So Sad...

My Skirt Sports order finally came in. I have been waiting, and checking the mail daily. Unfortunately the skirt is way too big. Sigh.

Now I have to return it, paying to ship it back. Which is lame. If I am doing that, I will probably exchange it for another skirt. But, the one I am exchanging for probably wont be on sale. I had already been looking forward to having another skirt, so I dont think I just want my money back.

Sigh.

Weekly Totals

For the week of Feb 19-25:

Swim: 2
Bike: 6.7
Run: 3.2
Total: 11.87
Total with core/stretching:13.6

A solid week, with quite a bit of biking. I am taking a down week this week though, to let my little legs recover.

Back to the Grind

Ah well, the week of leisure is now over. I thoroughly enjoyed myself this week. I spent alot of time doing nothing; relaxing, shopping, watching movies, etc. However, perhaps a little too much fun was had, as I do not really feel like doing school work now. March should be a fairly busy month. I have alot of projects and midterms, as well as volunteer commitments on top of training. Should be interesting.

Friday I was the only person to show up to swim practice, so I had the pool all to myself. It was actually one of the best swims I have had in a long time. The workout included about 10 x 150, so I decided to work on my flipturns. The set was also descend. I managed to actually descend the sets, and figured out my turns. Something just clicked, and they felt alot smoother. I instantly took off a bunch of time. It was a really nice feeling.

Earlier in the day, I had purchased another pair of running shoes. I got the Mizuno Wave Nirvanas. I wanted to briefly try them out before I took them outside on my run on Sat, so I went to the gym after swimming and ran for about 5 min in the new shoes. They seemed good, so I used them on my Sat run.

It was really nice and sunny on Sat, so I ran outside. Even though it was -15 when I left the house. I must have been feeling brave. I was actually a good temperature until about 1 hour in, then I got a bit cold. The extra cold e-load I was carrying didnt really help. I ran for 1 hour 40 min. The last little bit was tough, but I felt ok. My quads were getting a little tired by the end, but I was happy with my effort.
Unfortunately, it seems my problem with blisters on the balls of my feet from last summer has returned. I thought body glide was the solution, but it didnt help this weekend. It is really quite painful and annoying, so hopefully I can find a solution.

Sat night, we went to a friends house for a chocolate fondue party. It was scrumtious, and I crammed alot of chocolate into my tummy.

Today I did 2 hours and 25 min on the trainer. It was a bit of a struggle, as my crotch was not a happy camper! There is just no relief on the trainer.

I also picked up some leg warmers on Fri. They were on sale for $15, which I thought was a good price. They will totally come in handy in the spring, as I always seem to be freezing on rides. I will be all set with my toe warmers, leg warmers, and arm warmers!

Oh, I also had a dream the other night, in which I was running some sort of Marathon. I dont know where it was or why I was doing it. I do know that I finished it, and didnt think it was that bad. I must have been dreaming to think that, as I am sure it would be bad....and painful.

Ouch!

My poor little legs are sore.
I think it may have been from the lunges in the Spinervals I did yesterday, or from biking 5 days in a row, or from walking around the mall for 4 hours yesterday.
Maybe it is all of the above!

I was feeling cold, and not wanting to run outside as it was quite windy today. I decided to go to the gym and run on the treadmill. As I was walking out of my building, I slipped on some ice, and went down hard. I landed completely on my side and banged me knee. That fully confirmed my decision to run inside.
I ran for 45 min, and then spinning was about an hour. I also did some stretching and abs for 15min.

Tomorrow is just a swimming day, which I am looking foreward to. I want to give my legs a rest.

My week of leisure is drawing to a close. I need to get back on the homework train tomorrow. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

Reading Week Relaxation.

I have been taking full advantage of not having to do much of anything this week.

Friday I went for a walk, and did some browsing/shopping, and then went to swim practice. Saturday, I went for a 1hour 30min run. It was quite slushy out. My feet felt a little sore, which I think was from the elastic speed laces I had on my shoes. I am definately going to be taking them off. Sun I did 2 hours on the trainer, and then went to school to stretch/do core and then lift weights. I went out with my roommate for a pint in the evening.
Yesterday school was closed for 'Family Day' (the stupidest holiday ever), so I did 1.5 hours on the trainer. We also went out for dinner to a diner, where I had a po'boy sandwhich and sweetpotatoe fries. I also had a cherry coke, which was yummy, and so chock full of sugar it made me feel a little tipsy!

Tonight I think I will go to tri practice for the usual workout.

