T minus 3 weeks

Holy crap, that's not very far away.

Guess it's time for an update. Things have been better. I've been doing really well on the eating thing. I know this because I've been hungry all week! Healthy food doesn't necessarily stay as long in your digestive system as "crap." I'm pretty sure I haven't been skimping on food, just eating correct portions of the correct food. My stomach will adjust. Work has gotten slightly better as well, but I'm not holding my breath about it.

Last week's workouts didn't go as planned, at all.
- Monday: I worked late Monday and because of a storm, I wasn't able to swim (they closed the pool because of thunder as soon as I got there), and I didn't have other workout clothes, and it was too late when I got off work.
- Tuesday: I biked, but it was short ride, and you read about that in the last post.
- Wednesday: I was going to make Nick run with me, but I had the worst headache, so we skipped the run. (See, not doing so well!)
- Thursday: I did alright. I swam at lunch for a good 45 minutes or so, but I didn't make it after work because again, I got off work too late, and my gym closes at 9 p.m.
- Friday: I had to go in early to work Friday because of a plane crash south of town, so I rushed over during lunch to get a quick run in. I had to be back at 12:40, and I couldn't get out of there until about 12, so with changing twice, I only got a 17-minute work out in. But I did run 11 minutes on 6 mph (which is fast for me) incline 1 percent. I thought that was pretty good for me. The other 6 minutes of the workout was a 3-minute warm up and a 3-minute cool down. I had to get out of town ASAP, too, because a nasty snow storm was supposed to hit after 4 p.m., so I didn't go again after work.
- Saturday: We didn't get the snow we were promised, and I was heartbroken. Kayle and I went to the gym in Norman and did the spin bike for 30 minutes and then took a lap around the track (1/6 mile) for good measure. We did abs and inner thighs, too!
- Today: Kayle and I ran outside and she pushed me some, and after, more abs and inner thighs. We're such girls.

Kayle said today that I've improved a lot on my run and my abs. (Well, good, since it's been 8 months...) But really, it's good to know all the work has amounted to some change. My run, she said, is more consistent, which is good, I guess. I still need to work on speed, but I'm doing what I can. I don't do abs as often as I should because I really don't like them. I know it's my problem area, so it's even more important for me to concentrate on them.

Our 33-mile bike tour is Saturday, and I'm pretty worried. Honestly, mostly about my shoulders and neck because I get really tense in those areas on my bike. I think my whole body is still adjusting to the new bike. We're going to take it slow and ride together, so it should be fun regardless. After that, my boyfriend is going to make me go to the Medieval Fair. OK, I'm a geek and I LOVE the Medieval Fair, but I'm not sure how much I'm going to want to walk after that bike ride. We'll see...

Real life biker

I went on a short (because the sun was setting) ride today, and even though it was a bit cold, I threw on my new shorts, which I haven't been able to wear yet. My legs are still cold, an hour later, from wearing shorts, but it was worth it because they made me feel like a legitimate bicyclist. It was empowering. I know it's silly, but perception is everything, after all.

T minus 4 weeks, and counting

My first triathlon is now a mere four weeks away.

A lot of things need to change now. Starting tomorrow, I'm "hitting it hard" as my mother would say. I won't be drinking ("I'll have a Shirley Temple, please!"), I'll avoid smoky bars and places more than I already do ("Let's go here instead.") and I'll be eating healthfully ("Mmm, carrots!"). I'm avoiding any food that makes me feel "blah" or sluggish, and trying to only put stuff in my body that will help me race better. I had my last hurrah this weekend, so now I'll concentrate on non-processed foods and good fuel for my body. I'm looking forward to the change because I think it will help me in other things, too. Nick said he's going to try to eat well with me, so that will be nice. I'm making something yummy for us Wednesday!

Also, I'm going to be diligent about my training, which has been lacking. I think part of the reason it is is because of work problems I'm having, but I'm going to use it as a release from that and somehow try not to let work get to me. Any suggestions on that?

