Look! I'm in the mid-20s! Holy crap!
Yesterday: Spin on trainer; 1:10, in front of The Biggest Loser. Boy, if I had to watch a show that was motivating, this one is it. Had full intentions to run afterwards (prescribed in workout), but then I looked out the window at 9PM and realized it was snowing sideways, so I bumped the jog to today.
Today: new set of swim drills from Coach Noelle, swimmer extraordinaire. They'll correct my stroke, and hopefully, I'll be much more efficient. I jogged to the pool (butt-cold, again) and swam for 44 minutes. Or, rather, flailed about with my drills for 44 minutes. Someone should take video of me doing this one day. It'll make for good laughs.
I trashed a swimwsuit today, by the way. I've had it for quite a few years, so I'm not sorry, but egads--I don't think I ever realized what a big deal drag is.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
EMs : Week 3
Em’s Training Week 3
Sunday Jan 20th - 35 minute jog
Monday Jan 21st - 1200 meter swim
Tuesday Jan 22nd - rest day
Wednesday Jan 23rd - weights and 2k erg
Thursday Jan 24rd - mini-brick
10 mile bike/2k run/500meter swim
Stretching and abs
Friday Jan 25th - rest day
Saturday Jan 26th - 35 minute run
- 3.5 hour bike
Sunday Jan 27th - 2.5 hour surf session in Wales (burr)
This week was a wobbly one. I had a guest in town for the majority of the work week so working out was limited to the early ams before work. I tried my best to fit things into the weekend, however Sunday was dedicated to a surf session in wales…the weather was fantastic and the waves were great. I guess it could translate to some swimming?
Sunday Jan 20th - 35 minute jog
Monday Jan 21st - 1200 meter swim
Tuesday Jan 22nd - rest day
Wednesday Jan 23rd - weights and 2k erg
Thursday Jan 24rd - mini-brick
10 mile bike/2k run/500meter swim
Stretching and abs
Friday Jan 25th - rest day
Saturday Jan 26th - 35 minute run
- 3.5 hour bike
Sunday Jan 27th - 2.5 hour surf session in Wales (burr)
This week was a wobbly one. I had a guest in town for the majority of the work week so working out was limited to the early ams before work. I tried my best to fit things into the weekend, however Sunday was dedicated to a surf session in wales…the weather was fantastic and the waves were great. I guess it could translate to some swimming?
YSL: Days 21 & 22
Skipped the workout on Day 21--it was a spin workout, but the hamstring (the right one) was feeling pretty bad, so I stretched a lot and made Jim massage it out, and by Monday morning, my rest day, it was feeling better. The pain in my left hamstring has gone away entirely, which makes me think more than ever that it has something to do with our crappy bed (getting a new one soon, hooray!) and lack of hydration more than anything else.
Yesterday was a rest day, but my very kind friend Noelle, an accomplished swimmer and triathlete, offered to take a look at my swim stroke and teach me to do things the right way.
An hour later, I was armed with a set of drills and a bunch of new things to keep thinking about: entry is like you're spearing a fish, at a 45-degree angle. You want to enter at 1 o'clock, if your head is at noon. Entry, little C, big C, finish. Coach Mike has already said that the biomechanics are more important than lap time in the pool, so my next pool session will be spent drilling.
Hooray! I can finally say goodbye to whacking myself in the back of my head. Today is a bike and jog. I'm pretty excited about that, actually. I'll stretch sometime mid-morning and then ride and run later.
Yesterday was a rest day, but my very kind friend Noelle, an accomplished swimmer and triathlete, offered to take a look at my swim stroke and teach me to do things the right way.
An hour later, I was armed with a set of drills and a bunch of new things to keep thinking about: entry is like you're spearing a fish, at a 45-degree angle. You want to enter at 1 o'clock, if your head is at noon. Entry, little C, big C, finish. Coach Mike has already said that the biomechanics are more important than lap time in the pool, so my next pool session will be spent drilling.
Hooray! I can finally say goodbye to whacking myself in the back of my head. Today is a bike and jog. I'm pretty excited about that, actually. I'll stretch sometime mid-morning and then ride and run later.
Monday, January 28, 2008
PB: Week 3
F: 30 minute run at easy pace
Su: 30 minutes yoga
I was still sick at the start of the week, then I went out of town on business for a couple days. Went for an easy morning run on Friday to my mechanic to pick up the car. Friday night I was tired, cranky, and depressed, and I slept for 10 hours. Saturday I felt even worse, but with a little therapy from my wife and Yish, I was able to turn my mood around and make plans for this week. This morning I rode 12 miles on a new road course I mapped out, which is a good start.
In other news, the race I'm training for, which usually takes place in June, has been moved to May 17 according to the website. So that makes life interesting. No other details are available yet.
Su: 30 minutes yoga
I was still sick at the start of the week, then I went out of town on business for a couple days. Went for an easy morning run on Friday to my mechanic to pick up the car. Friday night I was tired, cranky, and depressed, and I slept for 10 hours. Saturday I felt even worse, but with a little therapy from my wife and Yish, I was able to turn my mood around and make plans for this week. This morning I rode 12 miles on a new road course I mapped out, which is a good start.
In other news, the race I'm training for, which usually takes place in June, has been moved to May 17 according to the website. So that makes life interesting. No other details are available yet.
LT: Week 3
M: Rest day
T: 45 min swim
60 min spin with 15 min run each way to gym
W: 2h 08m run @ base endurance
T: 1h 20m gym session comprising warm up, then alternating reps of bike & treadmill @ tempo: 15m, 15m, 10m, 10m, 5m, 5m. Cool down & stretch.
35 min swim
F: 60 min run @ base endurance
S: Rest day
S: 100km Cyclo-sportive. Hilly. 1 puncture. 4.5 hrs ish.
T: 45 min swim
60 min spin with 15 min run each way to gym
W: 2h 08m run @ base endurance
T: 1h 20m gym session comprising warm up, then alternating reps of bike & treadmill @ tempo: 15m, 15m, 10m, 10m, 5m, 5m. Cool down & stretch.
35 min swim
F: 60 min run @ base endurance
S: Rest day
S: 100km Cyclo-sportive. Hilly. 1 puncture. 4.5 hrs ish.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
YSL: Day 20
What a crappy day. Work hell is bringing my mood down; I've been sidelined by the nagging pain in my left hamstring; and now my right one seems to have been acting up [again] too.
I can't think of anything I've done to piss them off. Maybe the trick is just to stretch. Coach Mike said today that I need to be really cognizant about my stretching; really make it my half-hour workout (I was supposed to run today), and see how it went, so I did a round of yoga and then a half-hour on my trainer until the twinging showed up again.
Stupid. I really hope this is just fatigue, but it doesn't feel that way. I'm just going to stretch the heck out of it and see how it feels.
I can't think of anything I've done to piss them off. Maybe the trick is just to stretch. Coach Mike said today that I need to be really cognizant about my stretching; really make it my half-hour workout (I was supposed to run today), and see how it went, so I did a round of yoga and then a half-hour on my trainer until the twinging showed up again.
Stupid. I really hope this is just fatigue, but it doesn't feel that way. I'm just going to stretch the heck out of it and see how it feels.
YSL: Day 20
What a crappy day. Work hell is bringing my mood down; I've been sidelined by the nagging pain in my left hamstring; and now my right one seems to have been acting up [again] too.
