February in review!

The month isn't truly over yet at the time of this post, but it's the second-to-last day of February, and I'm not planning on doing any swimming/biking/running today or tomorrow, so the numbers I'll present right now are it.

Swim total: 5,450 meters/3.4 miles

Bike total: 270 minutes/4.5 hours (indoor trainer, don't have a mileage count)

Run total: 45.5 miles

Strength training: 220 minutes/3.7 hours

Races: 1 indoor triathlon - 11th place out of 47 women

I'm not exactly thrilled with the amount of training I did in February, but overall, I think it's a step in the right direction. I have to keep reminding myself that my run mileage won't be as high as it was when I was in marathon training, or even when I was purely focused on running instead of triathloning. It's a bit hard when I've always relied solely on running to stay in shape, and all month I've been fighting the feeling that, since I haven't been running a ton, I'm getting out of shape.

I definitely could have stepped it up a least a little bit, though. I skipped at least 2 scheduled swims in favor of sleeping in, whoops. And, I'm terrible about getting on the indoor bike trainer. Even though I can sit directly in front of my TV, I get SO. BORED. Surpisingly, even more bored than I get on the treadmill. The running - meh. I could have done a bit more in that department, but at the same time, I'm trying not to get injured before I hop into half-marathon training the second week in March. It's all about rationalization, right? The one thing I'm completely satisfied with is the strength training. I didn't do any strength training at all until roughly one year ago, and I'm pretty happy with the level I'm at right now.

For March, the goal is just to increase each total, even by a small amount. It's a longer month (by 3 days!) so that should help...

And, I'm sure you'll all be happy to know (and see) that at the end of February, my black toenail is still hanging on!

What would your Olympic event be?

This post isn't strictly triathlon related...OK it's not triathlon related at all. But it's time sensitive, because it's about the Olympics. I LOVE the Olympics. Summer, winter, I don't discriminate. They both have appealing events for me. In summer, of course, track is a big draw, but so are swimming and gymnastics. In winter, it's figure skating, speed skating, and skiing. There's just something about the spirit of competition that's so compelling.

Every time I watch the Olympics, I get to thinking about what type of event I could truly be competitive in (aside from moving to a tiny, under-represented country and trying out for the track team). Most of the things I've come up with, and that darling boyfriend has suggested to me, aren't athletic competitions at all. It's still amusing to consider, though.

Here's the list, along with the medal color I think I could score in each event:

• Chocolate eating (GOLD!)
• Preparing for work in the morning in the least amount of time possible - easily 15 minutes or less (at least SILVER)
• Longest leg hair competition - strictly a winter event (GOLD!)
• Crying as a manipulation tool (BRONZE)

Things darling boyfriend thinks I could be a contender in:

• Whining
• Complaining
• Sleeping
• Eating

This doesn't bode well for me. Moving to an under-represented country is looking like the best plan...What life event would you medal in if it was added to the Olympic roster? 

Slow down.

Slowing down has always been a problem for me. At an early age, pushing as hard as I could was a lesson ingrained in me by none other than my Father. He got me into running, and, training with me over the summer, he would encourage me to push, push, push. Every run, no matter the distance, was an all-out effort. Of course, I learned from coaches that different workouts called for different speeds, but at the back of my head I always had the idea that if I didn't completely exert myself, it didn't count. 

Apparently I am still battling that same demon 13 years later. When I first started to get back into running seriously, I felt like I had to push hard on every run to get in shape. I'd monitor my pace and adjust it accordingly. If I couldn't hit a certain pace, I'd be disappointed. Well, that resulted in a big, fat stress fracture after 5 or 6 months. I told myself I'd learned my lesson, well and truly. 

During marathon training I was able to reign things in a bit, because I was following a specific plan, which told me it was OK to run one minute, or more, slower than race pace during my long run. Getting the miles in was all that counted.

But now, I find myself drifting, with no plan to tell me what to do. You'd think common sense would kick in, but sadly, it doesn't seem to be. My lesson has, apparently, been un-learned. Once again I find myself feeling like I have to push myself to my limit, not just in running, but now with biking and swimming, too. I feel like it's not a good run if I don't finish it gasping for breath and riddled with cramps. I feel like it's not a good bike ride if I'm not dripping in sweat with quads that feel like they're on fire. I feel like it's not a good swim if my arms don't feel like lead at the end. 

