Gettin' my Geek on!! Oh Yeah!!!

Yesterday I got my new heartrate monitor. It is the polar 625 with the foot pod and I have the power output accessory on order and should have it in a couple weeks.

So I'm totally "geeking" out. I have hardly been wearing my HR monitor lately because I have been "bored" with it. I wanted more. NOW I HAVE IT!!!!

I get running speed. Cycling speed, cadence and SOON POWER!!!!

Woo hoo! What more could a geeky triathlete want!

Swimming Lesson

OK. So now that I've done the philosophical part of the lesson how about for the physical aspects of my swimming lesson.

• Keep hips high and press chest.
• Take time to roll for breath. I won't lose momentum if I glide there. Pushing down to get my breath interupts the flow and take alot more effort.
• Drill: Swim with best technique of high hips and core power. When entering my hand reach my hand toward the 15 or 25 (the angle on the pace clock).
• Watch my right arm. Pop the elbow on the recovery. When I straight arm it I get more of that need to press down to breath.

So for now I am going to set aside my ego and really try this new stuff. What do I have to lose. If it doesn't work then I will go back to my usual style. What do I have to lose at this point? I will be able to go back to my old style. I just need to trust in the process.

Birthday Lessons

Today I think was a day of lessons for me. I determined this after my lesson with Laurie so here is my wisdom of the first day of my 38th year.

• To truly move more freely through the world (my intention for this year) I need to change more than just my weight.
• To move more freely through the world I need to not be so afraid of "revealing" myself. Today I took some chance I normally wouldn't. I let myself feel the emotion of my mom calling and singing happy birthday to me. I started crying because I am afraid it is the last time I will hear my mom do this. Whether that is true or not it did make me realize how much I love my mom and how important she is to me. I know this but don't let myself feel how scared I am about all this heart stuff she is having right now.
• To move more free through the water I need to let go of my old ways. I need to let go of my ego and do things differently. To change I've got to try to do something differently. So now my goal during swimming is to swim effortlessly instead of trying to make the interval and that if that means sitting some 50s out every now and then it is the right thing to do. I felt it again today. I felt the right balance the ease of moving through the water. All that stuff. My stroke count was also only 15 and my effort was minimal.
• To move more freely through the world I don't need to "protect" myself. I like it when people share things about themselves with me. I don't know why I "protect" myself by being removed from people. So my lesson is to relax and not worry about "protecting" myself. I don't know anyone in my life who would "hurt" me. As Audrey would say it's not serving me any longer so why continue to do it. Feeling and having vulnerabilities doesn't make me weak. As a matter of fact those things that have been the most difficult have given me strength to be who I am today.

Here we go!!!!

Today was the first day of official training for Ironman Canada. I am in the first week of my Prep phase. My goals for the next 4 weeks are to:

• Finalize my training plan
• Identify 1 goal per 4 week block
• Do a fitness test at the end of the 4 weeks in swimming, biking and running
• Identify any obstacles that I may encounter in the next 34 weeks and minimize their impact upon training
• Figure out my weekly regular schedule

I am excited. Today was pretty much a recovery day for me because of the 1/2 marathon yesterday. But i am feeling much better today. My calf still has a knot in it and so does my quad as I discovered but other than my toe that has a weird blister type thing on it it's not too bad.

So my schedule for this week is:

Monday: Bike 120 min, Stretch 15, Core 30

Tuesday: Bike 90 min, Swim 90 min, TKD 60 min (Optional: Stretch 15, Run 30)

Wednesday: Swim 60 minutes (Optional: Ride 60 minutes)

Thursday: Bike 90 min, Swim 90 min, TKD 60 min (Optional: Stretch 15, Run 30)

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Bike 90 minutes

Sunday: Run 60 min

Vancouver Half Marathon

1/21/07
Vancouver Lake Half Marathon 13.1 miles

Total Time: 2:24 Unofficial (by my watch)

Splits:

Mile 1: 10:08
Mile 2: 10:50
Mile 3: 10:54
Mile 4: 10:56
Mile 5: 10:22
Mile 6: 10:52
Mile 7: 11:01
Mile 8: 11:05
Mile 9: 10:53
Mile 10: 11:12
Mile 11: 11:30
Mile 12: 11:38
Mile 13: 11:32
Mile 13.1: 1:11


Personal Best 1/2 Marathon: 2:17:36

Rest and Detraining

I just read this article on when does rest become detraining. I think it has some really good information especially for those of us who are concerned about losing fitness when we aren't actively training for something but continue to workout regularly.

