I took a trip to Gatlinburg, TN with some great friends last week! We had a fabulous time, but I missed every single training walk. Having to pack & being out of town messed up my training schedule. So it was back to it today! Wow, can I feel that I missed a week. I'm sure it'll be feeling good again soon.
My 3-Day training is going very well. To date, I have not missed a single training walk. The weather for the most part has cooperated! I've had some really beautiful days to walk! Total mileage this far: 101.3
This morning Erin & I met at the trail we used for triathlon & 5K training last year. We haven't been to that trail since the Friday before the 5K which was in November. I hate to admit it, but I haven't run much since then either. In fact, I think today was the first outside run since the 5K. I've got to get into shape to at least run a 5K. We are getting ready to Storm the Bastille on July 11.
Have you ever "accidentally" ran/walked 6.19 miles instead of 3.1? Well, I have...LOL!
My friend Erin & I decided we would go running down by the lake front for a change of scenery. Neither of us remembered to map a route along the trails to figure out how far we really needed to go. So we just thought of a spot and ran to it. Well, it turned out to be a LONG way. Needless to say, we weren't able to run much of the way back to the car, but we did run most of the way there.
I was able to get back to exercise a little bit this week. I got in two bike rides and one run.
| SWIM | BIKE | RUN/WALK* |
|---|---|---|
| 0.0 miles | 13.0 miles | 3.25 miles |
| 0hr 00min | 0hr 55min | 00hr 40min |
| SWIM | BIKE | RUN/WALK* |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 miles | 6.5 miles | 6.5 miles |
| 0hr 30min | 0hr 25min | 1hr 13min |
I want to track my training time here and will try to remember to post my training totals each Friday. I will probably need a reminder note on the computer...lol!
| SWIM | BIKE | RUN/WALK* |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 miles | 0.0 miles | 7.3 miles |
| 0hr 30min | 0hr 00min | 1hr 30min |
I found this Couch-to-5K program few years ago, but had forgotten about it when I began training for my triathlon. By the time I stumbled upon it again, I thought it was too late to change up what I was already doing.
Next year I want to be able to run the entire 3.1 miles, and this afternoon I took the first steps to assure that happens.
Scroll down to July 7th & July 8th entries to read about my first triathlon experience. If I could sign up today for next year, I would do it without hesitation! I have already set new goals and will begin to work on those next week. :)
I know it's not a fashion show, but I was a little worried about biking and running in a regular swimming suit with something else over the top. I found and ordered the solution. It arrived today, and I LOVE it!
It's an all in one suit! All I have to worry about after the swim is getting to my bike putting on my socks, shoes & helmet. I will also pull a shirt with my race number pinned to it over the top. Transition to the run will be park bike and remove helmet. Easy peasy!! :)
Erin & I headed out the lake for a .75 mile swim and 9 mile bike ride this morning. Since running is my weakest leg of the event, I will run twice this week. That's it for this week's training. My schedule calls for light training this week and next. The event is less than two weeks away! It's coming fast and I am so excited!
Tomorrow I will give you a fundraising update. It's exciting!
Sunday morning my friend Erin & I met in the lot at a local McDonald's bright & early to set out for Lake Andrea (this is where the tri will take place)! There is lap swimming available in Lake Andrea each morning from 7 - 10. We decided to face this beast so we know what to expect on race day.
I cannot describe the anxiety we felt seeing that lake in person knowing we would have to swim across it, but not knowing what part we would have to swim. We thanked our lucky stars when the very helpful lady in the pool house knew. She also knew how many laps we had to swim to equal approximately the distance across between the points she showed us. It didn't look so bad.
We changed into our suits, headed to the sand. Put our toes in the water, it was cold. Walked in a little further, it was cold and there is squishy green stuff under our feet. We walked a tiny bit more, it was cold! Count of three, we're going under. This isn't so bad!! We swim the short distance to the lane markers. The lane was approximately 180 meters. We swim one and the whole time we are thinking what did we get ourselves into? LOL! The next lap was even better. We swam six laps! That was just over 1180 yards. We only need to swim 880 in the event. We think we can do this.
