100 miles down!

So far I have ridden 100 trainer miles this year. In 16 days time - 5 bike sessions total (30,30,28,8,4).

Yes. My quads are screaming at me today, if only because I did an actual "quality" bike workout yesterday. For the first time I did a Spinervals workout -oh. em. gee. It was a Time Saver workout of 30 minutes but holy cow, one legged drills and speed intervals are not easy - especially after two days of between 28 and 30 mile drainer rides.

Now time to shower, get ready for work, and set goals for this week.

This week I need to hit the pool at least twice. I just need to do it. Nothing big, but maybe 1000 meters a go just to get back into the swing of things. I have not swam once all year, and I honestly cannot remember when I swam last. I just know that it was not good.

I also want to try to get to the FAST swim at Schoolcraft Saturday, and run my long run at KMP. I am going trail running at Maybury with Jaclyn Sunday.

Sweet!

These are the days I enjoy. Fun times with fun people!

A thief of a blogger

I really should just have Bold post on my blog - I like the way he and AJ think. I stole (politely) Bold's term "Sub-fun". Now I am blatantly stealing his and AJ's "pictures are proof".




Pictures = proof.



If there are no pictures then it did not happen.



Here is proof of what I did today AFTER a long day at work. AFTER a long drive home. AFTER seeing that it is 32* out AND snowing.

THIS is what I did:

Did RunnerGirl go spurlunking perhaps?

Nope. But I can see why you'd think that. (Nice headgear, right?)

Did RunnerGirl go mining today?

Nope. "Father... *cough* I think I'm getting the black lung *cough*"

Did Runnergirl rob a really really cold bank?

Nope. But I should look into that to fund my addiction to techie geeky things.

So why is RunnerGirl all bundled up, wearing some sweetassed LED headlamp?

Yeah she went out and did a run. A 1 miler just for fun.

A 1 miler just to start to get into the habit of moving again. Heck after my 2-miler Saturday I decided that I need to keep on keeping on. Not like - go out and do a 10K keeping on, but go out and enjoy a run for a bit.

A sweet slow little 1 miler to start off on getting to running for pure fun and loving every step... no matter the distance (I WILL love my half marathons again!)

Time and patience. Two things I sorely lacked back in 2003-2007.

A simple no frills 1 miler to mark that training has no off season. A nice leeetle 1 miler to prove to myself that yes, after a long day at work, after a long drive home, and yes even after seeing the sky flurry with diamondlike snow - she can still get off of her ass and run a mile.

For fun.

Some may call these junk miles - but I call them forward motion.

Triathlon, running, cycling, swimming, health - life. It all starts with this one little mile.

Since I am on a base-building adventure - and since this little adventure of mine started just 2 months ago I have actually made improvements. I can now swim. *whew!* That little tidbit is muy importante if you want to do a triathlon, no? I am comfortable in the pool - and have a ways to go - but I am comfortable. 2 months ago, not so much. Today? Definitely.

Also since the start of my base-building extravaganza, I have really started to listen to my body. Running is fun again. And the reason I ever let it not be fun is that I would start TRAINING for things from zero to full distance. Burn out, sub-fun, no joy. Time and finishing became the goal - not going out and enjoying it.

So now I am going to enjoy my little 1 milers. And then I will enjoy my little 2 milers. I will also enjoy my 5ks, 10ks and ultimately my half marathons again. So no more going from couch to half marathon - I am being a little smarter this year.

Also - my body will tell me when it is the right time to move from one distance to the next. I am not going to plan on it - I will let my body guide me there. Ultimately I want to do sprint and oly tris this year, with some 5k races mixed in. I really would love to do teh CRIM 10-miler in August, and teh Freep halfmarathon in October. But my body will let me know when it is right.

I figure you cannot get burnt out if you are doing what your body likes to do. There is no off season, and there is never a reason to not like what you arae doing! (Can I get an amen?)

Oh my goodness.. Doug - I really do sound like a cheerleader.

*shrug*

Oh well - Go Team!

Congrats to Pat and Marcy for running PFChang' (Pat the full and Marcy the half) this past weekend. Way to go!

And happy 1 year anniversary of meeting in person Pat and Denise! So when is the next meet-up? We should pick a race and plan on doing it together - sometime in 2009. :o)

})i({ RunnerGirl

Post #405 - The Changing of the Guard...errr...clothes

How is it than in less than 6 weeks I can go from this as a staple of my wardrobe:

to this?

The numbers are in and the RED team of my tri club is only 79 miles away from winning this session of the USAT National Competition Challenge, AKA the NCC.