Naturally, feeling so beat after every single workout doesn't exactly provide positive reinforcement. Instead, it makes me dread daily exercise. I'm already tired, and I don't want to end up utterly exhausted and disappointed. So my motivation deserts me and I avoid working out, coming up with a myriad of excuses. But then, instead of feeling worn out and disappointed, I just feel disappointed and guilty.

Bear with me, this does have a positive twist, I promise! For the past two or three days, I've been beating myself up - not literally, with exercise, but mentally. I just didn't want to workout, but I'd look at my log and berate myself for the low monthly numbers.

I wasn't even planning on exercising today. I decided to give in to my low motivation and relax. But then I talked to my Dad, and he told me he wanted to go out for a slow run, because he was trying to get in shape. I found myself offering to go with him. I had two reasons - I thought running with someone else would force me to get moving, and I thought that since he wasn't in great shape, it'd be an easy run. 

I was right on both counts. But there were other aspects of the run that I totally did not anticipate. Though we ran at a pace that I would consider a jog, it was clear that my Dad was really pushing himself. And, in a complete turn of the tables, I found myself telling him it was OK not to worry about the pace. I helped him decide that it would be better to cut his run at 20 minutes, rather than continue on for 30, so he wouldn't get injured.

And, while lumbering along at a leisurely pace, I discovered I was really enjoying the run, rather than indulging in negative self-talk, which I admit I'm guilty of on a more-than-regular basis. (You know, stuff like "This run totally sucks, I feel like shit, when can I stop?") We ran in the snow, and the wind, and I noticed things like the delicious smell of a wood fire, and deer tracks in the woods. 

Then, when my Dad was done, I realized I felt relaxed and loose, and wanted to keep going. I thought maybe I'd add on another half mile. And then maybe just another mile...until I'd added 4 miles, and done a total of 6. My longest run since the marathon a month and a half ago. I must have been really well warmed up from the first 2 miles, because my average pace in the end was similar to the average pace of every other 6 mile run I've done, meaning the last 4 miles I was bookin' it. But it didn't feel like I was pushing, buoyed as I was by the rejuvenating 20 minutes I had run with my Dad.

So the moral of my story is this (and I'm telling it to myself, though if it helps anyone else, that's wonderful): Pushing the limits every day doesn't mean success. It means burn-out. If there is no training plan to follow, I have to listen to my body. I can't berate myself for not having a really long, super-hard workout. I can only do what feels good. That doesn't mean being a sloth. It means finding the balance. It means remembering why I'm doing this - because I love it, not because I have to. It's not a punishment, it's a reward. This applies to all types of workouts, including running, swimming, and biking, but also to strength training, and even yoga.

It might seems as though I've had an epiphany, but I can promise you this - I'll have to come back and read this post frequently for a reminder. I'll probably have to re-read it in three days or less...

Am I a triathlete now?

As I reported in my previous post, I did an indoor triathlon on Valentine's Day. What follows shall be my rambling "race report." Just to recap, the format was 15 minutes of lap swimming, 15 minutes of stationary cycling, and 15 minutes of running on the indoor track, with 5 minute transitions from swimming to cycling, and from cycling to running.

The whole experience began with a bit of a registration snafu. Participants were broken up into heats, and heat information was supposed to be available on Friday. The event started at 8 a.m., with heats going off every 20 minutes, and they (the powers that be) recommended picking up a packet and getting heat information on Friday or Saturday, so that everyone wouldn't show up much earlier than was necessary. I called on Saturday afternoon and asked what heat I was in, only to be told, "I'm sorry, we don't seem to have your information." Commence slight freak-out, on my end. The woman put me on hold, while I frantically signed online to check my bank account so I could find out if they had cashed my registration check. My check had cleared, so when the woman came back onto the phone, I let her know the money had already been taken out of my account. She paused for a moment, I heard some papers being shuffled around, and she chirped, "Oh here you are! You're in heat 15, at 12:40." 

