The End of 2008

Well, I have been doing some cross-training I guess. I haven't done any actual training since last Tuesday. Friday and Saturday I snowboarded all day. Today I will be swimming and running at the gym. Tomorrow I am hoping to run again and maybe elliptical. Then we are off to Utah for more snowboarding. We will probably go for three days. After we return on Sunday, I will be starting my serious training. Less than 100 days until 70.3 and I am a little nervous. I can't believe how fast it is coming up. Here are my goals:

Swimming: Bump up my laps to 100 each swim day. That is a little less than 1.5 miles. I need to be practicing for a longer distance than my race is. I am also going to try to do a few drills to get faster. I will be swimming 2-3 days a week.

Biking: Ahhh! This will be the hardest because of daylight savings. I will be riding every Saturday morning. I am going to try to ride two mornings during the week. That will have me riding 2-3 days a week.

Running: I am now up to 25 minutes of running, which is 3.1 miles. I need to add 10 minutes per week onto my current time and then I should be up to where I need to be. I will be running three days a week.

Snow in OC!

I don't post pictures on here very often, but that's mostly because pictures of me training isn't that exciting. Well, Saturday was exciting! We rode our bikes up Black Star Canyon to the snow. Snow in Orange County! Crazy! The ride took us a lot longer than expected because of mud issues. But it was a great time!

I'm Back.....

Yesterday I ran for 20 minutes again (2.5 miles) and it felt great. It was a lot easier than when I ran on Tuesday. Not sure why, but I am happy about it. After my run I went to my spin class. My hurts are a little sore today. But I always loves that...it means I had a good workout the previous day.

I am hoping to get a bike ride in tomorrow. Depends on the weather. I would love to mountain bike because it's been a while since I've done that. Kristina is coming to town on Sunday and I would love to ride with her. We will see if there's time!

The Holiday Season Wrap-up

Monday I swam 80 laps in 38:25 minutes. Then I swam an additional 12 laps (to total 100). Then I timed my 50 yard sprint. The first time I was 41 seconds flat and then 40.94 seconds. I feel like that is fast, especially after swimming 100 laps.

Tuesday I ran for 20 minutes (yeah!) at a moderately fast pace. I ran 2.5 miles. It felt great but I was so tired. Then I did the stairmaster for 8 minutes (I felt kinda sick), then the elliptical for 22 minutes.

I'm not sure if I will get to the gym tonight. I have some cupcake business to take care of and a lot of house cleanup.

Weekend Workout

It looked a little drizzlely on Saturday morning so I decided to head for the gym instead of ride my bike. I ran for 15 minutes, then did the elliptical for 30 minutes, then I did some squats, lunges, and weights for 15 minutes. Tonight I am planning on swimming and running for 20 minutes (I get to bump up my time again!).

Good News

Yesterday I went to my physical therapist and found out that my leg is healing nicely. I am up to 15 minutes for my run. By the end of the month I will be up to 30 minutes and then I will have my last appointment. Then I am on my own! Yeah!...I'm getting better.

Wednesday I swam 88 laps in 38:55 minutes. I also ran 15 minutes.

Yesterday I did the stairmaster for 25 minutes and then elliptical for 30 minutes. After, I did some lunges, squats, and weights. My legs are feeling a little sore today which means I need to do that stuff more often.

Nothing planned for tonight. Maybe a bike ride tomorrow, unless it rains, then I will swim.

swimming a lot!

Monday I swam 88 laps in 38:41 minutes. Then I ran 12 minutes. Tuesday I ran 15 minutes and then did the elliptical for 45 minutes. Tonight I will be swimming!

The Holidays are Here!

Thursday I ran for 12 minutes and then went to my spin class. I almost didn't go, but I am always glad I did. Saturday I went on a road bike ride to the beach. 6:44 to trail, 41:06 to beach, 37:51 back, 8:38 home. Good ride. Tonight: swim!

Another Swim

Some days I have good swims and others I don't. It's weird to be one minute different on some days. Anyways, yesterday I had a great swim. I swam 88 laps in 37:16 minutes. That's a record for sure. After that, I ran for 10 minutes. Sometimes I wonder why I want to run so bad...it's hard and sometimes I don't like it. After that, I did the elliptical machine for 10 minutes. Tonight I am planning on going to a spin class. I don't know if I will be able to get a workout in on Saturday, but I have my fingers crossed!

Oh, Tuesday I ran for 10 minutes, did the elliptical for 45 minutes, the stair master for 10 minutes, and lifted weights for 10 minutes (arms).

