triathlon club - week 4

monday 10/22 - spinning and abs

once again it was spinning class with aaron who is not very good at projecting his voice and has the music on too loud.  however, i was able to semi-interpret what he was saying, which was that we would be doing 5 minute intervals mixed with 4 minute intervals, and the 5 minute intervals should be slightly hard but trying to keep rpm around 100; 30 seconds rest; 4 minute intervals should be slightly harder and try to keep rpm above 90.

i found that the bike i rode today was much different from the one i rode last week. (i sat in the front row with kyle and alex)  for one, the gears were way different.  usually my base gear is an 8 or maybe a 9.  10 would be working hard.  i would stand for gear 14.  today, gear 13 felt pretty good for keeping it around 95-100 rpm and when i put it up to 14, i could keep the rpm at 90-95.  

first, bike settings.  

seat height = I (or was it J?)
handles = 3
seat dept = 4.5
this seemed more comfortable than however i had it before.  though still not comfortable.
base gear = 13

warmup - 5 minutes 
 
for the 5 minute intervals: 5 total
gear = 13
rpm = 100

for the 4 minute intervals: 4 total
gear = 14
rpm = 90-95

when, during the last 5 minute interval, "call me maybe" came on, i started rocking out (head thrashing, arm gestures, etc), and was able to do some sprints where i got up to 115 rpm easily on gear 13.  i also did a few 1 minute climbs on gear 17.

workout totals:
average rpm = 90
average wattage = 132
total kcal = 442
total distance = 23.6 km

after that, i went downstairs to do some abs, since i didn't want to do walking pushups in the cycling room on the hard floor.

abs (all x20 unless noted):
crunch
flutter kick
scissor kick
bridge
bridge hold (30 seconds)
penguins
alternating toe touch
bicycles
100s (65x2)
side crunch
knee plank (30 seconds)
reverse crunch
full situp
back extensions

food:  cheese and black bean quesadilla, chocolate milk w/protein powder.  not bad for a monday!

tuesday 10/23 - weights (arms, shoulders, back, abs)

kelly couldn't make it so i met up with alex and we did some of the usual exercises, plus some additional ones to keep things interesting.

bicep curl	20lb bar	3x10
deadlift	20lb bar	3x10
fly (side)	5lb each	3x10
tricep - skull crusher	10lb both	3x10
lat pulldown	62.5lb	3x10
shrug	20lb each	3x10
upright row	10lb each	3x10
seated row	65lb	3x10
tricep - kickback	10lb each	3x10
pullover	20lb both	3x10
hip walks	blue band	3x20
abs (10 min):
back extension	30
side extension	30
captains chair knee-ups	30
situp	10
crunch	30
side plank (knee)	30sec
flutter kick	30
scissor kick	30
dbl leg lowering	10
bridge	30
bridge hold	30sec
penguins	30
bicycles	30
alternating toe touch	30
supermans	30

by the end i think we could safely say that our abs were fatigued and we felt like we'd definitely worked out.  i know i still need to work on core strength (more planks) but overall i felt good about the workout.

food:  banana, chocolate milk, 1/2 an avocado, 2 pieces of pita with cheese melted on it (leftover from saturday dinner).  yum!

wednesday 10/24 - swimming and running
 swimming 

getting up this morning was a little more challenging than previous days, simply because i didn't get to sleep until after 1130 and 5.5 hours of sleep is pushing it when i'm already tired.  at 5 the alarm started going off, and i thought, "i could sleep for 5 more minutes."  but then i remembered that i needed all the time last week, and even those last 5 minutes count when getting ready in the morning and feeling sleepy.  this, thankfully, was a morning where time did not go by faster than it ought, and i was able to eat my granola bar, make my breakfast burrito, pack my things, get dressed, put on my shoes, and be on my way out the door at 550.  it was not raining much (maybe a light sprinkle) and while the road was wet, the ride was easy.  it took me 7 minutes to get to the gym and one more minute to lock my bike, etc.  and i was still maybe 2 minutes early, so i was ready to run in and get my towel as soon as they let us through the gates.

200 swim	200
8x50 drill [4x4/CU/fist/ftd] w/fins	400
200 (supposed to be 300)	200
150, 100 (supposed to be 3x150)	250
150  (supposed to be 300)	150
3x100 (supposed to be 3x150)	300
100 ez	100
total	1600

the great thing about today was that, although i was winded most of the time, taz (the swim coach) told me that my form looked great and that my stroke was very efficient so he didn't think we needed to work on that.  what we need to work on is my endurance.  but he was impressed (he said "your stroke looks awesome") by my improvement from last week.  every length of the pool i have to remind myself about so many things:

1. dunk your head deeper; hinge at the hip, force upper body downward.
2. try not to turn your head too far when you breathe.
3. kick from the hip / point the toe.
4. rotate from hips with each stroke, turn body sideways toward bottom of pool.
5. stick the hand in and anchor, pull body past the hand.

