Week 4 Training Progress

Well, a whole month of official Triathlete training!!  I feel really good about the progress I am making.  I feel really good about the training choices I am making.  I have been really flexible about what discipline I do what day.  This far out – that is fine.  I am doing things I really – really enjoy and making sure I don’t overtax the knees.   Here is how it shook out (and yeah, my first red day)

Wednesday

The weather is holding here in Chicago so I hopped on the bike to get to and from work.  I am up for a promotion so burning off as much nervous energy as I can before hitting the door is a good thing!  I just loving seeing the city come awake as I ride in and all day I look forward to hopping back on to take the long way home.

Thursday

Thursday was rest day.  I have been allowing myself two cheat meals a week – not binges, but one dinner and one breakfast that I don’t feel guilty about.  I had been doing that on Thursday because it was my rest day.  But, I think it would be better on Wednesday.  By the time Wednesday comes around I am STARVING!!!  And on average have burned over 800 calories for the last six days.  Also, having a heavy meal on Thursday night seems to make me sluggish on Friday.  Thursday I can recover from my cheat meal, too.

Friday

I made myself a couple biking goals for the weekend.  One was to ride all three days regardless of weather and to have a 30 mile ride.  Friday morning  I woke up and had a great 5k run/walk and felt strong all day while I worked.  As soon as I could get away from the JOB I hopped on the bike and put in just over 25 miles.  I miscalculated my route home and missed the 30.  That’s ok, it was an AWESOME ride!  Really proud of this two a day work out.  I ate well and planned my food to stay within my limits, fuel my work outs and not leave me hungry.

Saturday

Saturday I had planned to ride with a friend, but it was WINDY!!  I started out the day with an hour walk with a few run patches.  The knees weren’t hurting but were ‘tender’ so I kept it on the walk side.  When my friend bailed I got out anyway.  I only 11 miles, but the wind was so bad I couldn’t get much over 12mph.  I was proud that I got out, regardless of the distance.  Another two a day J

Sunday

Sunday I cashed in my cheat breakfast.  I love to have a Sunday morning breakfast out with the girls and really did enjoy it.  I got home from that and had to work a bit, but got in a nice long ride… still not the DARN 30!!  I just couldn’t go any more when I hit my turn around point.  I sat on the rocks by the water, enjoyed my Kind bar and some tunes before heading back.  I logged 26 for the day and averaged closer to 15mph.  This is best average so far.  The total weekend was 62 bike miles and over 6 miles walk/ran… that is pretty damn good for me!!

Monday

Monday… Yeah, that red day… We have people in from out of town, I had a new consultant start, and my new boss (Oh, I got the job) was in town to do some orientation.  I had plans for dinner after work, team stuff over lunch and didn’t make time to work out.  I wish I had gotten up early and got it done.  I have to be better about that on super crazy days.

Tuesday

This has been the swim day on my calendar but I am putting that off til I get over my first 5k in November.  Still people in at the office, after work dinners, working lunches… But I did manage time at the gym – 30 minutes on the stationary bike (those seats SUCK!) and 30 on the elliptical.  Not the best work outs I have had, but I got them in!  And that counts!!

I am on the road this weekend and going to try to hit the gym while visiting family, but might have to move things around.  It feels good to have a goal and a focus.

Who Inspires Me Friday... My Sister in Law Mrs Hand

I was thinking earlier this week who I was going to post as my inspiration this week… honestly I stalk so many tweeters/facebookers/bloggers I have a wealth to pick from. It seems like everyone adds a bit to my training plan – good or bad! But as I was thinking about it… I received an email from my sister in law…
DUH! She has totally motivated me… I have been emailing her for a week or so on how to display her race bibs (fishing for Christmas ideas… I am kinda crafty if you didn’t know that) She is … among other impressive things like; yoga instructor, mother of two handsome boys under three, avid reader, closet TV junkie and wife to my CRAZY brother… a runner.
She and her sister have been running 5k races for at least two years. I love that she and her sister get to share this together. What an awesome way to enhance that bond?!?! The competitive nature of siblings, the unconditional love and support must be wonderful motivation and inspiration to her.
She posts the required racelfie and is always I mean ALWAYS grinning from ear to ear at the end of a race.  I love an athlete who smiles :)  I am so inspired that she and her sister were able to go from non-runners to having completed several races.
When I have signed up for my first 5k in November I shot her and her sister an email to see if they wanted to join (I mean … come on, there is chocolate fondue at the end of the Hot Chocolate race… who can’t run to chocolate!)  We won't run together this time, but maybe another one.
I didn’t tell her I was posting this and not sure if I will, so I didn’t get her permission to use her pic… and I respect her sensitivity to that. (I know that makes me a total hypocrite... Cause I stole other people’s the last two weeks!!! But, hey, her kids are cute and I want to stay Wonderful Wonderful Aunt Katie to them!!) If you come across this Mrs Hand… you rock (your sister, too!!!) And, hey, I am sorry about that bump on your husband's nose - I never thought plastic plyers could break it!

