31 July 2008

registered!

March 21, 2009
Washington D.C.




SunTrust National Marathon


.... BQ?






bring it!

bike/ run brick and I love my bike trainer.

Had a great bike/ run brick last night:

Bike
46m 01s
16.00 miles
20.86 Mi/hr
6:35 PM
(trainer)


Run
29m 49s
3.31 miles
09m 01s/Mi
7:30 PM


My legs actually felt pretty fresh during the run. I find that the first few minutes are always the fastest ... and I'm not sure why? Maybe because my legs are so warm? I usually slow down a bit after that. I think I should probably go out more slowly, though.

I don't know what I would do without my bike trainer -- other than never get in a bike workout! I live in Baltimore City, and even if there wasn't horrible traffic and crazy drivers, there are stoplights at every block. It just isn't conducive to riding. With my trainer, I can bike whenever (although I stopped doing it in the morning -- I have a magnetic resistance trainer and it can get loud! and we share walls so I try to be considerate of my neighbors). I can watch a movie or tv or (ever better), Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for the Next Elle Woods on On Demand .. and life is good.

27 July 2008

July 20 - July 26

Recovery Week totals:

Swim
3499.56 Yd
1h 11m 57s


Bike
42.90 Mi
2h 40m 52s


Run
12.63 Mi
1h 58m 36s

20 July 2008

savageman is worse!

This is the bike course I ride once a week:

I rode this week with a friend and her friend. While biking up the first hill, my friend commented that the hills at Timberman (the HIM she is doing in late summer) aren't nearly as bad as Columbia (and will feel that much easier after riding Columbia regularly) ... her friend then commented, Savageman is worse! Honestly, maybe it's not the ideal first HIM course ... but after ("after," right? not if?!) I conquer Savageman, I know I can conquer any HIM.

Yesterday's bike-run brick went okay. I'm still gasping for air on those big hills (and going a super speedy 5 mph towards the top) and I need to work on those... I guess that's where that 11% hill near the course comes in and I need to get my ass and my bike out there to ride it. I'm getting much better on the descents and have stopped keeping a death grip on my brakes (which is good, because: ** It is of utmost importance that riders ensure their bikes are in good working condition as this bike course includes some steep, technical descents.)

This week is a recovery week, which came at a perfect time. I am EXHUASTED.

july 13 though july 19

Swim
1640.42 Yd
29m 31s

Bike
92.50 Mi
6h 10m 30s

Run
19.59 Mi
3h 34m 54s

13 July 2008

bike ride and 2009 musings.

Good bike ride today -- 25.5 mi in 1:53:42. I've been riding the Columbia Tri course, which is known for steep hills and a lot of them. I only get out on the road once a week on my bike, which kind of sucks, but it is what it is [and thank god for the trainer]. The woman I was riding with (Cathy) showed me a hill with an 11% incline ... too steep to ride down but a perfect hill to practice riding up for Savageman. I'm going to try to ride it 3-4 times a couple times a month.

The nature of triathlons necessitates planning the next season a year in advance. Cathy and I were talking about the 2009 season, and I think I've figured out what I want to race:

* March 22: Shamrock Marathon
* May 17: Columbia Triathlon (Olympic)
* June 14: Eagleman 70.3 Triathlon
* September: Ironman Wisconsin
* October: Baltimore Half Marathon

I think that's a good set of races. I have all winter to train for Shamrock, and then the spring to start getting ready for Columbi and Eagleman. Of course, I'll be training for IMW during all of this, but the training will really pick up in the late spring/ early summer. I'll finish the year with my favorite hometown race and then get ready to do it all again in 2010!

07 July 2008

MORON.

Who has been following the IRONMAN training program instead of the HALF INONMAN training program?!

I thought something was up when I saw "do an olympic or HIM this week for confidence." Hmmm.. I'm TRAINING for a HIM .. isn't that strange? Double checked the programs ... and yeah, I've been training for an IM.


[Printed out the wrong plan].

Nice going, T, nice.

06 July 2008

if only I could bike this well.