the last one is something i haven't even begun to focus on, because every time i start doing one of the the top 4, i stop doing one or more of the other 3.  i'm hoping the breathing will start to come more natural with the dunking my head deeper and rotating my body.  today i would say i drank less water, but still inhaled some and ended up having to stop to cough in the middle of a lap.

so i started thinking later, maybe the reason that i'm out of breath all the time isn't because i'm out of shape.  i have tons of endurance when i'm dancing, and while this is in the water, it shouldn't be THAT different.  now that my stroke is getting more efficient, i should be gliding through the water with ease.  but i'm still out of breath.  i then thought, maybe it's because every time i breathe, it feels like i'm gasping for air.  at work later, dave made a good point, suggesting that i try to completely empty my lungs before going for a breath.  as i reason this out, maybe the reason i'm out of breath is because it's almost like i'm hyperventilating.  we'll see.  i will ask the coach on friday and maybe test out this skill.

food:  breakfast burrito - tortilla, 2 eggs, 2 slices provolone cheese, 2 spoonfuls black beans, 2 spoonfuls yumm sauce, 2 cups chai tea soy drink with 3 tbsp protein powder


running -  http://goo.gl/maps/5k08f

when we all showed up for running, it was sprinkling outside and cold.  i hadn't brought a long sleeve shirt (note to self:  bring long sleeve shirts to work) and i thought my fleece jacket would get to hot and wet inside and icky.  so, i opted for just my t-shirt and short workout pants and my bandana which would have to keep my ears warm.  (and the sleeve of my shirt would double as a kleenex)

we started out and immediately everyone was gone.  i decided not to push my pace right away.  it occurred to me that another aspect of my slowness is that sometimes i have no idea where i'm going or what's in store.  i knew there was at least 1 hill but i didn't know exactly where or what it would be like.  these other people have probably run this course 100 times and know it backward and forward.  maybe one day i will too.  then i saw a rainbow and i was happy to be out where i could experience it.

it was cold and my arms and hands were cold, but overall my body felt pretty good.  i kept reminding myself to relax my toes so i wouldn't get a blister again.  i found that the arch of my foot, my ankle / ligament, and my knees were the main culprits of discomfort while i was running.  nothing terrible, but i think i will look into getting some new shoes very soon.  that was a nice daydream while i plodded along - shoe shopping!  also maybe some long sleeve performance shirts and some running tights w/zipper pocket!

the team all got to wherever they were going (i don't think they went as far as they were 'supposed' to) and then came back down the hill toward me.  well, one girl who i'd not met yet came down first and i thought, "oh, this is nice, she'll run with me" (even though she'd kept up with the fast group the whole time) but she just jogged slightly in front of me until the rest of the team came barreling down the hill and then she turned and went back with them.  the president (aaron) gave me a high five and said "nice job" and then they were all gone again.

one nice thing about this run was that the landmarks that i remembered from the map kept coming sooner than i expected.  the bad thing was that i wasn't exactly sure which way the roads went at a few crossroads, so i did a little extra running for no reason, other than i didn't know which road was which.

overall this was a pretty nice route.  there was a semi-long hill but in retrospect, it wasn't that bad and i could probably do it again.  the hills, both up and down, are more of a walk than a run for me.  i still don't have that spring in my step that propels me up an incline, and i'm terrified of spraining my ankle again on a downhill.  i took that time to remember to breathe, and relax out a cramp that was starting to form on my side.

but the best part of the run was when i got over to brooklane dr.  the trees that had been planted along the road / sidewalk interspace were all changing color to orange and yellow and red and the sky was bluish with big white fluffy clouds along with pinkish hues and some darker clouds.  it was not raining.  it was not cold.  it felt really comfortable and for the first time in awhile, i felt my posture improve and i felt happy that i was out there to experience this moment.

i was satisfied that i found the route completely on my own, and that i put a little pep in my step once i crossed from brooklane to 26, and i really pushed myself from western all the way back to the gym.  the rest of the group was just finishing up their running drills and were doing some stationary exercises / stretching.  i did a few lunges but my knees were bugging me.  i did some calf stretches and i figured, they saw me, they know i'm back, i can go now.

note to self:  it is not summer anymore.  wear more clothing.

summary - 5.2 miles, 63 minutes

food:  chocolate milk, yogurt, apple sauce

thursday 10/25 - zumba and running

zumba

met up with laurie at noon for zumba class.  it is definitely more fun to take this class with laurie.  she is funny and gets her groove on.  and she is more coordinated than me, and celebrates my ridiculousness when i go right instead of left or make funny faces or can't figure out how to make my body do the moves.  and when i do get it right, i can safely say "we are the party."  zumba is fun and silly and there's lots of booty shaking / bumping / wiggling and also chest popping.  it's just 45 minutes of good times.  a fun break to all the serious workouts i've been doing lately, and a welcome moment of laughter and ease.

