In my defense, I had to hold on dearly to my 3.5 in Micro and that took up waaaay too much of my time! And then I went on vacation. And the I crashed my bike, so I had to take some time off training. And then Blogger went down.
Let's start from the top, shall we? Currently I am 0.24 points short of a 3.5 in micro. I'm hoping my instructor rounds up, but just in case: I emailed her asking if there was any possible way I could do something to make up the less than a quarter of a point that I need. :::fingers crossed:::
After all my furious studying, I went on vacation (a week before finals, so I had to do all my studying in advance). I went to Disney World with my parents for a long weekend. Yes, I'm 29. It was great to finally get some sunshine after the miserable Michigan weather. I swam my laps in the outdoor pool at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort Campground, where we stayed. I would cut off a finger to be able to swim in an outdoor pool (with nice weather, of course) all the time. This is made more funny by the fact that I was born with polydactyly and had an extra thumb cut off when I was 11 months old....
The only down side to my vacation was being verbally assaulted by some random stranger that apparently didn't like the way I looked. Now, I can call myself fat and ugly all day, but I don't ever actually _mean_ it. I'm curvy, I am not a lithe, teensy, hard-bodied athlete. My legs are rock solid, my arms are strong, but I have curves. I'm also not completely unfortunate looking. I'll never win a beauty pageant, but I'd like to think I _wasn't_ absolutely clobbered with the ugly stick. So to have some guy tell me that I was a "f***ing ugly b**ch" and a "fat f***ing slob" really got to me. Especially when I told him numerous times that he had made his point and I got it, and he still kept going. And going. And going...
So what did I do? I cried. And cried. And cried... And then I pulled myself together and went for a six mile run. First of all, any Disney Resort is absolutely GORGEOUS. They are also have well-lit and well-kept separate walking paths through most of the resorts. Which meant I could run at almost 11pm with my iPod. I blared all sorts of upbeat music and didn't have to worry about being attacked or tripping or being hit by a car. (Don't get all worked up, I wouldn't DREAM of running at night with music ANYwhere else. I also clipped my blinky light to my butt like I always do for night runs and wore my reflective ankle bands. I wasn't throwing caution to the wind completely!) It took about a mile before the endorphins kicked in and I forgot about the mean, little man. I got so many high-fives I stopped keeping track (yes, at almost midnight!) after 15! When I ran past the pool, people cheered me on. And not in the teasing way! In the "Looking good!" "Go, Girl!" "Keep it up"-way! If you ever need an ego stroke, go running through a Disney resort! And to top it off as I was rounding off my six miles, I got to see fireworks from the Magic Kingdom! What a perfect way to end an otherwise crappy evening!!
Once I got back to Michigan, where it was a balmy 45 degrees and rainy, I got back to the rest of my training. I swam and ran on vacation but I didn't get a chance to bike. It wasn't worth the $50 to rent a bike for a bike ride! So I got home, get situated, got back to training. ...And promptly landed on my ass about a block from home after a 20 mile ride.
It was bound to happen, it truly was. I'd had clipless pedals for 1 1/2 weeks short of a year before I finally unclipped my left pedal and then leaned to the right... Grand scheme of things? Not so bad. But it hurt. Lots. And it bled. Lots. And after I bled through three different bandages and onto my work pants (thank goodness I wear scrubs!), I finally figured out that three large "tegaderm" bandages on top of a 4x4 gauze with antibiotic ointment does the trick. The only problem was that I was limping. And couldn't get in the pool with a huge, oozing wound! So I didn't swim for a couple days. And didn't run for a couple days. And didn't bike for a couple days. Once it finally got to the point where I wasn't homicidal with pain, I got back to it.
It's now two weeks later and I swear I'm not being melodramatic when I say that there is no torture device that can ever compare to the absolute horrible itchiness of healing wound. Obviously, I'd rather it itch than hurt. But ideally, I'd rather have not fallen off my bike!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Being a student is getting in the way of my training.
The last week has been spent frantically finishing a research paper on HIV and then frantically studying for a test that, as it turns out, isn't until NEXT week!
On Thursday, I managed a phenomenal 3.5 mile run without any walk breaks! Trust me, this is an accomplishment for fat girls everywhere.
Friday is my designated rest day until June, then buh-bye rest days! :::insert angsty face:::
Saturdays are when I train with my tri team, where our swim coach kicks our butts and then our tri coach kicks it all over again!