I can't think of anything I've done to piss them off. Maybe the trick is just to stretch. Coach Mike said today that I need to be really cognizant about my stretching; really make it my half-hour workout (I was supposed to run today), and see how it went, so I did a round of yoga and then a half-hour on my trainer until the twinging showed up again.
Stupid. I really hope this is just fatigue, but it doesn't feel that way. I'm just going to stretch the heck out of it and see how it feels.
I can't think of anything I've done to piss them off. Maybe the trick is just to stretch. Coach Mike said today that I need to be really cognizant about my stretching; really make it my half-hour workout (I was supposed to run today), and see how it went, so I did a round of yoga and then a half-hour on my trainer until the twinging showed up again.
Stupid. I really hope this is just fatigue, but it doesn't feel that way. I'm just going to stretch the heck out of it and see how it feels.
Friday, January 25, 2008
YSL: Day 19
I have got to get my rear end moving on the whole working-out-in-the-morning thing. to date, i've only managed three or four morning workouts, and that kind of thing is wreaking havoc on my schedule. I mean, appointments with people I have to interview are done on their schedule, so when one suddenly pops up and I have to still get a swim and a run in, bad things happen, like forgetting your goggles.
No matter; the lifeguards at the pool are uber nice and I borrowed a pair of theirs. That leaked.
I have a niggling pain in my left hamstring that seems to be a result of sleeping funny, and a twinge in my left shoulder (I can't think of anything that might have caused these things). I took it easy both workouts today as a result of those things. Only a half-hour in the pool and a 15-minute jog. Lame.
I hope tomorrow's run will be better.
No matter; the lifeguards at the pool are uber nice and I borrowed a pair of theirs. That leaked.
I have a niggling pain in my left hamstring that seems to be a result of sleeping funny, and a twinge in my left shoulder (I can't think of anything that might have caused these things). I took it easy both workouts today as a result of those things. Only a half-hour in the pool and a 15-minute jog. Lame.
I hope tomorrow's run will be better.
YSL: Day 18 (belated)
Refused to run yesterday. Too ass-cold; cranky. Spun on indoor trainer instead, in front of the witch-a-licious charms of...well, the Charmed ones.
An hour went by remarkably fast, although today I'm sore, for some reason.
Also, saw The Spirit of Marathon last night. What an uplifting, dramatic movie. Go see it, really, if you haven't, yet. It's completely wortwhile, totally heartbreaking, and I pretty much cried through the whole movie. Coach Mike said, "So does it make you want to do a marathon?" I said, "Kinda. It makes me want to do a marathon in no more than four hours."
Today: Swim and jog. Damnit.
An hour went by remarkably fast, although today I'm sore, for some reason.
Also, saw The Spirit of Marathon last night. What an uplifting, dramatic movie. Go see it, really, if you haven't, yet. It's completely wortwhile, totally heartbreaking, and I pretty much cried through the whole movie. Coach Mike said, "So does it make you want to do a marathon?" I said, "Kinda. It makes me want to do a marathon in no more than four hours."
Today: Swim and jog. Damnit.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
YSL: Day 17
Bike: 58 minutes on trainer. Today Show in background. News shows are good for excuses to ramp up the workload--plenty of commercials.
Swim: 30 minutes; 25 laps.
Here: a mini-review of the Finis Lap Track, which Jim bought for me because of the aforementioned counting/distraction/bubble-brained problem.
This is a terrific idea, in theory. You either suction the clock to the pool wall or hang it off the side of the pool, and then just bat it each time you complete a lap. Two things keep this item from being a perfect product: First, the waterproofness of the thing means that there's a lot of air trapped in the clock itself, which causes it to have a lot of buoyancy, which means, when the suction cups go, the whole clock goes floating away. The hanging arm also really doesn't work on a pool with a gutter, like ours does. I'll have to tinker with it a little bit more.
Second, you see the reflection that's showing up in this photo, of the swimmer's hand?
Well, that reflection shows up pretty much all the time. so when you're underwater, staring at the clock all you see, unless you get super close, is that reflection.
Whatever, I still don't have to count anymore. That makes me happy. Thanks, Jim!!!
Now, if someone would get me a set of these Mermaid Fins, I'd be totally happy.
Swim: 30 minutes; 25 laps.
Here: a mini-review of the Finis Lap Track, which Jim bought for me because of the aforementioned counting/distraction/bubble-brained problem.
This is a terrific idea, in theory. You either suction the clock to the pool wall or hang it off the side of the pool, and then just bat it each time you complete a lap. Two things keep this item from being a perfect product: First, the waterproofness of the thing means that there's a lot of air trapped in the clock itself, which causes it to have a lot of buoyancy, which means, when the suction cups go, the whole clock goes floating away. The hanging arm also really doesn't work on a pool with a gutter, like ours does. I'll have to tinker with it a little bit more.
Second, you see the reflection that's showing up in this photo, of the swimmer's hand?
Well, that reflection shows up pretty much all the time. so when you're underwater, staring at the clock all you see, unless you get super close, is that reflection.
Whatever, I still don't have to count anymore. That makes me happy. Thanks, Jim!!!
Now, if someone would get me a set of these Mermaid Fins, I'd be totally happy.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
YSL: Days 15 and 16
Day 15 was a rest day. (I also have to confess that I skipped the scheduled bike after our race on Day 14, even if Coach Mike said to just spin for 25 minutes and see how I was feeling. I just couldn't do it.
Day 16 is the Day of Infinite Pissiness. While it is not 3 degrees out, it is snowy, which I generally like, except that everything went wrong today.
1. The lap clock that Jim bought me so I don't have to count didn't stick to the wall, so I had to set it on the ledge. I neglected to bring my watch (this "no backup" theme will play into things, just you wait), so I had to count on the lap clock, which I had to pop up and bat with my paw every time I finished a lap. Nice concept. Next time I try it, I'll use the doohickey that allows me to hang it off the side of the pool.
2. I was surrounded by speedy people in my lane and floaters--some, uh, larger than others--in the next lane. It was visually very distracting. The speedy people were very scary.
3. We had to circle swim because all the "New-Year Resolutioners," as my lane-mate called them, were out in full force.
4. The circle swimming led to the feeling that I was being chased by something. (I was: The speedy people.)
5. I took a lot of breaks. The circle-swimming disoriented me; my cap wasn't fitting right, bla bla bla...
6. When I finally called it quits at 33 minutes (23 laps), I went down into the locker room to change into shorts and a tee and went back up to the treadmill, only to find that...
7. The two treadmills were taken up by a woman in full casual-office-garb (pleated khaki pants; checked button-down shirt; belt; ecco shoes, and glasses) and a tall skinny blonde thing in tights. Note the tights. They will come in handy later because...
8. I hate waiting. I went back down to the locker room, pulled on my long-sleeved top, tied a bandanna around my head (to, uh, keep my wet hair from the pool from freezing), and went for my prescribed jog. As I rounded the corner onto Lakeshore access road and waded through a snowdrift and then a stiff cross-wind that blew more snow at me, I thought, gee, I could really use a pair of tights. Will someone please tell me what someone on a TREADMILL, INDOORS, is doing WEARING A PAIR OF TIGHTS??? f*cking gym rats!!! Agh!