Each month is a different focus: December is swim, January is bike, and February is run.

And since FAST is a swim club that transformed into a tri club - we have a lock on swimming. So much so that in 8 days we have collectively swam over 446.42 miles. That is nearly 64 miles a day. Between 75 people.

I am currently 344 out of all 1,000 participants in the challenge, and 22 out of 75 in my tri club's Red team.

So my friends, I am feeling great! I have switched over from runner to swimmer and average 4 hours a week in the pool. Come January I will be adding additional time on the bike, and then come February I will be ready to run again competitvely... I mean in races... not that I ever compete!

My confidence about the triathlons I have chose to do is at a high. And I realize that my goal for Half Iron will be met only when I am at my peak performance for those miles, because as my growing time in the pool has taught me - strength and endurance is just as important as technique and adaptation.

I am ready for a sprint right now. I am almost ready for an oly. If I keep this up and push myself this season, I will be ready for the Half IM in 09. BUT - I am not into the game of pushing myself to accomplish something that I am not ready for... so time will tell when my body is ready for iron. Half iron that is.

And with the changing of the guard... errr... clothes, comes a complete overhaul of my schedule.

A day in the life of Jenn looks a little something like this now:: 5:30AM wake up, 7:00AM get to work, 4:00PM leave work and drive to gym, 6:00PM arrive at gym, 6:15PM swim/drills 7:30PM leave to go home, 8:00PM get home make dinner, 9:30PM go to bed.

Weekends do not look much different! 5:30AM wake up 6:30AM leave for pool, 7:00AM hit the pool and work on swimming and drills, 8:30AM complete workout, 9:00AM head home to get on with day

So if I am late with the emails or whatevers... it is really beause I am either at work, driving, or swimming.

I love it when I smell of chlorine and Heavenly. It is down right hawt. ;)

Oh - and we are throwing party (virtually) to celebrate. Today... well... guess what I did? Go ahead... guess!

})i({ Jenn

Maybe.

Maybe.

Just maybe I am getting the hang of this swimming thing.

Maybe.

:o)

I still need to slow down, but a funny thing has happened. I feel comfortable in the water. I remembered to keep my head down, and this has helped me so much in maintaining that streamlined feeling.

When my head is down I feel slippery and smooth. I feel aquatic. When my head wonders up a little I feel disoriented and draggy. I feel like I have a parchute strapped to my feet.

The past few nioght I have felt comfortable in the pool, comfortable in my stroke, aand comfortable in my breathing. I really am getting the hang of this swimming thing!

And to show my invetment in myself - I have a lot of pool training toys now, fins, pull buoys, kick bords, and a new sweet-arsed blck and pink swimmy-swuit taht actually fits me nicely. Oh, and my biggest and bestest swimming investment? A coach.

I did it! I have a real bonafide swim coach! All to myself even! We will meet every Monday for 1 hour on my lunch break. She will give me homework an when we meet back up she will see how I am improving.

So with the decision to hire a coah, I made the decision to NOT do Masters Swim during the week. This decision was made not for any other reason but because I do not have the technique I need quite yet. I am waiting until I meet with my coach and I see some personal improvements before I go to 1.5 hour long swim practices 4 times a week.

Why reinforce bad form and technique? I will still be at my Saturday AM practices with my tri club of course. I would not miss them for the world now!

What I end up with in terms of pool time is 1 hour on Monday, 3 half-hour practices solo during the week, and 1.5 hours on Saturday - which means that I will be swimming 4 hours a week now. That is good. That is doable and good. That is leading me to forward motion.

So, what makes K a cool coach? 1-on-1 time all the time. 100% avilability to answer any and all questions... and the coolest thing? She used to teach syncro. I wonder if she will teach me some sweet syncro moves to stun people at the pool. Oh wait... that only works if there are more than one person swimming... oh well. That is still sweet.

Oh... oh.oh.oh... wait until you hear this! I can now swim 3/4 of a lap semi-decently! So my 30 day goal of swimming 1 full lap (50 yards in my case) is almost achieved. I feel that my endurance has improved a lot in the past month. :o)

I did 1/2 mile last night, and 1/2 mile tonight. All on my own. I realized that swimming is just like everything else - some days you rock. other days not.

Last night? ROCK. I was kicking, pulling, sculling, and swimming. I was in the z-o-n-e zone.

Tonight? NOT. I was kicking, pulling, sculling, and attempting to swim. But something was just off.