Sunday morning we are following the same plan, but we are going to bring our bikes along and ride after our swim. Anyone care to join us? ;)
Things just got really busy on the fundraising front! The friend I am doing the triathlon with works at our favorite local grill & bar. It is owned by her parents. I met her there Tuesday afternoon to cut out 200 card stock pink ribbons. She came up with the design, and they look GREAT! Yesterday, I ran (not literally ran...lol) the signs I made up over there to "advertise" our efforts!
My sign!Here are my training totals for the week so far.
Mon: 40 minute bike
Tue: 35 minute run
Wed: REST
Thu: 30 minute swim
Fri: 50 minute bike
Tot: 155 minutes
My training schedule calls for 215 minutes total this week. I have a 25 minute swim and 35 minute run left to complete. I plan to do those over the weekend.
I continue to do a light strength program while training for the tri. Since I posted about the 8.5 lb loss on May 8, I have only lost another half a pound. While I the numbers on the scale aren't moving much, I do see a difference in my body and how my clothes fit. Most importantly how I feel. I enjoy biking, running, and swimming. I plan to keep it up after the tri!
I have been eating healthy and only have one Diet Pepsi a day. (One soad per day is a HUGE improvement for me.) I need to to track what I am eating to see if I am eating enough calories to fuel my body for the increased exercise. I am wondering if that is why the pounds are coming off so slowly. I don't mind them coming off slowly. Those are the ones that stay off, but I am curious to see if that might be the cause. I am so close to getting into those capris & shorts from last year.
We have a wedding Friday afternoon, and I have been looking for a dress for a couple weeks now. The reception is at a country club so I want something not too casual, but not black tie formal either. Do you know how hard it is to find something like that? I did find one this afternoon, but now that I have it home I think the style is too mature for me. Guess that means I have to go back to pounding the tiles of the mall once again tomorrow.
Tuesday's Tri Training: 35 minute run
Today's Tri Training: REST (If that's what you call running from store to store in two malls.)
This is for you Martha! ;)
Saturday was such a beautiful day here so I decided to go on a training run, but combine it with a walk. I walked a little over 4 miles from home and ran back only stopping once during. I walked for about five minutes and continue my run! Boy, did that feel good. I am pretty sure I got to the 3.1 mile mark before I had to stop.
Today I went on a nice bike ride. I don't know the exact mileage, but got a pretty close number from usatf.org/routes/map/. It was 8.25 miles in about 40 minutes. No resting here. I think the challenge with the bike portion will come after swimming half a mile.
To kind of try to tackle that, I plan to bike to & from one of my swimming sessions each week. This week I will probably do that on Thursday! It's less than three miles from home, but I think it will tell me a lot about how it will feel to swim then ride!
The triathlon is two months from today! Here's where I am at:
1. I am up able to run a little over 2 miles at this point. When I started training a month ago, I couldn't even run a mile. (The run is 3.1 miles.)
2. I am able to swim 600 yards without stopping. (The swim is half a mile which is 880 yards.)
3. I am able to bike 15 miles without being too run down. (The bike is 12.4 miles.)
4. I have lost 8.5 lbs! (Still have a little to lose to get into my capris from last summer.)
5. I have DRASTICALLY cut my Diet Pepsi consumption. Until about two weeks ago, I drank Diet Pepsi ALL day long. I probably had 8-10 cans a day. The most I have had on any day since I got sick is ONE. This past Friday & Saturday I didn't have a single one. I have replaced the sodas with water & iced green tea.
6. I have passed my fundraising goal of $250 and haven't sent out letters other than to online contacts. (I need to get these out this week!)
I think I am in good shape, but need to keep it up! This week is a heavy training week with workouts Monday - Friday. Next week is really light. Then it builds as the date gets closer with light workouts the week prior to the event.
Snow plowers -- UGH! We have about 6 inches of snow on the ground. It began this morning with rain, turned to small snowflakes at about 6:30 AM, then around 9:30 the flakes were GIANT. It was like it was snowing snowballs. The flakes returned to a more normal size and it continued until about 4 this afternoon. Guess what it turned to then. Yep -- RAIN! The rain will turn back to snow overnight and is supposed to leave another 2-3 inches.
Time to shovel what has pretty much turned into six inches of slush!
Today's Tri Training: 40 minutes on bike (inside of course) for 10.2 miles! A light work out on the strength training circuit. 20 minutes in the pool. I didn't keep track of the laps just swam until I needed to rest for a bit and then started again. Did this twice for about 10 minutes each.
