Just a Few More Days

Last night I swam 80 laps in 38:50 minutes in the Anaheim Hills pool. Not sure how that compares but it was a good swim. After that, I did the elliptical machine for 30 minutes. This morning I rode 15 miles. It wasn't my fastest pace so I think I might ride again after work. (My mountain bike ride is on hold for this week) Only four more days until my race. I was inspired by a book I am reading called Ultra Marathon Man. On this race, I need to push my hardest, even if it hurts. This is my shortest race so I can push hard and it will be over soon. So excited to get a great time!

Long Weekend Summary

Thursday- I ran 3.5 miles. About 1.5 miles from home my left shin started acting up! Argh! So frustrating! I was able to find a stride that I could limp home on. I bought some exercise bands so I can stretch my shin muscle.

Friday- Skyler and I went on a 2-1/2 hour mountain bike ride. It was mostly climbing the entire way there. It was hard and I was tired. Skyler said that climbs are good training for road bikes because it will make our legs stronger.

Saturday- Road bike ride to the beach. Got there in 42 minutes. Got back in 40 minutes. On the way back I got in a group of road bike guys. It was awesome. I had to push hard to stay with them at first, but then I started drafting and it was easy.

Monday- Mountain bike ride with Carrie. We rode for about 90 minutes at the Fullerton Loop. It was great!

Tonight- Swimming and running. Tomorrow- Two bike rides. Thursday- Swimming and running. Friday- Road bike ride. Saturday- Rest.

Go Me!

Yesterday afternoon I swam my fastest 80-lap time ever! I swam it in 34:36 minutes! I was so excited to tell Skyler, but he didn't seem interested. It sucks to not have him care sometimes. I really need someone to be excited with me so that I will have the motivation to get better. And even worse is that Skyler won't train with me. I have asked him so many times to swim with me, but he won't. He is a big baby!

The Lone Biker

Last night I ran 3.5 miles in 27:30 minutes and it felt great! Next, I did a little bit of weight lifting, but only worked on my legs. Last, I went to yoga where she worked my arms and shoulders.

This morning I went on a bike ride. The other two girls couldn't be there, but I still went. I am glad I didn't get their messages or else I would not have gotten up to ride. I rode 15.2 miles on the river trail in 50:53 minutes. I felt a little slow this morning, but maybe that is because it had been a whole week since I last rode. I also rode to the river trail so that adds another three miles to my total miles. I need to ride two more times this week and twice next week. Only 11 days until our Pacific Coast!

Longer Pool

Last night I swam at the Anaheim Hills pool. It is about two strokes longer than my Orangewood pool. I swam 80 laps in 37:44 minutes. I felt good about my swim and tried to push it as much as I could. Tonight will be a long night at the gym since Skyler will be gone (he went deep-sea fishing). Running 3.5 miles, weight lifting, and yoga.

Rest of the Week

Wednesday night I went on my women's bike ride. It was in Whiting Ranch again. I want to take Skyler there. Thursday I ran 3 miles at lunch. My time was a little slow, but it is so hot in Chino in the middle of the day. Last night Skyler and I went on our first mountain bike ride together. I struggled a little at first, but it went well. We both had fun and Skyler taught me a couple of new things. Hopefully we can go again soon!

Tonight we are leaving for Lake Mead so my training will have to be swimming and wake surfing! Can't wait! Two weeks until our race!

Start of Bike Wednesday

Last night I did my long gym day. I started with a 2.75 mile run (I really had to go to the bathroom!). Next, I did some weight lifting. Then, I did 15 minutes on the elliptical machine. Last, I went to my one-hour yoga class. It was a good day and I am feeling a little sore today.

This morning I did a 15 mile road bike ride. We finished it about 55 minutes. It was great! I ran over a rock at the very end and popped my back tire. At least it was at the end. Tonight I will practice changing my tire quickly. Also, I will be riding my mountain bike tonight!

Swim

Last night I did a 80-lap swim (big surprise) in 35:20 minutes. That is slower than last time. Booo! Our next race is less than three weeks away. I will be ready...I need to work on my sprinting though!

Bike Weekend

Saturday late morning, I went on a road bike ride to the beach. After getting on the river trail, it took me 44 minutes to ride to the beach and 37 minutes to come back.

Saturday afternoon I went on a women's bike ride in Carbon Canyon. It was an easy ride but a lot of fun. I went with Carrie, Kelli, and Kim. Hopefully we can ride frequently. I am the only one without kids, so I am the easiest to work around. We rode for about 1.5 hours.