No worries though. I did a good 1/2 mile of drill work, and I am ready for another go at Saturday AM Swim practice. My goal is to make it the entire distance, which I think that I can do. 1.58 mile or a little more.

I hope that working with K will get me to see my own swimminess (totally made up words rule!), and to own my own stroke and breath.

I am looking forward to actually learning the correct stroke and see how far off I am from it already. Next Monday will be our first lesson, and here she is just going to get a benchmark for where I am in order to design a program that is right for me.

I am SO geeked!

USAT NCC UPDATE:

FAST now has two terams in the competition! Our lead team is #1 in teh swim rankings, and #6 overall. Our b-team is not ranked, but only haas 9 people on it. Becaause of dual teams, I have started an IntrFAST challenge. Different goals for the two teams, but a deadline to see who hits theirs first.

How exciting!!!!

})i({ Runnergirl aquatic

Woo hoo!

Well the USAT National Challenge website finally started to work today, and with that I was able to enter in all of the data for my tri club.

We are now #1 in swimming, #4 overall mileage. :) Way to go FAST!

The balance of yesterday was spent relaxing... man swimming wears me out if I do not stay active afterwards!

I decided that I will be meeting with a coach next week, and in addition to that I will be swimming over at Oakland Masters Swimming in the evenings three nights next week. Not only will this help with getting in the distances that will help my club and ultimately myself on the base-building adventure I have set out on, but there is actually a former Olympian present as the coach to help out.

I like swimming in the group setting as I can get help and tips as I go along, but knowing that there is a coach present will do wonders for me, I hope!

As I sit here typing this, I feel proud in that I am no longer running away from my weaknesses, but attacking them head on to get better and turn them into strengths. Who knows, maybe swim will end up being my best activity in the next few years.

In a way I am tired. Not physically, but mentally. I am tired of settling for not really giving things my all. I have some pretty big ambitions, but until recently have not really backed those ambitions up with the actions it takes to meet them.

No more my fine friends! Why settle for mediocrity? If I train hard and finish last... at least I trained to finish. I cannot be afraid of failure anymore. I cannot afford to be honestly. Really can any of us afford that?

So I am happy with my decision to start giving more to myself. I could go out today and participate in a triathlon and finish. I have no doubts about that. But right now that would not be fun for me. And that is my new outlook on health - fun and fitness... not competition. I guess my only real competition is myself.

This weekend at swimming practice, I realized that no one was judging me, and they all accepted me as I am and for my abilities. It is about time I do the same, right? Right!

Keep on giving back to yourself!

})i({ Jenn

MILE(andahalf)STONE

Today was a day of firsts for me.

First off, I woke up at 5:30AM on a Saturday for swim practice.

ME.

I did that.

On purpose even.

Secondly, I swam with my Tri club for the first time. And it rocked!!!!! I felt so welcomed and right at home. I was bummed that my cyber buddy Doug was MIA due to being sick (bawk bawk!) but I still got to meet plenty of people I have only chatted with over emails and out tri club's Yahoo! Group. I am by no means a great swimmer yet, but I know that as I stick with this bunch, I can only get better. Perfect case study in why you should ditch the nerves and just jump right in. Literally! I learned how to pull, which is fun in a way. So fun I bought my own pull bouy this afternoon. ;) I now own a swimsuit, goggles, a swim cap, and a pull bouy. Does this mean that I am becomming a swimmer? Because seriously... I hope that it does. Oh, did I mention that I have my own lap pool even? It is short in length (really short - like 12.5 yards) and cold... but it would work in a pinch.

Thirdly - I swam for 2600 yards, which is roughly 1.5 miles (1.48 if you are all technical). This is the longest I have ever swam. ~~EVER~~. It was exciting for me. In with like 6 other people, circling around like crazy sharks, and just doing what the piece of paper with our drills on it tells us to. Man I love swimming, and honestly given the fact that I have been going to work earlier these days, getting up at 5:30AM on a saturday is sleeping in now. LOVE that. Bold - you were right - this IS doable!

Fourthly- I found out that you can chafe while swimming. Seriously. Do I need to dip my body into vasaline prior to EVERY activity that I persue? Dang nabbit. I thought that water would REDUCE friction. I guess my years of physics were not considering my inner thighs. Body physics are apparently different from spacial physics. Who knew?!

I was thinking this morning while getting ready for practice that you know when you are involved with a serious sport if there is an injury associated with it.

I mean with race car driving there is the obvious crash and burn, but with a lot of sports there are just little things that nearly all participants will get at least once in their career.