I was happy that they had at least found my information, but I was still a little bit thrown off by the momentary confusion. Since I wouldn't be racing until 12:40 on Sunday, I decided to drive over and grab my race packet so I wouldn't have to get to the YMCA at 7:00 a.m. on race morning. I hit another snag when I got to the check-in desk. The man handing out the packets checked his sheets, and told me "I'm sorry, we don't seem to have your name here." Argh! I told him I'd called not an hour ago and was supposed to be in heat 15. He seemed to have an epiphany when he heard that; he grabbed his papers, turned to the last page, and handwrote my name in a new column underneath the typeset registrants. That did not give me the warm and fuzzies. Luckily a gentleman signing in right behind me said he was also in heat 15, so that made it feel slightly more legitimate.

On Sunday, my sister met me at my house at 8:50, so we could get to the Y by 9:30. Some friends were competing in earlier heats, and we wanted to cheer them on. We ended up getting there way too early though, due to a miscommunication on my part. I thought the friends were starting at 10:00, when actually they were in heat 10, which went off at 11:00. We had plenty of time to watch other heats race. As I saw the huge range of swimming abilities in the pool, I slowly grew more confident about my own swim. There were a lot of talented swimmers, but there were also a number of people performing non-recognizable strokes, people stopping to rest at each wall, and even one guy wearing a snorkel. A SNORKEL! I'm not sure how that was allowed...

Fast forward about 3 hours, and I was all ready to go. I had my sports bra already on underneath my bathing suit (it turned out lots of women had the same idea), my compression shorts, sleeveless top, socks, and sneakers set out in a locker room cubby, and my number (101) Sharpie'd on my arm. I reported to the pool 10 minutes before my heat was set to go off, as instructed, and realized I was the only female in my heat. I had to laugh. My lap counter (each particpant in each heat had a lap counter to stand at one end of the pool) said, "You'll crush them all, girl power, right?" (This was coming from a 20-something man). I was nervous about my own ability, but not too worried about being shown up in a big way by the men in my heat - they were all probably over 40, and one was over 60, I'm guessing.

Since I was most worried about the swim portion, I was surprised to find that I felt relaxed and smooth throughout most of the laps. The 15 minutes in the pool went by quickly. I have absolutely no idea how many meters I swam, because I did not even attempt to keep track of the laps. I had a lap counter for that! He told me when I had 10 minutes left, 5 minutes left, and 2 minutes left. When the buzzer for "time's up" rang, I was at the opposite end of the pool from the counter, so I didn't get to ask him how far I had gone. My sister let me know I had managed to be the second-fastest swimmer in my heat, behind the guy she and her friends had apparently nicknamed "slappy" because he slapped the water hard with each stroke. I knew I had felt waves coming from the next lane over!!

In the locker room I threw my shorts and top on right over my bathing suit, dried my feet, and shoved them into my socks and shoes. I think the whole thing took 2 minutes. It took roughly another minute to get from the locker room upstairs to the cycling room, and I was the first person from my heat to get there. Unfortunately, we had to use recumbent bikes instead of spin bikes, because of a computer error that was making the spin bike data crash (or something like that...). The bikes had to be set to a resistance of 6. There were 2 monitors in the room, and while we rode, they played music, talked about triathloning, and came around to write down our final distances. I hadn't been too concerned about my biking ability, but after the 15 minutes were up, I was seriously reconsidering the amount of time I had devoted to bike training thus far. I must do more. My quads were feeling the burn, big time. I eked out 3.61 miles on the bike.

I didn't need to change clothes for the run, so I grabbed some water, and headed straight to the track after I finished with the cycling portion. Similarly to the swim leg, the run leg provided each particpant with its own lap counter. 14 laps around the indoor track = 1 mile. My lap counter was again a youngish man, and he had what I think was an Australian accent. Whatever kind of accent it was, I liked it. I asked him to call out every 5 laps for me (partially because I wanted to know how far I'd gone, and partially because I wanted to hear his voice...). I jogged and stretched for about a minute during transition, just to loosen up my quads. Right from the start of the run, it was apparent to me that I was going to be faster then all of the men (honestly, that doesn't say much about my running ability...remember they were all older gentlemen). Not having anyone to pace off of, I just kind of ran. I lapped everyone at least once (it was a super short track). My favorite heat-mate was the oldest (maybe 60?) one. Whenever I lapped him, he'd say "You go girl!" I found it very endearing. True to his word, my lap counter let me know every 5 laps that had gone by, but he also kindly shouted out encouragement each time I completed a lap. When there were 2 minutes left to go, I quickly calculated laps in my head and realized I'd been running a little more slowly than I had hoped. I wanted to get at least 2 miles in, so I picked it up a bit. I managed to finish my 28th lap and run a few more feet before time was called.

