T-Minus 13 Days

Wow, so tomorrow is July first! Thirteen days until The Big Day. No hyperventilating (at the time of writing. I make no promises against future panic attacks). I'll be ready.

I am finding myself more and more exhausted. All day at work, I was dragging. I was dreading my swim workout, but managed to make it through and actually get a really good cardio workout in. I'm slightly amazed that I didn't fall asleep while backstroking, to be quite honest.

As I mentioned in my last post, I just found out that I am anemic. I don't think it's that big of a deal-a lot of people are anemic-but it is a big hint that I need to get on track with some sort of training diet. Two granola bars and a Slim Fast do not an athlete's diet make, though that is all I had today prior to swim. It's not that I am intentionally not eating, I guess I just forget. And forgetting is a lot more of a big deal when you're working out six days per week, than it is when your main activity is cultivating your secretary spread (see: me, twelve weeks ago).

So anyway. Research will be done on some proper nutrition guidance. Share it if you've got it! :)

I did have somewhat of a victory today, despite the shakiness I felt walking onto the pool deck. I'm overweight, right? I don't know that I have ever really liked the way I looked sans clothing, but it has definitely been a few years since I caught myself walking by a mirror on the way to the shower and thought, how you doin'? Last night I caught a glimpse of myself and noticed that maybe there isn't so much jiggle going on back there as there used to be. Cool. My husband also cat-called me as I walked by. Normally I would roll my eyes, but I tried to take his construction worker flattery to heart-I really am working hard, why shouldn't he think I am looking better/good?

Back to today. Today after I finished my workout, I gathered my belongings and walked across the deck to the locker rooms... with no towel covering my legs. And I felt ok about it. Good, even. It was a pretty awesome feeling. This isn't to say that I am going to chill on the working out and rest on my laurels, I still have a way to go, but it's nice to see results.

I decided on what I want to wear for the triathlon (and the world breathes a sigh of relief). I am a big fan of Skirt Sports workout clothing. I own the Tri Swimsuit, the Gym Girl Gripper skirt and the Compression Fit BikeGirl Skirt, all of which I adore. (And both the skirts are on clearance, so go check them out. They FAR surpass the running skirts Target sells.) Since I am such a fan, I decided to try out their triathlon line. I give you, my tri outfit: Well, ok, just the top. As it turns out, black shorts aren't all that exciting, but the top is cool! I plan to wear a sports bra underneath, and lots of BodyGlide, because I am afraid that my sports bra isn't going to turn out to be all that water-friendly.

I am the only one awake in the house, not even Hammie is up running around. I am going to pack my bag for tomorrow (I can't decide if I just want to do a bike ride, or if I want to do a brick) and follow suit.

Stay classy, Internets!

Midnight Oil

Why does it seem that I do all of my updating at night, when I should have already been asleep for hours? Ya, I've got kids.

So yesterday, I got in a great run. I originally wanted to go for 45 minutes, because that is approximately how long it takes me to run three miles. Thanks to the procrastination monster, my running time was cut down to thirty minutes (I had to go pick up the boys from preschool immediately after the run). I ended up doing 2.2 miles in thirty minutes, which comes out to about 13:40-ish minutes per mile. Ok, that is pretty awesome for me. I was pretty stoked when I got back. I felt great and knew that I had worked hard.

This morning I met up with my training buddy, Margaret, and we rode 15 miles around Miramar Lake. Like the run, the ride was pretty awesome. I feel like our training is really paying off, and we are gaining more and more confidence with every workout we do. I think we just might not die during the triathlon!

Now that most of the training is taken care of, I have shoes and pedals and a bike and all that fun stuff, one thing is looming over my head: OMG WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR? My husband is absolutely loathe to let me spend any more money on this endeavor, at least not until I've shown him that I am going to stick with it. I need to find a trisuit, an inexpensive one at that. All signs point to such a thing being non-existent. I'm talking $50 bucks here. I know it must be out there! Have you seen her?

Last week I had some blood work done because my doc noticed that it had never been performed when I transfered into his care. It turns out that I am anemic. Wha? I don't even know what to do with that. I do know that some dietary improvements are in order, one look at me makes that need quite obvious. I guess I am just surprised. But now I have an excuse to be tired and need more sleep! Right? Right. Iron pills and spinach, here I come!

Just a quickie

Almost 24 hours after the brick workout, my legs are still feeling it.