summary - 45 minutes cardio, with lots of core work

running - http://goo.gl/maps/GxcCt

i was able to convince alex and kelly to go running with me a little later than the prescribed 515 meeting time, simply because the experiment was taking longer than i expected (hello fragmented day) and i knew i wouldn't be ready to go until 530, and those runners DO NOT WAIT.  we met up at dixon and i proposed going out to 53rd via the covered bridge road.  everyone seemed amenable to that, knowing it was slightly longer than a 5K.  i also encouraged them to run at their pace if they wanted to go on ahead, i would be OK.  or they could hang back with me and get a taste of my experience in the slow lane.  it was a really nice night, cool but i don't think it was a cold as yesterday, and it wasn't raining.  i'm not sure if kelly had been on the covered bridge road before, but she was pretty excited when we went past the llamas.  who wouldn't be?

after we turned around, i discussed how we could, if we wanted to, do intervals, like sprints between telephone poles or other landmarks.  we could also do skipping or side steps or powerwalking.  we did all of those.  the most notable was skipping in the covered bridge, after alex said he didn't know how to skip.  also, apparently i rock at powerwalking.  who knew? 

i was able to sprint the last bit before we got back to dixon, at which point i crossed the road and discovered kelly and alex having this deep discussion about a dragon and dwarfs and black and white hats and how to save the dwarfs from being eaten by the dragon.  it was all a little to deep and philosophical for me, so i did some stretching while the bended (bent?) their minds around this subject. 

we didn't do any addition ab exercises.  maybe everyone is saving themselves for swimming in the morning.

summary:  3.8 miles, 40 minutes


friday 10/26 - swimming and dancing

swimming

another early start, made possible by last night's planning and action.

this morning we are doing 200s, which i am finding that i just can't do without stopping.  with the addition of more relaxed breathing / not gasping, after 100 i still find myself struggling through the water.  not sure if it's because i feel some sense to rush or hurry up, or the combination of all the aspects - head dunking, swallowing water, twisting - which is getting easier, kicking from the hip, and now relaxed breathing.  it's a lot to remember and do.  i ended up doing mostly 150s for everyone else's 200s, but for the fast 200 we were supposed to do, i attempted to do a full 200 without stopping.  i got through 150 and thought i could keep going, but i got a few strokes into the last 50 and realized i just couldn't do it.  i was too short of breath and fatigued and swallowing water and i decided i couldn't / didn't want to struggle through any more.  so i retreated to the end where everyone else was getting their 200 times and being congratulated by the coach.  i was so out of breath that i was kind of hyperventilating and then, out of nowhere, i just started crying.  it was hidden well in the gasping breaths, but i felt like i couldn't hold it in anymore, as if i'd been holding it in for some time.

sometimes i think that when the coach tells me to adjust something, he figures i'll do it immediately.  maybe everyone else is just a sponge and can change things on a dime.  he does keep saying my stroke looks good, that we'll just work on more relaxed breathing.  and he keeps adding things for me to work on, and my body is still adjusting to the other things, and it all feels like too much.  and then i put pressure on myself to be better more quickly, and because i'm not improving like i feel like i should be, i am a little frustrated or maybe just disappointed in myself and there go the tears.

200 swim	200
150 (12 kick x 3 pull / drill) - CU/Fist/FTD	150
150 en1
150 build
100 ns
150 fast	550
150 en1
150 build
150 fast	450
300 EZ	300
total	1650

anyway, alex didn't join us this morning, but kelly made it.  and after swimming i sat with kelly while eating my breakfast and we had a nice chat about things.  especially unexpected crying; it's like, we're not in pain and we're OK, but any shock-like situation (like gasping for air or getting the wind knocked out of you) brings on the tears for what feels like 'no reason'.  it's good to know i'm not alone in that. 

food - breakfast burrito:  2 eggs, thick piece of provolone, grillers original morningstar burger, 1/2 tomato, 1 spoonful yumm sauce, chocolate protein drink. 

dancing

i know i'll be doing 4 hours of high energy dancing in seattle tonight!  can't wait - especially to see my friends!  maybe i'll catch some zzz's on the ride from portland to seattle (jon will drive so i can sleep)

saturday 10/27 - dancing!  about 10 hours worth...


sunday 10/28 - dancing!  about 4 hours worth...

triathlon club - week 3

monday 10/15 - spinning

since i was in portland in the morning, i wasn't able to make it to the 6am swim class.  i opted to try out the spinning workout instead.  kelly and alex attended with me, and we arrived and set up our bikes and got pedaling. 

i find that my seat is never really adjusted properly and i spend a good amount of time during the class making adjustments.  one day perhaps i'll find exactly the right settings, but at this time i still don't know them.

seat height - I
handle height - 4
seat depth - 4.5
base gear - 8

we spent some time warming up, just pedaling around 90 rpm at our base gear.

did three 3-minute intervals (pedal for 3 minutes, maybe 1 minute break), where we tried to keep around 100 rpm.  i think i started at gear 8 and worked up to gear 9 maybe by the third one.

