I'm back!

I have essentially taken a 4 month break. Not intentionally, it just happened. After my half marathon in February, I had a few small races: a few 5Ks and a marathon relay, but I wasn’t into it anymore. Lack of race reports probably shows that. I also joined Foodie Pen Pals and slacked off in that department too. I owe 2 blogs about packages I’ve received and I also need to try to remember those race reports and re-create them. Just because. It’ll happen one day. Hopefully soon. I need to get back into this.

Last year I was gung ho about everything and was borderline obsessed. I think the disappointment of not completing the half marathon took a lot of the wind out of my sails and I slowly began to put my energy and focus into other things in my life. I pretty much cut training and exercise out of my life. I did a few things here and there, but it was completely half assed and if I missed a day or two or three or a week, I didn’t care.

Last year on dailymile my June’s total mileage for everything I had done was 89 miles. This year, my total mileage for June was 12 miles. That includes today’s 9.6 mile bike ride.

I have a 5K color race in 2 weeks, a duathlon in 4 weeks and a triathlon (yes, I am doing it again...) in 10 weeks.  This time last year, I had 6 months of training under my belt, I had already finished my triathlon training and I was just trying to maintain my level of fitness until the triathlon, and maybe push myself to go faster and harder. This year, I feel like I’m starting from scratch.

Before today’s bike ride, I hadn’t worked out at all. Nothing but a 2 mile walk around a lake over a 6 week period of time.

A week ago, I created a training plan. It was a 12 week triathlon plan, and I figured I’d start in week 2 because I only had 11 weeks to go.  I created it, put it in my calendar and then didn’t do it. An entire week went by and I didn’t do it. My excuse? I was busy. Life got in the way and I didn’t make it a priority. I wanted to do it, but I didn’t want to do it.

Instead of following that plan I put in my calendar and promised myself I’d do, I’ve decided on something different.  Since the duathlon is in 4 weeks, I really need to focus on those 2 sports for now. Running and swimming. One is my friend and the other can go kick rocks. In case you’re new, it’s running. Running can go kick rocks. I still hate it. That hasn’t changed.  So if you love to hear me bitch about running, stick around. I’ve got some plans for us!

I plan on running 3 times and week and swimming at least 2 (maybe 3) and biking one. After the duathlon at the end of July, I will start to add in more biking. And hopefully I’ll have the stamina and dedication to add in biking in the form of biking to and from work every day. That in combo with 3x a week running and 2x a week swimming, I should be fairly ready for the triathlon the 2nd week of September. I hope.

I need to make time for this and stop putting it off. I need to make my training a priority. I need to be happy with making this a priority and stop dreading it. The fact is, I know I’ll feel better and stronger and healthier if I can get back on the wagon, so to speak, and move forward again.

Since April, when I stopped training and exercising regularly, I’ve started eating less healthy, I’ve gained 10 pounds, and I’ve lost strength, endurance, health and confidence.

It’s time to get that back!

Week Ten: Disney Princess Half Marathon Training

Week Ten

Monday – swim

Went swimming for the first time since September. More specifically the last time I swam was during my triathlon! After a few laps, I took the time to stretch out my hips while I was in the water. I also noticed that the breaststroke worked my hips out in a different way since most of my exercise has come from running and it’s the same motion over and over. Must keep swimming in the mix!

1150 yards – 32:30 min

Tuesday – run

Kept pretty good pace considering I was outside. I've been running slower outside than I do on the treadmill so I was surprised to see this pace.

I had a magical moment: I was powering up a hill, listening to "Friday" by Rebecca Black (don't judge), and I got beeped at by a guy with a Red Sox sticker on his car. I don't know for sure, but I'm going to assume it was a beep of approval. And I approve of his choice of sports team. Call me.

39:01 mins – 2.38 miles  (16:22/mi)

Wednesday – Wii tennis & bowling

Why don’t I play this more often? It’s really fun and you can work up a sweat if you really get into and don’t just stand there. Downside. All the work is done with my dominant arm, so that gets worked out, sore & tired while the other gets nothing. I should switch it up sometimes to see if I can play left-handed.

40 mins

Thursday –run clinic & Wii tennis

I attended a run clinic at my gym. There was more talking than there was running. The coach told us a lot of stuff that he learned over the years of being a runner and a coach. Also watched us run short distances and told us how we could improve. I got something out of it and if he created a running club, I’d join so I could get more advice on how to get better at this thing I call running.

Then I came home and played Wii Tennis again.

30 mins

Friday – Mall walking

Yup, that happened. I went to dinner with my mom and a friend and we walked 3 loops around the mall after dinner. Not gonna lie, I might do it again. It’s a fairly good walking workout – better than the treadmill – and I don’t have to be outside in the cold! Too bad I can’t run inside. Although I suppose that’s what the track at my gym is for.

