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I signed my life away this weekend… August 28, 2007

Posted by toni in : Training , 3 comments

for Ironman Canada 2008.  I wasn’t as apprehensive about it as I thought I might be.  I was pretty excited actually.  :)   The following year is all I can think about.  Gotta get some things in order first.  My back is starting to rear its head again and my PT friend says that the knee pain I’m having occasionally may be my miniscus.  So I definitely want to get those things dealt with first before Jan/Feb 2008.  That way I can be strong for the distance training that awaits me. 

It’s gonna be sooo much fun though.  I can’t wait.  I finally get to realize the dream I’ve had for 10 years.  And I’m not scared or intimidated because I know what it takes and I know I can put in the time needed.  I’ll be reading tons this fall about training and working on technique as well. 

First things first though, I still have a season to finish.  Sprint tri in <3 weeks and a HIM in <4 weeks. 

Swim, Bike, Barefoot Run August 21, 2007

Posted by toni in : Training, Running, Swimming, Biking , 4 comments

So today started out with a visit to the pool for the first time in months since I’ve been swimming in the lake instead.  300 wu, speed intervals 25 x 4, 50 x 6, 25 x 4, 200 cd.  The speed intervals were hard for me since I’ve not really ever done them before.  They did get easier the more that I did them, but I did notice that I would start to fatigue towards the end of each 50 and had to focus on form.  And so starts my voyage to becoming a faster swimmer. 

Then I hopped on my bike and rode to Seattle (20 mi) to meet my friend Lisa for dinner at a yummy mexican food joint next to Green Lake.  Hopped back on my bike and rode home only getting 14.5 miles.  For the last 5 miles of the portion back home my chain kept skipping and not catching onto the intended chain ring.  It also came completely off 4-5 times before the end of my biking journey.  Completely annoying.  At 14.5 miles, during the ride back.  The chain had come off once again as I shifted and forced me off only to find that part of my rear derailleur had come apart.  Thankfully most of the parts were under the bike on the ground.  After trying to fix it for 5 mins, unsuccessfully, I contemplated my options now that I was 5.5 miles from home with a bike that would not be taking me the rest of the way.  I could get a taxi or I could run home in my socks….  I chose the latter since I was feeling pretty good and was unsure if a taxi would even be able to find me since I was in a funky location.  I would have called friends to pick me up, but it was 12:30 at night.  I didn’t want to bother anyone.  Besides, I’m a triathlete.  I can definitely run it.  :D   I hid my bike, left unnecessary items with it, including my shoes, grabbed my water bottle and began my barefoot adventure.

Running in socks wasn’t too terribly bad.  Stepping on rocks definitely hurt like a mother, but that happened maybe less than 10 times.  The run, although slow, felt pretty good despite my previous training today.  The balls of my feet hurt the most and my socks are ruined and there is one blister that came out of it.  But all in all, not too bad for my first barefoot run.  The carpet in my apt felt soooooo nice and soft on my feet.  It was like heaven!  My calf actually seized up on me after I put on my running shoes once I was home.  With running shoes on I jumped in the car and went to get my bike, which was still there.  Again, I was in a remote spot so I wasn’t too worried about leaving it behind.

And that is the story of my random, unintended triathlon.

Zen swimming and training revelation August 7, 2007

Posted by toni in : Training, Swimming, Biking, Random Thoughts , 1 comment so far

Last night I met up with my team, Emerald City Multisport, for an OW swim at Seward Park.  There were tons of women out last night.  Most of them (not part of our group) were getting ready for their first Danskin in a couple of weeks.  It was fun to see, since that was where I raced my very first tri.  Then there was our group, where only three of us were from our club.  The rest were a Team in Training group that our President coach’s. 

I got there a little late since I rode my bike in. More on that later.  Once I was finally ready to go, everyone had left already.  I waded in and joined them.  We were swimming to the farthest bouy to stay out of the way of the newbie swimmers and their noodles (to give them confidence while being in the water and security that they won’t drown) on their way to the first bouy.  Rumor has it, it’s 1 and 1/2 miles out and back.  Thus the farthest I have ever swum.  It felt great too.  Just found the zone and focused on form and enjoyed the whole thing.   I would have to say this was my first perfect swim.  The last four have been good as well, but I’ve been so focused on “Are we there yet?” that I haven’t been able to find my zen.  My stroke felt great, solid.  The deltoids are still a little sore, but not like before.  I guess I may just have to swim OW more often throughout the week rather than just on Saturdays. 

So the bike out to practice sucked.  Hard.  It started out okay, but all hills basically wore me out.  I was carrying about 20 lbs or so more than usual with my pannier bag and my wetsuit, bike lock, etc., in it.  Oh and water weight of my bottles.  I’ve come to the conclusion that my sleep habits suck as much as my shift work.  I work nights.  On my last day of work, I stay up for a few hours (as many as I can) and then I crash for 24 hours.  I tend to wake up every four hours for a bathroom break, a snack and maybe a glance at email.  I either feel like I need this much sleep or sometimes I have to force myself to sleep that long in order to stay up all night because I need to sleep all the next day in preparation for work that next night.  Hope that makes sense.  Sleeping that long can decondition you.  Take your strength away because you’re just laying there and not using your muscles.  8 hours worth is recuperative.  More than that can decondition.  This is what I believe happened, because it’s happened before and I’m just now starting to put it all together.  I think I only have 5 more weeks of night shift left before I start the day shift, thankfully.  But I can’t go letting that happen again.  It’s so discouraging to get out there for a workout and have it feel horrible.  There’s no speed, no endurance, no energy.  Today, I was so close to turning around and going home. “I can’t believe I did a HIM 6 weeks ago.  What the hell am I doing out here?”  I forced myself to just do it.  There was this portion that has this unbelievably steep hill.  I pushed so hard up it and only made it up half way on the bike and had to walk the rest.  As soon as I got to the top, I felt like I wanted to puke from the effort.  Again, “Who am I kidding?!”.  I rested for a few minutes and got my breathing back to normal and carried on.  I wonder why I was late??  ;)   Anyhow, I finally got to the swim and went into automatic - well after settling some tummy discomfort from the ride.  My legs were happy for the rest that the swim brought.  After the swim, I felt good on the bike.  I was able to ride with speed and consistency.  It felt like the ride out to practice had never happened.  ???  I even caught up to and passed two of the other women who were at the practice and had biked in as well.  :)   

So a bit of revelation and some zen to finish it off.  Man, endorphins rock!  Too much sleep does not!