then we did a 10-5-10 which is a 10 minute interval, 1 minute rest, 5 minute interval, 1 minute rest, 10 minute interval.  for the 10 minute we were supposed to be at 75% of our wattage from the 3 minute intervals.  i tried to keep it around 90 rpm and increased the gears to 9 or 10.  a few times i stood up just for fun, and when i did that i put the gears up to 14 so it wouldn't be as hard on my knees.

overall, i burned 351 kilocalories in just about 50 minutes.  go me!


tuesday 10/16 - zumba and weights

so laurie was supposed to meet me at the gym and we were going to go to BODYPUMP at noon.  turns out, there is no BODYPUMP at noon on tuesday, but maybe she didn't know that.  so when i got there and found out the options were yoga, zumba, or cycling.  i thought to myself, "what would laurie do?"  i decided since i'd done cycling the night before, that i would zumba.  plus, laurie likes zumba.  i didn't see her when i got there but thought she might be there anyway.  wrong.  she was nowhere.  so i went to zumba and stood in the front and showed off my white girl.  or maybe my old girl.  i don't have the smooth moves of the other girls, but i did my best.  at least i noticed people in the class that didn't have ultra skinny legs and/or weren't rail thin.  finally!  some real people in the classes.

around 6, kelly, alex and i met up to do some weight training, which had been the original plan for the day.  since we all rode our bikes to the gym, we didn't do any cardio but did do a little loosening up as we talked about what exercises we wanted to do.  we decided that since running and biking and swimming focus on legs A LOT, that we should do some arm/shoulder/back/ab exercises.  here's what i did:

upright row	10lb each hand	3x10
upright back extensions	-	30
bent over row	20lb bar	3x10
lat pulldown	50lb	3x10
tricep kickbacks	10lb	3x10
fly (out to the side)	5lb each hand	3x10
bicep curls / deadlifts	20lb bar	3x10 / 3x5

abs - about 12 minutes:
bicycles - 30
penguins - 30
low cross legged crunches - 30
double leg lowering - 10
supermans - 30
plank - 1x30 sec
100's (in boat position) - 100
bridges (slow) - 30
alternating toe touches - 30
reach toes to the ceiling - 10
captains chair knee raises - 30

a pretty good workout.  hope i'm not too sore for swimming tomorrow.

wednesday 10/17 - swimming forgetting, nightmaring, finding and running

today was supposed to be a swimming and running day.  swimming first.

i woke up at 5:15 and ate my granola bar.  rested until 5:30, got my swimsuit on, gathered my things, then went looking for my ID card.  not in my pants.  not in my jacket.  oh crap, where could it be?  it is in the little pouch with my license and my key card for work.  did i leave it at the gym by accident?  no, because i went back to work after weights.  so it's either at work, at my house, or lost somewhere in between.  i scavenge all the things i used yesterday, go through all my clothes, dump out my backpack.  not there.  i look at the clock. it's now 5:55.  there is no way i will make it in time for swimming, and they wouldn't let me into the gym anyway with no photo id.  i decided to ride my bike the exact way that i walked home last night, looking along the route to see if it's still around somewhere on the ground.  since most people probably weren't scouring the streets between 11:30pm and 6am, and my guess is that most runners/walkers wouldn't pick it up, there's a good chance that it would have stayed where it was dropped.  if i dropped it.

i didn't remember reaching into my pockets at all last night while walking, and the bike ride to work proved it.  the pouch was nowhere to be found.  so, i decided to go home, figuring that i couldn't get into work until 8, at which time i would convince the people at the front desk to buzz me in and i'd go up to work and find it.  so, knowing this, i went back to sleep.  set an alarm for 7:30, ignored it.  heard my housemates talking and figured it was just before 9; kept sleeping.  then went into a dream that started off as a fundraiser, i believed, and there were lots of tall / famous basketball players there, along with others.  we watched a video or a talk / lecture, and then one of the basketball players went up to this asian woman who was married and basically dragged her upstairs to have his way with her.  i asked the husband what he thought of that, and he just lay face down on the floor looking shocked and dumbfounded, figuring there was nothing he could do.  i panicked, thinking, "oh my god, he'll come for me next!" so i ran out of there to go to my car.  which i thought i parked somewhere, but it wasn't there, then i remembered it was somewhere else, and when i got to it, the back wheels were REMOVED from the car, and the whole top of the car was stripped off and everything was taken out of the car.  i started to freak out, thinking, who could i call at this hour?  it's too early and brandy and danielle won't be at work yet.  then i think i had a split second where i realized it wasn't real and i woke up, suddenly.  looked at the clock, it was 9:30.  got up and got my things together (i had slept with all my clothes on) and found my housemate steve in the dining room.  he had lost his gym bag with climbing clothes in it, and also a large bottle of vinegar.  i found the vinegar, and after we went out to the garage, i found the gym bag.  2 for 2.  then i called danielle and she confirmed that my wallet/pouch was at work next to my computer, so i went to work confident that i hadn't lost everything (except my mind, a little bit).  when i went in the front door to explain to the desk people that i needed to be buzzed in, i think i opened my mouth and pointed up like i was going to say something, then paused, then the guy said, "you need to be buzzed in?"  maybe this is a common occurrence.

