Blah blah blah

That pretty much sums up how I've been feeling this week.  Just haven't really been "into" anything.  Not excited about anything in particular.  Saw an old friend at the gym today, hadn't seen him in a while & he asked how I was, what was new, etc.  I just sorta looked at him with a puzzled, blah, blah, blah look & shrugged my shoulders.  Needless to say, that was a short conversation.  I was even approached at the gym by some guy who introduced himself to me about 2 weeks ago...apparently I wasn't smiling while working out like I normally do & he asked if I was ok.  I'm now sitting at my computer watching the snow fall, secretly hoping it'll be so bad by 6pm that I will decide to bail on Master's swim...humm, doubt that will happen!

Been very sore this week too.  Not sure why (really Jen, can't figure it out).  I always warm up before my workouts, always.  I always stretch after, always.  But this week I'm walking around with very sore quads, lower shins, just achy in general.  Foam rolling is not helping!  Although, admittedly, when I roll over the sore parts, it hurts, so I decrease the pressure, or stop. 

And trust me, feeling like this now is making me think how the heck am I going to do an Ironman??  Really...I'm working out what...11+ hours a week, heck, the Ironman will take me longer than that alone!  How on earth do people do this?  Surely I can't be the only person who's doubted themselves so early???!!!

So maybe it's the weather.  Or the job search that's going nowhere.  Whatever it is, that's all I have today.  Don't have anything else to say right now...just blah blah blah  But I hear the snowflakes that are falling right now are huge...I think I'm going to take Erin outside in the snow.  Until next time ;)

Training naked...

Did I get your attention?  LOL...I just read Kelly Williamson's article on Ironman.com about shutting off the numbers and listening to your body during a race.  This got me thinking.  Appropriately timed, as I just had a run where I had to go "by feel" and "not look at devices".  That run was soooo hard for me to do, purely because I had to force myself NOT to look at my heart rate monitor.  I thought to myself, I am a slave to my heart rate monitor.  If I am, I wonder how many other people are?  Seriously, I wear that thing for every workout.  OK, except swim but ONLY because for some reason I lose my heart rate on the watch (displays 00) while swimming.  And I hate that.  Whether I'm checking it for heart rate, calories burned, time spent exercising, which zone I'm in, that watch is always on my wrist.

I ran a 10k in 2010, the Sycamore Pumpkin Run.  Shortly after the race started I looked at my watch & it displayed 00 as the heart rate.  I never got it back.   Crap, I thought!  I knew my heart rate was sky high but the watch pooping out on me forced me to run based on how I felt.  Granted, it was a race.  And I had Coach Joe's words "10k's are great because they are not too short and just long enough where you can run to the point where you feel like you're going to puke, but don't".  That seriously was probably the last time I did any kind of workout without a heart rate monitor!

I lost the computer on my bike this summer...it popped off while riding & was run over by a car (yes, we had gone back to find it on our way back).  I haven't replaced it yet.  The few outdoor rides I did after that sucked...purely because I had no idea how far or how fast I was riding.  Again, slave to the device...

Anyways, this article talked about at times, it's good to run (or whatever) and not look at the devices, just go based on how your body feels.  So many things can affect our performance anyways - weather, terrain, how you feel that day, race conditions...so go ahead, I dare you!  Turn it off & train naked for a day :)

Here's a link to the article if you didn't see it:  http://ironman.com/training/kelly-williamson-offers-some-tips-on-race-day-strategy?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ironman%2Ftopstories+%28Ironman.com+Top+Stories%29#axzz1mUGohF7L

Swimmers !!

It's 3:20am as I'm writing this, another night unable to sleep. Figured I may as well make use of this time :)  LOL

So I'm calling this one "Swimmers" because I don't consider myself one.  Yet?  I hope so because 7 months from tomorrow I'm going to have to swim 2.4 miles in open water!  So this week I spent a lot of time thinking about swimming, while swimming.  After all, what else is there to do while swimming?  Oh, I've thought about things I needed to do that day, grocery shopping lists, what to make for dinner, my unsuccessful job hunting these days, the shelter I volunteer at, trying to find Erin, my foster dog, a forever home, you name it, it's crossed my mind while swimming. 