I still don't know what the official results for the triathlon are, or even what awards they give out, if they do awards at all. What I do know is the following: I am a stronger swimmer than I thought I was; I am a weaker biker than I thought I was; my running abilities are exactly what I thought they were; triathloning is fun; outdoor triathloning is going to be a whole different world, one I anticipate being a million times harder than the indoor race. 

And finally, I learned that I have a LONG way to go before I can even think about an Ironman.

But it was fun!!

Mini indoor triathlon

On February 14th (yes, Valentine's Day), one of the local YMCAs is holding an indoor triathlon. I registered. This should be interesting...I hope I have as much fun as my fellow blogger EE had during her indoor tri a few weeks back!!

It is going to be broken up by time rather than distance. Participants will swim, bike, and run for 15 minutes each. Basically it will be as many laps in the pool as I can swim in 15 minutes, as far as I can pedal on a spin bike in 15 minutes, and as many laps I can run around the indoor track in 15 minutes. There will be a 5 minute transition period between each activity. Apparently the whole thing will be scored on a point system, although I am having a hard time figuring out how that will work. 

This is going to be my first triathlon EVER. (Does an indoor triathlon actually count for something?) 15 minutes for any one of the activities doesn't seem long, but I know once I'm actually in the midst of it, 15 minutes will seem endless. I'm especially nervous about the swimming. Although I find cycling to be grueling, I can usually tough it out or just slack off a little bit without actually stopping. Running is my strongest point, my original sport, so I'm not too concerned about that part...and again, if I get tired, I can just slow down without coming to a full halt. If I get tired and have to stop swimming in the middle of a lap, especially in deep water, at best I'll look like a flailing idiot, and at worst, I'll drown (OK, it's in a supervised pool, I probably won't drown, but if I end up just looking like an idiot, I might wish I had). I have been able to swim up to 1,000 meters without stopping to rest, but I went slowly, so I'm hoping no one will be able to tell how sluggishly I'm progressing in the pool on Sunday. Maybe if I wear my new bright orange suit it'll make me look faster!

I did get some helpful tips from someone who did this same triathlon last year (thanks Jenn!), and I'm really grateful for that, because there were some things I never would have thought of. For example, I should wear a sports bra underneath my bathing suit, so that after the swim, I can just throw on shorts and a t-shirt and be good to go for both cycling and running. I'm having a bit of trouble accepting the idea that I need to wear a bra under my swimsuit...I mean, that will just look wrong. But if it will save me time, I suppose I must. 

Other invaluable tips include picking a locker at the end of the bay to avoid crowding, laying out my clothes/shoes/socks before the race starts, and figuring out my spin bike settings before the race (although that would involve figuring out how to figure out my spin bike settings...something I will have to work on).

Aside from being nervous, I am relatively excited for this mini triathlon. It's my first step into the world of racing tris, but without the scary open water swim part. So really, it's like a baby step. I just hope I can't handle it, or else I'm really in trouble come summer in the time of the "real" triathlons!

The swimsuit grab bag...it's not for everyone!

Way back in the fall, when I took a few swim lessons, the coach, B, asked me if I got my suits from the "grab bag." Clearly, I had no idea what she meant, and I said, "Um, no, I just ordered this online..." And yes, I said ordered this, because up until a few days ago, I only owned one bathing suit (well, for lap swimming anyway.) In my defense, I wasn't swimming enough to warrant spending money on multiple suits, plus the one I had was reversible, so technically it was two suits. But I digress.