I think the main point I got out of it is that yes you will lose fitness if you stop altogether but I knew relatively few Ironman athletes out there who stop doing any type of exercise. It is just in our blood and so integrated into our lifestyle that we don't know what we would do if we stopped. What would I do with all that free time? However there are times when I want to take it easy for awhile and focus on something other than getting all my workouts in. I need it mentally more than physically I think.

Here's the link to the article. Enjoy!

Yoga Rocks!

So last night I was supposed to take my first Pilates class. Cate has wanted me to do some sort of activity with her so this class came up and fit into my schedule. So we show up and the instructor doesn't so we are offered as an option to attend the yoga class. So we did and I LOVED IT!

This was my very first yoga class so I don't know if it is a typical yoga class, good, bad... whatever. All I know is it ROCKED!

My body felt so much longer and leaner after the class. My calves felt stretched out for the first time in YEARS!!

The focus and the drawing of an intention at the beginning of class was something I really liked. Reminded me that I need to do that with every workout. What is the point of this workout.

I hope to try it again and see how it goes. Maybe I'll take the yoga class instead of Pilates. I feel like it was fate because I was ready to take off on my bike and meet Cate at home.

Workout week of 1/8 - 1/14

So here is my plan for this week. Monday I'm going to try out a Pilates class and I'm not sure what I'll be doing this weekend. I'm sure I'll get a long run in over the weekend. I just don't know when. We are going up North to my Mom's and may go to Leavenworth and go Cross Country skiing. We'll see. It will be fun if we are able to swing it. We'll just have to see how it goes and whether Dean is willing to let the kids miss some stuff. i guess I also need to talk to Dyanna. Monday is MLK day so it may be a busy weekend considering we haven't made reservations already.

	Monday			Tuesday			Wednesday			Thursday			Friday			Saturday	Sunday
	AM	Lunch	PM	AM	Lunch	PM	AM	Lunch	PM	AM	Lunch	PM	AM	Lunch	PM	All Day	All Day
Swim				90					60	90
Bike	45		45	45		45	45		45	45		45	45		45
Run		45						45						45
Strength			45		45						45
Other						60						60

Running Routes

I am a bit scared for the 1/2 marathon I have coming up in 2 weeks. WOW! It is getting close. So I'm trying to up my mileage just to see if I can. SO today I was supposed to do a training ride with Zan but she called and said she wasn't feeling well so since it wasn't raining what a perfect time for a long run. So I took off. no watch. Just me and my iPod out to do a route I have never done before.

Unfortunately I wasn't really thinking because the route I chose had all the water fountains off since it's been pretty cold lately so I ran without water or nutrition the whole time. I ran for 1:45. Not too bad. Another 3.5 or so miles I'm done with a marathon. So that was good. It was a good run. My legs weren't giving out on me. My endurance was good. I'd have to way the weak link was my back. It was getting tired. So I guess I really need to look at doing some back strengthening exercises. I think I'll call Kris and see if I can get her list.

I'm really focusing on using my abdominal muscles now when I run and swim. I have never really thought of them before. I just kind of let them hang out but now I'm trying to engage them and that makes a big difference.