35 mins - 1.3 miles

Saturday – Jonathon’s Fitness workout

I did @jonathonsfitnes's favorite total body workout - 10 min legs, 10 min arms, 10 min abs. The arms one was too easy, I obviously need heavier weights. But I can see this being a staple to my workouts! It made me sweat and I could feel the burn! I loved it!

Sunday – long run – 3 miles

This was a clusterfluff of 3 miles. I did the Winter Classic 5K, my first DNF, and I don’t even want to talk about it anymore. You can read the race report if you haven’t already.

0.85 miles – 12:50 (15:05/mi pace), 

Came home from the race and took the dogs for a walk to finish the 3 miles for the day. Jogged a few times when the dogs wanted to go faster, but when they started to get crazy and pull, I walked again.

2.34 miles – 43:50 (18:45/mi pace)

Total: 3.19 miles – 56:40 (17:45/mi pace)

This race was the icing on the cake. This was the 3rd race where I’ve gotten no support on the course as far as directions for which way to go or water stations and one of them was even starting to take down the finish line area as I crossed and there were still people behind me – and that was the race that not only accepted, but welcomed walkers and their dogs.  I started a campaign called No Runners Left Behind because races need to be aware that not everyone who registers for a race will finish before 30 minutes or even 45 or even 60 (gasp!). If races have time constraints, they should post them on their registration page and let people decide if they can achieve that time before registering, not after the race when they get lost because all the volunteers have gone home. I'm hoping to get more race directors and organizations on board with this campaign so more people will enjoy races and not feel excluded in something they are doing to make themselves healthier.

Dec 5 - Dec 11

76 days until the Disney Princess Half Marathon!

Tavern to Tavern VIRTUAL 5K (and practice triathlon) Race Report

The Tavern to Tavern 5K was supposed to be held on August 28th. It was a point-to-point race in Cambridge, MA.

From Central Square to Porter Square

I had never done a point-to-point race, so I was curious to see how I was going to get back to wherever I parked my car. I figured I’d take the train back to wherever. As it turns out, I didn’t have to deal with it. Hurricane Irene came barreling through and decided to wreak havoc on New England. Of course by the time it got to us, it was only a tropical storm, but the damage was done (no pun intended). They rescheduled the race for September 4th and after a barrage of rudeness from the people who were in charge of the race and a discussion of their lack social media marketing, I decided not to go. I had plans in NH for Labor Day weekend anyway, but I was toying with the idea of driving back down to Cambridge for the race and back up after the race. It would have been a 2-hour drive, but I was willing to do it since I had already registered, they weren’t giving refunds, and they were giving out medals to all finishers. You know I’m all for a good time, but it’s even more of a good time when there’s a medal involved!!

However, on their twitter feed, @Tavern2Tavern5K they made rude comments about people being upset about the reschedule date and used sarcasm to solve everything. They have since removed the offending tweets, but the damage was done. And a lot of people noticed. I can definitely say that I won’t be supporting their race next year. A sure-fire way to deter participants from coming back the next year is to be rude to them. Mission Accomplished, guys!

Although I didn’t go to the 5K today, I did my own 5K at the gym up here in NH. I did the time and I’d like my prize please.

Source

Hey Tavern to Tavern, will you mail me my medal? I was a finisher and I even have a picture of the treadmill after I finished to prove my distance and time.

See?

Contact me for my address. Thanks. You’ll get a much better review from me if you do. FYI.

Thanks for my t-shirt anyway.

Speaking of reviews, someone on my dailymile feed mentioned the race. He wasn’t very impressed. I’m not surprised. He said that the course wasn’t too well marked off. It started at Central Square, went through Harvard Square and ended in Porter Square. None of the streets were shut down and although some police escorts were at certain intersections, they weren’t at all and runners were running in the street at times! There were free beer, burgers and hot dogs at the finish, but there was no food or drink at the start. The water stations were concerned about running out of water early on and things weren’t very well organized. He said he had a good time and it was a good atmosphere and overall people were enjoying themselves. I guess I didn’t miss out on much.

In addition to my virtual 5K, I also did an hour spin class, which averaged out to about 20 miles. My legs were killing me!! Then, I went home, ate lunch and went to the beach with plans to swim a mile. I don’t know who put the crazy in my coffee this morning, but I certainly drank it all up!

I tried out my new tri shorts for everything today and was most curious as to how they would hold up during the swim. I also tested out my rash guard/surf shirt for the swim. I figured if all went well, I could wear it for the tri and not worry about changing clothes in transition. Due to the material, the shirt kept sliding up and wouldn’t stay in place. I tucked it into the shorts and that seemed to help. A little.

I only did 2/3 mile because my legs were cramping up and I was getting cold. Plus the sun had gone behind some darker clouds and I didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of the lake during a thunderstorm. Of course when I got out of the water and sat on the beach, the clouds went away and the sun was out full force. Instead of getting back in the water and swimming the rest of it, I sat in my chair and tried not to fall asleep. I figured I had done enough for the day and tried not to mentally beat myself up about it. I was also coming off of not working out for 4 days because I hurt my back (which by the way was completely fine today! No pain!).

