I entered for the swim too slow or too fast?’ “Will I be able to handle jogging/walking outside on the pavement?’ “Will I finish last?” “Did I put in enough hard work and effort into training for this event?”

If you read my blog take a second to post me a comment today! I need it… You know words of encouragement, tips, reasons why I am crazy for doing this, whatever you want. I want to hear from whoever reads this thing.

4-23-08

Right now I am about 2 days and 19 hours away from my first big race since before I had my son. You could say I am a little nervous and anxious. Not to mention the fact that I will be in a bathing suit on display for everyone in attendance (Not a pretty sight at the moment but I am working on that). Then for those who weren’t turned off by the sight of me in my suit they will get the treat of watching me jog (huff and puff) / walk my way through the run portion of the race. Alas, I am not in it to look good in a swim suit or win the race at this point it is just a start on my journey to October and the last triathlon of the 2008 season. My goal is to be killer by then.
Last night I did a 2 mile jog/walk on the treadmill in 33 min. That is about a 16 min mile. I did jog 3 min then recover walk 1, fast walk another 1 for about 40 min. I have come a long way from where I started, but I have a long way to go still.
Tonight the personal trainer gets to kick my butt again. I believe I will try either a swim after or a bike ride. We will see how I feel. Last time I was just ready to go home.

Did a 10 minute jog/walk before the trainer got to me. Once again today we did a full body circuit that I will feel for sure tomorrow. After she finished beating me up I did 10 minutes on the bike. Then I went to Academy and bought gear for the race this weekend. In 15 minutes before the store closed I got... a bike seat cushion, 2 water bottles, a pair of shorts and a shirt, a cool pack for my neck during the race, and a pair of sunglasses. I give myself an A+ super shopper for that trip. Now I just have to pack everything so I don't forget any of the important stuff.

Training for the Week

Monday – 25 min jog
Tuesday – 20 laps swim; 25 min jog
Wednesday – 60 min bike; 20 min jog/walk
Thursday – 25 min jog, 5 min stretch, 25 min jog
Friday – Stretching and light walk
Saturday – RACE DAY
Sunday – REST DAY

4-21-08

Woke up with another sore throat this morning. I don’t believe the one I had 3 weeks ago ever truly went away. I am headed to a new Doctor this afternoon to see if there is something I can do to make this crud go away. Tonight I meet with the personal trainer for hopefully a more productive meeting than last time. I also have a 25 min walk/jog on my list for the day. Depending on time I may try to add in a little biking as well.
Much better workout with the trainer today. We didn't do weights but we did exercises with dumbells, balls, bands, platforms and mats. It was pretty tough. I forget how out of shape I am sometimes. I am making an effort though and that is what counts. I didn't get the jog in but I did 5 minutes on the rowing machine before my trainer got to me.

4-20-08

Happy Anniversary! Today I did a short 20 min jog/walk on the treadmill. Probably went about a mile. Max’s treadmill at his office is way different from the one at the gym. I really like the gym better. I mapped out a 2-mile course in my neighborhood so that I could see how long it will take me to actually complete the whole race on the pavement. (I mean the running part anyway.) Sent my bike to Louisiana to await my arrival on Friday night. Sort of a jolt that says “Hey You Next Weekend You RACE!” I am a little nervous… ok I am a lot nervous.

4-19-08

Rest Day! Had some family events early in the day. In the evening I went to girls night jewelry making at Nicole’s. Great fun!

4-18-08

Good news to start off my Friday.... I am down 4lbs. Nice way to round out my week. I am not sure what workout I am supposed to do today but since I have plans for the evening that start pretty early I am guessing that there is no way this will happen.

Breakfast - McDonalds- hashbrown, Egg Mcmuffin, Unsweet Tea
Snack - Protein Bar
Lunch - MF Soup w/crackers
Snack - Chocolate Bar
Dinner - BBQ Fajitas

4-17-08

On the plan for today is to jog 35 min and then walk 15 min. I am not sure that I can job without walking for 35 min straight but I will give it my best effort.

Breakfast : Cottage Cheese, Protein Bar
Snack: Cheddar chex (120cal)
Lunch: MF Soup w/crackers
Snack: Blackberry Muffin
Dinner: Chopped Beef spud from Red River w/sweet tea.

