WOW - re-evaluation at its finest.

::WOW::

So today was swimming with my tri club.

::SWEET::

Except....

Well except that I have only been in the pool on Wednesday and Thursday. Of this past week. Twice. For 1,000 yards (TOTAL!) of swimming.

Today I expected to be rough. But I did not expect it to be that freaking rough! I just could not get my mojo to gogo.

We were scheduled for 2700 yards, not terribly bad. Infact that would be a mere 100 yards less than my first swim with them. BUT - and let me studder here for a moment - B-B-B-B-BUT, we were going 5 x 100's and 200's this time around. ::gasp:: When we finally did something less than 100's - they were 75's with crazy breathing (every 5 strokes odd, every 7 strokes even). I found out that every 5 strokes is a good breathing scheme for me (yay!)- but every 7 was a CO2 nightmare (boo!). Just gotta remember to breathe out at 6.

What happened to the days of 50 repeats with a good portion of kick and pull drills? Oh, that was SO 2007. But this little swimmerchic isn't quite there!

So, much to Mike's dismay, I will be smelling even worse like chlorine now. (I even take 2 showers and the chlorine smell just drips off of me!)

I realize that this next week is my swimming week. EVERY week needs to be a swimming focus week. Running as planned (3 - 4 times) but I need to hit the pool a good 4 - 5 times in addition to my Saturday AM swims. SO I am making a sacrifice. Since my bike was stolen, and I have no indoor trainer for the MTB, I am skipping the scheduled bike rides for now (maybe sneaking some in on the spinners at the gym - but that is so not my focus right now) and instead hitting the pool as often as I can.

The good thing is that I love swimming and will not get burnt out on it because I am still earning and improving - that is some great motivation!

Today I FINALLY got to meet two FAST members that I have been chatting with via email - Lana and Doug. I am trying to wrangle them into being my new running partners - Lana is onboard for sure, I think that Doug needs some pressure. *cough* here is your pressure *cough*

Well off to strategize on incorporating more swimming time into my week. This may just require a plan. A VERY flexible plan.

})i({ RunnerGirl

Congratulations FAST for being the USA Triathlon NCC Swim benchmark Winner!

Not only did we hit 500 miles first - we did so in 192 hours, or just 8 days! No other club is even at 500 miles as of this moment - as we are well over 600. Way to go to my Trithlon Club for all of the gret swimming miles!

Mike told me yesterday, after hearing that I was on my way to the pool, that he may very well have to buy a boat, a poll and a shiny pink lure. I asked him why - and his reply? His reply was so he could fish me out since I am ALWAYS swimming now.

Awesome! But I have not grown gills. (I keep hoping!)

Today wass typical - get to work, have a few meetings, go play Whirly Ball for 3.5 hours, visit friend in new apartment, head home. Oh wait... did I say Play Whirley Ball for 3.5 hours? Because that is what I did in the middle of the day. It amazes me how sometimes I just stumble into abolutely funny things in the middle of my day.

For instance - there is this man at work who drops f-bombs like none other. Not quitely and not always in a funny way. He literally swears at everyone. My money is that he used to work at a plant before comming to corporate America. A typical conversation with his boss/customer/supplier/college friend/grandmother goes a little something like this:

Well hey there, F*&$ you! ... You have got to be F*&^ing kidding me you C**K sucker! GO F*&^ yourself A$$hole! ... OK, motherF*&^ing jerk*ff. See you Tomorrow! F*&^er!

So I have been keeping atally of his curses. In a 3 minute mini conversation I lost count.

We also have this otehr gentleman from Russia who has worn the ssme sweater every day for 45 days. I know this because yet again we have a tally, ok a game really. We have determined that the sweater worn for prolonged periods of time results in a molecular layer being formed which can conduct heat away from the body, yet keep the occupant warm all winter long. Just a theory... or he could just be that nasty.

Don't even get me started on all the banter about boobs. Fun times!

Today - no tally's, just good oldfashioned Whirley ball with the engineers. The girl team won, just so you know. 'Cause girl Enginerds... we sorta rock.

Have a great weekend all! I am of course swimming in the AM then heading north to FLIN-TOWN (say it like "Eight Mile* from the movie...) to see a very preggers Chritina (she was supposed to find out the sex of the baby today... I am thinking that it is a girl) and hang out bit.

Well, I am off to din-din to the Lazy Lizzard Cantin for some good pre-swim food stuffs. READ:Margaritas.

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

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

3 days to the start of a beautiful thing...

Although this video has NOTHING to do with this post - I love it. Daft Punk rocks. And this video just goes to show that practice can pay off.

So Saturday starts the USAT National Challenge, and my tri club has 40 people signed up already. Woot!