See? Infinite pissiness. I ran--and oh, I ran, because it was ASS COLD out there--for twenty minutes before calling it quits. I'm not even going to post the fucking map. Pissy. Seriously.
Day 16 is the Day of Infinite Pissiness. While it is not 3 degrees out, it is snowy, which I generally like, except that everything went wrong today.
1. The lap clock that Jim bought me so I don't have to count didn't stick to the wall, so I had to set it on the ledge. I neglected to bring my watch (this "no backup" theme will play into things, just you wait), so I had to count on the lap clock, which I had to pop up and bat with my paw every time I finished a lap. Nice concept. Next time I try it, I'll use the doohickey that allows me to hang it off the side of the pool.
2. I was surrounded by speedy people in my lane and floaters--some, uh, larger than others--in the next lane. It was visually very distracting. The speedy people were very scary.
3. We had to circle swim because all the "New-Year Resolutioners," as my lane-mate called them, were out in full force.
4. The circle swimming led to the feeling that I was being chased by something. (I was: The speedy people.)
5. I took a lot of breaks. The circle-swimming disoriented me; my cap wasn't fitting right, bla bla bla...
6. When I finally called it quits at 33 minutes (23 laps), I went down into the locker room to change into shorts and a tee and went back up to the treadmill, only to find that...
7. The two treadmills were taken up by a woman in full casual-office-garb (pleated khaki pants; checked button-down shirt; belt; ecco shoes, and glasses) and a tall skinny blonde thing in tights. Note the tights. They will come in handy later because...
8. I hate waiting. I went back down to the locker room, pulled on my long-sleeved top, tied a bandanna around my head (to, uh, keep my wet hair from the pool from freezing), and went for my prescribed jog. As I rounded the corner onto Lakeshore access road and waded through a snowdrift and then a stiff cross-wind that blew more snow at me, I thought, gee, I could really use a pair of tights. Will someone please tell me what someone on a TREADMILL, INDOORS, is doing WEARING A PAIR OF TIGHTS??? f*cking gym rats!!! Agh!
See? Infinite pissiness. I ran--and oh, I ran, because it was ASS COLD out there--for twenty minutes before calling it quits. I'm not even going to post the fucking map. Pissy. Seriously.
Monday, January 21, 2008
PB: Week 2
Sick with sinus infection all week. Nothing more to say, really. It's getting better very slowly.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
YSL: Days 13 and 14
I took yesterday off. I was feeling kind sick, coughing and stuff, and I didn't want to overdo it for the race today, and anyway, there was no way I'd be able to get to the pool on its limited weekend hours.
Today was my first 5K of the year. (I guess that's not saying much, since I just ran a 5K in mid-December, but still.) This time, although the roads were going to be clear, as opposed to the precarious scariness of the Rudolph Ramble, it was only 1 degree F here in Chicago on Saturday. This morning, when Jim and I left the house, it was zero. ZERO. See?
And this at 9AM! Not even at, like, 6AM!
The race was hosted by the Park Forest Run and Pancake Club. There were about 150 people, Jim said, who showed up, and most of the volunteers were kids from the middle school we started at. So cute! What a nice way to spend a Sunday, actually. Racing and supporting a good cause is always nice.
Anyway, I did everything Coach Mike told me not to do. I overdressed on top (Smartwool baselayer, mid-weight layer over that; wind-proof vest), to the point where I was sweating by mile 1; and ran my first mile fastest and dragged the rest of the race. In the end, I didn't post the splits I wanted to. But oh well. There's only so much a girl can do in three-degree weather. And here are the splits:
Mile 1: 8:55
Mile 2: 9:15 or so
Mile 3: dunno
Final time: 29:25.
And here's the finisher's prize. Heh heh.
Today was my first 5K of the year. (I guess that's not saying much, since I just ran a 5K in mid-December, but still.) This time, although the roads were going to be clear, as opposed to the precarious scariness of the Rudolph Ramble, it was only 1 degree F here in Chicago on Saturday. This morning, when Jim and I left the house, it was zero. ZERO. See?
And this at 9AM! Not even at, like, 6AM!
The race was hosted by the Park Forest Run and Pancake Club. There were about 150 people, Jim said, who showed up, and most of the volunteers were kids from the middle school we started at. So cute! What a nice way to spend a Sunday, actually. Racing and supporting a good cause is always nice.
Anyway, I did everything Coach Mike told me not to do. I overdressed on top (Smartwool baselayer, mid-weight layer over that; wind-proof vest), to the point where I was sweating by mile 1; and ran my first mile fastest and dragged the rest of the race. In the end, I didn't post the splits I wanted to. But oh well. There's only so much a girl can do in three-degree weather. And here are the splits:
Mile 1: 8:55
Mile 2: 9:15 or so
Mile 3: dunno
Final time: 29:25.
And here's the finisher's prize. Heh heh.
LT: Week 2
After last week's attempts, I was determined to do better this week. Hence:
M: 60 min run @ tempo
T: 45 min swim
60 min spin + 30 mins run there & back
W: 1 h 45 min run @ base endurance
T: 1 h 20 min session comprising 3 reps of 10 min stationery bike @ tempo + 10 min treadmill @ tempo
30 min swim
F: rest day
S: 1 h 20 min run @ base endurance w/ 8x 2 to 3 min hill reps @ race pace
S: 2 h 35 bike @ base endurance
total: 10h 45m
Race next Sunday (100km cyclosportive) so not as hard next week.
M: 60 min run @ tempo
T: 45 min swim
60 min spin + 30 mins run there & back
W: 1 h 45 min run @ base endurance
T: 1 h 20 min session comprising 3 reps of 10 min stationery bike @ tempo + 10 min treadmill @ tempo
30 min swim
F: rest day
S: 1 h 20 min run @ base endurance w/ 8x 2 to 3 min hill reps @ race pace
S: 2 h 35 bike @ base endurance
total: 10h 45m
Race next Sunday (100km cyclosportive) so not as hard next week.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Week in Review
This is interesting. Knowing that I log my workouts, I am more motivated to actually do them, ha!
Jan 13th-Sunday -- 1 hour run (Regents Park thru Primrose Hill)
Jan 14th-Monday -- 40 min soccer game
(consequently I smashed my big toe and think I will now be losing
the nail completely as it is now completely a purple hue)
Jan 15th-Tuesday-- 20 minute erg (couldn't run cause of toe)
3x10 set of leg weights w/ stretching
1600M swim
Jan 17th-Thursday- 20 minute erg (again cause of the toe no run)
3x10 set of arm weights
1200M swim
evening- 40 minute spin class
3k run (finally)
1 hr yoga
Jan 18th-Saturday- 35 minute run thru hyde park
50 minute run thru regents and primrose hill
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 13th-Sunday -- 1 hour run (Regents Park thru Primrose Hill)
Jan 14th-Monday -- 40 min soccer game
(consequently I smashed my big toe and think I will now be losing
the nail completely as it is now completely a purple hue)
Jan 15th-Tuesday-- 20 minute erg (couldn't run cause of toe)
3x10 set of leg weights w/ stretching
1600M swim
Jan 17th-Thursday- 20 minute erg (again cause of the toe no run)
3x10 set of arm weights
1200M swim
evening- 40 minute spin class
3k run (finally)
1 hr yoga
Jan 18th-Saturday- 35 minute run thru hyde park
50 minute run thru regents and primrose hill
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, January 18, 2008
YSL: Day 12
Swim: 44:41, 35 laps (i think i figured out finally out to be efficient in the water; swimming is a whole body deal, apparently)
Bike: 45 excruciating sleepy minutes on the trainer. legs tired.