Long swim day at the pool. Strange, my gym's pool is now saltwater. They keep saying it's "better", but I have yet to hear why ... something about better on your skin, hair, and bathing suit, but my legs are itchy(ier) than when I swam in a chlorine pool. My guess is that it's cheaper for them to maintain.

warm up: 4 x 75 easy
main set: 4 x 1000, each 1000 as: 1 x 750, 5 x 50 (rest 2:00)
cd: 200 easy

Total: 4500 meters (three miles!) in 1h 34m 05s.

The third 750 was boring, and the fourth was exhausting. The workout actually called for a 100 easy cd, but I just wanted to hit the 3 mi mark. :)

05 July 2008

this week's totals.

Swim: 10115.92 Yd // 3h 25m 03s

Bike: 63.20 Mi // 4h 00m 40s

Run: 19.48 Mi // 3h 01m 52s

boost of confidence.

Today I did a reverse triathlon: run/ bike/ swim. I tried to do them as back-to-back-to back as possible.

Run: It was surpisingly cool(er) this afternoon -- mid to high 70s. I loaded up my shuffle with new music and off I went. I kept around a 9:05-9:15 pace throughout most of the run. I did get really thirsty halfway through, so I stopped inside a cafe for tap water. Because of where I live in the city, my runs always end uphill, and today I managed to really push it.

Bike: Trainer, of course, because I didn't feel like driving out to do the Columbia course. I alternated big and small rig every 10 minutes, and watched the movie that defined my high school years: Can't Hardly Wait. Heart that movie! I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable on the bike, but I have a lot of work to do.

Swim: Changed and drove to the pool. GREAT swim -- easy and fluid. Wish open water swims went this well ;)

Totals
Run: 1:01:52 // 6.69 mi // 9:15 pace.
Bike: 1:30:00 // 23.4 mi // 15.6 mph.
Swim: 29:30 // 1 mi // 1.97/ 200 m.

TOTAL: 3:01:22 // 31.09 mi.

During my siwm I realized that today was an Olympic tri -- give or take a few on each sport. Although the bike was on the trainer and the swim was in a pool, I feel like I could do an olympic soon! Trusting in the training and it seems to be paying off.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

02 July 2008

like a fish, again. and some thoughts.

Great swim tonight. I really love swimming -- I feel so good in the water ... strong, long, fast. Too bad the swim is the shortest part of any tri!

warm up: 200 swim, 200 kick, 200 pull
main set: 16 x 100 (first 100 slow, second moderate, third faster, fouth fastest. repeat 4 times)
cool down: 200 easy

How do people find time to train for IMs? I know I'm at the beginning of my triathlon (sure to be illustrious, I'm sure ;)) career, but I can't help but think about the granddaddy of them all. I was talking to my husband today after work, and I don't understand how people find the time to train for an IM. With this HIM, I am either training, working, sleeping, or eating. J said that he supports me (and boy does he - the man comes to all of my races and plays photographer, bag holder, cheerleader, driver) but he worries that I will completely burn out if I attempt to work 55 hours a week and train for an IM. And some people do with this kids! HOW?! J reminded me that I don't have to cross everything off of my life to-do list now. That J, he's a smartie.

Um, that said I'm thinking of doing this HIM in September and then finding a marathon in January/ Febrary and attempt to BQ. I PRed at Richmond with a 3:53:13, so I need to drop 13 minutes off of that to BQ ... it's 30 seconds per mile, which will be hard, but I think do able. I didn't do any speed work for Richmond, so I'm hoping that will make a difference.

[I'm sure a lot of you athletes feel this ... the need to always be training (or resting in preparation for the next training cycle). I need plans and I need them ahead of time.]

Something else I was telling J: while I respect professionals, I really admire those who work full time, have kids, families, lives ... and train. And compete. Pros do this for a living -- they are paid to train. They have trainers and coaches and dieticians and a whole gaggle of folks who tell them what to do and when to do it. The rest of us schedule training around family, work, obligations. We rarely have someone else pushing us -- it's up to us to get out of bed early and get in that run/ swim/ ride. We buy our own gear (oh, btw, if you haven't done so already -- don't add up what you think you've spent on tri gear. It's quite scary!) and our own food. While athletes are amazing for what they do and how fast and how strong they are ... we are amazing for simply getting out there and doing it. Cheers to all of you!