I HATE SHIN SPLINTS

Why won't they go away? I have rested, iced, massaged, eaten bananas...yet my left leg still has them. I am planning on going to the doctor but I already know what he(she) will say, stop running. That is not an option. I will be visiting a doctor after my two triathlons in September!

Other Big News: I signed up for a Half Ironman!!!!!!!!!!!! I finally committed to it! It is the California 70.3 Ironman. It is on April 4, 2009. I am super excited, but so nervous. Can I even run 13.1 miles? I haven't even done that without shin splints. This race was super expensive...$280/person. Race fees are killing us, but I don't mind too much because this is what I train for!

I also signed us up for the Muddy Buddy. There are a lot of our friends who say they want to do this race also. It will be fun to have a lot of people we know on the race course.

Catch Up

Wow, it has been almost two weeks since I have posted. I have been a bad girl! We left for our trip on July 31 and returned August 10. During that time I ran twice, lifted weights once, and did the stairmaster once. I did a little swimming every day while hanging out in the ocean, but nothing serious. I also gained three pounds on the cruise! AHHHHH!!!

I got back to business immediately!
Monday- swam 80 laps in 34:49 minutes. Great time, especially for not swimming for about three weeks.
Tuesday- ran 3.8 miles in 35 minutes. Time wasn't great but I enjoyed the run. Still having problems with my left knee. I think the knee cap might have been knocked out of place when I fell running two months ago. After my next two triathlons I will get it looked at.
Wednesday- met for bike ride but no one showed. I rode by myself and it was nice. I rode almost 14.5 miles in 51 minutes. I really enjoyed it. I would like to ride two mornings during the week. One with the girls, and one with Skyler. Tonight is mountain biking night.

My New Bike

Wednesdays are my new biking days! Wednesday morning I met Jen Anderson and Jackie for a road bike ride. We rode about 14 miles along the river trail. The weather is perfect, there are few people on the trail, and there is no wind. I love it!

Wednesday afternoon I bought a new mountain bike after many hours of research by my wonderful husband Skyler. I got a Trek fuel EX 5.5. It is black and pink. Wednesday night I rode my first ride on it. It was a lot of fun! We rode for about two hours in Ladera Ranch.
Tonight Skyler and I are leaving for Puerto Rico and a Caribbean Cruise. I am hoping to be able to run and swim for more than 50% of the days that I am gone. It is hard to go on vacation and not want to work out. I am so excited to go!

Outside Swim

I really like swimming at the 24 Hour Fitness in Anaheim Hills because their pool is outdoors. I like feeling the heat of the sun while swimming. Unfortunately, the length of this pool is a little bit longer than the pool at my gym, so it is hard to compare times. I swam about 80 laps in 38 minutes. At my gym, it would take about 35 minutes. Oh well. It was a good swim. Last week was mostly a recovery week, but this week I am back on track. Tonight swimming!

First Mountain Bike Ride!

About a month ago I attended a mountain bike clinic with my friend Carrie. Carrie is a veteran mountain biker, but had taken a few months off to have a baby. Every Wednesday there is a women's mountain bike group that goes to different trails around Orange County. The leader, Rich shows us technique and helps us out.Last night I did my first mountain bike ride since the clinic. We went to Aliso Canyon. We rode switchbacks, big hills, and through streams. It was a lot of fun! It was good practice for me so I am not so nervous. Downhill seems to be me biggest fear (along with going over my handlebars), but I did pretty decent.
Our biggest climb was a mountain called Cholla (pronounced Choy-ya, not Cho-la). I did pretty good with the climb, but I was definitely out of breath at the top. The downhill wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I was still a little nervous. Overall, I had fun and can't wait to go next week. First, I need a new bike....

Morning Ride

I don't ever train before work because I don't feel like I have the time to do that, but this morning my life was changed. I did a road bike ride at 6:30am! I went with two other girls, one girl (Jaci) did the Camp Pendleton Tri with me, and the other girl (Jen) is the wife of a guy (Donny) who did the Tri also. We did a nice 12 mile ride on the river trail. I got back with just barely enough time to just in the shower and drive to work. The only bummer is that I won't have time to read the paper in the morning, but I can do that at lunch. We are going to make our ride a weekly event. Next Wednesday we are meeting at 6:00. Maybe I will ride my bike over to the meeting spot.

