Yesterday morning I woke up, planning on swimming and running, but the air temp was below 50*F, and I do not swim outdoors in weather that cold. I decided to run instead, and as soon as I got out the door, put my Garmin on the ground to let it find the signals... I found out that SOMEONE had chewed through my headphone cord (cough foster kittens cough). Little bastards - I loved those earbuds ... they actually stayed in my ears. Oh well, I did 5 miles without music, which was peaceful. Great weather too (for running, not swimming!).

I came home and did 30 minutes on the trainer while watching What Not to Wear. I love that show and have been thinking about hiding all of my clothes and sending in a tape of myself... should I go "too slutty for work" or "too frumpy for 26" ? I've started doing some drills on the trainer - small gear, large gear, single leg.

Today is a rest day. I used to hate them but now I heart them.

Tomorrow is 60 minutes on the bike, 10 min run, 30 minute swim.

Sunday is my FIRST TRI! I am a little bit nervous but mostly very excited. I'm looking forward to doing the whole thing 'for real' -- swim, T1, bike, T2, run, finish, eat cookies. I made the mistake of googling "faster transitions" ... um, I don't think now is the time in my tri "career" to rubber band my pedals upright with my bike shoes already in them. Although it might be hilarious, I would definitely bite it. I'm excited that James is coming to watch me. I don't think he understands why I do what I do (um, just like I don't understand his obession with professional wrestling) but he supports me and I love him for it.

Wednesday's RBR Brick

My tri group does a run-bike-run brick workout on Wednesday evenings. It's 20-25 minutes from my work, and starts at 6:00, and I get out of work at 5:30... so yesterday I changed into my bike shorts and jersey at the courthouse, ran out of there (really, no need for coworkers to see you in spandex), and made it to the workout on time. The course is a 2.1 mi run, so you run around it once, bike around it five times, and run around it one more time.

We started off with a 2.1 mi run. I thought there would be a bunch of people my pace. There weren't. People took off with what I would guess was a 7:00 pace (I couldn't tell, exactly, because they were that far ahead of me). I ran a comfortable 8:40ish and felt good. I went to the transition area and changed from my running shoes to my bike shoes and my hat to my helmet. I put on my sungasses and gloves and headed out on the bike.

Um, I suck at biking.

At one point the chain fell off and I pulled over. People were passing me (I'm sorry, the correct phrase is "lapping me" ) and were asking if I needed help, but I hated to make them stop and mess up their times so I just sat there and got my hands covered in grease. Finally one woman stopped and helped me. Thank you nice lady.

Five times around and then back to change for the run. Ooof did my legs feel heavy and jello-y. I ran with a woman for that loop and we saw goslings. Too cute. I heart me some baby animals.

Total time: 1:33:something.
Total run: 4.26 mi // 38:21 // 9:00 pace
Total bike: 10.4 miles // 38:44 // 16.11 mph

Then I went home and had an omlette and ice cream.

Monday's Workout

How else would I spend my holiday Monday?

Bike ride: 1:31:45 // 24.1 miles // 15.76 mph
Run: 36:06 // 4.03 mi // 8:58 pace.

I'm getting more comfortable on the bike. It sucks to go from something I've been doing since I was short (em, shorter) - swimming, and something I've been doing for a few years - running, to something I just started doing - biking. I know running. I may not be fast, but I know what to drink, what to eat, and when and how often to do both. With the bike - and with tris in general - I am totally lost. I would like a personal coach. Would someone like to pony up the money? ;)

I lifted that evening:
Leg Press/ 3x10/ 110 lbs
Leg Curl/ 3x10/ 40 lbs
Standing Calf Raise/ 3x10/ 80 lbs
Squats/ 3x15/ 16 lbs (holding 2 eight pound dumbells)
Lunges/ 3x10 (each leg) / 16 lbs (holding 2 eight pound dumbells)
Hip Abductor/ 3x10/ 50 lbs
Hip Adductor/ 3x10/ 55 lbs
Bicep Curls/ 3x10/ 10 lbs each arm
Tricep Bench Dips/ 3x15
Lateral Pull Downs/ 3x10/40 lbs
Pushups/ 3x10

Jim McDonnell Lake Swim

Jim McDonnell Memorial Lake Swim - 1 Miler

I drove down to Reston with one of my attorney friends and a woman in her (our) tri club. We got to Reston easily and inhaled Chinese food for dinner. Oh, and then we really wanted pastries, so we went to Panaras for cookies (gotta love hanging out with people who love to eat as much as I do ;)). Cathy then had the brilliant idea to check out the lake... and that's when I started to really get nervous. We dipped our toes in - freezing! (it would be 65 deg on race morning) - and then drove back to the hotel. Here are Deb and Cathy standing in their respective heats

Modeling my wetsuit ---

After chatting for a bit, double checking our bags, and watching the SATC marathon, I fell asleep. Our wake up call was at 6:00 a.m. -- the 2 miler didn't start until 9:30, but my race (the 1 miler) started at 8:00, so Cathy and Deb woke up to drive with me to the lake. We had breakfast at the hotel (cinnamon bun and french toast for me =D) and then put on our swim suits and then headed for the lake. When we got there, we checked in, got marked, and got our caps. And... 40 minutes until my race started. We sat around and when I was at T - 20 minutes, I Body Glided up and put on my wetsuit and my chip. Nerves were REALLY kicking in at this point! I had NEVER swam in open water before ...

I lined up with my heat and waited to head into the water -- finally, it was our term! We waded in, swam out to the first buoy, and waited to hear our GO! ... and then, we were off. It was SO weird not to be able to see (1) the bottom or (2) anything in front of me. I started swimming a smooth freestyle, looking up every 6-7 strokes to check for the next orange buoy. I did get hit a few times, and I grabbed a couple legs (on accident, of course), but it wasn't too bad. It was very strange not to know where I was, and at one point I finally looked at my watch: 24 minutes, and I knew I must have been pretty close to end.

I swam around the barge, looked up, and saw the finish. I kicked it into gear, swam it in, and ran up (looking like a drunkard) to the finish. My official time: 31:18 -- good enough for third place in my age group, which is third place, even when there are only THREE PEOPLE IN YOUR AGE GROUP! (in all fairness, no. 1 finished 2 minutes ahead of me, and no. 2 finished a minute ahead of me .. so I wasn't too far behind them ;)).

I rinsed off (in the cold showers, boo), changed, and waited with Deb and Cathy until the 2 miler start. I took a glorious 30 minute nap in the sun, then headed back down to the finish line to wait for Deb and Cathy.

The ladies at the finish (right before we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries).

why not tri?

Welcome to my blog!

A marathoner with dreams of getting to Boston, I started training hard after my last marathon (Richmond). Pounding the pavement (liaterally, the pavement) day after day led to sore knees, which led me back into the pool. I forgot how much I enjoyed swimming ... and I already ran ... so I really should just add the bike and tri.