Ok shoot me! We had my aunt and cousin stay the night with us last night as they were passing through town. Did not get any workout in whatsoever. This weekend is going to be really hard to work out as well.

4-16-08

Today I am to do a 50 minute bike, 10 minute jog, 10 minute walk. I am not sure if this will get done exactly like this as I have my first meeting with for my free training session at 24-hour Fitness. So I am sure that she will have me do weights which is a good thing.

Meals Today:
Breakfast: cup of cottage cheese, 3 strawberries, turkey jerky
Snack: Orange
Lunch: protein bar & more jerky
Snack: 4 stuffed jalapenos w/ranch
Dinner: blackberry muffin

I signed up for the yearly membership to the USAT which means if I enter 3 triathlons my membership is a wash. If you are not a member it costs $10 extra for each race. I also went ahead and registered for the race in Eunice on April 26th. I am officially entered. Now I just have to keep up with my diet and training for the next 9 days.

Evening was much more unproductive than I had planned. I did 20 minutes on the bikes (4 miles) before I met with the 24hr Fitness trainer. She was a few minutes late helping someone else. My time was supposed to start at 7:30 and I believe end at 8pm. We started about 7:40pm and I didn’t leave until 9pm. This would not have been bad but we didn’t actually do any weight training. All she did was take my stats, measure me, do the fat caliper (which I detest), do a core assessment, fill out paperwork, hand me take home paperwork to read, and show me some stretches. A waste of valuable gym time in my opinion. I sure hope that next time will be a lot more productive. She is very nice and seems to know her stuff but is a little scatter brained.

4-15-08

My training for today should be 16-20 laps easy swimming (400-500 yds), 15 min light jog. I may also try to get in some time on the bike as well. Make it kind of a mini tri day. I think I am going to do it in reverse order. Jog first, Bike second and Swim last.

Today’s food schedule:
Breakfast: Protein Bar
Snack: String Cheese
Lunch: Grilled Shrimp Salad
Snack: String Cheese, Cashews
Dinner: Steak Fajitas, Chips & Salsa, Margarita


I completed my reverse mini-tri. I did a 16 minute mile first, then completed a 16 minute 5 mile bike, and finally I finished it up with a 150 meter swim nonstop (6 laps). (I continued to swim and do another 15 or so laps before I got out.) It didn’t feel as bad as I thought it would feel. I do know however that running on a treadmill and biking on a stationary bike even with the resistance cranked up is still not as hard as doing it outside on the pavement.

4-14-08

Training Schedule this week!
Monday—70 min bike straight, 20 laps of swimming optional
Tuesday—16-20 laps easy swimming (400-500 yds), 15 min light jog
Wednesday—40 min bike easy
Thursday—35 min jog easy
Friday—Day off
Saturday—50 min bike, 16-20 laps swimming optional
Sunday—30 min jog easy


Food intake for the day.
Breakfast - cottage cheese, 4 strawberries 2 egg mushroom omelet
Snack - Protein Bar & Shake
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Salad
Snack - Cashews, banana nut muffin
Dinner - Grilled Chicken Breast, Asparagus, Wild rice, Soup, Orange

Can you say "passed out"! Tonight while putting my son to bed I basically passed out. Didn't wake up until morning. So no training was completed. I didn't complete anything last night on my list.

Race Schedule

4-26-08 Zydeco Eunice Tri
5-24-08 COMBAT Tri
6-22-08 Sugarland Tri
7-13-08 T-Gator Tri
7-26-08 Rocketchix
9-7-08 CajunMan Tri
10-12-08 Try Andy's Tri
10-24-08 Hi Fi Tri

4-13-08

I spent the day in a lazy daze. I know I have only two weeks left but I feel pretty good about the fact that I will finish the race. It will hurt and it wont be pretty but I will finish. I just keep telling myself you have to start somewhere and that is ok to start out slow as long as you finish strong. So my Spring training may be slow but my goal is to make my final race this Fall the best. I plan to do pretty close to a race per month from April to October. That may be a lofty goal but we will see.

