Part II of Day 3

45 minutes on a stationary bike of steady state riding is boring. That's what I have to say about that. Yesterday after work I headed to the gym to do just that, but I had no iPod, no Dave the Bike Guy to keep me company, no Today Show or equally entertaining tv, nothing. Just boredom. Despite that, it was a good, sweat-inducing, low intensity workout.

Today is a much appreciated rest day. It felt to get up this morning and get ready for work at the house, instead of at the gym. Very relaxing and I feel good at work today.

Exciting news - spring weather has arrived and I can wear clothes that I haven't worn since the Summer 07 season. It is such a nice reward. I think I've lost about 6-8 lbs from my all-time high that I reached during this passed year. I'd say that I have another 10 lbs of fat that I'd like to take off, but if my body keeps changing without taking off the pounds, I'm ok with that too. I can definitely feel a change in my shape and I certainly feel healthier. I know well enough that the numbers won't change super fast these days, especially as I continue to develop muscle. I'm just happy because my clothes are fitting better and it takes a lot more to get me to huff and puff these days!

Life Happens

Last night Hubs and I had a great night out together. We just did some shopping - for my bike and for our new home that we are still in the process of purchasing. Hubs came and met me when I got off work and we left one of our cars in the lot at work. Unfortunately, we forgot to pick up the car on the way home last night, which meant that I was without a car for the gym this morning. So even though I popped out of bed this morning after a good night of sleep and put on my swimsuit - I wasn't going to be doing any swimming. When I remembered that I had no car and was going to be taking the train to work - I simply did some simple stretching for a while. It felt good, even if it wasn't really a workout.

In other news - the Statute of Liberty is re-opening on the 4th of July! I'd like to think it is a little present to me for moving out to the East coast. I have always been totally enamored by the Statue of Liberty and I can't wait to go see her again!

Balance between flexibility and routine.

First - my knee has no pain - that is 2 days post-bike ride. That makes me super happy. Beyond super happy. Yay!

Ok - now onto - Finding the balance.

I am a person who tends to thrive on routine and planning. That doesn't mean that I'd don't like spontaneity, but it does mean that I am more productive and efficient when I have a routine. When I have a routine and a weekly plan for working out, meaning it is Lifting Monday or Biking Tuesday, then I tend to be more consistent in working out and my life feels comfortable. Unfortunately, my life has not recently allowed for routine. The home buying process, getting Hubs ready for elite level racing, working, cleaning the house for people staying with us, and etc has made my life unpredictable. Some mornings I have to get up and review our purchase contract instead of going to the gym. Other mornings, I have to run to the medical school bookstore to pick up a book for Hubs who is studying for a Board exam that he has to take next week. Tomorrow I am going to come into work early so that I can go to watch Riverdance with Hubs' mom tomorrow night. Listing these things out makes me tired alone, and it definitely makes me realize that I need to allow for flexibility in my life.

Now that it is getting nicer outside, I think that I want to move my off-days to weekdays so that I can get in longer workouts outside on the weekend, especially on my bike. This is going to be a learning process and take discipline to make this transition because I do enjoy not have "responsibilities" like work and working out on the weekend. So anyway, it looks like today and tomorrow are going to be my off-days this week. That means I'll need to get my workouts in every day for the rest of the week, or double-up one day. I guess we'll see how it goes. Fingers crossed!

Making it work

No workout this morning. I am totally stressed by this home-buying thing. Came to work early to do personal paperwork and contract review. Hoping to go to the gym after work and do a bike ride.

So much for getting back into a routine.

Getting back in a routine

It is unbelievable how going out of town or changing up a day's normal activities can really screw with a routine. The other thing that is unbelievable is how much I depend on having a routine, especially in the morning. I am trying to settle back into my morning motions, which include working out, but I'll be honest, it is a struggle. Hopefully after a couple more days I'll be back into it.

This morning I arrived at the gym later than I had been going, but early enough to do a 30 minute workout. I figure that it is about time to stop the second lifting workout each week, so instead, I jumped on the treadmill. I guess that I need to reassign activities to new days so that they are appropriately spaced.

Today's workout was ok. Nothing special, but at least I went, which is super important to the whole routine thing. I give it a 5 out of 10. I felt out of shape. I didn't push too hard, and I was only half-way engaged.