anyway having skipped swimming i was committed to making it to running.

running:  http://goo.gl/maps/sAuZe

got over there around  5:15 and put my stuff in my locker and remembered the key to my lock so i could open it after the run.  met up with the people, talked about where to run.  i confirmed where we were going and figured out where i could shortcut.  since we were going up witham hill, i knew i'd be slower than everyone, but i knew if they were going to run up and down the hill 2x or go on circle blvd or do some other addition, i could always just go down the hill and meet them back at dixon.   and i said as much to the coach who came back for me right as i was heading up the back side of the hill along the bike path.  he acknowledged my competence of knowledge of the area, and then took off with some other runners who were darting off into the woods on a trail i'd never been on.  didn't care to go on it either.  (when we started the running, i attempted to start off fast with the back of the pack, but i realized very quickly that was a poor strategy when i noticed my legs felt like lead weights again.)  i got up to witham hill drive, turned right, and headed downhill.  i crossed the street to get onto grant, and here come the fast guys - a pack of maybe 5-6 of them - and they pass me.  next to pass me, around the corner of grant and 29th are the coach and the other girl who went out running.  they say "nice work" and "good job" and give me the thumbs up.  we turn south on 29th and i can't tell for sure if that's the way the other guys went, they're too far ahead.  somewhere along 29th, before we get to harrison, here come the last 2 guys - the older guys that always run with us - and they tell me i'm doing a good job "sweetie" and i say thanks.  and they have to stop at harrison so i catch up to them, but then they take off again.  

it was good to be cheered on a little and good to not be SO far behind that i feel like i'll never catch up.  i think that's a good modification for me - make the distance shorter somehow.  i pushed myself from the MU to the fields, and i felt good though the tendons in my left ankle were sore as was the arch of my left foot.  when i got to the fields i did some ankle circles and stretching while the rest of the team did a length and back of 'build'.  then i joined and we did some butt kicks, some jogging backward, and jogging forward.  then we did side / slide step both sides, and grapevines both sides.  then they did some frankenstein walks and i did some more stretching, as my hamstrings were starting to seize up a little bit.  they also did another 1/2 length build here.  then we all jogged down to the far end of the field and did a few dynamic exercises.  

squat / reaches  x 15
lunges x 15  (the original exercise was to stand on one leg in a running position and lower your knee/foot backwards, keeping them in line.  this was hurting my knee so i did lunges instead)
stand against the fence and push with your leg 2 x 30sec each leg  (worked the hips.  i was shaking)
moving pushups x 10  (center, walk over to the left, pushup, walk over to the right, etc.)
side planks x 30sec
bridges with leg lift x 15 each leg

did a little personal stretching and my legs feel OK at this moment.  as i was walking back to the gym i realized, CRAP, i left my ID card in my locker!  but i had seen people walk in with a key to their locker and show it to the desk person and they let them in before.  thankfully, there wasn't a crowd when i went up to tell the nice girl that i had spaced out and locked my ID in my locker, but that i did have it and i had this key to open my locker.  she said, "no problem, thanks for telling me."  so i ran in, got my stuff (about 5 seconds) and came back out and waved my ID at her.  she smiled.  

what a day with the losing / finding / forgetting things!  oy!

summary:  4.3 miles, 46 minutes;  15 minutes of additional exercises.


thursday 10/18 - running  map:  http://goo.gl/maps/GxcCt

not many people met up for running today, probably because there wasn't an email.  but alex and i were there along with maybe 4 other guys.  they wanted to run brooklane (see day 1 of training) but i said that was farther than i wanted to go and didn't have a loop back, so how about we do midge cramer?  i figured they would go out to bald hill, do the loop, then come back.  i could turn back whenever i wanted and that way they'd see me if something happened.  instead they went out to the fairgrounds, south to hwy 34, bike path to sw 26th and back to campus.  

i realized right away that they started off faster than i could keep up with, so i resigned myself to my slow pace.  around 1/2 way out, my ankle started bothering me, so i stopped and did some ankle circles and tried to convince myself everything was fine.  the pain seemed to pass.  further along i noticed my knee was bothering me, so i started this plan of getting to landmarks and if it really hurt too much, i would stop and walk.  so i chose a telephone pole up ahead, or the next barn, or the cross road, or the next building.  each time i made it and each time i kept going.  i even picked up a little speed at the end of the run.  

back at dixon...after changing and going back outside i encountered alex who was talking with david.  i went outside and alex joined me, and as we went out to the street, the homecoming parade came by, so we stopped and watched.  i love anything that has to do with school spirit, so that was a really enjoyable way to end the day.