But this week in particular I found myself thinking about my abilities vs. other people.  Probably not a good idea to be comparing myself to other swimmers I'm thinking.  I told Coach Jen this week I think I have 2 speeds...slow/easy & fast (although, let's be honest, my "fast" is probably moderate to most people).  If the plan didn't call for fast, I swam slow & easy.  All the time.  So this week I decided to consciously try to add in "moderate" while swimming.  Now I'm not timing myself, but going off of perceived exercion.  And I can feel it.  Well I can't tell you how many times I was swimming "moderately" and you know how you can see people in the lanes next to you?  You know they're there, not racing you, probably not even paying attention to the fact that you're next to them.  But I was paying attention!  I can't tell you how many times I thought I was cruising along at a fairly moderate pace & there they went...right past me!!  WTF???  How is it that even when I'm swimming moderately, people are STILL passing me?  My masters swim coach video taped us last week & emailed me the video with some comments.  I still haven't looked at it...she taped me swimming "fast" and when she showed it to me on her camera immediately after, I said "that's me swimming FAST?  Can't be...I look so SLOW!!!"

UGH, so I keep at it.  Today I didn't even want to go to masters.  But I did.  And the good news is I'm now doing her hard workout (more distance) because the others are too short for the hour class.  I have a ways to go.  I may never be fast.  I'm just hoping for faster...

Oh, and this is Erin...my foster dog.  She's looking for a forever home...She's a lab/terrier mix, about 2-1/2 years old, about 44 lbs.  Housebroken, crate trained, graduated obedience class (knows her commands!), loves to run (yes...she was my running partner until I started w/ Coach Jen...she's not happy with me right now as she's not able to run w/ me much anymore), she's very sweet & loves to gives kisses.  She is probably better for a home with a fenced in yard, older kids & the only dog in the house.  If you know someone who might be interested, please contact me...she deserves a good home...isn't she cute???

Guest post...revisited :)

I'm reposting a link to Daniel Malinski's blog from earlier this week.  He had a "guest post" on his blog from Jen Harrison...I thought it was fitting to much of how I've been feeling this week so thought I'd comment & repost the link.  I saw myself in her first point "trust in the coach/plan" & knew I had to comment on this.  You see, I've never had a coach. Ever.  About as close as I've come is taking Masters swim, or group fitness classes or small group personal training classes at the gym.  Where someone is basically giving me my workout for a hour.  But after that hour, or before, I can do whatever I want.  To completely give up this freedom & have ALL of my training given to me by someone else was going to be a challenge for me.  Giving up control?  Me?  This is gonna be interesting, I thought.  I remember asking Jen during our initial conversation if I could do "more" workouts than what she gave me...incase she had me working out less than what I typically do.  Her answer, as you can imagine...was NO!  And to trust her.  There have been days where I've worked out less than an hour (keep in mind, I just finished week 2). What???  My typical workouts are usually 1.5-2 hours, longer on weekends...what is she thinking??  I've been asked alot this week how my training is going.  Standard answer...good, they are shorter than what I'm used to, but more challenging.  I talked about that in my last post.  Anyways - I've stopped second guessing her workouts in the past few days...I'm reminding myself soon enough the workouts will get longer & to take advantage of the shorter ones now...am I still tempted to add a little extra?  You bet...change doesn't happen overnight ;)

Here's the link to Jen's post.  Read it.  She makes alot of good points & I'm willing to bet, we all see ourselves in at least some of what she's saying.  Thanks Jen for writing this!!

http://cubicledadruns.com/2012/01/guest-post-what-makes-a-good-athlete-by-coach-jen-harrison/

What a difference a week makes!