Swim

I have been going a lot of swimming lately, but that's because I can't really run that much and it's difficult to bike. Last night I swam 88 laps in 38:47 minutes. Then I ran 10 minutes. Who-hoo...I ran over a mile! I'm in so much trouble. I can't keep progressing like this or I will never get to the 13-mile mark. Tonight I am doing the elliptical and running.

Oh holidays!

This time of year really messes me up. If you count Sunday, I got four days in last week. Friday I swam 88 laps in 39:09 minutes. It was slower than my last time by over a minute. Ouch! I also ran for 10 minutes. Sunday I went on a mountain bike ride with Carrie. We rode at Aliso for about 90 minutes. It was cold and great. Tonight I am swimming.

Missing My Bike

Monday I swam 88 laps in 37:47 minutes. I was surprised I swam just as fast as the last one. I am getting faster! Yeah! I also did my 7 minute run.

Yesterday I ran 7 minutes, then I did the elliptical for 45 minutes. It was boring, but I didn't have many choices.

Tonight I will probably take off. I should be able to work out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday so I will still get 5 days in this week.

Go Weekend

I swam after work on Friday. I had a great swim! I swam 88 laps in 37:49 minutes. That's fast! I also ran for 6:30 minutes. It felt good but I stopped when I felt the first hint of pain. Saturday I went on a road bike ride. It took about 7 minutes to  get to the trail (1.5 miles), 53:43 minutes to ride to the 27.5 mile marker (15 miles), 49:25 minutes to ride back (15 miles), and 8 minutes to ride home. I rode through Featherly Park and saw the devastation that the YL fires left. It is very bare there. There were a lot of people out taking pictures.

Tonight I will swim and run again.

Whoops

It's been over a week since I last posted. Let's see what happened.

Tuesday- Rode my trainer for 55 minutes. 

Wednesday- Nothing, saw Wicked

Thursday-Spin class with Nicole.

Friday- Nothing.

Saturday- Snowboarded for a five hours

Monday- Swam 88 laps in 38:39 minutes.

Tuesday- Elliptical machine for 45 minutes.

Tonight- Nothing...it's my birthday!

Swim

Last night I swam 102 laps. I only timed 88 laps. My time was 38:33 minutes. I did a little extra swimming to be in the pool longer. It felt great!

I am not sure what I am going to do tonight. I want to make dinner for Skyler so I would like to be home to do that. I think I might ride my trainer so that I can cook in between.

Bikes, bikes, and more bikes

Wednesday night I rode my trainer at home for a little over an hour. I wanted to watch a movie while biking, but I couldn't hear the movie well enough. It was a good work out. The next day I was sore.

Thursday I resumed my spin classes. I forgot how hard those classes are. I love them though. I also did 10 minutes of elliptical before class.

This morning I went on my morning girls ride. We rode 10 miles towards the beach and 10 miles back. My time on the way there was about 31 minutes. On the way back it was 36 minutes. There was a bit of wind on the way back. It was also really cold. My fingers and toes were frozen.

I feel good about my week. I would have liked to get another swim in (maybe tomorrow), but other than that, I still got a good 4 1/2 days of training.

Weight, last night: 109.8

Slacker

I haven't posted for a couple of days. Sorry!

Saturday-bike ride to beach. I got there in 39 minutes and back in 38 minutes. It was a good ride!

Sunday-Muddy Buddy. Skyler and I beat our time from last year (52 minutes) by 5 minutes (47 minutes), but it still wasn't fast enough to place. Next year we will!

Monday-I swam 88 laps in 38:51 minutes. I was going to do cardio but someone engaged me in a discussion about religion. I would have rather done cardio.

Tuesday-Nothing. My trainer wasn't set up correctly so I didn't get to do what I planned.

Tonight-I will be riding my trainer. Hopefully I can ride for over an hour. Skyler has to work late tonight so I won't be in a hurry.

Today's weight=109.8

Swim

Wednesday night I swam at the Orangewood gym I swam 88 laps in 39:05 minutes. I felt that I swam fast. This is a 26.6 lap time. After that, I did the elliptical machine for 20 minutes.

Yesterday I was planning on riding my road bike. Then it looked like rain so I decided to use my trainer. Well, I haven't used my tri bike on the trainer yet and found that I didn't have the right skewer to use. So I ended up doing lunges and steps for 25 minutes and did my new shin streching for 30 minutes. I got some new stretches to do so hopefully my inflammation will start going down. I would like to do a 10k on Thanksgiving, but I don't think I will be able to. I would rather heal quicker and not do it.