We didn't get to try out open water swim this weekend because the weather didn't agree with us. Can't trust Mother Nature to accommodate you if she doesn't want to, that's for sure. Hopefully, we can find a time or two in the next four weeks, but it's tough because Kayle and I don't live in the same town, we have a 33-mile bike race in two weeks, and Easter is in three weeks. Maybe next weekend?

I feel like I had a thousand more things to say, but I can't seem to remember them now. Until next time...

My outfit!

The big news of the week is...I GOT MY TRI OUTFIT!

I'm so excited!
The tight shorts, however, are unforgiving both on the thigh and on the stomach area. I think intensive inner thigh and ab workouts are in my future...

Anyway, I love them. They are great. I'm excited to try them out in my training soon! Also, this weekend, I'm going to bust out my wet suit for an open water swim attempt, so that's pretty exciting, too. I'm starting to look like a real triathlete, I mean, look how tough I look here:

T minus five weeks

The countdown continues...

My triathlon is in five weeks, and I'm losing motivation. I think it boils down to the fact that I'm getting increasingly more terrified, and the worse I get, the more I repel. Character flaw, I know. I'm trying to stay at it, but I know it will become even harder next week when I really limit the foods I eat...

I biked about 9 miles today and ran/did speed drills for about 1.5 miles or so. It took me a while, but I guess it went well. Something has just clicked with my swimming though. The past two workouts I've been able to swim 500+ meters of freestyle without stops or turning over. I had been doing backstroke every 200 meters or so to catch my breath, but something just clicked and I just keep going with no problems. I'm still tired at the end, but I can breathe the whole time. I need to pick up a little speed now, though.

Anyway, I spent even more money today and bought myself an outfit to run the tri in! Man, those things are EXPENSIVE! I didn't want to spend that much, but I got what I wanted and wouldn't have been able to save much anyway. I got:












The pink shirt and the solid black shorts. This way, I should get some time to practice in them before the big day!

A daunting task

I just signed up for a 33-mile bike tour on April 4. Let's all pray that I will be ready.

Power Thirst

I stole this from Tri Diesel. I thought it was pretty much hilarious.



*PG-13, one, little language problem.

T minus 6 weeks

How am I going to be ready? I'm utterly terrified.

Furthermore, I've been wanting to do the Redbud Classic on April 4 in Oklahoma City. It's a 33 mile bike and when I first got the idea, I thought I'd be totally ready. Um, no. I went out on a 35 minute bike again today and those bikes are killing me! After training all winter on the wrong bike, getting back onto mine has been tough. There's also a 10 mile bike at the Redbud, but I know I can do that. I want the challenge, but I'm afraid 33 miles is too much of a challenge! I had a really tough time motivating, so I'm not sure why I think this will be successful, but I think I'm going to add a bike in for the next few weeks. I'm still going to do two runs and two swims, but add a bike on an off day, or combined with one of the other ones. At least 35 minutes to get my legs ready. I really want to sign up this weekend...think I should?

On another note, I checked race results today. I came in gun time at 19:20, just like I thought. We had chips, but they didn't have pads or anything so they didn't time us. Kind of a waste. I am 15th out of 16th in my age group, about eight minutes before the last girl, so not so great. 119 of all the girls, with a pace of 7:52.

Somehow, I need to find the energy and the motivation to step it up...

What a week!

I had a run on Saturday, so I was tapering off. I was going to take a normal off day Wednesday, short, light run Thursday, off Friday and race Saturday. Someone had other plans...

Wednesday was fine. I took off work early to catch up on the extra hours I worked this past weekend and Monday, but I had to keep calling people on this tip we got about a shooting.  No one answered or called back.

Thursday, I get to work, get that story and everything's great. Then my boss gets yelled at for 20 minutes about it (we didn't really do anything wrong), and so I'm told to drop everything and get one hell of a story.  I was at work until midnight (I go to bed at 11, latest), and worked a 13.5 hour day. The following day, I go into "overtime" at 9:35 a.m., two hours after I arrived at work. The other two reporters went into overtime Thursday night and all three of us worked a 16 hour day Friday.  We should be getting comped for the overtime, but I'm not hopeful, really. Anyway, in two days, I barely got a minute to myself. I ate out of the vending machine or fast food (about one meal a day) because I didn't have time for anything else. Literally. I got home after midnight Friday and had to wake up at 6:30 a.m. Saturday to make it to my race on time. Oh, and I didn't get a chance to run Thursday. Needless to say, I was not so ready for the 5k...

