Monday, December 31, 2007

Done with the swim!

And all that's left is the run! I am not convinced that the gym pool is in meters, so just to be sure, I did 850, which brought me to a total of 4250 (yards or meters). 2.4 miles is 4224 yards, so either way I exceeded my goal. And I ended today with 25 of butterfly.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Done with the bike!

The Supportive Husband was working today, and I was afraid I wasn't going to get to the gym. I didn't want to leave Max in babyminding again, plus his afternoon nap often stretches till 4:30, and by the time he's up, changed, had a snack, and we finally get out the door, well, that leaves very little time for actual exercise before the babyminding closes up shop for the day. Luckily, Grammy came through in a pinch, and I headed to the gym around 4.

And it was closed.

What do you mean normal people don't go to the gym on Saturday nights? Luckily, the security guard was kind enough to tell me that the other location (freakin' across town) was open till 6. So off I went. And to my surprise, I discovered that there are actually 2 other bikes, not with the rest of the exercise bikes, because they're not hooked in to the TV sound system. But they are brand new and sweet and super comfortable. I pounded out 9 miles in record time, while listening to an audiobook on my iPod. I only wish I'd found these super-secret fancy bikes sooner.

I got home, and Grammy had to take off, so I ended up having company while I showered. Max rolled in on his "bike" and asked me repeatedly, "Mommy shower?" Fortunately, he's pretty scared of the shower, so I was able to lather, rinse, and repeat in solitude, if not peace.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Older but fitter

My birthday was this week!! I started off my day with a great workout. I swam about 600, had hoped to swim more, but the lady with the pool noodle doing laps in an already crowded pool just about sent me off the deep end, pun intended. I am all about novices, heck I am a perpetual novice, but really, if you are floating around on a pool noodle, then take it to the warm water pool. The lap lanes are not your personal lazy river.

An aside, the new suit is really awesome, and I feel like such an ass-kicker in it. The goggles are also amazing; they actually fit my narrow face.

Then I hopped on the bike for 30 minutes, and managed just over 8 miles. A quick stretch, and off to the treadmill for one (fast) mile. Whee!!

I met up with my family for lunch, took Max to the park, then headed home where The Supportive Husband and I watched a DVD while Max napped. That evening, grammy and Aunt M shared babysitting duties while The S.H. and I had a grown up dinner out and a very juvenile session of ice skating at the ice park. They even played "Ice, Ice, Baby" over the sound system. Who could ask for anything more?

I may be older, but I'm not slowing down. I'm aiming for a PR in the 5K on New Year's day. Between my foot stuff and the tri challenge, I haven't run more than 2 miles at a time all month, but every time I get on the treadmill or on the road, I feel strong and fast, thank you, stationary bike and ashtanga yoga.

I'm very nearly done with the tri stuff, and should have no problem coasting to my goal on 1/1. The totals so far:
Run 18.2
Bike 103 (booyah, broke 100 miles!)
Swim 3400 (meters, I think, but either way I have way less than 1000 to go)

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

17 miles

The gym bikes reset themselves after 30 minutes, but since I was the only soul on the bikes, I went through two cycles, and ended up with 17 miles. I did a little catching up on the New Yorker, and listened to my iPod with my amaaaaazing new headphones (thank you, Santa). Overall, it was quite relaxing. I even had time for a good stretch afterward.

I've got 10 left to run, 30 left to bike, and about 1200 on the swim. I'm planning on doing the rest of the swim, 15 on the bike, and a couple miles on the treadmill tomorrow, but that might be a little ambitious. I am super motivated by the fact that my jeans are now loose on me right out of the dryer.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Lucky 13

I did 13 on the bike today. I did it super-fast, too. I dropped Max off at babyminding at the gym for the first time. He boo-hooed when I dropped him off, so I was soooo anxious the entire time on the bike, that I pedaled as fast as my little legs could, so as not to leave him in the torture chamber any longer than necessary. In fact, I stopped at 13 instead of 15, hopped in the shower, stuck my hair in a clip without drying it and rushed to collect him.

Naturally, he was having a great time, sitting in one of the sitters' laps and playing with little toys. And then he reached for me and burst into tears when he saw me. I think he thought I was never coming back, and was overcome that I was there. I felt awful.

But he forgave me when I took him out for lunch and let him eat a whole pack of Teddy Grahams.

They gym's closed tomorrow, and I am wisely taking a day off from exercise. Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

1000 and 10

1000 meters (yeah! meters, baby!) in the pool and 10 miles on the bike.

I was overjoyed when I pulled into the gym parking lot - there were maybe 15 other cars. I thought for sure I'd have a lane in the pool to myself. No such luck. I think all 15 other people were in the pool, and I ended up on the wall half of an end lane. The other fella in the lane was a really buff young guy with just the ugliest, thrashingest stroke ever. If I ever do a real tri or an open water swim, this will be good preparation. Luckily, he tired himself out after about 100 yards, and my new lane-mate was quite considerate and sincerely apologized for *almost* bumping in to me. It wasn't the fastest 1000 ever, but I felt great the whole time, and even did flip turns for most of my freestyle.