I am excited because I cannot wait to hit the pool with my club.

Did you hear that?

Oh yes, I said that. ME. Excited to meet people that I have never met before. Excited to swim in front of said people.

A little rest and some deep thought really puts things into perspective. I feel refreshed and ready to get on with it already. I am putting aside my nerves on this one. The worst thing that will happen is that I may struggle a bit after not being in the pool for a few weeks. The best thing that will happen is me getting involved with a top tri-club, and improving beyond my wildest expectations.

So in reality - isn't the worst thing that can happen still pretty darned good? :)

I am motivated to get in shape once and for all. Everything just sort of clicked for me over the past few months. I want to eat healthy. I want to burn the remaining pounds off. And for once I see it as completely doable. It is completely attainable. And I am doing it. Not GOING to do it... but AM doing it.

Like a butterfly breaking free of the cocoon... I shall spread these wings and fly!

~ })i({ ~

Ready? Steady.... Go!

Over the past few weeks I have learned a little bit more about listening to my body, and at the end of the day that is always a good thing. Forced rest, while not fun, is often exactly what I need. I just need to get to the point where rest will not be forced, but welcomed! So I have been doing that... resting, and attempting to break out of it a little slower than last weekend's crackboxing experience. :)

This upcomming week I WILL be swimming over at West Bloomfield HS with a coach, and then in two weekends I will be at Livonia with FAST. About. Freaking. Time. I know. Trust me, I know.

My Tri club is something special. 225+ members strong and offers something for everyone. Swimmer - come right on in! Runner - let's get together and do a few laps on the track. Cyclist - meet us over here and we will get in a good ride. LOVE it.

I joined in the middle of this year to get the feeling for the club. I was not ready to partake, but now. Now I am ready. And of course - it is off season!

Soooo.... what is a triathlon club to do in the off season?

How about compete against 35+ other USAT member clubs across the US for fun and fitness? OK! Sounds good to us! So yesterday evening I registered FAST Swim and Tri club into the competition.


So, why did I register the club into the competition? Well, after a discussion with president Dave, I volunteered to be the organizer for this year's challenge. I figured that it was a good way to participate in the tri-club and to get to know more of the members. He agreed.

:)

So again, Thank you Dave for this opportunity! I am excited, however I know that it will be a lot of work getting the info together and submitted. But at the end of the day I am happy to take the time to make sure FAST gets the credits that they are due. Because seriously - these fine people kick major butt every day in a multitude of events.

The challenge starts December 1st and lasts for 3 months. Eash month has a benchmark, and the first club to reach the benchmark will win a prize from the challenge sponsors. If a club is the first to hit all three benchmarks, then they get something extra special at the end.

• December 2007 - Swim 500 miles
• January 2008 - Bike 5000 miles
• February 2008 - Run 2500 miles
  

This is a perfect fit for my base-building adventure! I know that every mile I log in will help my club out, and each month there is a new emphasis. I like that. A competition of fitness... and fun!

So if you are a member of a USAT recognized triathlon club, see if they are going to partake in the challenge. If you are not a member of a club, then you can register yourself as an individual.


RunnerGirl })i({

Coughing and persepctive. What an unlikely duo.

I am still sick... scratch that. I am even more sick now than this past weekend. And no the party did not effect it, I swear! I was a good girl, didn't drink and got to bed at a reasonable time *halo shines brightly*

I had to call off work today because I am exhausted. So not cool... and so not productive! :( NOT awesome. Not awesome in the least. Today I am here at home watching TV. And sleeping. And catching up on blogland.

Rocks informed me that my A-race Oly tri NEXT JUNE has been SOLD OUT. It is November, the year before the race. Seriously! Sold out already? I guess that is what happens when they only allow 400 people to partcipate. 2009 I will so be there. So in lieu of the Big Fish this year... I will tackle Motor City.

So Rocks I will see you at the Motor City Tri!

The beach swim start for the Motor City Triathlon

Yesterday on the way to work I heard something on the radio that got me to thinking. The theme was "Are you a believer?" and although they were talking about the Lions being 6-2 for the season already... whoooooping the Bronco's arses this past weekend... it resonated with me.


Not the Lions, but believing.

I believe in other people, often more than they believe in themselves. I never ask for proof on intentions, only that you strive to be the best you that you can be. I am a work in progress and every single person has to start somewhere. Everyone is a work in progress.

Many people on the radio were saying that they were not believers in the "new" Lions. They feel that they have not beat a team that is 500 or over yet
(more wins than losses), therefor it really doesn't count.

Many times I would stop believing in myself because my achievements were based on similar constraints. It doesn't count unless there are over so many people in the field, or the weight loss doesn't count because I should have worked harder.