When I first took off swimming, I almost sucked in a gallon of water when I gasped because there was so much drag on the waistband, it felt like they were going to be pulled right off me and I’d be mooning the whole beach. Hot stuff. Once I got across the lake, I stood on the rock and re-adjusted. I re-tied the drawstring as tight as I could and as I took off for a second time, it slid down and dug into my lower abdomen. Awesome. I wonder if the shirt wasn’t tucked in if it would help with the drag from the pants. It wasn’t so much of a drag that it slowed me down tremendously and it didn’t seem to affect my time, but it was enough that I noticed it and it felt different that just my bathing suit. Maybe I’ll look into a tri shirt during the next week to see what I can find, but if not, I’ll just make due with what I have.

The way I figure it, I basically did a triathlon today and everything worked out, so I’ll be fine next Sunday.

It's the final countdown...and the clothes that go with it!

Yesterday marked exactly 2 weeks until my triathlon. I also had a 5K planned for yesterday, but it got cancelled due to “Hurricane” Irene. I still don't have power and broke out of my garage just to get to Panera for human interaction and this blog. You're welcome.

When I began training, I knew I’d have to figure out something to wear on race day, but I just never went forward with it because it was so far away. The other day I realized I needed to get cracking. One problem though, fat people don’t do triathlons, so it’s near impossible to find tri shorts or tri suits that fit me. The largest women’s sizes go up to XL, and while I am an extra large person, I don’t fit into extra large compression clothing, because compression means squeeze the hell out of you so nothing jiggles while you’re doing this. Makes you more aerodynamic I guess.

I was in a bookstore the other day and I found the book “Slow Fat Triathlete” by Jayne Williams.

[source]

It’s about her journey thru exercise and her eventual try at a triathlon. It then goes onto tell about how she continues to compete in triathlons and she loves the sport, etc, etc, etc. It’s basically a push in the right direction for overweight people to get going and stop making excuses because everyone can exercise and theoretically do a triathlon, no matter what your body size.

Lucky for me, I decided I could do that on my own. Now while some of the things in her book have been helpful (I haven’t read the whole thing, just skimmed it through once and I am now going back to read through it) I definitely don’t see her as a Slow Fat Triathlete.

I already love the book, so this isn’t going to be a bash fest. There are so many awesome things in there that I’ve read already, such as a list of places that DO sell plus sized triathlon clothing and lists of accessories to make this journey easier as well as a list of resources to check out for everything relating to a triathlon. Everyone knows I love resources. My main dig to the book is that Jayne Williams calls herself a slow and fat triathlete. HA. What does that make me? A Sloth-like Gigantor Triathlete? Her speed and size may not be what will get her into the pro circuit, but I can’t help but compare myself to her when my 17-minute per mile running (which most people can accomplish by walking) is 6 minutes slower than her 11-minute per mile run (and I'm sure she's even faster now!). And my size weight is about 1/3 more than hers. Her journey started at less weight than I am now and my journey to triathlete will be over in 2 weeks. I’m sorry, but even though the book is great and I will praise it over and over, Jayne Williams is neither slow, nor fat.

On page 30 of her book, she says, “Abandon Self-Consciousness. I just can’t say this enough: Self-consciousness is your worst enemy.” I get what she’s saying there, but isn’t calling yourself a Slow Fat Triathlete reckless abandonment into being self-conscious? At first I took pause and thought "am I being a hypocrite? I call myself slow and fat and other names". But you know what? I am slow and fat! Jayne Williams is not.

Her idea to abandon self-consciousness is definitely a great motivator. Just the other day, I was at the track doing Week 6 Day 1 of the Couch 2 5K program and during one of the running intervals, I went by a group of people who were walking. One of the ladies said, “Oh, no she’s passing us!” in a mocking voice. I said “It’s okay, I’m not going fast enough to maintain it, I’m sure you’ll pass me a little bit later”. She said, “How many times have you been around?” I checked my Garmin, G-cube, and saw I had gone 1.5 miles and said “Six” over my shoulder as I was now considerably in front of them. She said “Wow, that’s a lot”. Then about 20 seconds later she lowered her voice and figured I must have been out of ear shot because she said “That’s a lot of movement for someone that size!”. I didn’t respond, but I definitely did a little jig in my head while I thought "you ain’t just whistling Dixie, lady". It’s DAMN hard to move this big mass into everything I’m doing. Swimming, biking and running, not to mention elliptical, spin classes, yoga, and I’m sure that kick boxing class I got a Groupon for, but haven’t used yet, all exhaust me. But I’m doing it. I’ve heard that people can get heckled while running, but I never really thought about it until it happened to me. But you know what? I’ll take it. Because I was tired and hurting by my 6th lap around that track and her mocking me pushed me to go a little bit faster for the last 2 laps. Thank you, lady.