Then transition, ha ha. I took the time to rinse out my suit and put it through the spinner, before heading on to the bike. I was under a bit of a time crunch, so I changed into my workout clothes as fast as I could. I was still pretty damp, and got an interesting workout trying to get my sports bra on over my head.

I rocked out to my iPod and read Entertainment Weekly and busted out a quick 10 miles before I had to hop off and get cleaned up.

Tri tally: 3062 of 4224 yards swum; 52 of 112 miles biked; 16.2 of 26.2 miles run

Yeah, those meters add up fast!!

Friday, December 21, 2007

Two miles

It occurred to me that all these miles on the treadmill may be contributing to my foot problems. So I ran on an actual road this morning! Woohoo! It was much colder than I was expecting. Partly because I've been running in the 68 degree gym, and partly because it was just cold and windy. I forgot my gloves, and was only wearing a long-sleeve shirt and tights. My teeth were chattering the first quarter-mile, but 10 minutes into the run I was feeling pretty good, and when I walked in the door afterward, the house felt stiflingly hot.

My inserts did well on pavement, and I had no pain during or after the run. It's a Festivus miracle!

As for my tri challenge, I've got 10 miles left to run, 70 left to bike, and about 2800 on the swim. Once again, I sacrificed a day to yoga, which doesn't count toward my numbers, but is an important part of my workout routine nonetheless. I've got just 10 days to finish the tri, so I'd better get to it. Daycare is closed next week, so you can plan on Max spending a healthy amount of time in babyminding at the gym while I make good on my goal.

Happy Solstice everyone!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

News flash!

I was perusing the website for my gym today, trying to find the holiday schedule, when I happened to come across the description for the pools. The lap swimming pools are listed as being 25 meters in length. Meters, y'all!! So I've been swimming a little farther than I thought.

Good news - my new swimsuit arrived, and I splurged and got new goggles, too. I got this suit:

Yes, that's a giant fish!

And a shout out to Robine - may your vision soon be as crystal clear as my fancy new goggles.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Magic Shoes

You're know you're an athlete when your shoes look like this:
IMGP3741.JPG

Even at very low mileage (the past few weeks I've only been running 1-2 times per week while I work on my swimming and biking), I've been having foot problems. Again. They started before Richmond in my right foot. The right foot stuff (mostly) resolved once I got into a stiffer shoe and insert. And then I started having arch pain in my left foot. That got better with a new shoe and insert. Now, I'm having pretty noticeable pain in both feet, during longer runs, and even on my days off. And that's no fun.

I'm due for a new pair of shoes anyway, so I headed to the shop, where Mark and his most experienced manager puzzled over my krazy-with-a-k foot issues. I spent about 45 minutes there, answering all kinds of questions about my shoe vs pain history. Apparently, my shoes, with 300 miles or so, look pretty battered, but my inserts, bought new at the same time as the shoes, look practically brand new. For the record, I've always been very easy on my shoes (street and athletic) and have never, ever come close to wearing a pair out. I despise shoes with a break-in period, because I can't even break them in properly.

The theory is that in trying to correct my issues, we've been going stiffer and stiffer, which really isn't helping things, despite my serious overpronation. So rather than go right for a stability or motion control shoe, we started trying flexible shoes. The first felt so weird I could hardly walk normally in it, let alone run. Then we moved on up the stiffness ladder, trying different brands. I finally tried on a pair of Asics that felt different than the rest - good different. Great!

But they were out of stock in my size, so I have to wait a few more days. In the meantime, the manager was nice enough to MacGyver my current shoes and inserts, building up the left arch and the right lateral edge with duct tape and cut up old shoe inserts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that schmancy new shoes and a little bit of duct tape can keep me running pain free.

I guess the old saying really is true: If it can't be fixed with duct tape, it can't be fixed.

And the tri update: Run: 12.2, Bike 42, Swim 1800. I had planned to do a big workout today, but, get this, I had two very small glasses of wine last night while at the Ellis Paul show, and woke up seriously dehydrated, and maybe a little bit hung over. I felt pretty unwell today, and just decided to write it off. I've got my gym bag packed for tomorrow at lunch - I can't wait to take my duct tape for a spin.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Tri-ing hard!

My totals so far:
Run: 9.1
Bike: 40
Swim: 800 yds

Meaning I have a lot of work ahead of me still. 17.1 run, 72 miles bike, and 3424 on the swim. Um, yeah.

I attempted to do a ton on the bike and then a couple of miles running today, but after 15 on the bike, my legs were a little wobbly, and I was pretty sure I was going to wipe out and go flying off the back of the treadmill. So I only did one mile. And (cue the tiny violins) my swimsuit did that thing that swimsuits do - for months, they look brand new, and then suddenly one day, they're faded into unflattering, anatomy-highlighting patterns. So I have been really reluctant to swim in my ghetto suit, and just finally got around to ordering a new one. And my shoes are truly thrashed as well.

I have 11 days off over the xmas holiday, and am planning on hitting the gym big time. In fact, I told the Supportive Husband that what I really want for my birthday (which falls near xmas) is to go to the gym and run some, bike some, and swim some. And then get gussied up and be taken out for a nice dinner.