Last Weekday Ride

Since the daylight savings will be ending on Sunday, Carrie and I decided that we needed to get one last weekday ride in. We rode Peter's Canyon last night. My legs are a little sore since I haven't worked out since Thursday. Tonight I am going to swim and do other cardio. I need to get rid of my stomach fat. It's gross and I wish it would go away. The rest of my body is fine. Anyways, my goal for the rest of the year is to work out 4 days a week, 3 of those days must be triathlon specific. It will be hard with birthdays, holidays, and family events coming up. I like this time of year though. I also need to watch what I eat. Eat slow and limit sugars!

Swim Again

I'm feeling great! I swam 98 laps in the Anaheim Hills pool, which means I swam 2450 meters, aka 1.53 miles. It swam it in 48:15 minutes. I must have been off the other day with my lap count because I swam 2 laps less and had a similar time. 

I am feeling pretty good about myself. I have been doing crunches every morning, like I have been for a long time but now I am starting to do crunches that affect my lower abs. I am definitely seeing progress. When I start running again, I think I will definitely see a difference. 

I have been doing the leg exercises my physcial therapist suggested but it still feels like my shin is being affected. I have a list of questions for her on Thursday.

Biking on Empty

Last night I went on a bike ride down to the beach (well, not quite to the beach, but about 1.25 miles from it). It took me 8:10 minutes to get to trail, 29:25 to get 1.25 miles from beach (10.75 miles), 37:29 minutes to get back, and 10:15 to get home. Notice the huge difference in time. Well, it was windy both ways, but especially windy on the way back. Also, I think I ran out of energy on the way back. I was pushing pretty hard on the way there because I had a biker group drafting off me for about 9 miles. I only had water in my bottle when normally I have Cytomax (we are out). But it was still a good ride. Tonight I will swim again. Tomorrow, not sure. Saturday I will bike again. Next week is the Muddy Buddy. I am so ready for that!

Whoa Mama

I forgot mt running shoes so I decided that I would have to swim further to make up for not being able to do other cardio. For I swam 100 laps in a 25 meter pool, which means I swam 2500 meters! Holy cow! That is 1.56 miles! I swam that distance in 48:34 minutes. I might be off two laps, but it doesn't matter. I swam for 48 minutes straight! I don't feel that I swam my fastest, but it was definitely a good swim. Tomorrow I would like to ride my bike. It would be nice to go to the beach and back, that would be 27 miles, three miles farther than my Weir Canyon ride. We will see. I will be so bummed when the time changes and I can't ride my bike after work anymore. Only one and a half weeks left!

Change of Plans

Last night I went mountain biking and tonight I will swim. I forgot to bring my running shoes so it will be swimming only. I will just have to swim longer to make up for it.

Ride with Skyler

Saturday afternoon Skyler and I were able to squeeze in a bike ride. We rode Whiting Ranch, which I had ridden twice before, but Skyler had not done. It turned out to be a pretty hot day and once we got to the long hill, we were sweating like crazy. It was a fun ride! I actually went off a jump. It was scary because I should have pulled up a little higher. Practice makes perfect! Tonight I will be swimming.

Back on the Bike

Yesterday afternoon I got back on my bike for the first time since the OCTRI. I have felt a little unmotivated because I am done with triathlons for the year, but I needed to get back into shape. I did the Weir Canyon ride. 8:34 to trail, 33:49 to Weir Canyon, 35:18 back, 10 minutes home. It was definitely not my fastest time, but it was great to be back on my bike.

Huge Slacker

I have taken a lot of time off from training. I needed time to recover from the OCTRI and then I got sick. As much as I wanted to train while sick, I knew it wouldn't be wise. But on a good note, I have started my training again.

Sunday morning I went on a mountain bike ride with Carrie. We rode Peter's Canyon. It takes us less than an hour.

Monday I swam 88 laps. I discovered that the pool at my gym is 25 yards, not 25 meters, which means I have been measuring my distances incorrectly. 88 laps is 1-1/4 miles. I swam 88 laps in 39:05 minutes. Next, I ran one mile in 8:30 minutes. I ran so that my shin would swell up a little bit so when I went to my physical therapist appointment on Tuesday, I would be able to have something to show. 

Tuesday I went to my appointment. It went very well. I got my foot taped and she showed me some exercises to do. I seem to have lazy muscles so I have to re-learn how to walk on my left foot. Crazy! No running for a while, but I will survive.

Today I would like to bike. We will see.

Swim!