Just one of the things Jayne Williams says is get out there and do it, it doesn’t matter what your size or fitness level is, we all have to start somewhere. That is so true and brings me back to a favorite quote:

Truth!

So back to my struggles of finding tri gear that fits me. I checked in stores and found that most tri shorts were small medium or large and if I was lucky, there would be an XL on the rack. But as I said before, XL just wouldn’t cut it. I searched all around the interwebs to find someplace that might have something for me. My problem was tri shorts are NOT cheap and I wanted to be sure that returns were possible and not charging me $15 for shipping, then the same for returning. Welcome to Zappos!VIP. I was upgraded to VIP last winter when they kept sending me the wrong size snow pants. With Zappos! Everything is free shipping both ways, but with Zappos!VIP, it’s free next day shipping. Pretty sweet. I try to do a lot of my online shopping with Zappos!, especially if I already know my size in something and need an extra pair. Or I’ll try something on in a store and decide later that I really do want it. Zappos! is my friend and it should be yours too.

In my experience of being a large and in charge lady, I’ve found that men’s sizes are sometimes (almost all the time) bigger, even though they don’t have the hips God granted me. So I went in search of men’s tri shorts. If anything, I’ll get more padding in that area down there, right? I found two pairs that interested me: one was 2XL and one was XL. I was in the frame of mind that men’s XL is larger than the women’s XL, Which is usually the case. The tri gear arrived on Thursday and I danced around excitedly.

Pearl Izumi Elite Tri Shorts

I tried on the Pearl Izumi 2XL shorts first. I didn’t take pictures. No one needs that visual. You’re welcome. They fit just fine, but the waist was huge. Luckily there was a drawstring and I cinched them up nice & tight. They are a little bit shorter than I would like them to be, but they cover all the possible chub rub areas, so they’ll do. Then I took a short walk around the dining room. The material is of the sort that likes to make sound and be noticed. It sounded like I was rubbing sand paper together. Of course I got the giggles. I said “MY god, I could start a fire with these things! Imagine catching on fire during the race? I need to call these people and tell them to have fire extinguishers on site!” My mother just laughed at me.

Then I tried on the longer tri shorts. Size XL.

CW-X Ventilator Tri Shorts

They were a different brand, and they looked a LOT smaller. Like maybe a medium. But they were longer, which was desirable. I got them up to my knees and was laughing to hard to get them up any further. I said “Look, at the thigh part, it barely fits on my calves!” My mother said “Oh, those ones don’t come in XL?” I said “Mom, these ARE the XL!”. She said “Oh, but I didn’t mean it like that!”. She now claims that she was talking about something else, and she doesn’t remember what that something else is, but I think she’s just trying to use her senior citizen discount.  Story of my life.

I’ll be returning the medium shorts, excuse me, the XL shorts and I’ll keep the 2XL. With the way those shorts run, I was expecting to need a 4XL. Those things are tiny when no one is in them!

But here’s the real question in all of this. Tri shorts are made for swimming, biking and running. So, since it’s technically a swimming suit for the swim portion, I don’t know what to do about under garments. Regardless of the top I choose, whether it’s a swim suit under the tri shorts or just a rash guard (like a surfing tee) I will need 2 sports bras under there in preparation for the run.

Oakley Rashguard: though he's not bad to look at either.

But if I go without the bathing suit, do I wear underwear? Such a dilemma. 

What would you do?

Three Things Thursday

1. I’m doing this for me and no one else. Don’t judge what you don’t understand.

This whole triathlon journey was started on a whim while in a crazy mood. During the training process I’ve learned so much about myself and although I’m not where I want to be in my training, I’m happy with how far I’ve come from the beginning of it all.

It was said to me recently that I’m too hung up on the race aspect of things. Considering I’ve been doing 5K races during training to better myself and the final result is a race, I don’t think I am. I’m not racing anyone else but myself. I’m pushing myself to train and go further, harder, faster and stronger to make myself better. Timing myself and checking out my pacing helps me keep track of my progress and helps me determine what I need to do to improve.

I had a quote emailed to me today that fits here perfectly:

Frustration is first step towards improvement. I have no incentive to improve if I’m content with what I can do. ~Bingham

I can’t lie; I’m a competitive person by nature. I like to compete. Being in races motivates me to do better because seeing someone ahead of me makes me want to catch them in that moment. I love that feeling. Motivation. But, when it comes down to it, I’m only in competition with myself. I want to do better than I did the last time. And I’m disappointed when I don’t see forward progress. That’s human nature and I don’t see anything wrong with that. 


What I do think is wrong, is other people passing judgment on me because I don’t think the same way they do. I don’t think I’m better than you because I like to compete and I don’t think you’re better than me because you don’t. I think it just makes us different. And different is good. Embrace it. Don’t fight it. And definitely don’t be rude about it.