Total duration: 33 minutes
All at 1.0 incline

5 min at 3.0
5 min at 5.0
5 min at 3.5
5 min at 5.2
5 min at 3.7
5 min at 5.4
3 min cool-down.

Yawn - it was just as boring typing as it was doing it.

I need to get re-excited about about this triathlon. I had been so excited about the bike and my workouts, and then my knee happened (which is still annoying me). And now the house stuff is going on. It's not that I'm giving myself excuses, but I'm just not feeling the enthusiasm at the moment. Hopefully, it will reappear when I get back into my routine and start seeing some fitness gains again.

Skipped Workouts - Bought a House

Well Hubs and I were out East this past week, which did nothing for my workouts. As in, I did no workouts last week. I got a decent lift in yesterday and I got in a 30 minute stationary bike ride this morning.

But on the up side - I got a lot of other great things accomplished.

1. I interviewed with a temp agency out East, so I should be ready to go with some income when I get out there - at least until I find something permanent.

2. Hubs had some really great racing this weekend, and now has secured the interest of the National Team coaches.

3. We bought a house, pending an inspection! This is the biggest one. It was such a whirlwind trip. We thought we would just look, find nothing and then figure out something later. Well we found a great place, and after some ridiculous negotiations, we found out this morning that we got the house. So tomorrow is inspection day. Keep your fingers crossed that the house isn't falling apart!!!

M.I.A. - too much going on

Well, blogging has been rough recently, but I am sticking with my workouts. Here's a rambling non-coherent update for you:

Thursday - I did a 20 minute power walk at a 1.0 that got my heart rate up, followed by a 10 minute run and a 5 min cool-down and leg stretches. My knee seemed to hold up well and I was pretty please with it.

Friday - I went ahead and swam, even though I contemplated taking the day off. I was tired and a my knee was a bit sore. I did a 25 minute swim including kick. Nothing special, sorta lazy.

Saturday - I took my bike out for its maiden voyage, and it was AWESOME! I heart my bike so much. I did an 8 mile ride and my knee felt good and still does two days later. The whole ride too me about 45 minutes, which means I'm currently looking at 1.5 hours for my 15.5 miles ride during the triathlon. That is way too long, but I hope the times will get better. Plus, as I did the first four miles I was super scared that I was really really out of shape. It turns out that I was riding into a nasty cold headwind. By the time I turned around I had a terrible ice-cream headache from the wind. Riding the last four miles with the wind to my back was a lot faster and much more pleasant. Plus, I was a little more adjusted to riding around people. Even though it was cold, the bike path was busy with lots of runners, walkers, roller-bladers (who should be outlawed from this earth!), and bike riders who were all trying to enjoy the "warm" day that we had. Note that "warm" was really only about 40 degrees. I can't wait for the real warm weather and being able to get outside more. But at least the cold weather gives me some time to get a bike rack. Currently, I have to put it in the back seat of our Camry, which means I have to take the front tire off every time. Because we already have a cartop carrier for Hubs' boat, I think that we'll just get a cartop rack for the bike. Any thoughts from people who have used these? I really think the biggest challenge will be making sure that I can hoist it up there, but the new bike is so light that I think that I should be able to do it.

Sunday - rest day that was super busy. Lots of errands and baking and laundry. I made peanut butter balls for Hubs. I wished that I liked them because they are a great, nutritious snack for active people. Simply, mix together equal parts creamy peanut butter and honey, then add dried milk until you can roll the mixture up into balls. Then roll the PB balls in chopped walnuts. They keep the best in the fridge. At room temp, they become a little messy.

Monday - no workout yet today. I am hoping to do some pilates or something like that when I get home.

This week - is going to be hectic. We are headed out East to look at homes and for Hubs to race at Speed Order. All of that means that there is no gym for me, which means a lot of running. Hopefully the knee holds up.

Hopefully I'll be able to post once this week with an update of the housing search, Hubs' results, and my workout progress.

Ugly Socks

So today's title has nothing to do with my training. It has to do with the really ugly socks that I currently have on my feet. I needed new dress socks of the tan/brown variety for work. I bought these at Target last night and they looked fine. Well it turns out that they are exceedingly ugly in daylight. Such an ugly color! I'm not what you would call a fashionista (people who really know me are laughing at the thought of that right now) but seriously, this is even too ugly for me. But my feet are cold and the shoes are a no-go without socks, and that all means that I am stuck with distractingly ugly socks all day.