summary:  3.8 miles, 44 minutes, a few brief periods of walking/stretching, striving for landmarks

unrelated note:  i witnessed a man smoking on campus today on my way back from my run.  i noticed how grotesque it smelled.  i wanted to charge up to the man and say, "excuse me, did you know this is now a smoke free campus?"  i didn't, of course, because i'm a wimp and hate confrontation, and imagined him yelling at me that he needed it because some close relative just died and he got fired from his job so back off, ok?  but really, i wanted someone to tell him to knock it off.  not allowed here anymore, buddy!  take it elsewhere.



friday 10/19 - swimming

everything went according to plan this morning, except i somehow was running slightly late.  thankfully i got into the water at the same time as the guys so i guess i wasn't late.  today in the slow lane it was me, kyle, don, and a new guy whose name i've now forgotten.  turns out don (actually i thought he said his name was donald) is in FES with kelly.

our lane got a lot of attention from taz today.  he really wanted us to pay attention to the clock, versus just going whenever.  using the clock would allow us to rest more, and he thought that was a good thing for us, seeing as i spent most of the time being winded.

i once again started out too fast and was wiped by the end of my first 50.  i had to stop and catch my breath.  why is swimming so hard?  i focused a lot on mashing my head down into the water to make myself more aerodynamic.  

here are the tips jess and taz gave me the day i was filmed:

• face straight down in the water.  look directly at the bottom of the pool.
• pushing the upper half of the body into the water raises the legs
• try to breathe tipping only 1/2 your face out of the water
• kick from the hip, not from the knees

so i'd been trying to work on these things, but it was making me slow.

here are some other tips taz gave us today:

• use your hips to twist your body; that's where the power comes from (think baseball)
• twist your body so that the side of your body and armpit face the bottom of the pool - finger tip drag drill helps with this
• pretend you are swimming in jello.  place your hand in the water and set it, and envision your body going past the arm without you having to use your arm to pull yourself past.

 trying to work on these tips made me even slower, though to be honest, i was still working on the first set of tips.  it is actually hard to remember to do everything with every stroke, so i guess i'll have to keep going in order to make the first set of tips second nature so i can get better at the rest of it.  but i did actually feel pretty good with the rotating my entire body vs just my shoulders. 

and here's the workout that i completed (well, mostly completed.  it was hard to remember exactly what i did because i had to keep stopping to rest and also, the others in my lane kept starting something new and i had to skip what i hadn't finished to join in whatever they were doing):


100 swim   
100 CU/4x4 by 25s   
100 swim   
100 fist/ftd by 25s             400
2 x 25 back/breast stroke   
2 x 25 every 5th stroke     100
1x150                                    150
2 x 25 back/breast stroke   
2 x 25 every 5th stroke     100
1x200                                   200
2 x 25 back/breast stroke   
2 x 25 every 5th stroke    100
1x150                                   150
2 x 25 back/breast stroke   
2 x 25 every 5th stroke    100
100 EZ                                 100
total distance                      1400

i struggled most with the breathing every 5th stroke.  i was able to do it for one 25, but the others i had to breath more like every 3 or 4.

i ate my home made breakfast burrito for breakfast after the workout.  it had 2 scrambled eggs, mozzarella cheese, 2 spoonfuls of black beans wrapped in a tortilla.  i was so hungry.  it was delicious.  i forgot the chocolate milk again, but ate the banana and yogurt later on when we arrived at our field site for work - somewhere west of eddyville.

saturday 10/20 - contra dance in bend  (caught up on some sleep on the way to bend)

sunday 10/21 - contra dance for sharon and corey's wedding  (caught up on some sleep on the way home from bend)

triathlon club - week 1

well this is something completely different.

tuesday 10/2:  i went to my first ever OSU triathalon club meeting with kelly.  they handed out some paperwork outlining everything the club has to offer, which sounds pretty sweet if you have all the time in the world to devote to the club.  there are practices every day (including weekends) except tuesday, but you probably could do something on tuesday if you really wanted to knock yourself out.  all the races are on weekends.  and dues are $35 which is cheap.  apparently a kit (jersey / shorts) runs around $70-80.  and you get mega discounts on gear things.  but you have to volunteer for 2 full day race events (beaver fever and beaver freezer) in order to reap all the benefits of the club.  which is that you get coaching every day, sometimes multiple times a day if you choose (except tuesday), and you get all your races reimbursed, if you choose to go to them.

the practice schedule is:
swim practice:  mon-wed-fri 6am
run practice:  wed-thur 5:15pm, sun 8am
bike practice:  sat 9am, hopefully some spinning classes sprinkled in during the week

i leave the meeting and decide i'm going to give this a try.  or a tri, as it were.

wednesday 10/3:  run practice  http://goo.gl/maps/bJkpq
was supposed to start at 515pm.  i went early to sign my waiver and met up with my housemate alex, who may also join the team.  the team congregated.  and waited.  the coach came running up at 530pm.  i had mapped the run we were going to do.  i figured it was 4.5 miles or so.  since i'd been running at 10 minute mile for 2 miles sort of regularly for the last few months, i thought it would take me 45 minutes, and since practice was supposed to be an hour, i'd have 15 minutes left to do whatever other "drills/exercises" they had in store for us.