2. On Tuesday I did couch to 5K week 5 day 3. This included a 5-minute walk warm up; 20-minute run and a 5-minute walk cool down. The mental hurdle has been leaped and I actually believe that I will finally finish the Couch to 5K program this time around. This is my 3rd time attempting it and it’s the furthest I’ve ever gotten. I know I can complete it. I dread running each and every time I do it, but knowing that I can do it is what’s pushing me to actually do it. Maybe one of these days I’ll enjoy running, but don’t hold your breath.

3. Yesterday I attended a swim clinic by Max Performance. They are organizing the Title 9 Triathlon that I’m doing. I grew up swimming, so I have a strong background, but I wanted to learn about swimming in a triathlon and learn tips and tricks that would help me out on race day. I’ve read many articles and heard lots of people talk about the swim being the hardest part of the race for most people. I’m lucky that I grew up swimming in lakes and ponds, otherwise I’d be right there with everyone.

When I did my duathlon a few weeks ago, I waited until most people started, then started swimming. During the clinic, I wanted to put myself right in the middle of things so I could get a feel for a hectic start and deal with the “worst case scenario” before race day. We did 3 race starts to a buoy 100 yards out and back. There were about 70 people there and they split us up into two groups. We did start waves in 2 groups to lessen the amount of people. They said for newbies, it’s easier to stay on the outside since most people will swim as close to the buoys as possible. The first start, I was in the middle of the pack, right in the center. The second start I tried to stay as close to the inside as possible, but still in the middle of the pack, front to back, to get as many people around me as I could so I’d get jostled and see how I could deal with it. The last start, they had the two groups go together, for anyone who wanted to give it a tri (see what I did there? J) I got myself right up front and on the inside. I figured if I was gonna get kicked in the head or swam over, I’d rather it be during a swim clinic than during the triathlon. Although in the actual race, I’ll probably still hang back a little bit and err on the side of caution.

The clinic was very cool and it was good to get another group swim under my belt. I’m so used to swimming solo and swimming with a group motivates me to push myself and do better. After the swim, the Max Performance people hung around and answer some questions and talked with everyone who was interested and gave some great tips on triathlon swimming. They also mentioned that they would be having a “Newbie Night” for Tri-newbies to talk about anything and everything regarding a triathlon. I’ll definitely be attending. It was a great event, I’m sure the newbie night will be great too, and it’s making me look forward to the triathlon more than ever. Max Performance sure goes above and beyond to make sure they make everyone feel comfortable before race day! Thanks guys!

Before - all smiles

After - still smiling!

Three Things Thursday

...in the nick of time too!


And now I’ve apparently made this a regular thing. Whatevs.

1. Is it wrong to have a smoothie for breakfast and a smoothie for lunch? I don’t mean a protein smoothie either. I mean frozen fruit and milk and a spoonful of peanut butter. And by spoonful I mean large quantity of peanut butter, because that's how I roll. There’s protein in that right? Right. Yesterday, I was not hungry for anything except for smoothies. I knew I should up the ante and add some protein, but I didn’t have any and I don’t know what kind to get and honestly, I feel like protein shakes and/or smoothies are things that only body builders drink. Am I wrong? Apparently I am. After my day of “smoothie” meals, I attempted a run. I was shaky and could barely finish it. I apparently hadn’t fueled well. I mean besides the smoothies, I had a small wrap with romaine lettuce and a small amount of chicken in it. I barely ate anything all day and expected to be able to perform the same as I have before. I kind of answered my own question there. Don't worry, today was National Junk Food Day. I totally made up for my lack of food intake yesterday! 

2. Last night I also had dinner at a co-workers house. Her daughter worked in my classroom last year, but she’s moved on to be a Wellness Counselor with Herbalife. She and her team did an assessment for me and showed me things that I was interested in (such as protein powders) and suggested some things that might help me out with my training. They have meal replacement smoothies, protein powder, energy drinks, protein bars, meal bars, etc. Whatever meets your needs as an athlete, they probably have. But the difference between Herbalife and other products out there is that Herbalife is all-natural and doesn’t have the added sugars that other products on the market have. Or so they say. I ordered Formula 1, which is a meal replacement shake and Personalized Protein which is just more protein to add to smoothies or the Formula 1.  The idea is to have 2 meal replacement shakes and a “colorful meal”. Not kidding, that’s what they called it. Given my experience yesterday with 2 smoothies before running, providing me with NO fuel, I’m hesitant. Plus, I’m not looking to replace meals. I’m looking to add protein to my morning smoothies or maybe after a hard workout. I might only replace one meal. Or I might replace breakfast and dinner and have my “colorful” meal for lunch to fuel up. I don’t know yet. I’ll see how it goes once I get my order. If you are interested or have any questions regarding the product, contact Brittany on her Facebook page.