B told me there were swimming websites that had "grab bag" categories, where you could enter just your size, and they (I'm not sure exactly who "they" are, but I'm guessing they are the warehouse workers) pick a pattern/print and send it to you. Now, I'm not a fan of buying things sight unseen, but the appeal to the grab bag deal is that the suit price is dramatically reduced. A good quality bathing suit can run anywhere from $50 to $80. When I googled swimsuit grab bag, I found deals on TYR and Speedo at this website: https://www.swimoutlet.com.

There were TYR grab bag deals for $19.95 and Speedo deals for $29.95. Score! I decided I needed a new suit to throw into the rotation, since I plan on swimming 2-3 times a week. I was a little nervous that I might end up with a bathing suit print that looked like a grandma's wallpaper, but when I stopped to consider the fact that the pool I swim in is dominated by old men, cute swimwear didn't seem so important. I decided to go with TYR because the suit I already had was TYR and I liked it. Also, it was cheaper. I'm not frugal, really. I'm economical.

When the package got delivered the other day, I was really, ridiculously excited. It was like Christmas! Sure, I knew what was in it...a bathing suit, duh. But, I didn't know what it would look like. Oh, the possibilities! Would it be ugly, or cute? A print, or a solid? Flowers, stripes, polka dots?

I tore open the package, and this is what I found:

YAY it has PINK in it!! I was pleasantly surprised with the results of the grab bag. I know orange may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoy bright colors, and though I may not have picked this out if I'd had dozens of prints at my fingertips, I like it! The most important part, of course, is that it fits. It's actually orange, with thin blue, green, and pink stripes, with a pink outline. Here's a close-up:

Er...a closer up anyway. Gee, from the last few posts, it probably seems like I'm more interested in the gear and the accessories than the actual workouts. I promise, that's not the case! Although it does provide a good incentive...but no, the real point of this post is to let everyone know about the "grab bag" deal, just in case they were clueless!

And now, to prove that I really am in this for the workouts, I'll just say that in the past week I surpassed my swim and cycling totals from the entire month of January. The running...I'm working on. How much longer can I use the excuse, "Hey, I just ran a marathon!!!"??

Acceptable forms of cross-training + my month in review

Being a runner has always meant I have plenty of options for cross-training. Elliptical, ARC trainer, stationary bike, swimming, etc. (I've also been known to count things like going up and down the stairs really fast, ice skating, carrying around my 10-pound dog for half an hour, and vacuuming as cross-training). But it occurred to me the other day that there are not many options for cross-training for a triathlon. In addition to running a few times a week, biking and swimming are now obligatory activities. Trying to balance training for three different sports doesn't leave much room for other workouts, anyway. I suppose biking and swimming are low-impact enough that they don't require rest days, or cross-training days, like high-impact running does. Things like the elliptical and ARC trainer actually seem pointless while training for a triathlon, because they don't seem to have any specific benefits for swimming or cycling.

Of course, that didn't stop me from trying to think of cross-training activities that might help with cycling and swimming techniques. Here are a few I came up with:

1.) Filling up the bathtub with water, sticking my head in, and holding my breath for as long as possible, thereby increasing my lung capacity (WARNING: Don't try this at home)

2.) Laying on my back and moving my legs in a cycling motion for 30+ minutes

3.) Balancing on my stomach on an exercise ball, while practicing my freestyle stroke. This one has the added bonus of strengthening my core as I attempt to remain balanced.

I only came up with these three before I realized how futile it really was. OK fine, I realized how silly it was after just the first one, but I was determined to see if I could think of anything else. It just seems weird to be solely training, and not taking days to cross-train. I guess the only real cross-training I'll be doing for the next few months is strength-type stuff. Unless any of you know some good cross-training activities for triathlons that I'm just totally unaware of? 

And now, because it is February 1st, and because it seems to be the popular blog thing to do, I present to you my "month in review." Keep in mind that during January I was both tapering for, and recovering from, a marathon. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it!

January Stats
Running: 50 miles (yes, 26.2 of those were in one day)
Cycling: 90 minutes (on the indoor trainer)
Swimming: 700 meters
Strength training: 80 minutes

Quite pathetic, especially the cycling and swimming. But I was mainly focused on running because of the marathon. Hopefully my stats for February will look at least slightly better.