I finally got to the gym this week! I went on Tuesday after work. I swam 78 laps in 33:40 minutes. I wanted to ride my road bike so bad yesterday but I went home early from work because I am sick. I didn't want to make it worse by pushing my body. I might go swimming tonight, I haven't decided yet. I am not fully recovered yet. I can't wait until I am back to normal. I went for my bone scan on Tuesday afternoon and it came back negative! Oh, that's just great! Now there's nothing wrong with me! I must just be making it up! Boy this is beyond frustrating. I go to the physical therapist on Tuesday and hopefully that doctor can shred some light on my problem. I hope I can run again someday!

OCTRI

Here are a few pictures from the Orange County International Triathlon that Skyler and I did last week. Skyler's muscles look like they are bulging out of his skin! That's my husband! 

A Little Relaxation

I am taking a few days off to recover from my race. My legs are finally feeling close to normal again, although my calves are still sore. I want to jump back into training, but I don't want to injure myself. But doing nothing is really hard. I can't eat as much because I don't need to calories because I am not burning any. I don't like limiting my food intake. My plan is to swim tomorrow and enjoy it!

Whoa!

Sunday I raced in my last triathlon of the season. It was a great race and I feel like I raced very well, especially since I have only ran once in the past 5 or 6 weeks (and that was for the Pacific Coast Triathlon). Because of that fact, I can barely move today. My legs hurt all over. My knees were hurting pretty bad during the race, but I didn't want to give up. So here are my times:

Swim- 28:01 (time out of water, my time will probably show as 28:48 because of the run out of the water)

T1- 1:49

Bike- 1:19:45

T2- 1:38

Run- 54:40

Total- 2:46:38

My bike time was better than Camp Pendleton by about six minutes, but my run time was slower. I finished eighth in my age group. Surprisingly, I beat Skyler by 5 seconds. Boy do I feel bad! Talk about an ego bruise! He doesn't train as much as I do, but was still expecting to beat me. Well, this just proves that time put in is what counts, not just ability. I can't wait until next season. It was be a tough one with the Oceanside 70.3 at the beginning of April. Hopefully my legs will be fixed by then so that I can race to the best of my ability.

Bike Ride

Last night I did the Weir Canyon bike ride. 7:15 to get to trail. 32:23 to Weir Canyon. 34:19 to get back. 8:31 to get home. My legs felt tired last night, which is good. Tonight I will do an easy swim, then I will relaz for the rest of the week. Good luck to me on the race!

Taper....

Last night Carrie and I rode Peter's Canyon. Since Skyler wasn't going to be home until late I decided to go to the gym. I swam 48 laps, but am unsure of the time. It's not important. After work I will be doing the Weir Canyon ride. I don't know how I feel about this upcoming race. I can tell a difference in how I look because of my lack of running. I feel horrible! I haven't heard back from my doctor yet, but my shin still hurts. I am pretty sure it is a stress fracture. I have just recently decided that I want to be good at triathlons, but if I can't do one of the events then I can't be good. The run is so important, as is everything else. How will I be a top athlete if I can't run? My physical therapy appointment can't come soon enough! I will be great at the swim during the race, but I am a little iffy about the bike because I haven't gotten in as much road bike time as I would have liked. I have been mountain biking a lot, which I hope will help my road biking performance. I am not too nervous about this race because I don't think I will do as well as I had hoped. I need a good recovery winter and then will be ready to dominate next year!

Short Break

Saturday night Carrie and I went on another bike ride. We rode 10 miles in Aliso Viejo. It was a lot of fun! Since I worked out six days in a row, Sunday was the perfect day for a rest. I also took monday off because Skyler and I bought a new car. 

Tonight I am mountain biking again. 

Tomorrow I will do a road bike ride.

Thursday I will swim.

Friday I will relax.

Saturday I will relax.

Sunday I will race HARD!

Memories

Thursday and Friday's training, click here.

Today I went to the gym to swim. I swam 80 laps in 34:15 minutes. Afterwards I did a little weight lifting and lunges. Since I did some extra work, I wore my running shoes. It was so weird to be wearing them! I miss them so much! I don't get to wear them because I have only been swimming and biking. I loved wearing them. It made me remember the great times I have had in my running shoes. I wish I could run! I made my appointment for physical therapy, so hopefully they can take care of my shin. Today my shin was hurting. Maybe it was because I walked around (went shopping) and did some lunges. I wish my shin would go back to normal. All I want to do is be able to run again. I miss just putting on my shoes and going for a run. No preparation, no expensive equipment, just me and my shoes. Please heal fast! Pray for me!