3. Today I did my first training swim at Hopkinton State Park where my triathlon in September is being held. It was well over 90 degrees today and I just couldn’t fathom going to the gym to swim in an overcrowded pool. When I got to the park, I found the area where the swim starts. It starts with next to the boat docks, behind the boathouse. There was a huge sign that said “No Swimming”. Awesome. I asked someone at the boathouse if I could swim the triathlon route or if it was only allowed on race days. The girl I spoke to was about as helpful as a box of rocks. She said, “Oh, I’m not sure, I’m not with the park, I’m with the boat house”. I asked “You do realize where this boat house is located right?” I got a blank stare. I think she lost a few more brain cells just trying to figure it out. After asking around a little bit I was told that swimming was allowed in the swimming areas.  Well that’s good. Since I couldn’t seem to get a straight answer, I just went for it. It was really windy and the water was really choppy. I was tempted to not swim, but it was so warm out and I was already there, and I wanted to get in and just swim! I swam over to the beach in just about 10 minutes. I had to switch my breathing side because the waves were coming at me from the right and I kept breathing in water. On the way back from the beach, the wind picked up and I felt like I was fighting bears and going nowhere in the water. The waves were crazy! It took me 16 minutes to get back. Let’s hope there’s no wind on race day!  When I got home and out of my bathing suit, I saw that it was brown on the inside. It was white when I bought it. It was white after my pool swims. It was white after my lake swims. It was white when I put it on today. A 26-minute swim at Hopkinton State Park and it’s brown.  I think I’ll be saving my open water swims for the lake in NH.

June Totals and Weekend Update

June totals

Swim: 1.36 miles 

Bike: 70.38 miles

Run: 6.65 miles

Walk: 3.61

Elliptical: 7.32 miles

Yoga: 20 mins

Pilates: 30 mins

Rest days: 15

Yikes on the running numbers in June. I did not do well. But I was also having trouble with my shins and as you can see the walking and elliptical were added and have a few miles on them. Not an amazing number, but at least I was moving!  This month (July) I’m joined a running challenge (again, Yikes!). The challenge is to run 50 miles in the month of July. Of course it’s not going to be 100% running, but I’m going to count my running workouts towards it. Maybe when I can run consistently I’ll re-try the challenge to actually run 50 miles in a month. But for now, I’m doing it this way because it’s the only way I can do it and at least I’m doing something! 

This weekend has been a plethora of training and I loved it. I finally got to get in the lake and swim! I’m so tired of swimming in the pool, it’s boring and annoying to fight for a lane or get pushed into another lane in the middle of my swim because of swimming lessons or they are changing the lap lanes, or something else ridiculous. I might start heading down to Hopkinton State park and swimming there during the week. I don’t know how much more of lap swimming I’ll be able to handle now that I’ve been in the lake this summer!  And as a preview for July’s totals, I’ve already swam more this weekend than I did in all of June. Oh yeah!

I bought bike shorts last week and got to test them out this weekend on the Cotton Valley Trail. I did NOT bike toward SpookyVille, but I did go into town and back on the trail twice, because once just wasn’t enough.

 Although the bike shorts do cut into my legs a little bit, the comfort in the seat area definitely outweighs that issue. Why didn’t I own bike shorts before now? I did 13 miles on Sunday and I felt no discomfort at all.

I almost didn’t get to ride my bike this weekend. I packed the bikes up on Friday night, locked them to the car, and took off. Once I got to my place in NH, I realized that I had thrown the bike lock keys on the back bumper of the car and forgot about them. So I had to find a bike store in town and have them cut off my cable.

I have an extra key at home for the lock so I can use the lock again if I get a new cable, but it wasn’t doing me any good at home. I bought a new cable with a combo lock built in so I don’t have to worry about keys again. Because this isn’t the first time I’ve left something on the bumper of my car and took off. It was the 3rd. And probably won’t be the last. I’m smart, I know.

Although I know I should probably get another run in tonight to up my totals for my 50-mile run challenge, I’m letting myself have a rest day today. I’m exhausted from this weekend. And Bruno Mars just says it best:

Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song

I love this song, but this is the first time I've seen this video and I'm torn between being hysterical or horrified. Maybe both.

Running is the devil. It hurts people.

As I sit here with ice on my shins, I’m reflecting back to the past few months. I’ve been so emotionally drained because I’m pushing myself physically and yet, still, I cannot run for 3 minutes straight. I’ve been doing this since January. Swimming, biking and trying to run. I’ve surpassed my swimming and biking goals easily. Yet I’m stuck on running. I’ve tried the Couch to 5K program in the past and haven’t been able to move past week 3 because I can’t get up to running for 3 minutes straight. So in beginning this triathlon journey I decided to follow a triathlon plan and work on the running that way. It didn’t work. So I switched to other running plans. I tried running drills, I tried short intervals for longer periods of time, I tried everything I could think of, but I just couldn’t get this running thing done. Finally I decided to give Couch to 5K another chance. I worked my way up through week 2 and I felt strong and confident that maybe I could do this. I had been building up endurance and strength in other areas since January, and now I needed to work on the running. Finally, I hit week 3 and even though I knew I hadn’t been able to do it in the past, I felt confident. Until I tried it again. I’ve tried Week 3, day 1 three times now. I told myself I wasn’t going to go past a day that I couldn’t complete and go about it at my own pace, but that I’d keep to the schedule so that I didn’t do too much too fast and get hurt.