So I decided to wait until the end of week 1 to blog.  Mainly because I wanted to see how I'd feel after one full week of training.  I've realized something during this past week.  I've been working out mindlessly & without purpose for the past few years.  Don't get me wrong, I always had a "purpose"...training for a race of some kind.  But typically I would just swim.  Or bike.  Or run.  With no direction, no plan, nothing to accomplish but move my body for a few hours.  With the exception of my Masters swim or when I was following Hal Higdon's 1/2 marathon training 2 years ago, I never had a plan.  So now, for an entire week, I've had something to follow during my workouts each day.  What a difference!  Not only did it feel good to have a plan, it actually made the time go by faster.  I actually started liking my bike trainer again :)  And I ran outside in the snow.  I've NEVER done that!  And I feel good.  Ok, well, I was sore from Jen's core workout for at least 2 days, if not more.  THAT surprised me as the strength training I typically do is more functional and not traditional weights.  And it wasn't until today that I realized I did NOT have a rest day (yes, Jen, I caught that!) 

This week I also had my swim, bike & run tests.  I'm not giving times or paces, I'm just going to say I dreaded the swim test.  I'm NOT a fast swimmer.  In fact, I rarely swim fast at all.  Actually, prior to me starting Masters swim in Jan, I was rarely swimming.  So I knew this would prove to be a challenge.  I seriously thought I might die :)  End result wasn't as bad as I expected, however, definately room for improvement.  The bike test went ok.  Jen thinks I had too much tension on the tire as my legs pooped out well before my HR did.  OK, maybe cadence on a bike computer isn't such a bad thing.  (Making a mental note for when I get my new bike computer that I lost).  And today was the run test.  I didn't make good choices for dessert last night & woke up with a tummy not feeling all that well.  And I haven't been running fast, at all, for god knows how long.  Pretty sure the only speed work I've done in the past 6 months or so was a 5k I ran at the end of October!  And I'm a terrible pacer.  So today my plan was to pace myself such that I could finish very strong (all the while knowing my pace needed to be much faster than I've been running, but not that fast that I crap out before the time was up).  Again, I was fairly happy with the run test considering what I've been doing (or not doing is more like it) recently.  Again, definately room for improvement.

So tomorrow starts week 2.  Looking forward to it!  Oh yeah, and woo hoo...the dog finally ignores the trainer & isn't biting the tires while I'm riding anymore.  Success!!

The beginning...

Welcome to my 1st blog...ever!  I've been working on putting this together for the past few weeks, it's a work in progress, so be patient please.  If nothing else, I hope you find this mildly entertaining & can offer your input, suggestions, support or comments.  I've been in a bit of a state of disbelief for the past few weeks, since Jen Harrison announced I was going to be her 2012 Pay It Forward athlete to train.  Excited, nervous, scared...my head has been spinning & my mind going non-stop.  A bit worried that I will fail, or not live up to expectations, or disappoint.  I've only done a few triathlons...a few sprints, a few relays, one olympic, and some running races.  No 1/2 Ironmen & definitely no full Ironmen.  But 2012 I plan to do it all.  My "A" races are Muncie 70.3 in July & Ironman Wisconsin in Sept.  Oh my...I dream big...am I crazy?  I signed up for a full Ironman...that day a friend told me, yes, I am crazy!  So to say I'm nervous & scared is putting it mildly.


So, assuming many of you reading this 1st blog may not know me personally, here's a little bit about me:  I'm a 45 year old single woman living in Schaumburg, always been an athlete of some sort, didn't learn how to swim until spring of 2009 when a few triathlete friends & I were talking after a run session & I made a comment about always wanting to do a tri but not knowing how to swim.  They pushed me to learn & bam...looked into it & a few months later thanks to Coach Joe & Masters swim...I was swimming & doing my 1st sprint tri.  I've ran a bunch of running races but for the most part, each year I've been sidelined with some sort of injury.  The straw that broke the camel's back was last year, a week before my 1st 1/2 Ironman, I had a stupid bike accident & fractured my elbow.  Bye bye Muncie :(  Add to that a few other stressors in my life & being laid off last August, I have been living the past few years surrounded by stress & bad luck. 

So, needless to say, I'm excited about the opportunity & hope I will enjoy the journey.  I start training w/ Jen on Sunday.  I've never had a coach full time...and honestly, as much as I'm excited, the Type A personality in me is struggling with giving up control of my workouts...LOL  But I trust her & am ready to get started.  Bring it on Jen, and THANK YOU!!!