Saturday's swim was amazing! I've been swimming more lately because I've been following my training plan and I could really feel a difference. I didn't start to drop off towards the end of sets and I was able to all six sets of sprint work without struggling too-too much! You're not doing it right if you can recover quickly from a sprint but I was able to stay strong through out the whole workout. The run was a different story altogether.
I'm trying different gels/nutrition and Saturday I tried Gu's Roctane. I'm sure it will work well for me in the future, but for an hour and 45 minute run, I did NOT bring enough hydration! The Roctane was VERY sweet and I had finished all my Powerade Zero before I was half done.
Yeah.
I also lost my $3 in my pocket to get water from a gas station. So, essentially, I was up shit creek. I managed 6.48 miles in 1:41.... Not as bad as I would have expected because I was just SO THIRSTY the ENTIRE time! I'd start to run and my mouth and throat were so dry that I'd only make it four or five minutes before I had to walk in order to not want to kill myself. But I still wish I could have done more.
It seems like lately, most of my bad runs have been on Saturday, while training with my team. I can have a week's worth of amazing runs, and then *boom* I get around my teammates and it all goes downhill. I'm trying not to let it get to me, because I don't want to be "that girl" that's always down and upset about something! I'm so FAR from that girl! I'm also the only one in my group that isn't a hard-bodied athlete. I have to get over that mental-block. I have to stop thinking I don't belong, because I DO belong! I'm one of the fastest in the pool, I can handle myself on the bike, I'm just not a strong runner. Everyone has their weak point and I need to drop my fixation with mine.
Alright, this week's goal: to mentally focus on my strengths.
Now, back to studying innate defenses against microbial bacteria.
On Thursday, I managed a phenomenal 3.5 mile run without any walk breaks! Trust me, this is an accomplishment for fat girls everywhere.
Friday is my designated rest day until June, then buh-bye rest days! :::insert angsty face:::
Saturdays are when I train with my tri team, where our swim coach kicks our butts and then our tri coach kicks it all over again!
Saturday's swim was amazing! I've been swimming more lately because I've been following my training plan and I could really feel a difference. I didn't start to drop off towards the end of sets and I was able to all six sets of sprint work without struggling too-too much! You're not doing it right if you can recover quickly from a sprint but I was able to stay strong through out the whole workout. The run was a different story altogether.
I'm trying different gels/nutrition and Saturday I tried Gu's Roctane. I'm sure it will work well for me in the future, but for an hour and 45 minute run, I did NOT bring enough hydration! The Roctane was VERY sweet and I had finished all my Powerade Zero before I was half done.
Yeah.
I also lost my $3 in my pocket to get water from a gas station. So, essentially, I was up shit creek. I managed 6.48 miles in 1:41.... Not as bad as I would have expected because I was just SO THIRSTY the ENTIRE time! I'd start to run and my mouth and throat were so dry that I'd only make it four or five minutes before I had to walk in order to not want to kill myself. But I still wish I could have done more.
It seems like lately, most of my bad runs have been on Saturday, while training with my team. I can have a week's worth of amazing runs, and then *boom* I get around my teammates and it all goes downhill. I'm trying not to let it get to me, because I don't want to be "that girl" that's always down and upset about something! I'm so FAR from that girl! I'm also the only one in my group that isn't a hard-bodied athlete. I have to get over that mental-block. I have to stop thinking I don't belong, because I DO belong! I'm one of the fastest in the pool, I can handle myself on the bike, I'm just not a strong runner. Everyone has their weak point and I need to drop my fixation with mine.
Alright, this week's goal: to mentally focus on my strengths.
Now, back to studying innate defenses against microbial bacteria.
Monday, April 18, 2011
The importance of layering
Today, my first official day of my Half Ironman Training Schedule went just fantastically. And by "fantastically", I mean "not even close to fantastic".
Ok, so maybe it wasn't so bad. I was scheduled for a 20 mile bike and a 1,000 meter swim. What did I actually do? A 10 mile bike and a 1,320 yard swim. Which means I did _half_ what I was supposed to on the bike and 20% more in the pool. Even MY math skills says that's not right!