I'm going to run three miles tonight before I pick up the boys from preschool. I had a mini-panic attack about the triathlon today. FIFTEEN DAYS! ::begins hyperventilating again:: My heart rate just went up. I should put my heart rate monitor on.

I know it's going to be awesome, but man, I am nervous! And also: all of the ocean swims I've done so far have been from South to North, but the Carlsbad Tri has us going from North to South. What? Are we swimming against the current? Or is the current just different up there? Is that possible? Where is my paper bag?

I've lost two pounnds this week. The granola bar and panic attack diet works well for me! ;)

She's a Brick... House

I did a brick session with the tri club tonight. Lesley Paterson of Braveheart Fitness Coaching led the workout, and it was awesome. We did a ten minute warm-up run (well, jog, if we're being honest here), followed by a five minute warm-up on the bike (we were all on stationary trainers).

For those new to triathlon: a "brick" is when you do two of the triathlon events back-to-back. The most important one is the transition from the bike to the run leg of the race, because your legs are PISSED when you get off of that bike and try to make them run.

So, we're all warmed up and ready to go. Lesley announced that we were doing four blocks. Each block would consist of five-one minute intervals and then a quarter mile run. It doesn't sound very challenging, does it? Ya, well it is. haha Ok, so we were instructed to start the first interval in a hard gear, pedaling at about 80 RPM. After each minute, you shift into an easier gear, and pedal faster. By the end of the five minutes, my quads were ready for a break, but they didn't get one, because it was time for the run.

Because Lesley is a wonderful human being, she set me off running about twenty seconds before everyone else, so I wouldn't be running alone the whole time. It was nice, I finished with the group, instead of feeling like I was working out alone.

Then back on the bike! Lather, rinse, repeat three more times, then we cooled down for a few minutes, and that was it! I don't feel that I am going out on a limb when I say that I think I may be a little sore tomorrow. What a great workout.

The workout took place at Tecolote Shores along Mission Bay, right next to a big playground. Several toddlers stopped to watch us pedal away, it made me smile and think of my boys. There was some sort of boot camp fitness type deal going on a couple hundred yards away from where our bikes were set up. It was all women, and they were doing up-and-backs on the grass. There was a woman in the group whom I immediately identified as "one of me." She was walking and behind the rest of the group. I high-fived her and said "good job" as I went by her. I hope she keeps it up.

I am so going to bed right now.

It all started with a televised triathlon

At least, I think that is how I decided that I wanted to do a triathlon. I don't really remember for sure. Maybe I just woke up one day and my mind was already made up somehow. Either way, I am training for my first triathlon. Well, have been training. It's in 17 days. ::stops to breathe into a paper bag::

See, the thing is that I used to be one of those super-competitive people who ran six miles every day and said words like "fartlek" and "I'm going to run twelve miles today." Then I did what a lot of women do (and apparently that one guy up in Oregon or wherever): I had two kids. I went from a size eight to a size 18. My weight topped out at 226 before the "holy crap, what are you doing to yourself" survival instinct kicked in. Or maybe it was just that I got sick of working with a bunch of giggly size two girls. Not sure. So I've lost 20-ish pounds since that realization, but I've still got a long way to go before I reach the magic number.

I get bored with working out pretty quickly, especially since I am most always alone while doing it. Training for a triathlon has been perfect for my ADD-having self. I never get bored because I never have to do the same thing two days in a row. It's wonderful, really. I've also hooked up with the fine folks of the San Diego Triathlon Club, and they have been awesome and helpful and fun and friendly. It's nice not to have to do every workout alone anymore.

That isn't to say that I don't do my share of solo workouts at odd times of the day/night. Having two kids affords me the opportunity (that is how I am putting it. an opportunity) to head to the gym at times like 10:17 PM, where I get to witness what is probably the gym's most interesting clientele pumping iron while I run on the treadmill or pump away on a spinning bike.

I did my first open water swim last week, it was nowhere near as horrible as I thought it would be, and I was the only one who cared whether or not I was the fattest or the slowest one there, which I wasn't (wasn't the slowest, anyway).

That's me, there in the white cap.

So anyway. Me = formerly sedentary, even more formerly fit, now training for a triathlon. I am going to use this blog to keep track of the ups and downs and ins and outs of my training, for this triathlon and beyond. It's going to be fun and I can't wait to share it with you.