Well guess what. I’m hurt. Last night I went for a walk with my mom and dogs, but decided to do a few running intervals up and down the side streets of our complex. I started having shin pain and had to walk most of the time. Tonight, I tried Week 3 day 1 again and couldn’t run for more than 45 seconds before I had to walk due to the pain in my shins. First, I had a hissy-fit and flailed my arms, stomped my foot (which made my shin hurt more) then cried "Why the hell can't I just DO this?". Finn looked at me curiously, probably wondering if I was talking to him or myself. Then I re-grouped, because now I was crying in public and I tried doing a speed-walker shuffle/pee-pee dance run-walk thing. That alleviated the pain and I was going faster than my normal walking, but it’s still not running. And I’m sure I looked wicked cool. Seriously, just try and picture it.


I started thinking about why I’m having shin pain now, after 6 months of trying this running stuff and I think I’ve found the culprit. Pavement. I’ve done almost all of my training up until now on the treadmill. Besides my 5K races, I haven’t been outside at all before Week 2 day 3 of Couch to 5K. Even though I’m completely discouraged, and pissed off that I can’t do this, I’m not a quitter and I will complete this.


I have two options right now. I can continue my training on the treadmill and finish the couch to 5K program on the treadmill and then transition to pavement after I know I can run for 30+ minutes straight. Or, I can start over. Week 1, Day 1 on the pavement and build up that way. I'm seriously torn between the two. Both have pros and cons. Your thoughts?


Either way right now I need to take a few days off of running so my shins can stop hurting. I also need to be stretching more. Maybe take a few yoga classes like I keep talking about to get myself more limber. 


But no matter what I decide, I will never quit. Quitting is a weakness and I’m way too proud for that bullshit.


By the way, don’t forget to check out my “What’s in a Name” contest. It ends on Friday night. Hurry up and enter, because as it stands, Jenn and Richelle are winning by default as they have the only entries! And really with so few entries your odds of winning are huge! 

What's in a name?

I've been thinking about the name of my blog and I want to change it. I think. 


More specifically, the address. Right now it's http://sariah8.blogspot.com. Since this is a blog about my mission to a triathlon and what I'm doing to train, I'd like it to be something about that and not "sariah8" which is really a username more than anything. And because I'm also planning on a half marathon after the triathlon, I guess I'm in this for the long haul and don't know if I just want it to be all about the tri. But, I'm indecisive. And I also can't think of a name. So I need your help.


Any ideas? I was thinking of making this a contest/giveaway, but I'm new at this and don't really have anything to give away. Um, a pair of socks? YES. A special fun, funky pair of socks. Who doesn't like socks? And I'll choose the socks based on the winner's personality. So they'll definitely be fun, funky & cool! Really, this is a win-win situation for all of us!


Here's the deal, you can list as many blog names as you like. But put each idea/name in a different comment. And follow me too. Yes, bonus points if you're a follower. Who knows, maybe 2 pairs of socks will be given away! (Probably) Actually, yes. I will choose a winner based on the blog name choice and another winner will be chosen at random for a bonus prize.


Okay, let's get organized. First winner will be chosen based on my biased opinion and what I like for a blog name. The second winner will be chosen at random. The prize: besides the sheer satisfaction of being the winner, SOCKS.


Enter as follows (each entry needs a new comment):

• Suggest a name for my blog (or two, or three, or seven)
• Follow my blog (and then you'll have to re-follow my new blog once the new name is chosen, haha!!)
• Promote this contest/giveaway on your blog, twitter, facebook, run through the streets screaming, make posters, etc.

What I'd like:

• Something clever of course, because you know me. I'm clever.
• Using my name is good (it's Sara in case you're new around here)
• Anything dealing with swimming, biking, running, triathlon, racing, etc
• Catchy is good
• Play on words
• What you think when you think of me (maybe I don't want that)
• Brutal honesty

I'll end the contest on Friday of this week (6/17/11) and announce the winner on Saturday, 6/18/11. A whole week of fun!

I can't wait too see all your ideas!! And GO.

It's my party and I'll freak out if I want to!

I just had a moment of freaking out. It was slight. Don’t worry I’m fine. But I just realized that my triathlon is less than 4 months away. Swimming, check (even though I discovered something tricky about the course). Biking, check. Running, stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

I’m on track for the swimming. Here’s the tricky part. The course is listed as being 1/4 mile. I wanted to see what the exact distance was because maybe it was 0.22 miles, maybe it was 0.26 miles, but the closest measurement was 1/4 mile. I also wanted to swim this summer in the lake near my house in NH, and I wanted a route to practice. So I had to measure. I used Map My Fitness to check the swim route.

0.30 miles

NOT 1/4 MILE.  It measures as 0.30 miles. That’s closer to 1/3 mile than 1/4. Why not round up? They rounded up for the bike route. That’s listed as 10 miles, but the route is really only 9.9 miles.