Why the odd numbers for the swim? For whatever reason, the pool I swim in is 33 yards. I honestly don't think ANYone knows why it's this length, but it is. Some days this is a nice feature, like today, you swim your 20 laps and its almost like the extra distance is sneaking itself in! Other days, it's horrible. You just want to swim whatever set distance, no more and then you have to get out the calculator and figure out that you need to do something ridiculous like 13.27 laps!
In other news: It snowed today. In the middle of April. Which meant the rest of the day was a bit chilly. 42 degrees really isn't the end of the world, but shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and a fleece vest were NOT warm enough. I got about three blocks before my fingers were numb and about five before my I lost sensation in my toes. Luckily for me, I've got quite a bit of insulation on my body so I wasn't completely numb, but by about the five mile mark, I was done. I made it the entire 10 mile loop without crying though, so I consider the day a success!
I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings. I'm almost guaranteed a better training day, so that's something!
Ok, so maybe it wasn't so bad. I was scheduled for a 20 mile bike and a 1,000 meter swim. What did I actually do? A 10 mile bike and a 1,320 yard swim. Which means I did _half_ what I was supposed to on the bike and 20% more in the pool. Even MY math skills says that's not right!
Why the odd numbers for the swim? For whatever reason, the pool I swim in is 33 yards. I honestly don't think ANYone knows why it's this length, but it is. Some days this is a nice feature, like today, you swim your 20 laps and its almost like the extra distance is sneaking itself in! Other days, it's horrible. You just want to swim whatever set distance, no more and then you have to get out the calculator and figure out that you need to do something ridiculous like 13.27 laps!
In other news: It snowed today. In the middle of April. Which meant the rest of the day was a bit chilly. 42 degrees really isn't the end of the world, but shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and a fleece vest were NOT warm enough. I got about three blocks before my fingers were numb and about five before my I lost sensation in my toes. Luckily for me, I've got quite a bit of insulation on my body so I wasn't completely numb, but by about the five mile mark, I was done. I made it the entire 10 mile loop without crying though, so I consider the day a success!
I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings. I'm almost guaranteed a better training day, so that's something!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Go team!
I have been part of a triathlon training program with my local YMCA for three years now. The program started out with around 25 of us, broken into two "classes" when I joined and has now grown to a beginner class, two intermediate classes and an endurance class. Let me start by telling you that I have the most amazing coach and teammates in the whole wide world. You might think you have an awesome coach and great teammates, but I promise they will never in a million years come even CLOSE to what I've got! Unless you're one of my teammates, then you have more awesome teammates than me, because you have ME!
My coach is absolutely amazing. She knows exactly when to push you a little harder and exactly when to back off. She is incredibly upbeat and positive and not anywhere close to being annoying about it. She's ridiculously ripped but not steroid-ripped. She's supportive almost to a fault, but would never steer anyone wrong. You can tell that she loves what she does and that she genuinely cares. She also has a great husband and two adorable children, if she wasn't so amazing I'd hate her stinkin' guts. I genuinely wouldn't be shocked or surprised if one day I saw sun shining out her ass.
My teammates are also just as amazing. When I first joined the Y's training group, I was in my third year of triathlons but still painfully slow (I'll always be slow. I've come to terms with this and while I may be slow, I _always_ finish) and was very worried that I was going to be surrounded by a bunch of macho, hard-bodied athletes that didn't have time or patience for someone that still couldn't run a mile without wanting to give up on life. And I didn't so much "run" as "bounce, jiggle and flop". (while there's still a considerable amount of bouncing, jiggling and flopping going on, I've now progressed to something that is more easily recognizable as running) Not once have I ever felt like I didn't belong with my teammates. From day one, we've been a team. I'll give them high-fives in between sets in the pool, and they'll shout words of encouragement when they lap me on our runs. ...Or instead of encouragement, they'll smack my ass. And I'm totally ok with that. Any accomplishment of a teammate's feels like an accomplishment of my own. And every time I do something that I'm proud of, I tell my mom first and then my coach and teammates.
The support and encouragement has been a life-saver. Not to mention its really nice having a group of people that understands that getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to go for a 5 mile run actually _IS_ fun! Because if you're going to do something crazy, you might as well be surrounded by other crazies.
My coach is absolutely amazing. She knows exactly when to push you a little harder and exactly when to back off. She is incredibly upbeat and positive and not anywhere close to being annoying about it. She's ridiculously ripped but not steroid-ripped. She's supportive almost to a fault, but would never steer anyone wrong. You can tell that she loves what she does and that she genuinely cares. She also has a great husband and two adorable children, if she wasn't so amazing I'd hate her stinkin' guts. I genuinely wouldn't be shocked or surprised if one day I saw sun shining out her ass.