Isn't a win a win? Isn't a loss just that... a loss? Do people think that the Lions are sandbagging it? Hardly - they do not have control over the teams they play. The play the teams as they come on the schedule.

A few posts back I was in a rough spot. I was thinking through the mind of the person I used to be - timind, afraid of judgement, and not believing in myself.

I have come SO far in the past year. I have fought many demons... all of which were mine to slay, not imposed onto me by anyone except for my insecurity in certain situations.

I started swimming, battled the common problem of freestyle breathing and being comfortable in the water. To top that off, I am comfortable in the skin I am in. I just forget that when I go out of my comfort zone. I revert back to that timid, afraid Jenn who thinks that people can see through her tough skin and see the doubts floating through her head.

If they see my doubts, won't they start believing them as well?

If they do... oh well! That is not what I want my journey to be about. My journey is about pushing myself and growing into the person I want to be. If anyone else has doubts about my abilities, I just cannot spend the energy on that. It cheats me out of the experience, and it cheats my friends out of a confindent and solid friend.

Life hands us a map with the milestones blurred out. It is up to us on our journeys to bring clarity to those milestones, and bring them into focus. Worrying about what people will think of me is not a milestone. Being there for a friend in need is. Achieving something great, even if it is great only to me, is. Following someone else's map is not.

This past weekend while clothes shopping with my gal Christina (the bunny) I realized that I have become a different person. Not just physically, but emotionally. In a moment of weakness I may waffle and go back to doubts, but when I wake up I realize that I am a lot stronger than I sometimes give myself credit for being. And at the end of the day as long as I am true to myself - it will be all good. ;)

I guess what this is all about is that I have woken up - and gained the perspective I forgot about in a moment of weakness.

So this upcomming Saturday - if I am healthy enough - I will be going to the swim practice of my tri club, and I will not be nervous anymore. My nervousness has transformed into excitement.

I am working at kicking this sickness once and for all so I can enjoy getting back into the pool!

I hope that everyone is having a great week so far! :) STAY HEALTHY!

})i({ Runner-to-the-girl

Premature? I will soon find out!

No. I did not sign up for an ultramarathon or an Ironman. I am silly... not crazy!

I have decided that I am going to start participating in my tri club's Saturday swims.

I hope that it is not premature. I can breath, yes, but I can not really sustain major lappage at this point. :) I hope that it will be a nice "go at your own pace" type of practice, but I will find out this Saturday bright and early at 7AM. *gulp* I am used to getting up early to run... this is going to be a whole new thing for me.

What no more martini's on a Friday night? No Jenn. No more. *packs the champange, pear juice, and Belvedere away* (And yes I make mine with champagne. Call it the RG twist.)

In the pool today I got to thinking as I always do when I am putting my body into new and potentially over-my-head situations, why on earth can I not do more than 1/2 lap at a time? Shouldn't I be able to do at least 1 complete lap without stopping at the end of the pool?

The more I thought about this, the more I realized that swimming IS just like running. In the early stages at least. I did not start off whipping out miles like they were going out of fashion. I started off by running a few seconds (60) then walking for a bit. Then like a good shampooing, I repeated. Every go I would try to increase the running and shorten the walking until I made it to non-stop running euphoria. Well, OK. Maybe not euphoria per say... but pretty close for this at-the-time couch potato.

Should swimming be any different? Is it not the same process of building endurance?

I worked hard at running straight through my first mile. And that was the SWEETEST mile ever ran by yours truly.

Should I approach my base-building adventures the same way? Start off by doing 25's... making it my goal to be able to do 50's by Thanksgiving? Then work my way up to 100's and on?

It sounds completely logical to me. But... it still beggs to be asked - is that right?

*scratches head*

I am going with yes.

Survey says........

})i({

RG

New and improved Runnergirl. Now with king-fu biking action, and stealth swim mode.

All I can say is wow. I am joining the local Tri club, FAST, at the end of the month. The outpour of support I have received already from this group is amazing.

I am very respectful of the fact that I have so much to learn about my next step on my fitness journey, and I know that I found a group of knowledgeable swimmers and triathletes to help me achieve my goals.

I am going to keep bringing the A game through my training. I feel that in the end that this will make me a better runner, and dare say it? Athlete? Wow. I had never thought of myself as that before.


I am going to keep improving daily, working my way to fitness.

Once again, I am not abandoning the running girl that I am. I am just adding a few new things to my fitness routine. And that feels wonderful to say. I have a fitness routine. I have confidence again.

And I am still the runner girl... this time new and improved with kung-fu biking action and stealth swim mode. *hee hee*

~})i({ RunnerGirl~