When I got back I mapped my run using www.mapmyrun.com. It's basically google earth but it's nice because you can also mark different points with like bathroom, water, etc. Nice to know on long runs and rides. You can also subscribe to someone's RSS feed for a route. I think I like it so I signed up. (IT's free) If you want to see my public routes go to: http://www.mapmyrun.com/user_routes.php?username=debs.imcrazy

Swimming Lessons

Wednesday I had another swimming lesson with Laurie. It was a really good lesson. I finally feel like my balance in the water is much better. I don't feel like I am pushing down in the water when I breathe and that my stroke is projecting me forwards instead of upwards.

Laurie had me work on switching my hand position. She wants me to think about taking my hand out of my pocket at my hip and then thrusting it forward into the water as if I'm going to shake hands. Once my hand is entered and the other hand is getting ready to enter tilt my hand inwards, pop the elbow and then anchor in the water pulling my body over my hand.

We did some drills I have never done before. Most of these were swimming without breathing to really work on body position. First we had fins on and we literally swam free underwater. This really makes you aware of your body position. Eventually we gradually brought more and more of the recovery out of the water. So one drill was with the whole recovery submerged and then the entire hand.

I'm not sure why it made such a difference but it did. So who am I to question.

Yesterday during swim practice I really concentrated on keeping this same feeling and I think I did a pretty good job. I could feel when I would break my flow but for the most part I felt kind of like I was flying because my hips were high and I felt like I was on top of the water instead of pushing through the water.

I want to keep working on this. I don't know that I am any faster yet but I certainly see the potential once I get it.

Why I do the Ironman...

I was probably just trying to keep myself amused while running today because I am pretty bored with my route although it is a BEAUTIFUL day here in Portland. Cool and dry, not something we get very often in these winter months.

My thoughts meandered to Why do I do Ironman triathlons? Surely there are other things to do that are challenging so why this?

Well that's a good question. First, I am someone who likes to be challenged and I love being able to throw mind, body and soul into something. That is probably the definition of training for an Ironman, it does take mind, body and soul to keep your focus and motivation for that long of a time, not just the long workouts but the day after day grind of training.

Secondly, I do Ironman triathlons because there is nothing like that feeling of finishing knowing that I just finished something I thought I never would be able to do. It is an incredible feeling.

Thirdly, I do Ironmans because it fits me. The psychological make up of an Ironman fits me, the devotion/passion for at least 2 of the 3 sports fits me and it fits my life. I am not able, nor willing, to take several months off from my family and work and do something like hike the Pacific Crest Trail or hike the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainer. They are both things I have always thought about but the reality is I'm not willing to make that sacrifice to do those things. So Ironman it is. It is repetitive, habit forming and addictive. I can fit it into my life around family and work. (Not to say that those don't suffer at times but it is reciprocal. My training suffers because of family and work as well so it's all a give and take.)

Lastly, I do Ironmans because I can. I have overcome my fears and my self-doubt. It is my declaration to myself that I am strong and proud of who I am.

Training 12/12/06

Swim: 1:30 Set of 200's pace of 1:35
Bike: 1:30 Commute
Run: :45
TKD: 1:00

Training 12/1

Today I'm leaving work early to head up to my mom's for our annual Christmas Baking Extravaganza.

Bike: 1:30

Training 11/30

Swim: 1:30
Bike: 1:30
Strength: 45
Run: 20
TKD: 60

Training 11/29/06

I'm going to try to record my workouts for at least a week. It's not very interesting but is an indicator of the training I am doing and whether it is effective or if I'm just burning calories.

AM: Run 7 miles
Afternoon: Swim lesson with Laurie Kilbourn
PM: Run/Swim Clinic with Eric Roche

The Importance of Rest

Today it hit me how important rest is when training. I am well rested today for the first time in probably many weeks as I have averaged about 17 - 21 hours of training for the past two or so months. It has become such a routine for me that it is hard to not train sometimes. When I take a day off I feel like I'm being lazy.

Because my family was in town for Thanksgiving I didn't have my usual routine to fall back on because my schedule was interupted with other priorities (like spending time with my niece and nephew!) :) So Thursday I did a longer run (75 minutes) and Saturday I did a "run" with my niece and nephew on their bikes and then pulled them to OMSI in the buggie. Friday and Sunday were busy but no "training". Monday it was icy so I did ride and I was too tired from not being able to sleep that I couldn't motivate myself to get to the gym to run. (Plus I didn't want to walk in the cold.)