Tomorrow I was supposed to swim, but the schedule works out not at all with me going to the pool, so I get to take a break before my race on Sunday. It's going to be ASS COLD tomorrow anyway, so I'm doing very little leaving the house.
I am totally exhausted today. Crawling to the pool and back in this kind of windchill, only to get on my trainer, is tiring, apparently.
Bike: 45 excruciating sleepy minutes on the trainer. legs tired.
Tomorrow I was supposed to swim, but the schedule works out not at all with me going to the pool, so I get to take a break before my race on Sunday. It's going to be ASS COLD tomorrow anyway, so I'm doing very little leaving the house.
I am totally exhausted today. Crawling to the pool and back in this kind of windchill, only to get on my trainer, is tiring, apparently.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
YSL: Day 11: Je te casse tes pieds!
...this is what the road said to me. Pain in the butt.
Here is the route. It was a Yaktrax day again.
25:30; 2.39 miles
Here is the route. It was a Yaktrax day again.
25:30; 2.39 miles
YSL: Day 10, belated
52 minutes on trainer; moderate effort 1st fifteen minutes; shifted up two gears every commercial break (entertainment: Alton Brown's Good Eats) and back down after commercials.
31 minutes in pool; 25 laps.
Coach Mike says i'm not to exercise more than an hour and a half at a time. i'm trying to back-to-back my workouts as much as possible. this is for two reasons: 1, i like to get things over in one fell swoop so i can have the rest of my day; 2, more than one shower a day dries the crap out of my skin and i end up all itchy afterwards, no matter how much i moisturize.
Some triathletes I know practice their transitions. At the risk of offending anyone on this list, I just...can't...imagine...it. Maybe I'll change my mind. I mean, there are whole workouts dedicated to the art of the transition. Wow.
Today's workout is a run. I have a race on Sunday. It's supposed to be 3 degrees here on Saturday, and that's without the windchill. Yikes! That doesn't bode too well for Sunday, although I forget what the forecast is...
31 minutes in pool; 25 laps.
Coach Mike says i'm not to exercise more than an hour and a half at a time. i'm trying to back-to-back my workouts as much as possible. this is for two reasons: 1, i like to get things over in one fell swoop so i can have the rest of my day; 2, more than one shower a day dries the crap out of my skin and i end up all itchy afterwards, no matter how much i moisturize.
Some triathletes I know practice their transitions. At the risk of offending anyone on this list, I just...can't...imagine...it. Maybe I'll change my mind. I mean, there are whole workouts dedicated to the art of the transition. Wow.
Today's workout is a run. I have a race on Sunday. It's supposed to be 3 degrees here on Saturday, and that's without the windchill. Yikes! That doesn't bode too well for Sunday, although I forget what the forecast is...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
YSL: Day 9: International Day of Excruciating Slowness
That's what I'm denoting today as. I might even add, "and Frustration." Well, all right...the rest of you don't have to be slow and frustrated, but I am.
Slept like garbage again.
Woke up at 8:45. Realize am on deadline. Bang out article; mess about with it until 11:45. Strap on pack and jog to pool by roundabout way in order to accomodate Coach Mike's workout for the day:
Do you want to know how long it took me do this measly 2.17 miles? 23:20 minutes. That's how long. Ergo, Excruiciating Slowness Day.
Next I got into the pool. The workout, basic crawl, felt fine. I'm increasingly aware of how little I use my legs, which might account for my Excruciating Slowness, but which could also be labeled Extreme Lassitude.
Anyway, my goggles snapped at 26 minutes, and I was only at 24 laps. I got annoyed and then realized I could tie the rubber strap back onto the frame, so I did that, and finished out at 39 minutes for 30 laps. Why, yes, I was annoyed.
By the by, I'd like to take this moment to eulogize my goggles. I bought them in Taiwan for $1 at the hotel that my brother, my cousins and I were staying in. I bought a swim cap to go with it too (it's fabric and doesn't pull at my hair). The swim cap was $.50, or something. Aren't my goggles fabulous? They're pink! They've lasted for over two years! At a buck, they were a far smarter investment than my Aquaphores, which lasted one whole workout before they started leaking to beat the band. And they say, "Quick" on them. Something I must adopt as my personal mantra, after today's icky workout...
Slept like garbage again.
Woke up at 8:45. Realize am on deadline. Bang out article; mess about with it until 11:45. Strap on pack and jog to pool by roundabout way in order to accomodate Coach Mike's workout for the day:
Do you want to know how long it took me do this measly 2.17 miles? 23:20 minutes. That's how long. Ergo, Excruiciating Slowness Day.
Next I got into the pool. The workout, basic crawl, felt fine. I'm increasingly aware of how little I use my legs, which might account for my Excruciating Slowness, but which could also be labeled Extreme Lassitude.
Anyway, my goggles snapped at 26 minutes, and I was only at 24 laps. I got annoyed and then realized I could tie the rubber strap back onto the frame, so I did that, and finished out at 39 minutes for 30 laps. Why, yes, I was annoyed.
By the by, I'd like to take this moment to eulogize my goggles. I bought them in Taiwan for $1 at the hotel that my brother, my cousins and I were staying in. I bought a swim cap to go with it too (it's fabric and doesn't pull at my hair). The swim cap was $.50, or something. Aren't my goggles fabulous? They're pink! They've lasted for over two years! At a buck, they were a far smarter investment than my Aquaphores, which lasted one whole workout before they started leaking to beat the band. And they say, "Quick" on them. Something I must adopt as my personal mantra, after today's icky workout...
Monday, January 14, 2008
YSL: Day 8
[Day 7 was a rest day.]
Slept like garbage again last night; in bed at 11; started at the dark until 1; got up and had some noodles and water; stared at the TV; went to sleep at 2.
Nutrition also garbage today: Gatorade shake for brekkie; egg, pita, and goat-cheese sammich for lunch; somen noodles for dinner; carrots for an evening snack.
Today was a bike-on-trainer day. 55 minutes; 20 warmup; 10 at the next gear up; 5 at the next gear up; last 15 cooldown.
Right hamstring a little tight through back of knee. Gotta stretch more.
Slept like garbage again last night; in bed at 11; started at the dark until 1; got up and had some noodles and water; stared at the TV; went to sleep at 2.
Nutrition also garbage today: Gatorade shake for brekkie; egg, pita, and goat-cheese sammich for lunch; somen noodles for dinner; carrots for an evening snack.
Today was a bike-on-trainer day. 55 minutes; 20 warmup; 10 at the next gear up; 5 at the next gear up; last 15 cooldown.
Right hamstring a little tight through back of knee. Gotta stretch more.
PB: week 1
Not much to report. Went for an easy, endurance pace run of about 40 minutes on Monday morning, then came down with a cold. Felt really awful on Tuesday. Then it devolved into a heavy sinus infection that's still hanging around. There's no sense making myself even more sick by training, so I did nothing the rest of the week. I really expected it to be gone by now. Nothing to do but wait it out.
