It appears I owe some training updates, so here we go:
Mon, Sept 19: 20 min jog in the morning and 1 hour swim in the evening. I originally got into TNT to do a traithlon and that is probably still my favorite event. I m pretty much looking at sprint distances due to a nagging nerve injury in my foot which limits running to a run/walk, but am trying to get in a little running and maybe build up to a full run. As far as swimming goes, my sisters P and S have decided thay will do a tri with me next summer (well, P for sure and S is on the fence, but we act like she said yes). We have begun swimming training. They are doing great and I am really enjoying being back in the water after not much swim time this summer.
Weds, Sept 21: 1 hour spin class. Am feeling stronger and stronger during these classes. This was our second to last and I am really going to miss them. Can't remember the exact workout, but certainly had hills! Noticed some pain in the right knee that I will have to watch.
Thurs, Sept 22: 1 hour ice skating with M. Went to Yost Arena in AA. This is some of the best ice in Metro D area (in my humble opinion.) I have been off the ice so long and my skates were not exactly sharpened like they should have been, so I wouldn't say I jumped right back in, but overall was fun. Unfortunately, my knee did not have fun. Must have done something in spinning that bothered it because it was bothering me the whole time. M says it is from biking and that I am getting old! Ha! After, we met up with a friend and went to dinner at Grizzly Pete's. You must go there and have the pork chops. You will think you are in food heaven!
Fri, Sept 23: 15 min jog. Woke up late, but decided jog was required. Decided work would want me to feel good about my fitness and not be so worried about arrival time. Hope my boss does not read this...
Sat, Sept 24: 1 hour bike ride, 9.5 miles. Rode Mtn Bike to mom's house and back. Not exactly a workout, but is always fun to ride instead of drive. Then went to support S at Gilda's Walk. Original plan for today was a 30 mile ride at Hines, but I had forgotten about the walk so didn't get up early enough. (Excuses, excuses...)
Sun, Sept 25: 2 hour bike at Hines, 30 miles, avs 15 for first 15 miles, but dropped to 14.5 by end. Making up yesterday's ride. (OK, the TNT training plan actually called for 30 on Sat and 40 on Sun so I get no gold star this weekend.) M was working so I headed out to Hines by myself. I had a fantastic ride! I really enjoy riding Hines, probably due to the lack of any real hills, but also the wide bike lanes and sections with no car traffic at all. I was feeling lazy at the beginning of the ride, so told myself to just go 10 miles out. At 10, it seemed silly to not go the extra 5 to make it an even 30 overall. And I was really excited about my speed. I am well aware that 15 mph is not an impressive speed, but since I was unable to break 12.5 as my average speed during the whole Tahoe training period, this is a great improvement. I am also getting more and more comfortable on the road bike as opposed to my mtn bike. Overall, I felt great, except maybe the last 5 miles. Then the fact that I had eaten nothing but a glass of cider for breakfast and had brought nothing but water for the ride sort of set in and I could feel my legs getting slower. The knee started bothering me a little and I made a big mental note to plan better next time in terms of food and energy. Fortunately, it was only a short drive to Parmenters Cider Mill (sorry Steph, I know you want some too). I stood in line, all biking clothes and drying sweat, and rewarded myself with a cider slush before heading home to eat some more.
Mon, Sept 26: 1.5 hour swim with P and S. P and I were a bit lazy on this one. P had just gone out for a big birthday dinner and I was feeling under the weather, both the knee and my stomach (who knew they put flour in cheesecake filling! Now I do and will not be eating that again!) But we soldiered on, them doing 1100 and me possibly a bit more, but did not keep count. S was perky and swam great. Went like this: Slightly over 1 hour swim, 10 min stretching then a game of horse with the water basketball net. I got my butt kicked by S and P even held her own. I am not a basketball player. Maybe next time they need to do lots of sprints to make up for beating me... OK, the real plan is to dig out some of my old TNT workouts and start doing those so we have somehting to keep track of progress.
Tues, Sept 27: 35 min casual bike ride with P, 10.5 mph for about 6 miles. A little ride near my house to get in some time on the bike for P. Secret bad thing I thought: At the end of the ride, I told P that she did great and she said she was actually feeling tired at the end. Before I could even stop it, my bad side thought, "Haha, I wasn't!" Oh dear, the bad side had better remember 2 years ago when the 8 mile loop at Kensington was totally killer and M was nice enough to not make fun of me when I was panting and insisting I was going to collapse right there if he made me ride any more. Yep, the bad side needs to actually take a lesson from P, who did not once mention collapsing and dying, only optimistically calling from the bottom of an incline, "Give me a minute and I'll catch up." I never would have even suspected that she felt tired if I had not asked at the end. Quit your complaining bad side! You need to get over it!
Looking forward: Last spinning class tonight and our first real group road ride (outside of parks) on Sat. 50 miles. Better remember to bring food!!!
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
So far, so good...
I am a bit behind, so here is the quick catch up.
TRAINING:
Saturday, Sept 10: 24.5 miles at Kensington. We were actually only supposed to do 22, but I took a slightly different route that I like better. If you are impressed that I took a route that added mileage, here is the secret. My route avoided the big hill that I particularly dislike in favor of a more gradual climb. Yeah, cheating...