My teammates are also just as amazing. When I first joined the Y's training group, I was in my third year of triathlons but still painfully slow (I'll always be slow. I've come to terms with this and while I may be slow, I _always_ finish) and was very worried that I was going to be surrounded by a bunch of macho, hard-bodied athletes that didn't have time or patience for someone that still couldn't run a mile without wanting to give up on life. And I didn't so much "run" as "bounce, jiggle and flop". (while there's still a considerable amount of bouncing, jiggling and flopping going on, I've now progressed to something that is more easily recognizable as running) Not once have I ever felt like I didn't belong with my teammates. From day one, we've been a team. I'll give them high-fives in between sets in the pool, and they'll shout words of encouragement when they lap me on our runs. ...Or instead of encouragement, they'll smack my ass. And I'm totally ok with that. Any accomplishment of a teammate's feels like an accomplishment of my own. And every time I do something that I'm proud of, I tell my mom first and then my coach and teammates.
The support and encouragement has been a life-saver. Not to mention its really nice having a group of people that understands that getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to go for a 5 mile run actually _IS_ fun! Because if you're going to do something crazy, you might as well be surrounded by other crazies.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
When the cyclometer says you're pulling 19.2 mph, check to make sure it's calibrated correctly
Had an awesome bike ride yesterday before working a 12 hour midnight shift. It was my first _real_ ride of the season, yeah I've ridden my bike to work a couple times and my triathlon team did a brick workout on Saturday, but that was 6 miles and hardly counts!
It was great to get out there for 20 miles. It was even better to look at my cyclometer and see 19.2 miles per hour! I knew that couldn't be right, 19.2mph?? Me?? No way! I usually stick to the more fat-girl-friendly zone of 14mph.
I knew that the route I was doing was exactly 10 miles and I was doing it twice so I figured I'd wait and see how long it took me and judge my speed that way. Lo and behold, I hit the five mile mark and my cyclometer says... FIVE MILES! It was right! I didn't have to recalibrate it! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! What was even more amazing was that I really felt like I was at a manageable pace (I averaged 16.04mph)! Don't get me wrong, I was working. But I definitely wasn't killing myself and I might have even been able to manage 30 miles, had I not required a shower before work. And work was a requirement if I want to keep eating. And trust me, I like to eat.
I especially like to eat after a 20 mile bike ride.
So, let me propose a toast (as I type this it's currently 8:12 am, but I work midnights so it doesn't count):
Here's to riding 20 miles, which would have killed me a year ago! And here's another to not being even a titch sore afterward!
It was great to get out there for 20 miles. It was even better to look at my cyclometer and see 19.2 miles per hour! I knew that couldn't be right, 19.2mph?? Me?? No way! I usually stick to the more fat-girl-friendly zone of 14mph.
I knew that the route I was doing was exactly 10 miles and I was doing it twice so I figured I'd wait and see how long it took me and judge my speed that way. Lo and behold, I hit the five mile mark and my cyclometer says... FIVE MILES! It was right! I didn't have to recalibrate it! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! What was even more amazing was that I really felt like I was at a manageable pace (I averaged 16.04mph)! Don't get me wrong, I was working. But I definitely wasn't killing myself and I might have even been able to manage 30 miles, had I not required a shower before work. And work was a requirement if I want to keep eating. And trust me, I like to eat.
I especially like to eat after a 20 mile bike ride.
So, let me propose a toast (as I type this it's currently 8:12 am, but I work midnights so it doesn't count):
Here's to riding 20 miles, which would have killed me a year ago! And here's another to not being even a titch sore afterward!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Being awesome and being pregnant are apparently two totally different things
Today I had an awesome 1,000m swim in-between teaching swim classes. It was awesome mostly because I was in a 25 m pool, not a 33 yard pool like the one I usually swim in at the Y. I know it's just a TEENSY difference, but holy hell does it feel like a lot some day!
Oh, yeah. I teach little kids how to swim. Or, rather, I TRY to teach little kids how to swim, it's really hit-or-miss with some of them... I love my fun-job (my big-girl-job is at a hospital, I don't hate it but I don't absolutely love it, either) so it was a tough decision to take a sabbatical from swim lessons to free up a little more time for training. I have 6 1/2 more weeks before I'm done with swim classes until after August 14th. I've pretty much _always_ had two jobs, so this is completely foreign territory to me.