the coach is cool and there's a group of maybe 15 of us.  he assures us that no one will be left behind and that people will loop back.  we take off from the gym and i start in the middle of the pack and quickly - i mean within a few blocks - am at the back of the pack.  as the last 2 people go by me (2 older guys) one of them says, "come on sweetie!" and i say, aloud, "i can't run faster."  so we cross over to brooklane and it's a curvy road, and at some point i realize i can barely see the 2 older guys in front of me.  at this point the coach comes back for me, makes sure i'm ok, and then goes back to meet up with the 2 older guys.  and after awhile, i can't see anyone on the team.  so i think, surely they will double back for me.

then we start up a hill.  i am the first to admit that i am no good at hills.  i'm just not.  i feel my legs turning to lead weights and i can barely move them.  but i do.  and as i'm coming to the top of the long hill, the coach comes back to check on me again.  i say, "i mapped the course, i think it's 4.5 miles.  i've been running 2 on a semi-regular basis."  he says, "well this will just be double that.  so i'm going to run ahead and catch back up with the others so i can tell them about drills."  which i take to mean,"they are going to finish before you but i will come back for you to make sure you are OK."

and then i'm alone again.

FLASHBACK:  i think about elementary school.  i was never chosen last for a team.  i must have been at least good enough.

i curve through this beautiful part of town that i've never seen before and i'm enjoying that aspect, though my legs are tired and i know i'm not going at 10 minute/mile pace.  OK i say, this is all you can do.  you are doing your best (thanks ruiz).  you will finish this and you will not walk - that will be your goal for the day.  i crest the hill and come down, wind around some more.  i'm completely alone.

FLASHBACK:  when i played on the travel soccer team, i was never really that good.  and when i played college volleyball, i wasn't that good either.  i was on a team but didn't fit in and often felt left behind or left out, with the exceptions being isatta and kyra.  and when they were gone, i didn't feel like i had any further connection to the team.

i come to 45th st and think maybe i'll see someone ahead, but it's too curvy.  i power on.  then, kelly (who i went to the meeting with tuesday) pulls up on her bike!  and she's cheering me on and it's super sweet even though i can't really talk.  she lives out there somewhere, and was on her way home.  then she goes home and i have to figure out how the bike lane fits in up here.  somewhere.  i see it.  i run along there for awhile, pretty sure that i'm on the right path.  then there's a point i remember some of the other team members talking about, with a little bridge to the right.  do i go that way?  i hesitate for a second and think, "nah" so i keep going north.  i eventually wind around and get shot out just west of 35th and think, "ok i know where i am now.  just 10 more blocks to 26th."

and my legs are feeling it.  i realize i have been curling my toes for some time and they are sore and maybe have blisters.  my legs are throbbing.  my right ankle is hurting.  and i'm tired.  and i'm hungry.  and i realize i'm going to be late meeting up with danielle for dinner but maybe she'll understand.  by now i still have some inkling of hope that someone is going to double back for me.  (no one does.)

and then i have this mini-epiphany.  this is 100% completely an individual sport.  there is no real team spirit.  it's every person for themselves.  it's up to you if you win your race.  your training is your own.  and i think the national race is coming up and maybe people are getting serious about their training for that.

but i have always, my entire life, been a team player.  and i thought about rugby at davis and how, even when we went on semi-long runs, that someone would always run back and make sure the last people were OK.  and the team aspect of rugby, where even if you're slow, you have a place and a purpose on the team.

FLASHBACK:  i remember going back to run with pauline and this other girl whose name escapes me now...ivette maybe.  and they were always at the back and i always wanted to make sure that they knew we cared about them.  even when i was one of the slowest, people came back for me.  when i got a little more in shape, i made sure to go back for the others.

i arrive at 26th and think, "ok, it's just 2-3 more blocks, you can do this."  and at that point i realize this is my journey.  it has nothing to do with anyone else.  it doesn't matter if everyone dusts me for every practice for every activity.  i will be the slowest runner, slowest cyclist, and slowest swimmer.  i will accept that as my challenge until i get into better shape.

no one ever came back for me.  i arrived at the track in 60 minutes.  tired, sore, not out of breath but sure that i had run enough.  the rest of the team was doing leg lifts and were transitioning into pushups - i'm sure they'd all be back for at least 15 minutes.  i caught the coach's eye and made sure he knew i got back OK, then said, "i need to take off," and limped across the street to my bike where danielle was waiting for me.  i was, and probably will for awhile, struggling with the concept of the "individual sport" where everyone is working for themselves, on what they need to do.  and i take a deep breath and realize, for now, it's just me, alone, at the back of the pack.  with myself and my thoughts.

i can do this.

ps.  turns out i had the mileage wrong, it was actually 5 miles.

summary:  5.0 miles in 59 minutes 

thursday 10/4:  run practice  http://goo.gl/maps/zShkK

today i knew better.  i expected to be at the back of the pack.

i previewed the proposed map and it looked like it would be pretty easy.  an out and back, of which an individual could choose their distance.  my goal was to do 2-3 miles at most - 1.5 out and 1.5 back.  and i thought, if i ran from work to the gym to meet the people, then on the way back i could just run back to work (have to stay late with what i call "the experiment".) 

before we took off i noticed there were less people than yesterday, maybe only 8 or 9 total, and before kelly arrived, i was the only girl.  luckily she arrived and i thought, "oh good, someone to run with me!"

unfortunately, 2 things happened.