LT: Week 1 Round-Up
Well my training week was a bit of a wash-out last week. For one reason or another (some within my control, some not) I ended up completing a measly 3 sessions. Three. Pathetic! Most annoyingly I missed out on the first of my beloved spin sessions this year, due to a friend staying over at the last minute (lovely to see the friend though!)
Actually though, I'm feeling pretty tired at the moment (alcohol, late nights and one or two hefty training sessions), and as Roj pointed out - this time last year I was doing practically nothing, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Another week I'll do much more and feel like I'm making excellent progress, and that's the way it has to go for me, because I can't predict when things are going to go awry or when I'm going to get the time [and energy] I hope for. I also know that if I expect too much of myself I'll push myself to the point of saying "Sod it. What's the point then?" when it goes wrong. It's all or nothing with me, so there's a perpetual balancing act between my expectations and my ability to pull it off.
So here's the sparse round-up.
M: day off after hefty bike ride on previous day
T: day off unexpectedly during friend's visit
W: 2h run @ base endurance (141-153bpm)
T: 75min gym session comprising 10min stationery bike @ tempo (154-160bpm) /lactate threshold (161-166bpm), 10min treadmill @ tempo/lactate threshold x3
F: off
S: 90min run @ base endurance with 4x Primrose Hill intervals (each approx 3 min @ race tempo (167-174bpm))
S: off with hangover after brother's visit!
Actually though, I'm feeling pretty tired at the moment (alcohol, late nights and one or two hefty training sessions), and as Roj pointed out - this time last year I was doing practically nothing, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Another week I'll do much more and feel like I'm making excellent progress, and that's the way it has to go for me, because I can't predict when things are going to go awry or when I'm going to get the time [and energy] I hope for. I also know that if I expect too much of myself I'll push myself to the point of saying "Sod it. What's the point then?" when it goes wrong. It's all or nothing with me, so there's a perpetual balancing act between my expectations and my ability to pull it off.
So here's the sparse round-up.
M: day off after hefty bike ride on previous day
T: day off unexpectedly during friend's visit
W: 2h run @ base endurance (141-153bpm)
T: 75min gym session comprising 10min stationery bike @ tempo (154-160bpm) /lactate threshold (161-166bpm), 10min treadmill @ tempo/lactate threshold x3
F: off
S: 90min run @ base endurance with 4x Primrose Hill intervals (each approx 3 min @ race tempo (167-174bpm))
S: off with hangover after brother's visit!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
YSL: Day 6, belated
Did 52 minutes on trainer last night between 8 and 9, accompanied by Alec Guinness and _Bridge on the River Kwai._
Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi...Riding on my trainer is taxing on my brain. Maybe I should look for a movie that doesn't involve someone being locked in something called "the oven."
I definitely am cognizant of my pedal stroke becoming more efficient, though. That's a great thing.
Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi...Riding on my trainer is taxing on my brain. Maybe I should look for a movie that doesn't involve someone being locked in something called "the oven."
I definitely am cognizant of my pedal stroke becoming more efficient, though. That's a great thing.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
YSL: Day 5
Open letter, to the Freshwater, Chlorine-resistant shark that lives in the bowels of the Gill Park pool:
Dear creature,
Could you please not pay attention to the fact that I am the only one in the pool?Also, if you could not pay attention to the fact that there is an apparent problem with my stroke that causes to me whack myself in the back of my head with my left arm. I know, it makes me look crippled. Also, ignore the laziness with which I am swimming. Oh, look: you can eat that pasty creature that just swam across my lane to get to an open lane. Yes, that rude being over there in the ugly swim shorts. Eat him instead. He might have more body fat than me.
Most Sincerely,
Miss Midwesterly
45:14
35 laps
8:40-9:25 PM
Dear creature,
Could you please not pay attention to the fact that I am the only one in the pool?Also, if you could not pay attention to the fact that there is an apparent problem with my stroke that causes to me whack myself in the back of my head with my left arm. I know, it makes me look crippled. Also, ignore the laziness with which I am swimming. Oh, look: you can eat that pasty creature that just swam across my lane to get to an open lane. Yes, that rude being over there in the ugly swim shorts. Eat him instead. He might have more body fat than me.
Most Sincerely,
Miss Midwesterly
45:14
35 laps
8:40-9:25 PM
Thursday, January 10, 2008
YSL: Day 4
hi, em! hi, lara! hi, peter!
my, what a lovely group of people we have here.
peter brought up a salient point: that blogger doesn't alert you when you have new comments; ergo, we can't learn from each other. i'd like to posit that to the crowd and see what comes up. if anyone comes up with anything better, i'm happy to use that.
in the meantime, today i woke up at the excruciatingly late hour of 8:30 and:
*downed a Gatorade shake
*worked until 1
*ate:
-two handfuls of pretzels
-an egg sandwich: (one egg, sourdough bread slathered with butter; spinach; cheese)
-a "veggie" tostada
*worked my arse off until 4:30
*ate:
-bowl of frosted mini-wheats with milk
*rode 55 minutes on trainer (sluggish; cheating on wattage, i'm sure)
*jogged 25:32; 2.44 miles (here's the map:)
*showered
*chugged 1 Gatorade meal replacement shake
*joined friends at bar; drank:
-1 Treetini (TM)
-1 Delirium Tremens
-1 Dogfish Head Ale
Woot!
By the by: as I was jogging along with hound, I heard an enormous whooshing noise and turned to my left just in time to see a huge wave from the backwash of a city bus making its way towards me and Sprocket. I may have been drenched, but Sprocket...my Sprocket was almost washed away. Poor hound.
my, what a lovely group of people we have here.
peter brought up a salient point: that blogger doesn't alert you when you have new comments; ergo, we can't learn from each other. i'd like to posit that to the crowd and see what comes up. if anyone comes up with anything better, i'm happy to use that.
in the meantime, today i woke up at the excruciatingly late hour of 8:30 and:
*downed a Gatorade shake
*worked until 1
*ate:
-two handfuls of pretzels
-an egg sandwich: (one egg, sourdough bread slathered with butter; spinach; cheese)
-a "veggie" tostada
*worked my arse off until 4:30
*ate:
-bowl of frosted mini-wheats with milk
*rode 55 minutes on trainer (sluggish; cheating on wattage, i'm sure)
*jogged 25:32; 2.44 miles (here's the map:)
*showered
*chugged 1 Gatorade meal replacement shake
*joined friends at bar; drank:
-1 Treetini (TM)
-1 Delirium Tremens
-1 Dogfish Head Ale
Woot!
By the by: as I was jogging along with hound, I heard an enormous whooshing noise and turned to my left just in time to see a huge wave from the backwash of a city bus making its way towards me and Sprocket. I may have been drenched, but Sprocket...my Sprocket was almost washed away. Poor hound.
Em's Brief Bio
I am a bit late on the ball here, but I thought I would also introduce myself. I grew up in a non-athletic family that allowed me to go to swim practice after school in replacement of daycare every night (I think someone's parents also told mine that my grades would go up if I swam...no wonder they endorsed my participation). I pleaded to do other sports that required more lateral movement, like basketball and soccer, but noooooooo. I think at some point when I was really young I even thought it would be great to do Karate, maybe I was seeking my roots. Needless to say I was isolated to the lifesaving sports like swimming and running. In retrospect I think my parents were wise, I probably would have had more trips to the hospital than I did as a child if I participated in contact sports.