4-12-08

Today I am to do a 70 minute bike ride and then a 20 lap swim. I am not going to lie I don't know if I want to sit on a bike for 70 minutes.(Talk about pain in the rear... literally). I was thinking since I am behind 20 odd laps in the pool I would see how it feels and may add some extras to the 20 I am to do today. I have a feeling I am going to cut down the bike ride a little. Especially since my hubby wants to go ride tomorrow morning early before church. I guess we will see how the day plays out.

Nothing happened today! We had a Nicole's house warming party and well we were there late. The morning was busy running errands etc. So I didn't make it.

4-11-08

I will do better today and actually get some training done. Ok so far this week I am behind a 24 lap swim, 45 min bike followed by 15 min jog/walk and another 40 min jog straight. Hmmmm the possibilities. I believe that I will try for the 45 min bike and try to make it a 45 min jog afterward. That way I will only be behind the 24 lap swim and a 10 min jog. This might be a loft goal cause I will have to wait till my husband gets home or try to take Maddox to the gym which I don't think will happen. I am thinking this will be a late evening workout.

I did it. I did a 40 minute bike which took me 13 miles. I did the hill set-up on resistance between 8-10. Then I jumped on the treadmill and did 2 miles in 36 minutes. I did 40 minutes total including cool down. I know that 2 miles in 36 minutes is slow for most of you but remember I am just starting out and I had just finished 13 miles on the bike. Not bad for a former athletic type who is now more round than athletic. I am working my way back to that athletic bod... one step at a time.

4-10-08

My knee feels sooooo much better this morning. There is still a spot where I can tell there was pain but it doesn't hurt to walk. Tonight depending on the weather I will either bring Maddox to the gym with me or I will try to go for a ride on the bike with Maddox in the bike trailer. If neither of those options work I will try a workout video just to make sure that I get something done.

So when I planned out what I was going to do today I forgot all about the fact that my son had swimming lessons and my husband had a late meeting downtown. I am not going to lie I was so busy last night that before I knew it midnight had arrived and I was beat. I am sure however that my knees are happy with me for having another day off.

4-9-08

Can I just tell you that my knee is killing me. I can barely walk without pain from my left knee. I also had to work late today so I believe that I will take the day off to let my knee recover before putting more stress on it. I do want to be in one piece by race day so taking it slow wont hurt. I am going to have Max put some acupuncture needles to my knee and see if that helps relieve the pain along with some stretching and and ice pack. Lets see how it feels tomorrow.

4-8-08

Yesterday I was scheduled to swim and then do a 20 min jog. It was really late when I got to the gym so I decided to forego the swim. I did a 20 min jog/walk but the jog parts weren't as bad as I thought they would be. Tonight I am scheduled to be off but have decided to do the swim that I didn't get in last night. Working out this week, even though it is early in the week, is going well. 10 mile bike sunday 20 min jog/walk monday. I just need to keep it up.
I wish that the diet were going as well as the exercising. I need to set up a menu that will make it easier to follow for the week. So far though I am down 1lb. My goal is to lose 5lbs. Still a long way to go but every journey starts with a single step.

Tonight after our little visitor went home I went to the gym and did 30min workout. I did 5 minutes on the elliptical and then did an 20 min jog/walk. This is pretty good for me in that most of the 20 minutes was a jog and not a walk. I am working on it. I was going to swim but once again it was late so I decided to do something quicker. Mostly out of guilt if I didn't do anything at all. Oh well motivation is motivation no matter what it is.

4-7-08

Training Schedule for this week: I am going to start with a program at week 5 so that I can be ready for a triathlon at the end of May.
Monday (4-7-08) – 24 laps with :30-:45 rest (600 yards), 20 min jog
Tuesday (4-8-08) – Day Off
Wednesday (4-9-08) – 45 min bike followed by 15 min jog/walk (1 hour total)
Thursday (4-10-08) – 40 min jog straight
Friday (4-11-08) – Day Off
Saturday (4-12-08) – 70 min bike straight, 20 laps of swimming
Sunday (4-13-08) – 15 min jog (middle 5 minutes faster), 5 minute walk x 3 (45 min total of jogging)

Start Here

I am going to try to keep a journal of my workouts etc. to keep me motivated this summer. The first triathlon on my list is in 20 days. It is a short one but at this point I am still not ready. The Zydeco Triathlon in Eunice LA is a 150m swim, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run.