Tonight I am doing a mountain bike ride with Carrie. This will be my first real ride. I don't have a bike yet, so Carrie is letting me borrow one. It should be fun!

I am AWESOME!

Saturday Skyler and I competed in the Camp Pendleton Olympic Triathlon. My goal was three hours, five minutes. I beat that goal and more! I finished in two hours, 48 minutes, and 50 seconds! Skyler finished in two hours, 43 minutes, and 7 seconds. I was only 6 minutes behind him. And, I was actually faster than him in the swim and run. I am so excited! I posted pictures and details on my personal blog. We both did so great and I am proud of us! Our times are posted here.

This next week I am going to take it very easy because I am somewhat sore. I might do a light swim tomorrow night. Skyler is gone at a conference in Miami so he will be taking the week off also.

Congrats to us!

Catch-up

Thursday night I ended up going on my own bike ride. I did the Weir Canyon ride and my time was decent. I don't remember what it was. I think my time there was 31 or 32. It was a good ride.

Friday night Skyler and I went on a hill climb bike ride. It was about 1 hour 25 minutes. We rode a lot of hills. About 17 miles.

Saturday morning I ran four miles, the longest I have ran in a long time. My time was about 33 minutes. It was a nice run outside. I miss running so much! I wish I could do it every day.

Today I swam 80 laps in 35:04 minutes. Good time! Then I ran 2.1 miles. My left shin was feeling a little bit weird and I didn't want to push it in case it is shin splints again. I am cursed with shin splints and it sucks. I just want to run for miles and miles, but I fear that I only have a few more good years of running left.

I can't believe that our race is in five days. Skyler and I talked about our goals for the race. He wants to finish in 2:45. My goal is 3:08. Swim in 35 minutes, T1 four minutes, Bike in 90 minutes, T2 four minutes, Run in 55 minutes. I can do it!

Bad Luck Left Leg

My left leg is feeling pretty bad. I don't know what the rest of my body has against it, but my body sure doesn't like it. Tuesday night Skyler and I went on a short road bike ride and while getting ready to take off, I fell and my bike fell on top of me. I took my large scab right off my left knee and it opened back up. Blood was dripping all over the place. It was pretty embarrassing because I was still clipped in. Whatever! My leg better heal soon. Here is my week training so far:

Monday- I swam and I already wrote about it.
Tuesday- I did a 45 minute ride with Skyler. It was pretty moderate, not as good of a workout as I would have like.
Wednesday- I swam 80 laps in 34:57 minutes. Fastest time yet, about 10 seconds faster than my previous fastest time. Then, I ran 3 miles in 24:39 minutes. I felt like I had lead weights on my legs. I was definitely under-nourished.
Tonight- I will be going to my spin class. I will probably do 30 minutes of cardio before.

Am I Dedicated?

This weekend we went to Lake Mead with Skyler's family. It was a lot of fun but it left me with only two training days last week. I haven't done that poorly in a long time. I did do some swimming with Skyler at the lake but it wasn't anything spectacular. If I was really dedicated I would have been up an hour earlier than everyone else to go running. Will I be ready for my first Olympic distance race next week? I hope so.

This morning I went into work late so I would have time to go to the gym. I swam 82 laps (oops, lost count) in 36:17 minutes. Average time. I am going to see my nephew tonight so I won't have time to do anything else today. This should be my hardest week of the past few months and I fear that I will have a hard time finding time to train. We have a lot of family in town and other things going on. I want to do well so I need to sacrifice sleep and get my training in. Good luck to me! 12 more days!

Go me!

I have had two good training session this week. Monday I swam 100 laps! Farthest I have ever swam in my life! I timed my swim as follows: 64 laps 28:00 minutes, 80 laps 35:07 minutes, 96 laps 42:14 minutes. I like my times. I should probably spend one day a week working on my sprints and doing drills. I would really like for someone who is good at swimming to coach me for free at my scheduled swim times. Yeah right!

Tuesday was long. I started off my running 3 miles in 23:45 minutes. Then I did the stairmaster for 16 minutes. Then I did some weights and lunges for about 20 minutes. Last, I went to my yoga class. I feel sore today so that is good.

Not sure what I will do tonight. My new plan has been to ride on Wednesday nights, but I have an eye doctor appointment at 4:45. It depends on how long that takes. If I can leave before 6:00 then I will ride, otherwise I will swim. I am hoping to get a gym session in tomorrow before we leave for the lake. Then I will be wakesurfing all weekend long!