Anyhow, swimming this much from the early age of 8 to the end of high school eventually made me better (it took a long time, I was never a natural at this one), and I did it unquestioningly with blind obedience. I managed to get to college on a swim scholarship at the University of Illinois and actually started to love the sport. Developing a competitive mind set and goal oriented work ethic greatly improved things for me in regards to my swimming and even school (go figure, those other parents were right).
Afterwards, my post collegiate swimming days gave me two options in my exercise habits. Either continue on with moderation or quit entirely. Having a 5-7am and 330-6pm daily workout regimen beat into me for nearly a decade by my early 20s, I could only imagine what quitting all exercise my do to my body since my appetite had not subsided. I would probably expand massively and really miss the endorphine highs.
So I continued on, but this time with another sport! Having endless sums of student loan money to spend, I figured I would use it on books, supplies, food, and a NEW BICYCLE!!! Later I discovered that a heavy wool jacket would have been sensible to save for in Boston winters, but that is ok, next years loan money would be rolling around in September. So naturally I explored New England by bike and did a little racing as well. All in all, it made sense for me to get involved with triathlon. With some encouragement from some swimming friends, I participated in my first triathlon in 2002, and within that same year did my first 70.3 in New Hampshire. It all went quite well and I was encouraged to do more, but finishing architecture grad school was a bit too consuming in time and financing for me graduate student lifestyle to afford.
When I did finally finish school in 2005, I headed to sunny LA with my bicycle and other gear, thinking I would pick up triathlon racing again...but for some reason, the sun got to my head and my discipline was lost. In all honesty, I picked up a new love, surfing in sunrise and sunset. So no more swim pools when you have the beach and ocean, and cycling in LA is close to suicide. If you don't get hit by a car, the smog will eventually take you down. But I would make the exception to continue running under the condition that it be along the beach!
Ah so what bring me to this point? What has retched me from this sunny surfing-zen being that I was transforming into? Well, quite simply, moving to a crappy climated, dim, and ugly place where you have to force yourself to go outside and pretend to enjoy the weather. Ok that is a joke, or rather a slight exaggeration. 6 months ago, I relocated to London for a new job and a faster pace of life (well I move slower by foot rather than car, but you know what I mean). Being in London, with less access to training, somehow encouraged and challenged me to find that sport again. I would have continued surfing if I could have, trust me I tried, but mid November was my limit as the North Sea would not have me, nor I it...I felt only tingling in my brain after that surf session. So boards away and other gear has come out. Time to play!
As for logging workouts, I was deathly ill with food poisoning earlier this week, so Yi Shun said to count it as lots of ab workouts. Gross. But I felt much better today, and did a whopping 5000 meters in the pool.
Anyhow, swimming this much from the early age of 8 to the end of high school eventually made me better (it took a long time, I was never a natural at this one), and I did it unquestioningly with blind obedience. I managed to get to college on a swim scholarship at the University of Illinois and actually started to love the sport. Developing a competitive mind set and goal oriented work ethic greatly improved things for me in regards to my swimming and even school (go figure, those other parents were right).
Afterwards, my post collegiate swimming days gave me two options in my exercise habits. Either continue on with moderation or quit entirely. Having a 5-7am and 330-6pm daily workout regimen beat into me for nearly a decade by my early 20s, I could only imagine what quitting all exercise my do to my body since my appetite had not subsided. I would probably expand massively and really miss the endorphine highs.
So I continued on, but this time with another sport! Having endless sums of student loan money to spend, I figured I would use it on books, supplies, food, and a NEW BICYCLE!!! Later I discovered that a heavy wool jacket would have been sensible to save for in Boston winters, but that is ok, next years loan money would be rolling around in September. So naturally I explored New England by bike and did a little racing as well. All in all, it made sense for me to get involved with triathlon. With some encouragement from some swimming friends, I participated in my first triathlon in 2002, and within that same year did my first 70.3 in New Hampshire. It all went quite well and I was encouraged to do more, but finishing architecture grad school was a bit too consuming in time and financing for me graduate student lifestyle to afford.
When I did finally finish school in 2005, I headed to sunny LA with my bicycle and other gear, thinking I would pick up triathlon racing again...but for some reason, the sun got to my head and my discipline was lost. In all honesty, I picked up a new love, surfing in sunrise and sunset. So no more swim pools when you have the beach and ocean, and cycling in LA is close to suicide. If you don't get hit by a car, the smog will eventually take you down. But I would make the exception to continue running under the condition that it be along the beach!
Ah so what bring me to this point? What has retched me from this sunny surfing-zen being that I was transforming into? Well, quite simply, moving to a crappy climated, dim, and ugly place where you have to force yourself to go outside and pretend to enjoy the weather. Ok that is a joke, or rather a slight exaggeration. 6 months ago, I relocated to London for a new job and a faster pace of life (well I move slower by foot rather than car, but you know what I mean). Being in London, with less access to training, somehow encouraged and challenged me to find that sport again. I would have continued surfing if I could have, trust me I tried, but mid November was my limit as the North Sea would not have me, nor I it...I felt only tingling in my brain after that surf session. So boards away and other gear has come out. Time to play!
As for logging workouts, I was deathly ill with food poisoning earlier this week, so Yi Shun said to count it as lots of ab workouts. Gross. But I felt much better today, and did a whopping 5000 meters in the pool.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
YSL: Day 3
I'm having a nutrition problem, I think. It's been so long since I engaged in any type of real training (and even when I was strong and fit, I just ate whatever I damn well pleased, trusting my body to tell me what it wanted) that I no longer really know what to expect.
Anyway, today 55-minute session on my trainer sucked. I rode only in middle gears, and at a miserable cadence. I just couldn't find a groove. Tomorrow it's a ride and a run. Here's hoping that it feels better than it did today.
For the record, today's food log, up to 4:15 PM:
cup of coffee; (6 oz milk)
two eggs with 1 oz gouda cheese
quarter-cup honey-sesame sticks
granola bar
Clif recovery shake
Also for the record, Coach Mike is reading this 'log. Which is why I happen to be posting every day's workout. No need to read it all. Been sleeping like bunk lately, BTW. Feh.
Anyway, today 55-minute session on my trainer sucked. I rode only in middle gears, and at a miserable cadence. I just couldn't find a groove. Tomorrow it's a ride and a run. Here's hoping that it feels better than it did today.
For the record, today's food log, up to 4:15 PM:
cup of coffee; (6 oz milk)
two eggs with 1 oz gouda cheese
quarter-cup honey-sesame sticks
granola bar
Clif recovery shake
Also for the record, Coach Mike is reading this 'log. Which is why I happen to be posting every day's workout. No need to read it all. Been sleeping like bunk lately, BTW. Feh.
lara - my turn to introduce myself
Like Peter, I'll start with an intro.
I too, come from a non-athletic (though fit and healthy) family, and a school background of disgruntled aversion to the 3 mainstays: netball, hockey and tennis. My athletic passion began with rowing at the age of 17. Being tall and relatively strong, I was ideally suited to the job, and it gave me a real outlet for my intensely competitive spirit. I aimed high, joining a top-ranking club when I went to university. I desperately sought someone there who could show me how to channel my energy and push myself, but the club was only interested in people who were already fulfilling their potential, and I was mercilessly outclassed.
