Goal

With the running my original attempt was to do the whole race is a run. What is that 3.1 miles? And if my normal pace was 12minute miles that would be a little over 36 minutes to finish the race. I think that could still be possible. It doesn't seem as daunting. Of course that would mean I would have to run faster when I ran and walk faster as well to get a better average. That may not happen. I will have to see.
I know for sure I want to finish under 45 minutes.
I should go back and look at my splash + dash time.

running

So ever since the triathlon I have been trying to improve my run. I found the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day was the perfect time frame to train. And I put together a schedule. I must admit following the schedule has not been all that easy. I can't seem to do better than 4 to 8 minutes of running. Oh and let's throw in there - there is definitely something wrong with my knee. It is very sore and doesn't seem to want to consistently feel better. So that is an issue as well. I may be pushing myself - but I tell myself I would push more if it didn't feel so odd.
So the routine isn't getting me very far.
I was excited last week or so when I actually managed to run for 8 minutes. This week I found it in me to run for 5. Now if I could improve my pace that would be pretty close to running a full mile.
So I will continue to work on that. I have 18 days to continue to work on this. We'll see how it goes.

rest week

I thought I would do some walking with my rest week. So I packed some sneaks with me for the week.
Tonight it just didn't happen.
Tomorrow is dinner with the client so that probably won't lead to anything either.
Maybe I will get around to it on Thursday when I get back to NC
I struggle with this rest week thing

Thanks Scott for taking some pictures

Thanks Kimberle for not forwarding the "sports shutter" shots... I would have felt compelled to post them and make some snarky remark...

Last year the race was a week later. And even though it was raining yesterday morning it no way near felt as cold as it did last year. Well at least at this hour. Here we are inside waiting patiently for our turn in the pool. It was very hot in the pool area. Kind of plays on your nerves a bit watching everyone. As indicated by our times - we probably weren't seeded properly but that's OK.

I cut my transition time down a good bit this year. Heck it wasn't as cold and it was raining, so the concept of drying off before getting on the bike seemed ridiculous. I started before Kimberle in the pool - I think it was more of an alphabetic thing than a timing difference. She passed me not too long after we made it up the first bike hill on the bikes.

I would like to say it has to do with my tires. And thankfully some woman that passed me way on the back side of the bike course agreed with me. Her comment went something like - Keep it up. You're doing great. Remember you're working twice as hard as me because of your tires... Maybe I will change to hybrid tires for next year. I just have to make sure I use th bike some more this year.Kimberele finished about 13 minutes ahead of me (remember it's the numbers game that keeps me interested in this stuff). So I was probably a mile behind her? Does that sound like it could be right? I guess not given that I started before her. These staggered start times are good but can be confusing at times as well.Kimberle apologized for not getting a picture of me crossing the finish line. I am OK with that. Thankfully at least they got a picture of me smiling. I think it was Michelle the other day that said - if you are going to be out there running you may as well be smiling and pretending to be having fun... Somehow I managed to muster that up.

stats

Well they got those times posted pretty darned fast...
The numbers are somewhat deceiving as the number of people participating increased from last year. So I did a little tallying of percentiles and even though some of the numbers are higher; from a percentile perspective they are actually better

Bib 540
Place 656 (see what I mean)

SWIM - 263 (well that's an improvement from 431)
00:05:53 (better than last year's 7:23)
this also includes the run from the pool to the transition area so I need to figure out how to take that into consideration going forward
00:03:37 TRANSITION

BIKE - 671 (this is where I seem to have fallen off)
00:39:53 (but I did improve by about 4 minutes)
00:02:23 TRANSITION

RUN - 670 (yep - taking that time off on the bike made mylegs feel like elastic bands and it came through loud and clear when I tried to run - which I still don't do all that well)
00:27:58

TOTAL 01:19:43

Interestingly my biggest improvements were in the first transition and the bike.
I suppose if you look at the swim and the overall time it takes there was marked improvement there as well.

So on to the next goals.
This winter I am going to try to improve my running. I am going to sign up to do some 5k type races to get into that mind set.
I am also going to try to learn how to build my endurance using an eliptical machine. I don't like them so that's a good challenge.
I want to learn how to swim a mile without stopping. I think I could do that if given enough time and patience.
And I want to be more diligent in taking Terri's spin classes.
And taking yoga classes.

Just a few things to do.

yay us!