I have also watched a few movies, Borat and Dreamgirls. I also have An Inconvenient Truth to watch, and am downloading Babel as well. I have mostly been doing random tasks, and waking up when I feel like. Its great!

I think I will go shopping tomorrow, and then eventually do some work on Thurs.

Oh, and for fun, here is my bike/trainer setup:

Weekly Totals

For the week of Feb 12-18:

Swim: 3
Bike: 4.4
Run: 2.8
Total: 10.17
Total with stretching, core, weights, yoga/pilates: 13.6

I also biked for about 30min on my mountain bike on Thurs. It finally got warmer, so I was able to run outside again. I got new runners, which I used for my longer run.

Yipppee!!

We seem to have come out of the iceage!

It was quite warm today..around +3 I think. I took the 'Kula Lisa' out for a spin, and it was super fun! I got a little muddy, and dropped my chain, but I got to ride over bumps and skid around in the snow. It was so cool. I need to raise my seat, but it was very fun. I think I had a crazy grin on my face the whole time.
Look.....Dirt!!!





I also went to the Running Room and bought some new shoes today. I got the same ones I currently have. I also talked to the guy about getting 2 pairs, one with a bit more cushion than the one I have. I am currently in the Elixir, which is supposed to be the 'performace' support shoe. I tried on, I think it was the Nirvana. It was wayyy cushier. It was also super expensive. We will see. I think in a few months I will get another pair and alternate. I will either get another Elixir, or something like the Nirvana, to use on longer runs, and then use the Elixir for shorter runs and racing.

I thought I had a bit more time left in my current shoes, but tonights run made me think otherwise. We spun for 50 min, and then ran for about 45 min or so. It is quite slushy, and my knees were hurting, and it felt like I could feel every little bump in the road on my feet. I am reluctant to use the new shoes in the slushy dirty weather. I like the fresh white look as long as possible.

I also did some research today about race nutrition on Slowtwitch. I am looking for non gatorade options. A popular one seems to be InfiniT, which gives calories, electrolytes...the whole shebang. My only concern about this type of strategy is having to carry so many bottles, and the possibility of losing one. And being pooched.
Another thing I am thinking about, is using Nuun, and then gels/bars/etc for calories. I could just carry tablets and get water as I go, dumping both into my aero bottle. It would be easier to monitor the concentration of calories this way, as there would be none in the drink, just electrolytes, so I wouldnt have to worry about getting a super concentrated calorie/carb mix in my tummy.

Oh well, just some options I am thinking about. I will keep researching, and start trying some things out.

Valentines Day!

Happy Heart Day!

School really showed me the love today with two very challenging midterms back to back. To reward myself/ease the pain, I went and bought some tri magazines, and some ice cream from here:

It is sooo scrumptious. I went for the Birthday Cake mixed with Double Chocolate, and Pecans mixed in. Even though it is -20, it hit the spot.
I was also informed of a 50% off sale at SkirtSports, and could not resist ordering this:



I also got a few other items. I mean at 50% off, how could I not buy something? I already have 2 skirts, and the feel really great to wear. They are so bright and colorful, they make me feel fast!

I got to open my valentines gift from my parents and cats as well, and got some cool post-its ( it is sad how much I like office supplies), a snazzy sleeveless bike jersey, and these socks, which I thought were a nice touch:



Well, in terms of training, Mon I had yoga, and then 1 hour of swim practice, where we did some longer sets. Tues, revving was about 50 min, and then I stretched and did core for about 15-20 min, and then ran on the treadmill for 30 min. Today I swam for 1 hour this morning, with lots of pull, and then did a 45 min spinervals this evening before my ice cream fiesta.

It is still cold here, but is supposed to warm up tomorrow or Thurs. Hopefull it does. I havent ran outside in a few weeks, so it should feel strange to go outside again.

Weekly Totals

For the week of Feb 5-11:

Swim: 2.5
Bike: 5.4
Run: 2.8
Total: 10.72
Total with stretching/core/weights/yoga/pilates: 13.9

A pretty good week!

It's Alive!!

I actually got my Heart Rate Monitor to work! I decided to try it out this morning for my trainer session, and surprisingly it started to work. I had to literally hold the watch touching the strap, and then it picked up the signal. It is a little sketchy, and loses the signal if I lean back to far on my bike, but it worked for most of the ride.

It was helpful to see where I was at, so hopefully I will be able to use heartrate for Ironman. I did 3 hours today. I did 2 Aerobasebuilder Spinervals, and then the last 40 min, I just watched Sex and the City. It felt good, although my crotch was a little sore by the end. I ended up drinking 2 gatorade bottles, a water bottle, and ate a cliff bar, a gel, a few jelly belly sport beans, and some cinnamon hearts. I think if I was running afterwards, I would have needed more.