Wednesday, Sept 14: Spinning at Bev Hills Club, 1 hour. Again, a good workout, feeling strong. Only negative - I had gone to the gym at lunch on Tuesday and done the weight machines so when we were doing the standing hills climb drill, my legs were telling me they would not be putting up with that. Mine was sort of a standing, oops plopping back into the seat, standing again, oops drill. Since Tuesday is the only time I can make it to the gym this week too, I think I will cut the weight on the leg portion!
Saturday, Sept 17: P, S and I showed up to do an hour swim. Pool was mysteriously closed. Instead, took a nap. Oh dear! (Was tired out from attending 2 perennial exchanges - is hard work bargaining for the best new plants!)
Sunday, Sept 18: 26 miles at Island Lake, avs 14. The group was doing 40 miles today, but I only had 2 hours to ride since we had to get to Sam's Club for a fundraiser. I did two road loops plus a little extra bit on the bike trail while M did two mountain bike loops (due to blowing out the tire on his road bike.) I saw two tiny turtles, one black and orange caterpillar and a large flock of geese in the middle of the road that hissed at me and made like to give chase. Fortunately, I am getting a bit faster on this bike and got away. Unfortunately, they were near one of my turnaround points and I just had to loop right back at them. Creatively, I yelled, "Go away geese!" which made them pause for a second and I got through again. These geese must have thought I looked tired and couldn't make another loop, as they were gone on my second time around.
Also, if you get a chance to go to Island Lake on a damp summer morning, make sure to take a look out over the fields. As I rode, the sun was just hitting the dew and you could see glittering between the tall grass seeds heads the most gorgeous spider webs. I have no idea how those spiders build their webs between two swaying stalks, but it does make for a gorgeous bike ride. All below these were little spider trampolines bathing the field in a white blanket. You have to beat the sun, as once the dew is gone, they seem to disappear. And don't even try it if you are scared of spiders - you won't want to think how many spiders it took to build all those hundreds of webs!
FUNDRAISING:
Friday, Sept 16: Sam's Club in Canton. M went about 4 and I joined him at 7 (was stuck at work). He left to skate and I stayed until 8:30. The point is that with essentially one person fundraising for 4.5 hours, we brought on $230! We have had some of the best success with bucket drives in this location. So a big THANKS to the people of Canton and surrounding areas and to Julie at Sam's Club letting us fundraise there.
Sunday, Sept 18: Sam's Club on Haggerty in F. Hills. Not as successful. M and I got there at 1, he had to leave at 2 for work, I stayed until 3:30. We got $80 overall, so not a waste of time by any means. I have noticed that Sunday is not as good for fundraising as Fri or Sat. Also, I think this location was really advertising their Katrina Fund register donation program - many people came out and said they just gave there. Can't argue with that, as I know donations are needed there too, but between Katrina and gas prices, people are really feeling the squeeze and fundraising feels like it is harder this time than on events before.
Overall, I am rather enjoying the bucket drives. I have gotten to talk to lots of great people, all about LLS and TNT or about their personal stories and how their families have been touched. I even got a "drive by donation" in F. Hills - two wonderful ladies pulled up and slipped me a donation out the car window. We are at Sam's in Canton again on Thursday, then that is all we have set up for now. Got to get back on the phone and set up some more before all the spots are filled.
TRAINING:
Saturday, Sept 10: 24.5 miles at Kensington. We were actually only supposed to do 22, but I took a slightly different route that I like better. If you are impressed that I took a route that added mileage, here is the secret. My route avoided the big hill that I particularly dislike in favor of a more gradual climb. Yeah, cheating...
Wednesday, Sept 14: Spinning at Bev Hills Club, 1 hour. Again, a good workout, feeling strong. Only negative - I had gone to the gym at lunch on Tuesday and done the weight machines so when we were doing the standing hills climb drill, my legs were telling me they would not be putting up with that. Mine was sort of a standing, oops plopping back into the seat, standing again, oops drill. Since Tuesday is the only time I can make it to the gym this week too, I think I will cut the weight on the leg portion!
Saturday, Sept 17: P, S and I showed up to do an hour swim. Pool was mysteriously closed. Instead, took a nap. Oh dear! (Was tired out from attending 2 perennial exchanges - is hard work bargaining for the best new plants!)
Sunday, Sept 18: 26 miles at Island Lake, avs 14. The group was doing 40 miles today, but I only had 2 hours to ride since we had to get to Sam's Club for a fundraiser. I did two road loops plus a little extra bit on the bike trail while M did two mountain bike loops (due to blowing out the tire on his road bike.) I saw two tiny turtles, one black and orange caterpillar and a large flock of geese in the middle of the road that hissed at me and made like to give chase. Fortunately, I am getting a bit faster on this bike and got away. Unfortunately, they were near one of my turnaround points and I just had to loop right back at them. Creatively, I yelled, "Go away geese!" which made them pause for a second and I got through again. These geese must have thought I looked tired and couldn't make another loop, as they were gone on my second time around.
