Tri Training Week 5:

Weekly Mileage: 17.57 (4 biking, 11.62 run, 1.95 swim)

You'll notice that my mileage was really low during week five.  I only biked half my first workout, and then missed my second bike workout on Thursday.  I am having trouble navigating the training schedule, trying to fit in 8 workouts per week.  I've got a job, I just moved into a new house, I'm in a new relationship, and it's really hard to go biking for an hour or more with all of that going on. 

It's interesting because I never miss a swim or a run, which probably highlights my secret fear of the biking section of this race.  But perhaps it also highlights my not-so-secret fear of the bike trails in DC.  I'm not saying high school kids taser and rob people on the trails ALL the time...I'm just saying maybe it happened once or twice. 

The bottom line is, I need to figure out a way to ensure that I'm not slacking off, or unintentionally sabotaging the bike leg of my triathlon by missing tons of bike workouts.  I'm actually writing this from Maine, and I'll have missed another bike workout by week's end.  I must focus on the bike once I return home from vacation, which will be supported by the Team In Training group rides that kick off next week.

The best part of this week was my long run on Monday on that National Mall.  The temperature was in the 70s for the first time in weeks, the sun was shining, and the sporty citizens of DC were out in force.  I ran 4.9 miles at an 11:37 pace, which for me is phenomenal.  It felt good to feel success on that part of training, considering how hard it had been to run in the heat the previous week.

Also, my fundraising is going ok so far.  It's more challenging this time, but I'm looking forward to throwing a bake sale and a happy hour and seeing what I can't accomplish that way.

I owe it to the people who inspire me to run (my honored teammates Toby and Erica) and to everyone who has donated so far.  It's surprising just how much this affects me and keeps me going.

Tri Training Week Two: Sweaty in Seattle

Weekly Mileage: 29.3 (9.2 Running, 1.5 Swimming, 18.6 biking)

Wow.  I just checked my sweet google doc training tracker (sounds more impressive than it really is at a whopping 4 columns in excel) and I have trained 10 days in a row.  In those 10 days I have worked out 12 times!  But here's the really cool part: the last 4 workouts were while I was ON VACATION.  Yep, I'm that person.  I work out every day of my vacation.  And until yesterday I really didn't even resent it.  In fact, I looked forward to it.

This positive attitude was probably the result of location and company.  From what I could tell over the weekend, there are few places more beautiful and conducive to outdoor exercise than Seattle.  Upon landing I went for a run around Greenlake with Non-red Kate, a former rugby teammate.  The air was crisp, the sky was sunny and blue (I’m beginning to think they lie about Seattle weather just to keep us away), and the three mile loop around the little lake was a perfect welcome to Seattle.

Another thing about summer in Seattle is the sheer amount of daylight.   The sun came up at six and didn’t really set until around 9:30 or 10:00.  As a result, I got in a full day of fun and adventure (sleeping in, shopping with my high school history teacher Henry, pedicures and dinner with my Mississippi roommate Gwyn) and still was able to squeeze my run in at 8:30pm!  It was after a delicate rain shower, and newly wet pavement is one of my favorite smells.  Heaven.

Saturday morning I borrowed Henry's wife Catherine’s pimped out Specialized road bike and took it for a spin along the Burke Gilman trail.  I rode through the University of Washington, along a canal, and through the Fremont neighborhood.  I finished back at the Kamerlings atop a massive hill.  When I got into the house, their six-year-old daughter said, “You’re sweaty.”  Yep.  Sure was.

The final workout of the vacation was a quick run to the beach at Golden Gardens, the site of the wedding that brought me to Seattle in the first place.  The run to and from the beach was  no big deal: 3.5 miles of gentle ups and downs, with a view of the mountains in the distance on the way there.  However, as I approached the park, I reached a set of stairs heading down.  I skipped down the steps knowing that beautiful views awaited me upon my arrival.  But about half way down I realized I’d have to go back up.  The final count was 253 stairs, plus a few straightaways in the middle.  Having just run almost two miles, I was none too pleased to be climbing.  Upon reaching the bottom of the final set of stairs with just 25 more to climb, an 80-year-old man looked at me, smiled and said, “You’re movin’ awfully slow.”  Yep.  Sure was.

So maybe I'm sweaty.  And maybe I'm slow.  But the bottom line is, I'm having fun training for this triathlon!

Uphill Battle

Weekly mileage: 9.8 (3 running, 6.8 cycling)

On your mark.  Get set.  Go!  Kick-off for Team In Training's summer season was yesterday, and what an event it was.  I continue to be impressed and inspired by the organization.  Not only are we working together on an important mission (raising money to fight blood cancers), but the organization is incredibly well run, encouraging, and exciting to be a part of!

I ran into several friends from last season's half marathon training who greeted me with big hugs and a bit of terror in their eyes.  Afterall, we had signed up to do an Olympic distance triathlon!  We met our mentors, received our training schedules, and heard from coaches and cancer survivors, all attesting to the challenges and victories we will encounter on this four month journey.

There are three triathlon training schedules, depending on your level of fitness.  Well.  I am incredibly proud to say that because of the half marathon and running club, I am going to start out at the highest level and see if I can stay there for the duration of training!

My first workout of the season was today: a 40-minute bike ride. Because my bike tutor is out of town, this was my first unsupervised ride.  I had a lot of nerves going into it.  I packed my under-seat bike pouch with my phone, license, debit card, and health insurance card.  You know, just in case.  I filled up my REI water bottle and stuck it in my REI water cages (I'm keeping those people in business!), clicked on my cycling shoes, and headed out the door.  I had to walk through the lobby of my building in spandex and what amount to really overpriced tap dancing shoes, and I made plenty of noise and drew much attention.  But then I was off! 