I had an awesome swim, and then ate a few Girl Scout cookies on my way to the bar. I wonder why I'm not losing weight.... Hmmmm...
Now that I've shown how awesome I am, you know, getting a great swim workout in on my break. Something that is not awesome: Pregnant women that complain about how they're "sooooo fat!" and how their feet hurt and are soooooo swollen. Bitch, run 10 miles, then tell me how your feet feel! You know how babies are made! I'm not about to get a boob job and then bitch about how guys are always staring at my tits! So don't go having sex and then complain about the consequences!
Of course, this doesn't apply if you got pregnant via the pool in a hotel, if that's the case, then go ahead and complain all you want, you deserve at least that much!
***Edit***
Please don't think that I hate all pregnant women. I know plenty or GREAT pregnant chicks that don't whine the whole 9 months, but there are a few that want the whole WORLD to know just how tough being pregnant is. And every single facebook update is all about how they feel like such a whale, and the baby is kicking their bladder, and bla bla bla. There are SO many women (and possibly some men) that would give absolutely ANYthing to be able to feel their child kick inside them. There are also just as many people that could really care less that the baby wanted an entire 3 pound bag of peanut m&m's.
Oh, yeah. I teach little kids how to swim. Or, rather, I TRY to teach little kids how to swim, it's really hit-or-miss with some of them... I love my fun-job (my big-girl-job is at a hospital, I don't hate it but I don't absolutely love it, either) so it was a tough decision to take a sabbatical from swim lessons to free up a little more time for training. I have 6 1/2 more weeks before I'm done with swim classes until after August 14th. I've pretty much _always_ had two jobs, so this is completely foreign territory to me.
I had an awesome swim, and then ate a few Girl Scout cookies on my way to the bar. I wonder why I'm not losing weight.... Hmmmm...
Now that I've shown how awesome I am, you know, getting a great swim workout in on my break. Something that is not awesome: Pregnant women that complain about how they're "sooooo fat!" and how their feet hurt and are soooooo swollen. Bitch, run 10 miles, then tell me how your feet feel! You know how babies are made! I'm not about to get a boob job and then bitch about how guys are always staring at my tits! So don't go having sex and then complain about the consequences!
Of course, this doesn't apply if you got pregnant via the pool in a hotel, if that's the case, then go ahead and complain all you want, you deserve at least that much!
***Edit***
Please don't think that I hate all pregnant women. I know plenty or GREAT pregnant chicks that don't whine the whole 9 months, but there are a few that want the whole WORLD to know just how tough being pregnant is. And every single facebook update is all about how they feel like such a whale, and the baby is kicking their bladder, and bla bla bla. There are SO many women (and possibly some men) that would give absolutely ANYthing to be able to feel their child kick inside them. There are also just as many people that could really care less that the baby wanted an entire 3 pound bag of peanut m&m's.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Taking it "easy"
On April 3rd I ran my fastest ten miles ever during the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile in DC. I'm short. I mean, really. I'm 5'1", I wasn't meant to be a runner.
Plus, I'm lazy. Lazy people aren't runners.
So after 10 weeks of training for this 10 miler, and squeezing in biking and swimming whenever I can, I'm ready for a little break. Too bad my official 70.3 training starts two weeks after those 10 miles! I've managed to only workout every third day so far, taking two days off in between easy-ish workouts. Easy-ish, as in I only ran two miles and swam 1,200 meters last Wednesday. Only.
Now I've got one more week of taking it easy before I'm back to it. Right now part of me is very antsy and another part of me is worried that I'm going to look back in a month and a half and long for the days of taking it "easy".
Plus, I'm lazy. Lazy people aren't runners.
So after 10 weeks of training for this 10 miler, and squeezing in biking and swimming whenever I can, I'm ready for a little break. Too bad my official 70.3 training starts two weeks after those 10 miles! I've managed to only workout every third day so far, taking two days off in between easy-ish workouts. Easy-ish, as in I only ran two miles and swam 1,200 meters last Wednesday. Only.
Now I've got one more week of taking it easy before I'm back to it. Right now part of me is very antsy and another part of me is worried that I'm going to look back in a month and a half and long for the days of taking it "easy".
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