Frustrated, I quit and borrowed a mountain bike. I found that my rowing training was very transferable to those difficult uphills, and my nerve was well suited to the downs, so I spent the next couple of years doing a few local xc races (including a couple at national student level) and multi-day trips in the British hills.
But when I moved to London in 1997, I discovered that cycling from the doorstep and staying in one piece were no longer compatible, so I spent the next few years mostly running, culminating in my first marathon in 2000. My biggest problem at this time was that I didn't understand the importance of nutrition and hydration, and would fuel the engine on lunchtime salads, often doing 2 to 3-hour sessions before breakfast with no fuel or fluids. As a result I suffered permanent exhaustion, took 6 months to recover from the marathon, and learned my fuelling lesson (it remains a preoccupation ... as will no doubt become evident in this blog).
I moved with my husband Roj to New York in 2001 and during our 3 amazing years there, discovered the joys of adventure racing through NYARA. I love this sport, especially that the result is not only dependent on how many training hours you've done, but also on tactics, good navigation and teamwork. Roj and I discovered that in adventure racing (unlike sailing, canoeing and any other attempted sport to date), we complemented each other and worked well as a team. The pinnacle of my AR career was completing the Odyssey eFix in 2002.
The arrival of our first child in June 2003 necessitated a re-assessment of priorities. With mixed feelings we returned to the UK in 2004 and I did what I could to stay fit and healthy as a full-time mum, completing an off-road marathon to celebrate my daughter's 1st birthday.
But with the arrival of my son in April 2005, all things came to a halt for nearly 2 years. I found I just didn't have the energy, health (I was very run-down during that time), or time to commit to regular training. I tried to tick over with running and the odd bike-ride but this was my lowest point, fitness-wise, for 15 years.
In spring 2007 I finally rediscovered the energy and time to start up again, and Roj and I signed up for the London Triathlon in August (sprint distance and our first tri). Despite 2 months off exercise following a windsurfing accident, I committed myself to training, and completed the race on a massive high. I participated in another couple of late season olympic-distance triathlons, and have carried on through the winter, getting progressively more enthusiastic and obsessed.
So here I am; 34 years old and with a timetable still restricted by domestic responsibilities. My daughter is at school now, and my son goes to nursery for 3 precious 3-hour sessions per week, so I can finally commit some proper time to developing fitness. Racing and training are like life-lines for me; without them I am frustrated, short-tempered and restless, and those traits do not a good mother make. I've always been an adrenalin junkie of one sort or another, and this is the way I'm currently fuelling the fire!
I too, come from a non-athletic (though fit and healthy) family, and a school background of disgruntled aversion to the 3 mainstays: netball, hockey and tennis. My athletic passion began with rowing at the age of 17. Being tall and relatively strong, I was ideally suited to the job, and it gave me a real outlet for my intensely competitive spirit. I aimed high, joining a top-ranking club when I went to university. I desperately sought someone there who could show me how to channel my energy and push myself, but the club was only interested in people who were already fulfilling their potential, and I was mercilessly outclassed.
Frustrated, I quit and borrowed a mountain bike. I found that my rowing training was very transferable to those difficult uphills, and my nerve was well suited to the downs, so I spent the next couple of years doing a few local xc races (including a couple at national student level) and multi-day trips in the British hills.
But when I moved to London in 1997, I discovered that cycling from the doorstep and staying in one piece were no longer compatible, so I spent the next few years mostly running, culminating in my first marathon in 2000. My biggest problem at this time was that I didn't understand the importance of nutrition and hydration, and would fuel the engine on lunchtime salads, often doing 2 to 3-hour sessions before breakfast with no fuel or fluids. As a result I suffered permanent exhaustion, took 6 months to recover from the marathon, and learned my fuelling lesson (it remains a preoccupation ... as will no doubt become evident in this blog).
I moved with my husband Roj to New York in 2001 and during our 3 amazing years there, discovered the joys of adventure racing through NYARA. I love this sport, especially that the result is not only dependent on how many training hours you've done, but also on tactics, good navigation and teamwork. Roj and I discovered that in adventure racing (unlike sailing, canoeing and any other attempted sport to date), we complemented each other and worked well as a team. The pinnacle of my AR career was completing the Odyssey eFix in 2002.
The arrival of our first child in June 2003 necessitated a re-assessment of priorities. With mixed feelings we returned to the UK in 2004 and I did what I could to stay fit and healthy as a full-time mum, completing an off-road marathon to celebrate my daughter's 1st birthday.
But with the arrival of my son in April 2005, all things came to a halt for nearly 2 years. I found I just didn't have the energy, health (I was very run-down during that time), or time to commit to regular training. I tried to tick over with running and the odd bike-ride but this was my lowest point, fitness-wise, for 15 years.
In spring 2007 I finally rediscovered the energy and time to start up again, and Roj and I signed up for the London Triathlon in August (sprint distance and our first tri). Despite 2 months off exercise following a windsurfing accident, I committed myself to training, and completed the race on a massive high. I participated in another couple of late season olympic-distance triathlons, and have carried on through the winter, getting progressively more enthusiastic and obsessed.
So here I am; 34 years old and with a timetable still restricted by domestic responsibilities. My daughter is at school now, and my son goes to nursery for 3 precious 3-hour sessions per week, so I can finally commit some proper time to developing fitness. Racing and training are like life-lines for me; without them I am frustrated, short-tempered and restless, and those traits do not a good mother make. I've always been an adrenalin junkie of one sort or another, and this is the way I'm currently fuelling the fire!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
YSL: Day 2
No poetry today. Slept in due to upstairs neighbors screaming at each other around midnight. Hound terrified; Yi Shun and Jim sleepy.
Ergo: lunchtime workout. Hungry all the way through. Drank Propel post-swim and downed shake after "run." Is in quotes because it was more of a slog. Took me a good 15 minutes to find my legs again.
Swim: 32:44; 25 laps
"Run": 22:50; 2.12 miles
Route here:
<
Ergo: lunchtime workout. Hungry all the way through. Drank Propel post-swim and downed shake after "run." Is in quotes because it was more of a slog. Took me a good 15 minutes to find my legs again.
Swim: 32:44; 25 laps
"Run": 22:50; 2.12 miles
Route here:
<
Peter - intro
Hi. I want to introduce myself, and tell you a little about my life and my sports background before I launch into things on our new diary/community for endurance sports training.
My name is Peter. I'm 33. I grew up and have spent most of my life in New Jersey. I'm married, with two-year-old twin boys. I work at a research center at a large university.
I come from a non-athletic family. As a kid I played soccer and pick-up games, but was never very talented and always felt inadequate at team sports. In junior year of high school a friend convinced me to join the cross country team, and I had a fun couple years as a mediocre runner on the cross country and track teams. A friend from the team, Dan, also got me involved in his church youth group, led by an outdoors-oriented youth minister who led by example, without preaching. He took us on a bunch of backpacking and canoe camping trips.
I think it was right before high school graduation when Dan and I did our first multisport race, a beachfront duathlon. The next year I did my first triathlon. I continued to train and race sprint triathlons through college, swam with the university Masters team, and did a few backpacking trips, including one to Canyonlands over spring break.
Following college I spent a year working a dead end job in Jersey City and running in the windblown riverfront parks.