You have runner's knee, swimmer's ear, tennis elbow, and biker's butt. I made the last one up, but if you have ever spent any amount of time in the saddle then you know what I am talking about.

~ })i({ ~

Today's swim brought to light a few things for me. I need a coach. I need to focus on form and breathing. I am lucky because I am a bi-lateral breather. Now I just need to find my breath in strokes. This is an aquired thing obviously and will come with time.

My new mantra ala Field of Dreams- Do it, and it will come. Keep on keeping on, and the skills and endurnace will come.

Two weeks ago I had not swam more than... hmmm... 1600 yards? Today I did 2600 out of the 2800 planned. AND I went from swimming 25 yards before I had to take a little rest to almost a full lap... ALMOST, but still a ways to go.

I am like a beginner runner. Not running in miles, but for time. The same will be true of swimming for now. No yardage goals, just make it the time and see where I am. So today is my Day 1 benchmark. I will let you all know how I do on Day 30, 60, and 90.

By day 30 I want to be able to do full laps. By day 60 I want to be able to do 100 yards at a stretch. Those are my goals! I have written it, so I am now accountable. I will add a section to the right showing my goals and where I am at. (NERD)


All in all I am motivated still.. which is a HUGE growth for me seeings how I stumbled quite a bit today. But I stuck to it and found key areas I am weak in; keeping my head down low enough, and getting the power at the start to name a quick few.

So remember - keep on keeping on, and it will come!

})i({ Jenn

Base building adventure gains inspiration

You probably have noticed the new header to this blog. With it marks my dedication to making half-iron in 2009. It also makrs something new for me. Being inspired.

The journey is always growing... evolving... and I have conqured my previous fear of not being a good enough runner. I have realized that I am the runner I am and that is fabulous, because I am out there being active. It is not about competition with others it is about evolving into a healthy individual. It is about being that girl. The one that is health concious and not for vanity's sake, but rather for a lifetime of activity and adventure.

So here we are. I threw the stake in the ground a few months ago, and I have taken action to get this ball a rolling. I started to swim with a coach, have taken steps to be more active within my tri club, and this alone has inspired me to keep on going.


I also have decided to design my base-building adventure around the USAT National Challenge benchmarks. Since December is focused around swimming, I am going to focus on swimming as well. January I will focus on biking and swimming, and February I will focus on running and swimming. (I add swimming to each month because that is my weakest spot currently, so I need to spend a LOT of time there.) In the mix will be good solid strength and core work every week. FULL body, and really building my tone and strength to move my muscles in all my other activities. I need to not forsake strength to get in mileage other places. And I realize that now. I look forward to strength workouts.


Come March my base will be built and I shall be ready to get on a formal training plan of some sort. :)


I feel centered, motivated, and dedicated. I feel a real passion towards this endeavor, and for the first time in my entire career of running, I feel inspired.


That feels AMAZING!


So today I pose this question to you - all of my friends out here in bloggy land.

What inspires you? What is it that keeps you going day to day in what you have chosen to do?

})i({


Runnergirl

Fluidocity

If it isn't a word, then it should be. Ok, yeah it isn't a word but the term viscocity and fluidity just do not do this post justice. So for the sake of argument we will pretend that it is a word. And the picture you would see next to it in the dictionary - would be me.

Not actually me. I am not as pale, and I have a neck.

Let me back up here. Just a weeee little bit.

I went to the gym after a freakishly long workshop and hopped on the bike for a good 20 minutes. I then went downstairs and did upper body and abs.

Afterwards I hit the gym's lap pool and busted out some drills. Of course, by "busted out" I do not mean fast by any means, I mean completed them.

Lesson from the pool: a 2-piece halter-top tankini is NOT the best wardrobe choice for drills.

I think that I may just have this breathing thing down!!!! Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I am certinly no swimming queen, but I really slowed down and focused on what my body was doing in the water. I felt myself rotate and the breath sort of came naturally.

Hmmm... so this is what not drowning or suffocating feels like. Pretty nice.

I would pause at the end of each length of the pool and watch other swimmers. I noticed that I was the only one breathing every third stroke, the rest opting to breath every other. I tried that for all of 4 breaths before I proved that I am a bi-lateral breather and nothing is wrong with that.

Lesson from the pool: Breathe at a pace and style that you are comfortable with.

So I kept going. Sweet-spot drills, swimming focusing on relaxing and breathing, and then some form drills rounded it out.

Because of my relaxing while swimming I have stopped windmilling it! A two-fer for the Tuesday!