Glad I know. I’ll now train for 1/3 mile instead of 1/4. It may not seem like much, but lap-wise at the pool, it’s 9 laps for 1/4 mile and 12 laps for 1/3 mile. If I’m only prepared to swim “9 laps” on race day, those 3 extra “laps” aren’t gonna be fun. I want to be completely prepared. Luckily, at the lake I’d like to train in, in NH, beach to beach is 0.31 miles. Almost exactly the distance for race day. Score.

0.31 miles

Swimming, check.

The biking isn’t impressive, but it’s comfortable. I’d like to get out on the race course to get a feel for it and see how I can handle the hills it had to offer. I keep thinking, “Oh, I have time, it’s not until September”, but IT’s 4 MONTHS AWAY! I will plan a ride out there. I will. If only it would Just. Stop. Raining.

Or maybe I’ll hop on my brand new spin bike that I picked up on the way home tonight.

Sexy, isn't it?

And by picked up, I mean it was on the side of the road with a “FREE” sign on it. I don’t know if it works. We’ll find out, won’t we? Yes, you’ll hear about it, I’m sure. I’ve already injured myself with it and I haven’t even gotten on it yet.

The running business is still in slow mo. But I’m doing it. I decided to start Couch 2 5K again. This is my 3rd time trying it. I’m on track so far, but these 5Ks keep getting in the way. I know it’s good to have 5Ks to do to keep myself on track for the triathlon in September, but I’m starting to wonder if the 5Ks are messing up my rhythm with the C25K plan. I’ve seen running training plans where people to long runs one day a week. Could a 5K be my “long run” for now? Or is that too ambitious for right now? Thoughts? (I’m looking at you, you runner people)

Something is happening though. I’m not too sure if I like it. Today is my rest day. And I am adamant about my rest days. Trust. But I was actually slightly upset that I ran yesterday because, get ready for it, I wanted to run today. Who am I becoming?

I’ve read many places that you shouldn’t run back to back days, especially as a beginner, but I’ve seen running schedules in other people’s blogs where they run 6 days a week with one rest day. How are they not crippled, or dead, or both?

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

I’ve gotten so caught up (and by that I mean obsessed) with finding more 5Ks to run that I have given swimming a backseat in my triathlon training. I’m a strong swimmer and I’m confident in my ability, but I also know that by focusing solely on running, for the mere fact that it sucks and I hate it, therefore I need to overcome it, I am weakening my biking and swimming strengths. Or so they say. I’ve been swimming since I could walk. I swam every day, every summer when I was at camp as a kid and I was became a lifeguard by the age of 16. I think I’m good in that department. 

Nonethless, I decided to brush up by doing some swimming drills. I have never in my life done swimming drills. I’ve always just done laps, treading, brick tests, etc. So I took the plunge (pun intended) and did some drills, which included thumb to thigh, touch and go, swimming with closed fists and swimming with one arm. Seriously. If you ever want to mess with someone while you’re swimming and make them think you’re drowning, try swimming with your fists closed. You will flail around like an idiot, while literally punching the water, trying to stay afloat. After I started that drill, I noticed the lifeguard started watching me a little more closely, with a lot more concern. Right after that, I started the one arm drills. More people stared. One girl arrived just as I was starting the one arm drills and she was sitting in the hot tub, just watching me in horror. I started laughing while I was swimming, because I realized that she really thought I only had one arm. It’s also hard to swim and laugh at the same time. That added more flailing.

The good thing about the drills, though, was I lost track of time completely because I was concentrating on form (and trying not to drown) and not just swimming laps. It gets pretty boring in the pool just swimming laps. There’s no music to listen to, no one to talk to, nothing at all except random thoughts. And if you’re swimming for distance, you have to count laps. I’ve lost count many times. So I’ve gotten in the habit of making up songs while swimming laps as a way to count my laps. Not kidding. “The laps go swimming one by one, hurrah, hurrah. The laps go swimming one by one, hurrah, hurrah. This lap was swam one time, just one, and I’m the one not sucking my thumb and I keep one swimming until the end of the lane, of the lane boom, boom, boom. The laps go swimming two by two hurrah, hurrah....” and so on and so forth. I also tend to slack on the kicking part so I have to remind myself every one in a while with a bit of perfectly placed “Just keep kicking, just keep kicking”, as Dory in Finding Nemo might say. I get weird while swimming. It’s the truth.

I swam for an hour yesterday and I’m exhausted today. I always forget how much swimming laps (or in this case drills) tires me out. It’s a good workout though you use your whole body to keep yourself from drowning. There’s good motivation right there!

Tomorrow, I have another 5K. It’s in Exeter, NH and it’s the Margarita 5K. Meaning there will be a margarita party at the end of the race. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m not too sure that they’ve classified margaritas as a good post race recovery drink. 

Plus, I don’t like tequila anyway. I’m just in it for the shirt.