First I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement.
Paige for teaching me some finer points in swim strokes. I haven't mastered the left hand breathing but my nerves were calm when I got in the water. And she explained tpsome finer points of changing lanes. Swimming towards the rope so that when I pushed off the wall I was further down the next lane. It worked out well.
Kimberle for agreeing to do this silly race again this year. We need to remeber and come out here and read ths entry next year when we have nerves and doubts about our ability. We will do this again next year!
The Heckshers and Falks for wanting to come out and cheer us on. Maybe next year you can join us in the competition. You know the anti-social side is glad you decided not to truck yourselves all the way to Huntersville to cheer.
Nathan and Ransom for running that little bit with me at the end - you know Miss Denise it is all about you personal best.
Terri L for explaining that 3rd gear on the left of the bike. It worked well on some of the flat spots and downhills. We'll see if it helped my time.
My mom - what is it you said? I come from good stock?
My dad - I cannot get in the water or on a bike without thinking of him. I promise this year not to put the bike in the shed and forget about it. Heck I got that new bike rack I need to continue to use.
I am sure there are others. I will have to think on this some more

forgot last night

The motivation just wasn't there when I got out of my 2 hour meeting at 5:30 pm... It is a situation where we are killing the dead horse. It can be so exhausting after a while.
So going to the gym for the spin class did not happen. Going to the gym just to ride the bike didn't sound appealing either. So I went to KPs and we had left overs. This evening I am at the mexican restaurant down the road from my house. I have never been here before. I am getting a burrito camarone even though it wasn't on the menu... They are giving away free burritos at moes but I suspect this will be tastier. If only they could serve margaritas. That would be dangerous WHOA!

that cant be right

I ran at the creek today. Ran 1/2 mile in for 5 minutes. Walked. Sprinted. Walked. Sprinted. For next 1/2 mile. Ran for 1/4 mile. That pace was closer to 6 minutes for 1/2 mile. Walked next 1/4 mile. Then ran out the final 1/4 mile and continued back in for 1/4 mile at a run. Walked the last 1/4 mile out for a total of 31 minutes covering 2.5 miles. That just seems way too fast for me.
Maybe I should be happppyyyyy.
Go me!

1450 Yards

That would be 14.5 lengths of the football field. Could I have possibly covered more yards in the pool than the Panthers did in their game today?
Tut tut tut boys...
I did 200 yard warm up
250 fast pace
600 straight even pace
2 sets of 100 as fast as possible
200 cool down
However I suspect if I start thinking about the swims in lengths of football fields I may unnerve myself.

HILL DRILL!

Last week we worked on form when running up and down hills. I kept that in mind on Monday when I ran. I did a 3 mile run on that day. Today I was slated to do 30 minutes of running. I decided to do a little hill drill. We had talked about this in trainin and I put it to work.
I chose the hill in/out of the neighborhood. I ran up the hill from the fire hydrant to the corner(about a minute). I walked a bit to get a breather. Then ran down the hill to the gazebo (about 1.5 minutes). Walked back to the fire hydrant and ran back up. I did this 6 times.
I have to admit I waited until after dark to not draw too much attention.
Overall I was out there about 32 minutes.
I'd call it a good workout.
Unfortunately my HRM was picking up the signal. I am going to blame it on the bad bra I was wearing. I would have liked to see what my heart rate did when I was startled by the guy walking his dog. I was so into talking to myself I didn't se them coming.
Tomorrow is a swim day.
I may throw me and my just out of the pool wet body on the bike as well.
We shall see.

It'll take you 5 minutes

Some may know that 5 minutes is the favorite measurement of time that my boss uses on a regular basis. Usually it is longer than 5 minutes. Much longer. I usually acknowledge it with a nod.
So today when the mile marker read 3.25 and my car was parked just past mile marker 4, I thought to myself - not much longer now - I will be done in less than 5 minutes. The time reference made me smile and chuckle. Aaaahhh something that works within that time frame.
So I kept going
Let me tell you thought - todays workout sure did get the best of me.

Well yesterdat I cycled near home in the effort to get in some hills. I ended up swimming about 600 yards as well.

Today I swam 1000 yds - 200yd breat stroke warm up, 600yd straight swim - really a straight swim no stopping,100 left side breathe - I still struggle with that, 100 breast stroke cool down.

Then I went to the park and as mentioned rode for 8 miles.

Now I am just vegging front of the tele.

almost forgot

swam 1300 yards tonight
but the clincher...
i did 750 of those non-stop
what a great feeling!
ESCAPE TO BERMUDA / BERMUDA SHORTS Triathlon here I come.... well for 2010 that is...

The injuries just keep coming

A while back a friend of mine decided to post a picture of his arm after it was clamped onto by a dog. Most people did not take too kindly to the picture. He was fine. The dog was fine. Readers were not. So I will spare you all gruesome pictures of my thumb meets box-cutter experience. Truthfully as it was bleeding - grabbing a camera was not on my mind. And once it got glued together - it looked even worse than the initial bloody cut.
Almost 2 weeks later, would you beleive that glued together gauze thing is still attached? It's like a poor man's version of a Jersey manicure nail tip. The doctor said it will eventually wear off. I sure wish it was sooner than later. But then again I am not too sure I want to bear witness to the damage below.
I went through my fingertip and down and out through the nail. Feeling squeemish?
That nail is going to need some alon attention until it grows out.

As for working it out. It did interfer with my week back in the saddle. I couldn't get it wet for at least a week. I have had it bandaged over the glue and have been wearing disposable gloves on that hand in the shower. Quite a production to get in the shower and wash the hair. This week I swam for the first time. And even more impressive invention than the latex glove is the finger-cot. There is no way to put it politely. It looks like a condom on the finger. But hey it seems to keep the finger dry. Unfortunately the analogy has caused me to reach a similar conclusion towards the swim cap.... kind of like a condom on your head. Nice, I know....