Also, if you get a chance to go to Island Lake on a damp summer morning, make sure to take a look out over the fields. As I rode, the sun was just hitting the dew and you could see glittering between the tall grass seeds heads the most gorgeous spider webs. I have no idea how those spiders build their webs between two swaying stalks, but it does make for a gorgeous bike ride. All below these were little spider trampolines bathing the field in a white blanket. You have to beat the sun, as once the dew is gone, they seem to disappear. And don't even try it if you are scared of spiders - you won't want to think how many spiders it took to build all those hundreds of webs!
FUNDRAISING:
Friday, Sept 16: Sam's Club in Canton. M went about 4 and I joined him at 7 (was stuck at work). He left to skate and I stayed until 8:30. The point is that with essentially one person fundraising for 4.5 hours, we brought on $230! We have had some of the best success with bucket drives in this location. So a big THANKS to the people of Canton and surrounding areas and to Julie at Sam's Club letting us fundraise there.
Sunday, Sept 18: Sam's Club on Haggerty in F. Hills. Not as successful. M and I got there at 1, he had to leave at 2 for work, I stayed until 3:30. We got $80 overall, so not a waste of time by any means. I have noticed that Sunday is not as good for fundraising as Fri or Sat. Also, I think this location was really advertising their Katrina Fund register donation program - many people came out and said they just gave there. Can't argue with that, as I know donations are needed there too, but between Katrina and gas prices, people are really feeling the squeeze and fundraising feels like it is harder this time than on events before.
Overall, I am rather enjoying the bucket drives. I have gotten to talk to lots of great people, all about LLS and TNT or about their personal stories and how their families have been touched. I even got a "drive by donation" in F. Hills - two wonderful ladies pulled up and slipped me a donation out the car window. We are at Sam's in Canton again on Thursday, then that is all we have set up for now. Got to get back on the phone and set up some more before all the spots are filled.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Slacking and Spinning
Well, I have to confess, I did not ride at all over the Labor Day weekend. Not one bit. Pretty bad huh? But I did get a lot done in my yard, so it looks a bit less like a jungle and more like there might be some flower gardens in there. A bit...still a lot to do.
So after my mini vacation, I am back at it. Last night was a spinning class with Coach Steve, our TNT biking coach for Tucson. Steve is great - but more about him another time. Right now, I am sure you want to know how my slacker butt did at training. Fortunately, I felt great. I am not good at indoor exercise since I get bored easily and that leads to focusing on how many more minutes to go and how my legs are starting to hurt and how if I just went a little slower... (downward spiral). But at Beverly Hills Club (where they let us hold practices) the spin room is elevated and has a window that looks out over the tennis courts. Yep, private little tennis matches played out just for me! And since it is usually lessons, I get to see people doing all kinds of funny stuff. This really helps me to pass the time. OK, I also try to pay attention to Coach Steve and focus on how my ride is going, but the tennis really helps.
Um, as far as the actual spin class...I finally felt I was holding my own! All the time we were training for Tahoe, I felt I was not giving it my all. I know part of it was that I felt so sick that whole time and am finally feeling healthy. But I also think that I am adjusting my attitude from thinking that I am so much more out of shape than everyone else and looking jealously at their sculpted legs to thinking that maybe I can do this. And realizing that it won't happen overnight. That is huge for me. Wanting instant gratification and giving up if it is not there. Instead, I need to realize that the only way I am going to achieve the results I want is by slowly working toward that goal.
Sort of like those flower gardens...
WORKOUT LOG
9/7 1 hour spin class at BH. 10 min wu, 10 min hill, 5 min spin, 10 min hill, downhill, another hill w/sprinting and "jumps" then cool down and stretching.
So after my mini vacation, I am back at it. Last night was a spinning class with Coach Steve, our TNT biking coach for Tucson. Steve is great - but more about him another time. Right now, I am sure you want to know how my slacker butt did at training. Fortunately, I felt great. I am not good at indoor exercise since I get bored easily and that leads to focusing on how many more minutes to go and how my legs are starting to hurt and how if I just went a little slower... (downward spiral). But at Beverly Hills Club (where they let us hold practices) the spin room is elevated and has a window that looks out over the tennis courts. Yep, private little tennis matches played out just for me! And since it is usually lessons, I get to see people doing all kinds of funny stuff. This really helps me to pass the time. OK, I also try to pay attention to Coach Steve and focus on how my ride is going, but the tennis really helps.
Um, as far as the actual spin class...I finally felt I was holding my own! All the time we were training for Tahoe, I felt I was not giving it my all. I know part of it was that I felt so sick that whole time and am finally feeling healthy. But I also think that I am adjusting my attitude from thinking that I am so much more out of shape than everyone else and looking jealously at their sculpted legs to thinking that maybe I can do this. And realizing that it won't happen overnight. That is huge for me. Wanting instant gratification and giving up if it is not there. Instead, I need to realize that the only way I am going to achieve the results I want is by slowly working toward that goal.
Sort of like those flower gardens...
WORKOUT LOG
9/7 1 hour spin class at BH. 10 min wu, 10 min hill, 5 min spin, 10 min hill, downhill, another hill w/sprinting and "jumps" then cool down and stretching.
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