Week Three... Training Plan and Something New

Week Three is in the bag… Here is the day by day blow and why one day is yellow…

  

Wednesday: 

I had a good (not great) 11 mile ride. It is yellow because I binged for dinner. I had a 5 guys burger and fries – and they were AMAZING!! But it wasn’t in the plan and with a girl’s night out Friday and a day with my mom Saturday I had ‘cheat’ meals built into the plan. I can’t really say why I just HAD to have a burger (a really bad for you burger at that) but I did it. So the day is yellow, not a terrible day, but I could have made a better choice.  

Thursday: 

Usually this is my rest day but with a day planned at my mom’s I switched Saturday to the rest day. I worked from home and started the day with a 5k run walk. This was a great one for me! I ditched the c25k plan cause it was BORING! I started running to one song, walking to one. Then I noticed I felt pretty good at the end of Song One so I ran for Song Two also – go me!! So I ran two and walked one. This is the same concept as c25k but I liked knowing when the end/start was coming rather than it being a bit of a surprise. That was before work. After work I got in a great ride… GREAT! Nearly 20 miles and I kept up a good 15mph pace for the open/flat parts. Two endorphin highs in one day… This is why people do two a days!

Friday: 

 I was getting pretty tired but hit the gym before I knew it was actually morning and got a 500m swim in. Every time my goal is 40 meters more (my pool has 20…NOT 25! Meter lengths). Each time I add the extra lap no problem and have yet to increase my time. I am still under 20 minutes which means I am getting a tiny bit faster  I am happy with the swim progress. I had another great and longish ride. I had to earn the grilled cheese and hard root beer I was going to share with a couple great friends.  I am loving… LOVING guilt free food!

Saturday: 

 I was super to have rest day! Going two days over I really felt I had earned it. I didn’t binge – which is hard to avoid with my family. I did manage to get home Saturday night and avoid a sleep over which would have made Sunday’s work out difficult  

Sunday: 

I have switched Sundays to be my long day for now. As I progress I will work all three disciplines in, but for now I think this is the right approach for me. I pick which of the three I want to do and since the weather was nice… and won’t be for long, I rode my bike (I love my bike… have I mentioned this??) I headed out just before kickoff of the Bears game thinking most of the gear heads would have gotten their workouts over …including the ex… wrong! Another damn sighting! I mention this, because it really affected my entire ride. I saw him about 5 miles in. I am not sure he is recognizing me on the bike – but I think Sunday he did. It upsets me so much to see him I nearly turned around and went home 5 miles into my LONG ride!! I hate someone else having that control over me… no really, I hate it! I kept going and it got easier.** I biked over 21 miles total with great averages for me. I got behind someone who was pacing at 15.5 I kept up with him the whole way. I could have passed him at one point, but his pace was so consistent I decided that I needed to practice that more. I was really proud of keeping up!  

Monday: 

Another work from home day… I did my run/walk to the songs and had several where I ran 3 songs. I felt GREAT and actually got over a jog to a good hard run several times. Honestly, this was the first time I felt like I was running and I loved it! I even got the high  First Runner’s High!! So high, I ran straight for pancakes. And I am guilt free – I didn’t go nuts, but I loved every single bite! I added a kind of short bike in the afternoon – 11 miles. I ended up Performance Cycle again. I tried to air up my tires and my bum was screaming I did it wrong… why did I wait until AFTER my bumpy ride???I have no idea. I got a lesson on airing the tires – yes again, but I got it this time! I won’t tell you how low that back tire was… my bum is still angry!