Bu now that I am healing it is full steam ahead.
Tomorrow I am going to try cylcing on the roads around town. To do that I probably need to get to bed soon but it just isn't happening.
I ended up swimming for the first time this Wednesday.

HNT - Micro chip

So with timed races they provide a microchip that tracks your time. In most road races it laces into your shoe and off you go. With a triathlon event - you don't have shoes on for the first leg of the race. So they create a contraption of sorts to wrap it around your ankle. Truth be told, I don't remember how that worked at RR last year. I remember at the end they cut it off of my ankle. But I don't know what the strap was made of.
Well in S&P it was a cloth velcro type thing. And as the woman handed it to me she said - now don't make it too tight because your ankles will swell. Has she seen my ankles? I have Fred Flinstone feet - they are as long as they are wide and the ankles go right along with it. Not a foot that you see and go - oooh sexy. They are just functional. And "not too tight" was not an option. For it to close it needed to be a little snug. And I was OK with it - hmm come to think of it I think I should train the next 4 weeks with something strapped on my ankle when I swim - you definitely notice it in the water. Well I was Ok until it got all wonky and turned around under my sock for the run. Needless to say I got a little microchip burn.
And when I get new batteries for my camera (hopefully tomorrow) I will download the shots and show you all.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

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Splash & Dash Pictures

My friends Kerry and Kimberle came to cheer me on last week. KP brought her camera. Errr...

Well with some editing I thought I could in fact post a few. I am not all that fond of the rolled out of bed at 5am, crazy hair, cloudy day look but what can you do about it. You can almost read those exact sentiments on my face in this picture.

My swim time wasn't really updated for my seeding so I scooted ahead of a few people that were vacilatting (sp?) on getting in the water. Actually the temperature of the outside pool was very pleasant on that cloudy morning.

I like this shot best. Sure you can't see my face. But with raised arms it does help them look less bulky.

See how you can barely see my legs here? I was getting tired. You can see the edge of the pool to the left. That means this is the end of 350 yards. Only 50 more to go. I don't know if I took my time in transition or if it was a case of trying to catch my breath. But K&K had enough time to loop around and catch me as I ran up the little hill from thre track to head out on the road towards the road.

And some 50+ minutes later it is over the finish line. I ran the last third of a mile or so. It was a longer distance for me than usual. I was really winded. I wish I could look like some of those others as they cross over the finish line. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Got back on that horse

As planned, Saturday I got back into the training mode. Well frist I sat myself down in an effort to figure out my new bike rack. Then I got a littl workout just trying to get the bloody bike on the rack. From there I went to the little park and did a 8 mile bike ride. My goal is to add 2 miles on the bike each week. I will probably shoot for more on the stationary bike at the gym. That way I can also add some hills without the fear of falling over just yet. By race day I should be up to 16 miles on the bike. I only need 9 (phew)
I also packed up my bag to hit the gym. I got somewhat sidetracked in my efforts - that's mostly from sitting down and figuring out the bluetooth in my car. I ended up swimming with KP. I did 100yd warm up. 50 yd. fast, 50 yd. right breathe, 50 yd. left breathe, 250 yd straight swim, 50 yd. fast, 50 yd. cool down for a total of 650 yds. For the swim I want to continue to improve my speed and add the left breathe. Between now and the race I don't imagine that I will add much distance. I will probably keep it around 700 to 1000. However by year end I would like to shoot for that mile. I suppose that will be Oct/Nov/Dec training.
And the run. Well that didn't happen on Saturday.

Sunday I battled the bike rack again and did another 8 miles. Now I am thinking I need to add that run. I just need to motivate to do it. Sitting here and typing in a bit more enjoyable.

and lets not even talk about what ive eaten!

Tortilla chicken salad
Chic fil a
Mc donalds
Cheese + crackers
Nutter butters
More mc donalds
Lots of coffee
Dinner out sounds healthy but you know that salmon was drenched in butter
Ice cream
And this morning they are talking about a breakfast buffett
Enough already!

week off

So earlier in the week we discussed taking this week off. I had lots of travel on my agenda and working in a workout would have been difficult. Doable maybe but difficult.
Monday I worked late in preparation for the meetings.
Tuesday I got up at 5am and home at 9pm from one days worth of travel.
Wednesday I decided to take monday off, worked a pretty reular schedule with some stresses, and packed.
Thursday I was up at 430am to make a flight, met with clients, took some out to dinner and was asleep before 10.
Now I am lying in bed delaying getting up. It should be a fairly reasonable day. My flight gets home right in time to sit in traffic.
But I did take Monday off so I have 3 days to get back on track. Yay me

transition time

it has been pointed out to me that i really do need to work on my transition time
the guy that came in first had a 0:24 transition time... 2 whole minutes faster than me...
so i truly need to work on that before the ramblin' rose
i ordered a new swim top - i think that should help with the transition as i won't feel the need to throw something on over it...
now i just need to get acclimated to the shoe and short aspect of it all