The first bit of the ride was no big deal, my biggest concern being getting my feet out of the cleats in time to stop at the stoplights.  Let me tell you...I'm a pro!  I only almost fell down once!  But then, because I'm not familiar with my neighborhood beyond my grocery store, I found out it's dirty little secret.  HILLS.

My first workout was a hill workout.  Totally by accident.  After the one thing they told us yesterday was to start slowly.  Oops.  By the time I got halfway up the fifth hill my legs were shaking, sweat was pouring down my face...well...it was pouring down my everything, and I wanted to stop.  But I kept pedaling, standing up as I made it the last few yards up that hill.  I was really proud of myself!  Then I remembered, there were three more to go before home.  So I took a rest, hydrated (that's what it's called...drinking water is for sissies!), and went on my way.  All in all I did 6.8 miles in 40 minutes, or about 10 miles per hour.  I have no idea if this is fast or slow for me, but it gives me a good baseline from which to measure and grow. 

I'm so excited for this adventure, but I can tell already it's going to be the most physically challenging thing I've ever done.  And what did I learn so far?  Biking up hills makes the hiking up hills we did last seem like a walk in the woods.  Oh.  Wait...

Springtime Ride

Spring is here in full effect!  It is azalea and dogwood season, and DC couldn't be prettier.  After the forecast for the apocalypse proved to bring nothing more than a drizzle (sorry, St. Louis), we had two gorgeous days for outdoor activities this weekend.  Turns out you can still get plenty of exercise with a broken nose, just not of the rugby variety.

Yesterday's run was a last-minute decision, since I was waiting all day for the thunderstorms that never came.  Late in the afternoon, I decided that the bright blue sky and golden sun was a signal that there would not be tornadoes, and it was probably safe to venture outside.  You must understand, however, that I did not eat like I was going for a run yesterday.  I ate like I was going to spend the rest of the day inside comfortably digesting while reading a book.  Needless to say, the run was not super fast or super long, it was just super obvious that I had a burrito baby the whole time.

Anyway, today's long awaited first bike ride (outside the parking lot) couldn't have gone better.  After a flurry of rescheduling, Megan the bike tutor (not to be confused with EMT Megan or Hooker Megan...) met me at the corner of East-West Highway (no joke...it runs east and west) and Beach Drive, a gorgeous road that is closed to cars on the weekends and reserved for outdoor activities.  We rode for about an hour and 20 minutes, did about 17 miles (estimate), I didn't fall off, we conquered some hills, and enjoyed the lovely weather. 

And what did I learn?  Well...

1. Though it feels like you're wearing a diaper in the store, and in the elevator, and in front of everyone, you are SO GLAD you bought those shorts with padding in the butt.

2. The guy at REI who tried to scare you about your fancy bike was just jealous.  It's not hard to ride, in fact it's quite fun with its "Barca Lounger handlebars (Barinholtz, 2011)."

3. Bike riding uses different muscles from running, though your awesome calves that you developed running still look awesome when you're riding your bike.  In fact, "The only reason I do any of this is to have awesome calves (O'Rourke, 2011)."

4. You should REALLY make sure you have water-bottle cages BEFORE your first bike ride with your crazy bike-riding friend.  Because you will be thirsty.

5. Even though you used to make fun of shirts with pockets in the back (I mean seriously...POCKETS??? In the back???  Of a SHIRT???), you will probably go out this afternoon and buy a shirt with pockets in the back.  Because where else are you supposed to put all the crap?  Answer: Megan's shirt with pockets in the back.

So now I've conquered two of the three sports in my triathlon.  Up next: Bathing suit shopping.  I think I'll go this one alone...

Just Like Riding a Bike

After three weeks of waiting patiently, I finally got on my new bike!  The long road to the joy of a triathlon bike began when my old high school basketball coach sent an e-mail asking me if I'd like to buy her bike, as she was upgrading to a super sweet carbon fiber model.  Knowing nothing about bikes except that I needed one for the triathlon, and that we are about the same height, I went for it.

Mom picked the bike up from Courtney and drove it out here like the fabulous drop everything and do favors for her kids woman she is.  In an effort to prevent the evil suburban Pennsylvania thieves from stealing it from the hotel, however, she took it out of the car and lost a piece.  Hence the bike spent a week at REI waiting for a new bearing and getting a nice tune-up.

When we dropped it off at the store, it became abundantly clear that this was going to be a bit too much bike for me.  The sweet old man at the bike shop looked me up and down and asked "Have you ever ridden a bike like THAT?" 

Shit.

Luckily my bike tutor/friend Megan was returning from a trip to Africa the next weekend and promised to take me accessory shopping and give me a bike lesson.  When she saw that bike she said "Wow.  Ok.  We'll make this work.  Those are the hard pedals."

Shit.

But we bought shoes, attached the cleats, got a helmet, and made a date for bike lesson number one.  She joined me in the parking lot this afternoon, and step by step taught me how to put on my shoes.  I'm not joking.  There's steps to putting ON the shoes.  But because she's such a good teacher, I was able to clip into the pedals and ride without falling down!  I rode around the whole apartment complex (comparable to a city block or two), and even leaned down onto the fancy "areo-bars" and went SUPOR fast (for me) until I got scared and pumped the breaks.

Then I decided it was time to take pictures.  Guess what.  I fell down.

Well, at least I got that out of the way.  And I landed on my rugby bruise, so no harm done.  Next week we leave the parking lot!