Tuesday: 

You know those silly inspirational posters and pins  that say do something that impresses yourself?? I took a spin class with a girlfriend. It was one of the hardest classes I have ever taken – watch that resistance, if you lighten it up it will slam your lower leg into your knee cap…. I think I bruised mine. Eh, I will live. There was a section in the beginning I couldn’t stand when the class did, then I got with it. My friend was cruising along… that woman is so much stronger than me! She is POWERFUL! (And a perfect example of don’t judge a book by her cover) One last part towards the very end I didn’t do the ‘jumps’ for one set, other than that – I pushed it!! It was hard!! It was nearly 600 calories burned and I was impressed!! However… I was STARVING all day. I didn’t order out, which is a win! But I just couldn’t eat and feel full. I have some suggestions for eating before (will try but if I vomit in spin class…).

 Over all a great week. One guilty meal, one super hungry day nearly 100 miles logged run/walk/ride, time with friends, time with family… life is good.


 ** I realize the ex part has nothing to do with Tris or cycling, but it is about my process and why I needed …some would say still need…something to get my head in gear ;) The two times I saw him this week I didn’t break down, I didn’t cry – another perk to the bike. When I walked and saw him I would burst into tears… cry on the bike and fall over! No crying!! I don’t think anyone can say why one break up or another is so damn hard to get over, but this one has been a BITCH! In the city of Chicago there aren’t a lot of options to ride without having to stop at lights so we will continue to share the same path. My deliberately riding outside his normal window is not keeping the sightings down, unfortunately. With time, it has to get easier. It will get easier.

Who Inspires Me Friday… Linsey Corbin

Seriously, I have the biggest girl crush on Linsey Corbin… it is a little weird!  Most of the people I follow on this path to becoming a triathlete are more like me.  They are mothers, full time corporate gals, some are chubby…er curvy like me.  But this woman is a FULL TIME athlete.  This blows my mind.

Her focus all day, every day is making herself a BEAST!  I don’t really envy people, but I do fantasize what would it be like to get out of bed and instead of conference calls you have a whole day of training.  I am pretty sure this old grandma couldn’t physically take it… but it would be cool as shit to try for a day!  I keep thinking in the back of my head when I get close to the first tri this spring I might just do it that way one Saturday and Sunday. 

And then there is her pain cave… I have more than fantasies about this.  I am a very lucky single girl in the city of Chicago in that I have three bedrooms all to myself.  This winter, I am 99.99% sure one of them will be my pain cave.  (To everyone who complains I am giving up ‘your spare bedroom in the city’… How many times have you slept there???)  I have already ordered the trainer.  Her cave is in a garage (I think) and very clean and crisp.  Mine will be a bit more me, colorful and cluttered.  I am going to print/find motivational phrases… I love that stuff… and hang them up.  Drag in a TV or at least a laptop for marathon Walking Dead/bike sessions. 

She seems to always be smiling, maybe that is because her handsome hubby does a lot of her filming I'd smile for that cutie, too!! But I have the sense she appreciates she is strong and powerful and fortunate to have such an opportunity.  Smile more… yeah, basically a good idea I can emulate.  After all, my life is equally a fortunate, though in different ways.

This Saturday watching the Ironman World Championships in Kona I really admired her spirit.  She didn’t have the swim she wanted and that meant getting on the bike mentally she was in a deficit.  Still, she powered on and had a sub 3 hour marathon after an otherwise disappointing day (to her).  I found every single step inspiring.  (I was so bummed when the phone doing her tweeting died!!!) The physical power to complete such a daunting task – with that kind of grace – truly is Awesome.  So inspiring, in fact, mid IMKona viewing I found myself outside for a 5k walk/run of my own.

That is what her attitude and style does for me – it encourages me to take one more step. 

(I stole the picture above from her website…. Hope she forgives me… even if I am a little bit girl crush crazy!!)

