Taking it to the Streets

A series of ailments, a busy work month, and an Vermont get-away have left me with a surprising little amount of time to do a lot of training. Sure I could probably fight my way through the three events in a quarter-day's time, but I still have the urge to WIN!!!

I took advantage of the brief glimmer of nice weather in New England this March and had a bike-maintenance morning followed by a one-hour bike ride. I hard-core hit the road thinking, "Well, in cycling classes I can go about 24 miles in an hour." An hour later I pulled into my driveway and clocked my ride on googlemaps- 13 miles. Fuck.

Riding a bike outside is hard. There's wind, there are bumps in the road, there's traffic, and worst of all- there's no techno remixes of Celtic Woman with an instructor yelling at you to "MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!!!!" How am I to motivate myself to go faster when the mail truck is gunning for first?

I'm hoping when the rain stops... nay- I'm hoping the rain stops. And if it should- I will continue to push myself harder and harder on the road. I think the rain is a reminder to get my land-lubbin' arse into the pool...

hmmm- 42 days to go!

A passion for lists and a rekindled love with Lane 4.

So after a few weeks of heading to the gym without any real idea of how one trains for a triathlon, I decided it was time to make a calendar for myself to ensure I wasn't spending too much time doing workouts that I like (swimming, running) and avoiding the workouts that I don't like (biking). It's definitely been helpful, and has allowed me to release some of my pent up list-making energy that hasn't been used this fervently since college. I've even scheduled "combo workout days," in which I make quick transitions from one event to the next, slowly building up to almost the length of the tri, but not quite (a little trick I picked up from my handy training book). I think this will definitely help keep me on track and not get too bored with the workout routine. Also, it gave me an outlet for my secretarial skills to shine in my days of unemployment! Can I put this on a resume?

Additionally, I finally switched my gym membership from Gold's to the YMCA for the sole reason that the Y has a pool, in fact, the very same pool I used in my glory days as a member of my high school swim team. And let me tell you, it felt damn good. I forgot how good it felt to use those swimming muscles. As I was counting out laps, memories of broken goggles on distance swims and my colorful coach yelling, "Stop sucking!" ever-so sweetly as I rounded a flip turn came rushing back. I also was reminded of what it felt like the day after a good swim workout, when I was unable to lift my arms above my head. It's good to be back in the water.

I could definitely use some pointers on how to enjoy biking, seeing as it's going to be the longest part of the tri. My playlists are fantastic and will hopefully get me through. Now if only I could time all the really motivational songs with the uphill parts of the race, I'd be golden.

Try not to build too much muscle...

One week later and "Triathlon Training" (I'm not ready to take away the quotes just yet) is in full swing. I've been through 4 adult swim lessons, run a 5k in 28:32, biked 20 miles without a Spin instructor to motivate me, and gone back to Pilates classes!

My "swim lessons" are hardly what I'd hoped for. I'm the only student, so I was robbed of the opportunity to meet swimming buddies, and I'm forced to interact far too much with my instructor, Mary Ellen. Mary Ellen is fairly old and out of shape, and from what I can tell, knows less about swimming than I do. But she is nice, and knowing that she's waiting for me 2 nights a week is enough to get me in the pool, so I'll give her some credit there.
Her finest piece of advice so far has been to avoid building too much muscle, because when I stop exercising, it will turn to fat and never go away (she knows this because her two daughters played basketball in high school and now have lumberjack thighs that can't fit into pants).
Avoid building muscle mass while training for a triathlon? Interesting plan, Mary Ellen.

I also got every triathlon training guide the public library had to offer (which in Fairfax County was 3, and in the Rappahannock region was 0) and am hoping to absorb lots of information by throwing them on the floor and leaving them there until they are weeks overdue.

My big triumph this week was the 5k - when Julia and I started "competitive" running in September, I was at an 11 minute mile pace. This Sunday I did the "Love the Run You're With" 5k at a 9:12 pace, a full minute faster than the average woman participating in the run. Suck it, average woman. I'm hoping to keep the same pace during the 8k I'm running this weekend and get my mile time well below 9:00 before May.

So I've just returned from a fantastical two-month travel stint in sunny, warm, and excessively humid Argentina. In addition to the fact that those two months were a mini-vacay from my usual running/bikram yoga routine, I indulged in an obscene amount of medialunas, empanadas, and vino blanco. Basically, I've fallen off the work-out train HARD. But what better way to jump back on than to register for a sprint triathlon 10 weeks away from my return with some great, supportive, and super competitive friends? Sounds like a plan to me.

I bought a triathlon training for beginners book over a year ago when I had the lofty goal of attempting to train for a sprint-tri during my senior of college. That didn't work out. However, when the idea came oup of giving it a go this year, I thought to myself, "Well, hey, I already have the training guide, and that's half the battle of getting your body to run a 5k, swim 750 meters, and bike 8 miles, right?" So here I am, finishing up my work out plan for the next 10 weeks and making some playlists that are fit for a World Cup commercial. I haven't swam competitively since high school, I've ran in one 10k race which, as Kelsey previously mentioned, has convinced me that I'm capable of competitive running, and my biking history consists of maybe a few blocks around the neighborhood if I have air in my tires. But I'm so excited to be training from afar with my friends and to have a work-out regimen that will certainly test my patience and commitment. And obviously, for the inevitable free tee-shirt in which I'll get to look super hard-core when it's over.

68 days to go!

Does spending hours online looking at workout gear and triathlon apparel count in my training time?

I had my first triathlon training class this morning. It was everything middle school gym class should have been! There was some warm-up cardio, some strength training, and some endurance stuff. I learned a lot about myself this morning.

Thing learned number 1: I can, indeed, wake up at 5:10 AM.
Thing learned number 2: Don't be intimidated by taking what sounds like an advanced gym class... because everyone else there is in the same boat (sometimes their boat is nicer, sometimes they're on a makeshift raft made from downcycled materials)
Thing learned number 3: I have a week left to learn to share a laplane in the pool for the first time... and I hate sharing...

It's not that people have never tried to make me share, it's that I will automatically go into competition mode, and continually race the person in the pool even though we aren't racing. I'm too competitive for group training.

For instance, last night started my second six-week session of boxing. It's an hour of a boxer's workout, without sparring, or you know, actual boxing. Do you know how hard I have to work in that class to show that I won it?!

I have some work to do, and I'm a little worried, but I'm afraid I'll loose my entire competitive edge should I put it at bay for training.

F that. I'ma win in May, and I'ma win in the pool next week.