My next roadblock here is myself. My base building adventure - which really has turned into a lifestyle change - is based on time. I decided on this because that way I do not focus on numbers (you know those evil little things) and over time I should see an improvement in distance for the same amount of time in an activity. In theory this is just what I need.

However - just like the saying goes for running - if your "schedule" says 4 miles and you feel good - do not go for 20 just because you think you can. I need to remember that while I feel good in the pool for 12 minutes or 20 - I need to not jump into an hour long lap session because I am just not there yet. I will be... if I follow on the path I am on now. But if I wander off that path and turn onto the highway to pain... yeah I will not fare so well.

I need to slowly build my pool endurance to really feel comfortable taking the next step - open water (yikes!). If triathlon is all about the bike - I am cool with that. I just want to have a fun swim while I wait to saddle up. ;)

So I guess this is a test. I need to have faith in myself and remember that I am on a journey. If I rush to my destination I am only cheating myself out of a beautiful trip!

Congrats to all the SOMA peeps out there - 21stCM, Bold, Nytro (kicked ass and landed 3rd in the Athena group), Missy and Jane (Pirate). Although some did not finish due to lack of fun and severe mechanical nightmares... I think that it was great that they all were able to be there together and share the memories.

And that is what this crazy thing is all about - life.

})i({

RG

Building my base.

So it is that time. Time to put away those cheesy poofs, wipe the orange powdery-goop from my hands and get back to building my base. LOL, as if I would even touch cheesy-poofs. More like chocolate chip cookies... but I digress.

You see, the OLD Runnergirl would simply just jump into it. The NEW Runnergirl is in training for her fall 5K (Deeee-troooooit Stuff-ing Struuuuut - see Doug, I got it right this time. lol), but is also building up a nice base for her 2008 season at the same time.

I am actually, for the first time evah building a base to work off of. Hmmm... maybe this time my training will not tumble on top of me, eh?

The way I am attacking approaching this is by focusing on my weakness. Swimming. My plan is not balanced (meaning equal time in all three disciplines), but I feel that this is a good departure for me. The OLD Runnergirl would have a running focused plan (my strength), whereas the NEW Runnergirl has a swim focused plan.



Facing. My. Fears.



Building. The. Base.

I am embarking on a 20 week base build. By the end of the 20 weeks I will be primed and ready for my 2008 season with my Tri Team. Plus I will be able to do some 5k and 10ks along the way with my running club, which is going to be awesome!!! How awesome? SUPER awesome.





The graphic really does suck now that I see it on here, but since I have joined in Wil's Through Th3 Wall Challenge, I have uploded my entire BB plan in Buckeye Outdoors. And that took a LONG time.

A few things are different from this plan versus any other plan I have ever attempted.

1. It is for triathlon. So obviously that is different right off the bat.
2. I am going for TIME this go around. So every workout is measure in minutes, not miles or yards. My goal is to increase distance as I am becoming more efficient.
3. It is amazing to see such short runs. I am used to my long runs being 7-20 miles, not 20-40 minutes. This is going to be the hardest part for me (focusing on quality not quantity)
4. Swimming focus - not only do I have planned 3 days of swims ( short, medium, and long times 1 day a week each) I have added a bonus 30 minute swim on Sundays. I need ALL the time in the pool that I can! And honestly I can spare 30 minutes out of my day given the lap pool is all of 1,000 feet away from my back porch.
5. With work and travel and school, the fact that my nightly workout average is around 35 minutes is perfect. I can build a strong base, be sprint distance and 5K ready, but be able to study, SLEEP, and live. I am not training for iron, so I should not be pouring myself into this for 8-12 hours a week. Plus this will serve as a nice transition in my day, work - workout -school.
6. I am going to have to adjust to the more frequest but shorter workouts, and 2-a-days.
7. It looks like a lot of volume, but honestly it is not. some days are 14 minutes, others are 40. In the end I still am averaging 3-4 hours a week. A lot less in the beginning, slightly more in the end.
8. I have 2 days of strength/Ab work and 1 day of yoga.
9. I do have rest days planned as well, at minimum 1 per week. Some weeks I have 3. I know that rest is just as important as hitting the gym. Maybe even more important.
10. I am flexible. Somedays I know that my run will need to be on the treadmill, or the elliptical. (did I just say that?) That is fine with me.
11. And finally, by focusing on 3 different sports, maybe now those overuseage injuries will go away!

So here is to base building. Slow, easy, and fun!!!! It always has to be fun!

I hope that you all are having a great evening! I am heading off to beddy bye, as tomorrow is a day filled with meetings.

})i({
RunnerGirl