Week Two Progress - Training and Rambling

Green boxes mean I completed the training I had scheduled.  This is loosely based on Swim Bike Mom's training plan.  I am having a hard time with 'strength'.  I am not comfortable in 'that area' of the gym... at all.  I am substituting a core work out at home for now.  Right now, that is ok - but I am going to have to get over this.  I have increased my calories on My Fitness Pal to 1350 a day and don't eat more than 50% of my calories earned from training.  I give myself 2 meals a week where I don't stress.  I don't binge - but I don't stress.

My goal is not weight loss.  I am kind of happy with the body I have.  It is curvy and feminine, though, it does frustrate me that I don't qualify as 'fit' to the common male eye.  But, hey, who wants common :)  My body goals are to A) Love the skin I am in TODAY B) Feel strong and powerful in this body.  That is it.  No jean size, no scale number, no Hollywood definition of beauty.  I am defining beauty for me.

Any rate... rant over....

Green boxes mean I did the training I said I would.  I kept a commitment to myself. Not a trainer, not a friend, not a workout buddy - I said I would do X and I did it... because I can!

Recap the week (Thursday is usually my off day so my week is Thursday-Wednesday)

Thursday was an off day.  Strange as it sounds, in all the diet/exercise/get in shape days of my life... I have never planned a rest day.  It was so nice to watch some TV, putz around the house and not feel guilty.  Not feel like I 'should' be at the gym.  I was giving the very worn out muscles a rest.  And that was part of the training plan.  How freaking cool is that!

Friday: Swim… I focused on time.  I wanted to know just how long it took me to swim 440 meters (18 minutes) I did about 6 laps on my back, which is more than I would like.  But I was getting much better at keeping my face in the water and breathing.  Progress is good.  FRIDAY BONUS… since it was a nice day and they are quickly leaving the Chicago area, I got on the bike in the afternoon.  I had a good ride, averaged 14.5 which is improvement over the 12.5 I tend to average.  (Did have an ex sighting… but I didn’t break down and I don’t think he recognized me, but that was first and kind of caught me by surprise as he didn’t used to ride at that time of day… no break down means another win for me).  Gave it 18 miles and ended up at the shop where I bought my bike for some much needed tweaking and education… I had NO idea you had to check the air in the tires so often!  My dad did like once a summer!  Oh well, the guys at Performance Cycle on Halsted/Diversey were great to me and not the least bit condescending.  More of my crush on this cycling life J  Yes, the bike pump has been delivered and I will use it faithfully, I promise!

Saturday: Guilty Pleasure Day!!!  I love the Ironman World Championship… LOVE LOVE LOVE I got up early to ride and mercifully the Chicago Marathon runners were having a taper day so they didn’t clog the path.  Another good day with a 14.5 ave and logged 17 miles – which felt great on my newly aired tires!!  HOLY COW what a difference some air makes.  I also had to work (IT go lives on the weekend suck!) but this gave me the excuse to watch the whole race!  I have a girl crush on Linsey Corbin, she is always smiling, so real and I WANT her pain cave!  I digress…. I was rooting for her big time.  But the whole race was so inspiring.  So much so that I got up off my duff and logged a 5k run/walk somewhere around the 5 hour mark.

Sunday: Hit the pool for a nice quiet swim.  Focused on technique and not time/distance. Spent the afternoon walking and chatting with a good friend in a pretty little area near home.

Monday: Crappy day (most of the week has been rainy/blah) so I ran 5k on the elliptical in 35 min.  Which was great, really felt accomplished.  Just need to learn to translate that to the pavement.  Also signed up for a 5k… never have done this before and I figure if I am going to be a triathlete a 5k should happen J  This one has Chocolate at the end!!

Tuesday: This is the only morning I am hitting the gym before work.  As a single person with an empty nest, I have the luxury of evening workouts.  However, the lap times at my gym aren’t great and I find mornings to be pretty quiet, I rarely have to share.  So Tuesday I get up 30 minutes earlier and slog to the gym for a good swim.  This week I logged 520 meters at 20 minutes with only about 4 laps on my back.  I just love that every single time I feel a bit stronger!  I felt so great I got outside for a 25 minute run/walk in a light drizzle over lunch. Dinner was off the plan – but that is ok.  Much needed laughs and adult beverages with a great friend.

Great week!!  Despite the weather, weekend work and ex spotting.  Every time I hit it – I went longer or faster or stronger or all three. 

There is a triathlete in here… I can just feel her getting out.