1.  the guys in charge of the run changed their minds about where we should go, so it was not an out and back, but a loop that was hard to modify.
2.  kelly runs way faster than i do.

one thing i noticed today is that i felt somewhat less pressure/anxiety about the run on the whole because i knew where we were going.  even with the modified route, i still knew all parts of the path so there were no places where i had to wonder if i should turn or go straight.

i felt a little lighter on my feet, though still slow paced.  my ankle didn't hurt as much.  my legs were still sore but not as bad.  i had taped the blister on my second toe so it wasn't as bothersome.  i found my thoughts drifting to alena, and wondering how she can train/run/bike/ski for such long periods of time alone.  i remind myself that this is me doing something good for myself.  i did not walk any part of the route.  i felt like i did well, though i was ready to be done when i was done.  i did turn and walk back a ways to see if any of the other people were behind me; as i'd encountered some of them when i turned onto jefferson; they must have taken a long-way around route.  but as i walked back i noticed i didn't see anyone for maybe 1/4 mile and decided, they probably all got back way before me and didn't take the detour the other guys took.

i did find myself pining a little bit for a partner in all this, though.  maybe one will appear.  i found myself also thinking about how the team isn't very welcoming to newcomers.  or at least, they're not that welcoming to me.  they say "hi" or ask me my name when we gather before we go, but that's as far as the interaction goes.  i wonder if anyone has ever been a beginner at this club before.

summary:  3.7 miles in 43 minutes, several ab exercises, stretching before and after

friday 10/5:  swim practice

was able to rise and shine at 5:05 and heard my housemate alex get up a few minutes after.  we ate a granola bar each, as planned, and hopped on our bikes at 5:30 to head over to campus.  it was pitch black and there were lots of stars.  i went to my office because i forgot my swimsuit and goggles there, and arrived at the gym at 5:50 or so (i changed into my swimsuit at work).  turns out, they open the door but don't let anyone swipe in until 6, so we all stood around till then.  then everyone runs for the lock/towel line, and then you have to change and lock up your stuff and take a shower before you get to the pool.  so probably didn't get swimming until 6:10.

here is the workout they put up for us:

warmup:  75 free/25 no free x 3  = 300

kicking:  6x50                                  = 300

2x150                                                = 300

3x100                                                = 300

4x50  - not sure i did any of these

drill 2x through:  11s / catchups / fists (25 each) x 2 / 100 free  [i only got through 1 of these, and only 50 of the free]      =200

golf: 50 = your time + your strokes x5  =  250 [scores:  108, 102, 110, 114, 115]

cool down;  200 ez  [did not do this]

total distance                                    = 1650m  

i think that's pretty good for my first day out.  i took a lot of breaks, as i realized right out of the gate i had started way too fast.  so i was panting by my first 100.  after that i did between 50-100 before taking a break.  i definitely felt stronger after taking a break as well.  i got a little bit of a cramp in my foot and a little bit of one in my left calf.  i was able to stretch them while swimming by flexing my foot.

i also noticed that while swimming with 5-6 people in a lane, there's no time to let your mind wander off, or you'll get kicked in the head or grab someone unexpectedly or veer into the return lane or into the lane divider.  and i never felt alone.  an added bonus was that the 2 people that i know in tri club - my housemate alex and my friend kelly - were both in my lane so we got to hang out, as much as you can hang out by swimming in the same lane and taking breaks to breathe.

got out of the pool, took a shower, realized there were better showerheads scattered around vs the one i had that was pelting me with what could be defined as "pins and needles" and not very hot water.  when i got out of the locker room i was semi-discombobulated and dropping things.  after i turned in my lock and towel, i realized that i was shaky and thought, "hmm, i haven't eaten in awhile."  luckily they have a little food place in the gym so i got a yogurt which i think helped.  and i sat down.  then i realized i forgot my tea at home, so i went to a different place and got a tea.  got to work by 8am, still warm from the swimming, despite it being chilly outside.  feels like fall!

summary:  1 hour 10 minutes swimming

things to remember for next time:

swimsuit

swimcap

goggles

flip flops

shampoo/conditioner

lock for locker

towel

look for  good shower heads

chocolate milk / protein powder / yogurt / sandwich

tea

FIRST WEEK OF TRIATHALON TRAINING COMPLETE!  i have stiffness and a blister on my toe, but no real pain.  just fatigue.  maybe next week will be better, though i will only go to things on tuesday and wednesday.  maybe i'll spin tuesday and swim and run on wednesday.  that'll be a full day!