Monday, December 03, 2007

10 more on the bike

...only 87 to go. A busy day, and I was just barely able to squeeze in 45 minutes at the gym. I figured that the bike, abs, and stretching were enough, as I got plenty of strength training last night changing Max's carseat from rear facing to forward facing. Make that car seatS. I did both my car and the Supportive Husband's car. No small feat, let me tell you. But I am confident that both seats are rock-solid. I even did the top tethers. Phew.

I can hear some of you saying it now - you're only just turning him now at almost two years old? Yes, that's right. The rule is that a child must be *at least* one year old and twenty pounds to face forward. But he can safely rearface to the limits of the seat. This means that unless the child exceeds the height limit (not a hard and fast height, but where the child's head is in relation to the seat) or weight limit of the seat for rearfacing, they can and should rearface. Here's why. My little chunkamonk is now brushing the uppermost weight limit for rearfacing, plus he's getting harder and harder to stuff through the extra-tiny back door of the Outback. So after lots of pulling, pushing, huffing, puffing, and grunting; a little bit of swearing, and one broken nail, his car seat now faces forward.

After two consecutive days on the bike, plus the exercise in car seat installation, my quads are on fire. So I'll either rest tomorrow, or go for a swim.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

11 miles and congrats IronMo

First things first - IronMo qualified for Boston again!!!! Hotshot ran a 3:37 at CIM. WAY TO GO, IronMo! That is seriously hardcore. She's now a two time IronMan and a two time Boston Qualifier. Awesome!!!

And I took advantage of a rainy Sunday afternoon to head to the gym and do 11 miles on the bike. It only took me 38 minutes - the bikes at the other location fit me a little better, and are stationed right in front of a window. So I downloaded an old episode of Fresh Air and just pedaled my heart out. I was only going to do 10, but it went so much faster than I thought, so I just kept going. Then some abs and stretching, and I was home and showered by the time Max woke up. Only 97 miles to go on the bike!

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Two more down

So, it wasn't all running. But I ran and walked my butt off today, so I'm giving myself credit for two.

My dad ran/walked the men's four miler this morning, so I headed out to Free Union to spectate. I arrived at the Chapel (about 1/4 mile from the start) just moments before the mass of runners pounded by. I saw my dad, cheered for him, waited for the last runner, and then headed out on the course. I went to just past the 1/2 mile mark, just over the crest of the last hill where I had a good view up to the 3 mile mark. By the time I got there, the first place runner was already zooming by. As a proud alumna of the Scream Tunnel, you better believe that I worked up a sweat spectating. Since I was just below the crest of a hill near the end of the race, there were some pretty tired souls, who were gracious enough to say "thank you" to me as I cheered and clapped and screamed encouragement.

It's these back-of-the-packers who make spectating so much fun. The guys in the lead are rightfully concentrating on staying in the lead. The guys just behind them are running really really hard trying to catch up, or win their age group, or set a PR. But then just behind them are those who are amateurs, and I mean that in the full sense of the word. The root of the word amateur is love. Without the promise of winning, their motivation is entirely intrinsic. For them to have cheering and encouragement is usually unexpected, and always icing on the cake.

I've read a few articles lately written by fast runners who don't believe that those of us who are 5+ hour marathoners have any right to run marathons. The arguments generally all take the tone of "if you can't take it seriously enough to put in 100 miles a week, it's dangerous and disrespectful." I beg to differ.

First, the danger aspect. There's danger inherent in great physical exertion, no matter how well trained you are. One only has to think of the recent death of Ryan Shay at the Olympic marathon trials. Gentle readers, I assure you that I am well aware of the toll that 26.2 miles can take on my body and mind. I ran Richmond in 80 degree heat and was, relatively speaking, about as comfortable as possible due to my careful hydration and electrolyte replacement. I trained in the heat, I researched the effects it would have on my body, and I took every possible precaution to stay safe. And I did.

Second, the disrespect. I assure you, that though I have an incredibly full life outside of running, and though I lack any genetic gift for running at all, I surely respect this distance. My relationship with it is different than yours, certainly, but my reasons for being at a race are no less valid than yours. Surely my presence isn't weighing you down from the back of the pack. Any animosity you feel toward me is yours and yours alone. You run your race, and I run mine.

And let's face it, it's the peons and the masses that make it possible for you to have a bevy of well-supported marathons from which to choose. There wouldn't be a Richmond without the throngs who enter for the fun, the challenge, and the life-changing experience.

Anyway, back to the four miler. My dad was in the last handful of runners, but still looked strong. I ran and walked the rest of the way to the finish with him, encouraging to keep a fast walk when he couldn't run. With the cones of the finish chute in sight, I told him to kick hard, and I slowed to a walk, to let him have the accomplishment of crossing the finish line all to himself. Way to go, Dad!!!

Anyway, I then had to walk the 1/4 mile or so back to the car, which brought me to nearly 1 mile for the morning. And all in jeans and carrying my purse! Then later, I pushed Max in the buggy for a 1.5 miles walk with Louise. So I think I'm perfectly legit in claiming a couple of miles toward my goal.