I have been trying to eat all day now. I feel a little tired/hungry, even though I have been eating basically all day. My roomate and I are going to go get some Taco Del Mar for dinner, so that should be lovely.



Hopefully I can feed myself enough to have some energy to study tonight! I have 2 midterms this week. Hooray!
Oh, it is finally supposed to warm up by Thurs, so it seems reading week will provide me with the chance to take the new bike for a spin.

Cold Weather Wuss

Thats right, I have become a weather wuss. My desire to run outside in the cold is marginal at best. This morning it was about -15, so I could have run outside, but I chose to go to the gym and use the treadmills. I had about 1.5 hours planned and really did not want to be sweaty and out in the cold that long. I ended up doing 1:28 on the treadmill. I then did some wieghts and abs.

Also, I think I will have to seriously look into finding another beverage besides Gatorade for racing this summer. I drank some while I was running today, and it gave me a really upset tummy. It was even diluted. I felt fine until after I started to drink. I think there must just be something about it that does not agree with me.
It will make things a little more challenging, having to carry my own fluids, but would be better than gut rot.

My knees are feeling a little achy. I think it may be a combo of almost needing new shoes, and having some tight muscles. I will try and do some massage later tonight to help it.

199 Days!!!

Plus a few hours.

Eeeek!

Perhaps I have a heart rate of 0...

Or perhaps Timex sucks balls!



I actually am attempting to use my heartrate monitor again. I stopped because it worked so sporadically, and would only really record my heart rate for about 10 min of a workout, and then cutout.

I replaced the battery in the chest strap today, and thought all my troubles would be over. No such luck. I cannot get the watch to pick up the signal at all. No matter how much I lick the sensors, it wont work.

Damn you Timex. I am trying to be good, and train at a reasonable heart rate. Why does it have to be so hard? I dont know how to fix it. Perhaps I will try again tomorrow.

In other news, it is cold here. Tri practice tonight was a 50 min rev. I then did about 10 min of abs and stretching, and then 40 min on the treadmill. I have no idea what zone I was in, since I have no heart rate monitor. hehe.

Weekly Totals

For the week of Jan 29-Feb 4:

Swim: 1
Bike: 2.75
Run: 1.25
Total: 5
Total with core/stretching/yoga/pilates: 7.5

Well, sickness took its toll on the numbers. Swimming took a definate hit, so it should be interesting getting back into the pool tonight. I do not feel 100% this morning, but hopefully I have kicked this bug, and it is not lingering.

Rough Week

This week was pretty hard for me. I was sick, and trying to fight it hard, and prevent it from getting worse. I just felt really down in the dumps, and upset about being sick. Not being able to work out/knowing I should take it easy made it even worse.

By Friday, I no longer had the sore throat that was really bothering me earlier in the week, but was still quite achy. Luckily, I got to go pick up my new bike, which brightened my spirits!

Sat, my left quad was really sore, which was strange and a little troubling since I had not done any exercise or anything to make it sore. I went to the gym with the intention of doing an ellitical workout, and taking it easy. I did about 5 min of elliptical. That seemed to bother my leg the most. I then hit the treadmil for the slowest run I have done in a long time. I did 45 min though, and felt better.

I felt much better this morning, and did 2 hours on the trainer. I did the Aero Basebuilder spinervals. I quite liked them, and felt pretty good for the ride. I was considerably more cheerful feeling today. Nothing like those exercise endorphins!

I find it so hard to miss workouts, as I feel like I am instantly losing fitness, and will pay for it in August. I know that is pretty unreasonable, but it is hard when I have such a big goal that I am working towards. I really do not like any derailments. I was happy that I made the smart choice of not exercising for 3 days though, and hopefully I have made a full recovery. I will still try to ensure I am getting alot of sleep.

I am quite happy with my little bike. It is quite pretty, and will hopefully be good to me! I really do not have tons to say about it, as I have not ridden it yet. I would like to take it out for a spin, but it is quite cold here. It is supposed to be in the -18c range all week, so I dont when that will happen.

I still have to do a more extensive photo shoot, but I dont know when I will get to that. I have a quiz, assignment due, and midterm this week, and 2 midterms next week. Should be fun!

Quick Post

I will write a bit more later, but I wanted to quickly post a few pics of the new ride. It is niceeeeee.







I am still not feeling too hot, but am off to the gym to see if I can get a workout in.