Knee update = sore. Yesterday I forgot to take all of my doses of ibuprofen and I could tell. My knee was definitely hurting more by the end of the day yesterday and this morning. It is feeling better now that I have resumed the ibuprofen, but it is still tired and uncomfortable. At least there has not been any significant sharp pain since Saturday.

Today's Workout:

I forgot to set my alarm last night before I went to bed and somehow this morning I woke up late but still early enough to sneak to the gym. I am proud of myself for not throwing in the towel when I overslept and still making something happen.

Back in the pool again today because of the knee. Finally it felt like a good cardio workout today and it was enjoyable. I give the workout a 8 out of 10. I could have pushed harder, but still pleased over-all.

Today was the first time I have done a 1/2 mile swim without stopping. (The triathlon swim is 1/2 mile = 800 meters). It went really well. I had an elevated heart rate when I was done, but I was not panting or anywhere close to exhausted. In fact, I really just felt warmed-up - as if I could actually go bike.

It took me less than 25 minutes to do the swim today, which I think is good for the first full trip. I don't have an exact time for a couple of reasons: 1. when I started I didn't know that I was going to swim a full 1/2 miles but I ended up feeling good so I just kept swimming, 2. by now you should all know I can't count, which means I'm not positive that was actually 36 laps, but it was pretty close.

Based on my swim today, I think that I might be able to get my swim time under 20 minutes by August and that would be great. Because then I am pretty sure that I could be in the 20-25 minute range in open water. Overall, training is going well, even if it has been slightly derailed by my stupid knee.

I heart all things Google

So - out of curiousity - I used one of my favorite Google products (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/) to check the distance of some of my old college runs. I recently found that gmap-pedometer recently added some new features making it much easier to accurately track your mileage. Now you can pick a "runner" or "cyclist" mode or you can use the old connect-the-line method. The "runner" mode makes it much quicker to figure it all out because it automatically follows the curves and turns in the road for you - I think it will be super helpful once I get back outside to run.

Campus Loop - 2.27 miles

I-75 run - 3.54 miles

Boathouse run (using Riverside Dr) - 3.1 miles -- (I can't believe I used to do this before practice! wow, is my life different now)

Old Memories

I have found that these beginning weeks of training have continually brought back a flood of memories from college - so bear with me.

As I've mentioned before, I was not physically active before I went to college. I swam on my high school team during my sophomore and junior years, but I was never fast or in particularly good shape. For some reason when I left for college, the idea of rowing was in my head. I went to the first informational meeting, then the first practice, then the second practice. I kept telling myself that I'd do it for another day and see how it went. Soon enough, I found one of my true passions in life, and continued to row for the next four years.

That first semester of rowing was much like the beginning of my training now, only worse. Perhaps, that's why it keeps coming to mind. I was in terrible shape - in fact, I was in no shape at all. I had never run or challenged myself physically - not really. So I found myself, on a hot September afternoon, faced with the "campus loop." As the name suggests, it was a loop around the outer edge of my college campus. Some say that it was 2.5 miles, Hubs says that he doesn't believe it was even 2 miles - at this point, I don't really know or care. But back then, I cared. A lot. I hadn't ran that far - ever. Well, I was off - straight up a long treacherous hill (and by long I mean it seemed like 1/3 of the loop). By the time that I finished that hill I thought I might die. My hands were over my head, my lungs felt like they might explode, my chest was heaving, and I was walking. Eventually, I could run the loop twice as light second workout. The contrast is still startling to me. It is only when I think about the contrast that I realized how much I achieved.

That is part of the reason that this blog is so important to me personally. When I signed up for this triathlon, I had hit a recent low regarding my perception of my physical abilities and body. I want to remember where I was, where I am today - to be able to see the immense progress that is made.

I need to be off to bed now. I'll post today's and tomorrow's workouts sometime tomorrow. It was a good run though - so I want to spend some time thinking about it.

Deceitful, Sneaky Liars or Poor Mathematicians

Believe me - I am not one to make fun of anyone's math skills. There is a reason I went to law school instead of medical school. I don't like math. I still remember crying in second and third grade because I was not good at those timed math tests that we've all suffered through. So, normally I would never make fun of someone's poor math skills, and even now I won't do it. But I swear that I hope whoever made the pool lap mileage conversion chart at my gym is worse at math than I am, instead of a deceitful, sneaky, mean-spirited, hope-dasher. Because now I have to be a hope-dasher of my fellow swimmer at the pool. She believes the chart. I was skeptical. I double-checked, and the news isn't good.