Today I swam, ran and lifted. Tonight I go to TKD. I felt great swimming. I felt like the quality was much higher than it usually is. Same with my run and strength training session. I ran faster than I have in awhile with little effort. My swim this morning felt good. I felt smooth and it wasn't a struggle to maintain form.

So maybe I need to rest more and train less.... I don't think I put myself into a peaking scenario I just think that I typically go into a training session tired. That is the norm for me. I rarely feel like I have fresh legs. I rarely go out and don't have something that hurts me from the previous days workouts.

I think I need to find a balance. Not sure what that looks like at this point but I have time right now to experiment with it. The focus is to build fitness not maintain fitness and that is what I feel like I'm doing right now and that I am on the verge of potential injury.

Swimming

Last night I swam and worked on the drills Laurie gave me. I was a bit frustrated because I wasn't feeling that feeling that I was doing it right.... the whoosh!

But this morning during workout I definitely felt it. I focused on extending my arm straight out in front and not over extending. I am definitely stronger on one side than the other. I breathe much more smoothly on my left side than my right which I think is ironic.

I was able to cut my strokes down to 15 strokes per length with this technique while keeping a good rhythm. This definitely keeps me on my side more whereas over-extending keeps me more on my stomach.

Power Cranks

I saw this today while riding in this morning. Very interesting concept. The guy I talked to certainly seemed to have mastered the pedal stroke.

He was using something called power cranks. I noticed it at a stop light where he had both feet on the pedals but they were both at the bottom of the stroke. So I pulled up along side him and talked to him about it.

He said the first time he used them he was exhausted after 30 minutes of riding.

The concept is that each legs works inpendently of the other. They can work at whatever angle you want so you are always doing single legged drills.

Power Cranks

Swimming Lessons

Yesterday I had my first swimming lesson with Laurie. It was great. I really think that the best training device in swimming is a coach and I have swam without a coach for SO long that I am sure I could use a trained set of eyes watching me.

So Cate and I went for our swimming lesson. It was interesting because Cate and I are definitely in two different places in regards to swimming but no worries Laurie handled it beautifully.

I got several drills that I will try to explain accurately to work on my body position. The biggest thing for me to get my hips up more, which means looking down more and not bob my head all over the place. The other thing that really helped is she kept focusing on a "solid core" and engaging my abdominal muscles.

Drills:
Kicking on side in sweet spot with abs engaged
1 stroke switch alternating sides in sweet spot keeping eyes focused downward and not lifting head. Focus on keeping head in alignment with rest of body.
3 stroke switch alternating sides in sweet spot. Keep eyes focused downward and not lifting head. Keep head in alignment with rest of body.
Hand position: Keep lead hand out front until you engaged your abs to roll to the other side. It is a whoosh, whoosh feeling.

Then today at practice I did these drills alot. They are exhausting. It was not an easy workout. But by the end of the workout I felt like my hips were lifted up higher (except when I got tired) and that I was extending well but not over extending my front hand and that I wasn't pulling too soon and pressing down in order to lift my head. I didn't count my strokes but I would guess that they were way down.

I could definitely feel how much less drag this caused but it was tiring. I am guessing my endurance will increase over time.

Aqua Bike

Today was truly and Aqua-Bike day! I needed a paddle occasionally to get through some of the puddles! I should have just slapped some Chami-Butter on my tush and called it good! Clothes were optional today.

I went to the Indigo Girls concert last night. Boy! They sure make me feel good. There's something about the fact that Cate and I got together at the same time we discovered the Indigo Girls. It's as if we have grown up with them.

It's interesting looking back at that time and seeing the path I took to get to where I am today. It's kind of nice to look back and not feel regret about the choices I have made in my life.

So here's the thought for today.... Does commuting count toward training?