I got there in plenty of time to get my stuff and relax.  Kayle was there before I was, but we had to wait on Nick. He ended up getting there way to late for me to be comfortable. I wanted to get pictures and make it to the starting line to stretch and relax and get ready. That didn't happen. Instead, I got no pictures and had to run to the starting line (I almost threw up then from the running and the adrenaline).  I was tearing up before the race started. (Remember, I'm on five fewer hours of sleep in two days than normal, and I'd been nauseated and on the verge of crying for about 36 hours because of all this and I was furious.)  When I heard the gunshot, I started running, but literally almost just got off the course because it was the last thing I wanted to do right then. But, I kept running, I mean, I paid and everything.  I walked some and ran slowly, I guess, because I came in at 39:20, which is my worst time yet.  It was really windy and a little hilly, but I was disappointed. I understand that things beyond my control made it so I was unprepared, but still, I mean, really.  How does it get slower?  I'm pretty sure I walked more in Feburary...

Well, after the race, they served us a nice breakfast with lots of food. I had a busy day (after my nap) yesterday, but today has been chill and great.  It's absolutely beautiful outside. I can't wait to make more of each day now!  Hopefully, work won't interfere too much...

New thoughts, priorities

First off, I want to tell you about today. Bittersweet run, I suppose. I went out at lunch today, determined to run 3.1 miles without stopping to prove I can do this race Saturday (I've got a 5k!). My legs hurt (I biked/ran for 80 minutes yesterday), especially on hills, but I kept running. My knees started really bothering me, but I ignored them. I ran the first mile (hills) in 11 minutes. If I could keep that pace, I would more than beat my best 5k (and the only one I've ran completely). The second mile, all flat mind you, took me about 14 minutes. Not so good. I was hoping to get in at 35 minutes (like December's 5k), but halfway through the final mile (again, hills) I stopped for maybe two-tenths of a mile because I was about the throw up. I knew if I threw up, I wouldn't have the energy to run the rest of the way and my time would suffer. It's discouraging that I had to walk. I sped up for the final half mile, hoping to make up for some lost time. I had to force myself to keep my breakfast down when it was all over...and I came in at 38 minutes, which is one minute slower than the 5k I "raced" and walked half of. Talk about discouraging! How do I walk faster than I run? I mean, really! How is this fair? Why do I struggle so much? I was really glad I could run most of the way, since I haven't been able to before or after my December 5k, but bummed I HAD to stop...and that time! Gah! Any advice?

On a better note, my race is in less than seven weeks, and I'm completely unprepared! My biking is sad, my running is slow and I take extra breaths when I turn around every 25 meters in the swim and I'm worried that, couple with the open water swim I've never practiced, will be the death of me (although, hopefully not literally). I told you this was a better note, right? Well, I can't go into this thing unprepared...especially since I've been working at it since the summer! It's going to have to become a higher priority. I mean, I've left work late at night to run and then head back, and I've given it almost every night of my life for months, but somehow, it's not good enough. I need more outside time, daylight time, real practice time. No more gym stuff when possible, especially on my bike! Even if I have to leave work everyday at 5 p.m. and then go back to work to finish my stories and hours. That's just what I'll have to do for seven weeks until this race is out of the way! As much as I'd love to, I just can't do mornings, so evenings it is! Fortunately, daylight savings is next week, so I'll have another hour to enjoy the day. Warmth is coming soon, too. I can't let Nick or anything distract me in the next few weeks. I'm even planning on concentrating on my eating and making sure I get the right kind of stuff for the best performance. I've worked too hard and spent too many hours on this (not to mention the amount of money that's been spent on me for gear!) to go in unprepared or not at my best. Please, help me keep motivated!