Grad school found me in Portland, Oregon for three years. I ran in the hills, bought my first real mountain bike, and trained, raced, and partied with a great Masters team. I also rented cross country skis a couple times, and loved it. I raced mostly olympic distance triathlon, but also completed my first marathon.
After that I returned to New Jersey, where I discovered adventure racing through the NY Adventure Racing Association. My first NYARA event was an informal night hike. Resting by a lake after a one mile bushwack, I knew I had found my calling - a sport that combined the endurance multisport from triathlon with the hiking, paddling, and navigation of my wilderness trips. Thus began a few years as an enthusiastic adventure racer, competing in events from 12-40 hours. I also completed two half-ironmans, in 2004 and 2005.
Moving to a stressful job in late 2004 reduced my ability to train. Then, in early 2006, my kids were born. Training time was nonexistent, and racing was impossible because my kids and my wife needed me all weekend. I tried to put racing out of mind. It helped that during this same time period the adventure racing "boom" of the early 2000s was on the wane, particularly in the northeast - early adopters were moving back to triathlon or trying out ultras, fewer people were entering the sport, and fewer races were being offered. But the fact is, endurance sports are in my blood. I don't feel good when I'm out of shape. I need the challenge of training and the thrill and concentration or racing. Most of all, I need short-term goals to balance out the far horizons of fatherhood, career, and marriage. So, I'm starting to train again. It will be a challenging to choose training over other ways I can spend my time, and it will be challenging for my family when I race, but it will only get easier as the kids grow up. Why wait? I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for the right time to excel at something I love - waiting for college, career, kids. That's BS. The right time is now, always.
My name is Peter. I'm 33. I grew up and have spent most of my life in New Jersey. I'm married, with two-year-old twin boys. I work at a research center at a large university.
I come from a non-athletic family. As a kid I played soccer and pick-up games, but was never very talented and always felt inadequate at team sports. In junior year of high school a friend convinced me to join the cross country team, and I had a fun couple years as a mediocre runner on the cross country and track teams. A friend from the team, Dan, also got me involved in his church youth group, led by an outdoors-oriented youth minister who led by example, without preaching. He took us on a bunch of backpacking and canoe camping trips.
I think it was right before high school graduation when Dan and I did our first multisport race, a beachfront duathlon. The next year I did my first triathlon. I continued to train and race sprint triathlons through college, swam with the university Masters team, and did a few backpacking trips, including one to Canyonlands over spring break.
Following college I spent a year working a dead end job in Jersey City and running in the windblown riverfront parks.
Grad school found me in Portland, Oregon for three years. I ran in the hills, bought my first real mountain bike, and trained, raced, and partied with a great Masters team. I also rented cross country skis a couple times, and loved it. I raced mostly olympic distance triathlon, but also completed my first marathon.
After that I returned to New Jersey, where I discovered adventure racing through the NY Adventure Racing Association. My first NYARA event was an informal night hike. Resting by a lake after a one mile bushwack, I knew I had found my calling - a sport that combined the endurance multisport from triathlon with the hiking, paddling, and navigation of my wilderness trips. Thus began a few years as an enthusiastic adventure racer, competing in events from 12-40 hours. I also completed two half-ironmans, in 2004 and 2005.
Moving to a stressful job in late 2004 reduced my ability to train. Then, in early 2006, my kids were born. Training time was nonexistent, and racing was impossible because my kids and my wife needed me all weekend. I tried to put racing out of mind. It helped that during this same time period the adventure racing "boom" of the early 2000s was on the wane, particularly in the northeast - early adopters were moving back to triathlon or trying out ultras, fewer people were entering the sport, and fewer races were being offered. But the fact is, endurance sports are in my blood. I don't feel good when I'm out of shape. I need the challenge of training and the thrill and concentration or racing. Most of all, I need short-term goals to balance out the far horizons of fatherhood, career, and marriage. So, I'm starting to train again. It will be a challenging to choose training over other ways I can spend my time, and it will be challenging for my family when I race, but it will only get easier as the kids grow up. Why wait? I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for the right time to excel at something I love - waiting for college, career, kids. That's BS. The right time is now, always.
a conversation
"Hey, Coach Mike...You know that prescriptive triathlon training schedule you have me on? Does it include copious amounts of champagne? What? No? [Looks at empty glass.] Crap."
Big thanks to Lauri for the telling photo.
[cross-posted at Good Dirt.]
Monday, January 7, 2008
And now, for something new and different...
An ode to neighboring swimmer in green
I thought you were fast
Lapped me again!
But you were flippered.
I supposed it could be that the reason I lost track of my laps was because I was busy pretending to be Poet Laureate of Gill Park, but the truth is, I've never been any good at counting laps. I like to forget things.
Anyway, today was the first workout of many, as prescribed to me by one very scary Coach Mike. We're in something he calls "transition" phase, which calls to mind haphazard dashing from one discipline to another, but which apparently means transitioning ME from sluggish boozehound to lean mean triathloning machine.
For the first five weeks Coach Mike has me on timed workouts only, and that suits me just fine.
Today's swim was a 40-minute crawl. I slept a whopping four hours, and not very good ones at that, and popped awake at 5:34. I tried in vain to get back to sleep until the alarm went off, but that didn't happen.
The swim itself was fine, except for the annoying flippered swimmer mentioned above, and I enjoyed myself. I had a funny wobbly moment when I got out of the pool after exactly 40 minutes and 27 seconds and somewhere between 30 and 32 laps. At the moment, four hours after my swim, my right hamstring feels a little tight, and I do remember actually whacking myself in the back of my head with my left hand during one stroke recovery, so those things bear mentioning and learning from. (Hi, stroke assistance, anyone?)
Tomorrow it's a swim and then short jog (20-25 minutes, says Coach Mike; no more). We'll see how this all comes together. My first 5K is January 20th, and I have a 10K scheduled February 2nd, so I'm eager to get some runs in.
Until then--cheers from this side of the Atlantic.
I thought you were fast
Lapped me again!
But you were flippered.
I supposed it could be that the reason I lost track of my laps was because I was busy pretending to be Poet Laureate of Gill Park, but the truth is, I've never been any good at counting laps. I like to forget things.
Anyway, today was the first workout of many, as prescribed to me by one very scary Coach Mike. We're in something he calls "transition" phase, which calls to mind haphazard dashing from one discipline to another, but which apparently means transitioning ME from sluggish boozehound to lean mean triathloning machine.
For the first five weeks Coach Mike has me on timed workouts only, and that suits me just fine.
Today's swim was a 40-minute crawl. I slept a whopping four hours, and not very good ones at that, and popped awake at 5:34. I tried in vain to get back to sleep until the alarm went off, but that didn't happen.
The swim itself was fine, except for the annoying flippered swimmer mentioned above, and I enjoyed myself. I had a funny wobbly moment when I got out of the pool after exactly 40 minutes and 27 seconds and somewhere between 30 and 32 laps. At the moment, four hours after my swim, my right hamstring feels a little tight, and I do remember actually whacking myself in the back of my head with my left hand during one stroke recovery, so those things bear mentioning and learning from. (Hi, stroke assistance, anyone?)
Tomorrow it's a swim and then short jog (20-25 minutes, says Coach Mike; no more). We'll see how this all comes together. My first 5K is January 20th, and I have a 10K scheduled February 2nd, so I'm eager to get some runs in.
Until then--cheers from this side of the Atlantic.
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