much better this time

So I took 5 days off from working out last week. After Sunday's fiasco and feeling incredibly horrid both Sat & Sun of last weekend.... And taking bike into REI for a minor tune up in anticipation of the big ride, rain !!!.... Well I just ended up with 5 days off.

Here is the funny thing, yesterday I did the 1.2 mile run/walk loop in my sub (the somewhat shorter loop I sometimes take - felt awesome... Today did the 40 miles without a rest break, again felt a TON better. I guess it was a combination of the high mold (allergen BIG time for me)and pushing myself too hard, and too little sleep.

I didn't fall off the bike, I didn't need to get off bike and rest, I could have gone longer without dying! yay!!! :) :)

too much rain

So.... I figured out why workouts were so bad last weekend, the outdoor mold levels were high, and that is my biggest allergy trigger. All this rain - well have you seen some mushrooms growing in lawns?? I have!

Anyway... REI has my bike until tomorrow, getting a minor tune-up before the big ride, just to be sure nothing is about to fall off or anything strange like that. Have been taking some days off from exercise since it has been so hard to do - but I will try to either swim or run today, depending on time today! (and weather)

That's gonna leave a mark

Okay. I am embarassed to type this, but I will anyway. Yesterday I fell off my bike, twice. Rookie mistake that I haven't made in ages.. but I did... So go ahead and laugh at the clumsy cyclist! I was distracted and just off. I was doing a 2nd 40 mile bike ride... (the last one being a week ago). So I was coming up to a red light.. thinking, "please turn green, please turn green" and completely not getting my foot unclipped... bike stops.. wait a second... as the bike starts tipping - my foot isn't out!! OUCH! That time kinda hurt - seat hit me rather hard and left a nasty bruise - never mind how great that concrete felt. This is why I wear the gloves - when you land on your hands it feels a lot less bad than it could.. The 2nd time I was stopping for a break - my foot was out and I was leaning towards it and somehow I fell in the other direction - that foot was still in. WTF????!!!!????!!!!

This was just a bad workout weekend! I ran on Saturday - worst run EVER! It was was worse than when I first started. Lungs were burning, legs were burning.. I just felt lousy. Sunday really wasn't better for the bike ride. I completed the 40 miles.. somehow.. It was slow, I almost ran into stuff left and right, I was a wreck! But... I did it.. I am taking 2 days off.. I need a rest apparently!

UGH!!!!!!!!!!

update for today's ride

40 miles. I did 40 miles today on the bike. woo hoo! According to my cyclometer I was cycling for approximately 2:40 that's a lot of cycling!
Now I had all my stuff, even remembered my cell phone this time which I often forget. The one thing I forgot... okay I have NATURAL RED Hair... no dye here... so I burn... easily.... DOH! THe sun was out and I got burned. Luckily a lot of the ride is in the shade and it was a cloudy day today. The burn could have been a LOT worse... I won't forget again.... until next year....

So other lessons from the ride today:
- don't wait over an hour to use the GU. I waited too long, I felt like I was NOT going to make it until it kicked in.
- check the radar YOURSELF. A nasty little cell moved through when i was only 7 miles from home. Luckily I could find an overpass to sit it out. I tried to get DH to come get me, but he pointed out that the cell was a small one, and by the time he would get himself and the kids loaded up and get to me, the storm would have passed. And it did. However, I think he forgot, or perhaps did not know, it is actually very unsafe to ride right after a rainstorm.

So anyway... The ride went well! My quads HURT when I first got home.. but some stretching, a shower, and a couple Motrin later.. no pain! :)

it was a good ride. and I think that was the longest ride I have ever taken in my entire life. :)

Father's Day

Hey, so is it bad to leave daddy with his kids for a couple hours to fit in a 30+ mile ride?? I did swim 500M on Friday while I was waiting for my client... but I didn't exercise yesterday since DH was helping his brother move.

So today I am aiming for 35-40 miles on the bike. I haven't done a LONG distance in a few weeks, the most I have done is 22 miles... I am packing my GU gels, loading up the camelbak... and planning on getting off the bike in the middle for a rest.... wish me luck!!!

And for those of you that don't look at other blogs.. read this! Frightening stuff! This kind of thing always worries me when I go out for a bike ride. But honestly - can't let fear run our lives! And this is why I wear my LOVELY high vis Jersey on the bike.

back in the saddle

Well, after that triathlon I was sick for a week with a lovely cold or whatever. So I wasn't exercising much. But I am happy to report I am back at it. Yesterday I did a quick 500M in the pool. I stopped only so that I could get home to tuck in kids. Yesterday was a LONG work day! But I had the suit in the van and I was at the YMCA with a client and his family. What the heck - why not?

Day before that I did 22 miles on my bike - a nice short ride. ;) and the day before that I ran/walked my usual 1.4 miles. Yay.. I do want to increase that distance.. I will get there.

6 weeks to the ride. How crazy is that?

Triathlon results....

Okay, so these posts are backwards... But that's okay!
So this Triathlon yesterday was the shortest, to my knowledge, that you can do:
400 Meter swim (that's about 16 times the length of your average YMCA pool)
16 K bike (about 10 miles)
5 K run (about 3 miles)

My times:
Swim: 11:24 (yes, even when I couldn't breathe, I still didn't do toooo bad)
1st transition/changing into bike stuff: 3:46
Bike: 41:12 (i was holding myself way back to save for run. Now I wish I hadn't been soo conservative)
2nd transition/ out of bike into run: 1:54
Run: 42:22 (mostly was a walk, but I would say i ran about a 3rd of it. I didn't think I would be able to run ANY of it)


Total time: 1:40:35
I was 450th over all out of approximately 500.
I was 3rd from last out of my age group, 4th out of 8 in my class (the last 2 didn't finish though) I entered as an Athena which is for women over a certain weight amount.

For my very first triathlon, and with that damn asthma attack in the water... I am pretty happy with my results. :)

more Tri pics

Here I am biking in!! Woo hoo! I actually kept backing off on the bike as I was going 20+ MPH and I wanted to save it for the run.
Walking into the transition area from the bike.
Finishing the run. I actually ran about 1 mile of it, if you add it all up. A LOT More than I thought I would be able to do for sure!

About to cross the finish line! WOO HOO!!

Friends rule!!! WE all finished.. woo hoo

today I can call myself a triathlete....

I finished! I don't have my times yet.. But I did it!
It was fun, once the swim was over. I actually had an asthma attack as soon as my face hit the water and did pretty much the whole thing side stroke and having a hard time breathing.. At least it was a mild attack.
Here are some pictures, THANK YOU MATT for taking pictures!!!!!

The put your age on one leg, and rookies got a B (for beginner) number on the arms. They numbered alphabetically, so I was 497.

Jeanne and I before the race... What am I thinking??? OMFG, WHAT have I signed up for!?!?! There is NO way I can finish this!!!!
Here I am entering the water, about 30 seconds before my lungs went on strike!!!
Gasping for air... walking to the inhaler, not running..
transition area.. cool