When I was swimming on Friday, I thought to myself - this pool seems short. I mean, I knew it was short, but it seemed shorter than the girl suggested and shorter than the conversion chart suggested. I can't do math in my head - not of the conversion variety. Ok, I can't really do much math at all in my head. So, I swam my laps hopeful that the news wouldn't be terrible when I double-checked the chart. But honestly, I kept looking at that hypnotic black line on the bottom of the pool. I kept thinking about how many times I was breathing per lap and the number of strokes I was taking. I would pause at the end of the pool and look to the other end. It seemed like it was about half of the distance. Ever-hopeful, I thought that maybe I wasn't remembering right, or maybe that the last pool I swam in a couple years ago was a longer pool.

However, reality set in when I put my superior math skills to use by making Google convert the measurements for me. The pool is 37 feet and 3 inches in length. The pool conversion chart suggested that you would need to do 35.5 laps to swim a half-mile. Well, technically this is correct now that I think about it. Unfortunately, it means down and back equals one lap, rather than simply down the length of the pool. Otherwise, if you are just counting one length as a lap, you need 70-71 laps to reach a half-mile.

Perhaps, the person who made the chart was neither deceitful and sneaky nor a poor mathematician. Maybe the person was actually a swimmer. Even though most people say that a "lap" is one length down the pool, often many swimmers call this a "link." Then swimmers define a "lap" as an entire trip down and back the length of the pool.

Regardless of the conversion chart-maker's status as a liar, poor mathematician, or swimmer, I am going to be turning around a whole lot. So much that I am going to get dizzy, especially once I get back into swimming-shape. I suppose eventually I am going to have to start going to a different pool. Until then, I have to break the news to my fellow lap swimmer that she is about half as fast as she thought she was. Now I am the hope-dasher.

Infinite Wisdom

I wonder where, in my infinite wisdom, I hid my goggles. I found the swimsuit and swim cap, but why would I have put my goggles with them. If I can't quickly find them in the morning - no swim tomorrow morning, which is a real bummer because I thought it would be a great break for my knee. Plus, I am getting excited about getting back into the water. Grrr . . . where did I put them?!?

And so the ramblings begin . . .

I guess the best place to begin is at the beginning. Here's some background on me, how I ended up signing up for my first triathlon, and why I am taking the time to share my stories.

I recently graduated from law school. For the first time in my life, I am not a student. And for the first time in the last three years, I feel like my life is pretty normal. Prior to entering law school, I went to a wonderful university in the Midwest, had the most amazing experience, and rowed my heart out for four years as part of the women's varsity crew team. Before heading to college, I had never considered myself an athlete. In fact, I didn't even start rowing until college. Even while training and competing at the collegiate level, I really only considered myself an athlete in the rowing world. I still say that the only reason I was good at rowing was because there was no ball involved and I got to sit on my tush.

Then I got married, relocated to a big city, and started law school. The being married part was wonderful. I grew to love the big city, but I can't say the same for law school. It was the toughest three years of my life. I was academically challenged (to say the least), constantly worried I had made the wrong choice, and totally stressed. So I stopped working out except for random month long spurts at the gym, sat in the library or at a computer for hours, drank too many fancy espresso drinks, ate too many sweets, and gain around 20+ pounds. I ate for comfort to ease my stress and worries, only to find myself more discouraged.

Then after graduation and passing the bar in July 2008, I eased into my new life as a semi-working attorney (I'll get into that some other time). Finally, my life was more relaxed and happier. But physical activity was the one thing missing, and the extra pounds that were sticking around were proof. Then about a month ago, while I was having a pity party for myself about my weight, my wonderful husband (who I will simply call Hubs), convinced me to sign up for the triathlon that I have been talking about doing for the last few years.

So, now I find myself signed up for a sprint distance triathlon that is part of the Danskin triathlon series in August. This blog is mostly a self-serving effort to track my progress and for me to be able to look back on after I have finished the six months of training that lie ahead. Hopefully, I will be able to share my stories, workouts, nutrition, struggles, and golden nuggets of information that I learn along the way.