Tuesday I swam and surprisingly I swam an even faster time than on Saturday. I swam 80 laps in 34:04 minutes. Even though the swim is the shortest part of the race, I am so happy to be getting faster in the swim. Last night Carrie and I went mountain biking at Peter's Canyon. It is the closest place to bike and we can do the loop quickly. It was fun! Hopefully we can keep riding for a few more weeks before it is too dark to ride. Today I am planning on doing a big bike ride. I have the day off from work so I thought I would try to see how far I can ride. Plus, I will have to ride to La Habra to pick up my car (it is being repaired).

Bike Ride

I started off my week by doing the Weir Canyon ride. It is 21 miles on the trail. It took 9 minutes to get to the trail, then 32:03 to Weir Canyon, then 34:45 back, then 10 minutes back home. I rode hard at the end, but it is always windy coming back. Saturday night I weighed myself and I was 113.6! I almost fainted! I haven't weighed that much in a while and I don't think it was muscle because I have been lacking on my weight lifting lately. Fortunately, as of last night, I was back down to 111.0. Phew! I need to beef up and trim down. Race diet started yesterday. No sweets, no french fries, low fat.

Getting Faster

Yesterday I only had time for a mid-morning swim and boy did I swim! I swam 80 laps in 34:14 minutes! My fastest time ever! I kep getting faster! This beat my last time by 20 seconds. I am happy to be getting faster. During my last race I was 6th of 60 people in my age group to finish the swim. I was in the top 20% for the whole wave. I used to be near the back. Part of it is because I am geting more comfortable swimming in open water. This week needs to be hard. I need to swim 3 times and ride 4 times. I am going to leave running out for now. I have a doctors appointment on Wednesday for my shin splints. Hopefully that goes well!

Beyond Bummed!

Last night it took me 45 minutes to drive home from work, compared to the usual 40. I was so frustrated and didn't have time to swim at the gym anymore. I decided I would do a short run instead. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't run anymore! My left shin hurts so bad! I don't know what to do. I have been doing the stretches, using a Theraband, and icing my leg as much as possible. I still have shin splints. Since that 5K in March or April, I have probably only ran about 15 times. 15 times in 6 months. That's ridiculous! I made an appointment to see my primary car doctor next week and then he will refer me to a sports therapist. Hopefully something can be done or I will be so sad. I love running! I want to run for hours! I am an enduarnce athlete, yet I can't do 1/3 of my sport. Some people can run but don't like it, but at least they have the ability to run. I ENVY THEM!

This morning I rode on the river trail the same as yesterday morning. It was a little over 15 miles (15.4). I did the ride in 50 minutes, 25:20 there and 24:55 back. I need to improve my times. I also need to get some longer rides in before my next race (since it is an Olympic distance). No working out tonight, but tomorrow morning I will be swimming and biking. Forgot to note, when I ride the river trail, it is actually 3 miles longer because of the ride to and from the trail. So I rode a total of 17.4 miles today.

Bikes!

Well, I took off Monday and Tuesday for recovery. I wasn't planning on taking off Tuesday but when I got to the gym to swim, there was an aqua class that had just started. I didn't have any running shoes and was less motivated to go home and change. Oh well. Last night I went on a mountain bike ride. It was ok. This morning I did a road bike ride. It was 15 miles long. I did the 405 ride. I rode there in 24:45 minutes and back in 25:30 minutes. It seemed windier than usual. Tonight I want to swim and run.

Surpassed My Goal

We did it! Yesterday Skyler and I raced in the Pacific Coast Triathlon with our friends Donny and Jaci. We had a great time and all did exceptionally well! My goal was to finish with a time of 1:25:53. My time last year was 1:33:53. I wanted to improve my time by 8 minutes. I exceeded my goal by completing the race with a time of 1:23:47, a little over two minutes faster than I wanted to go, which makes my time ten minutes faster than last year's! I also placed 4th in my age group compared to 15th last year. I am very happy with my time, but of course nothing is ever good enough for me. I was just one place away from getting an award, although third place was three minutes ahead of me. Skyler finished with a time of 1:20:36, an improvement of 7 minutes. We both did great!

Doing a sprint race is hard because there is not much time for recovery. I felt sick the entire time I was on my bike. I pushed the run hard. I improved all of my times which makes me very happy!

Taper

I am not sure if it was laziness or intelligence that was taking over me, but I decided that I wanted to taper for this race. This is my shortest race of the year, yet I felt the need to taper. So last night I did a nice leisurely swim of one mile (64 laps) with a time of 28:44 minutes. I might try to get a run in tonight or tomorrow but I am too nervous about shin splints. Maybe a short bike ride on Saturday morning!

Double Bike Ride

After work I went on another road bike ride, since my mountain bike ride wasn't going to happen. I did the Weir Canyon ride, which I haven't done in a while. I rode there (10.5 miles) in 32:12 minutes and back (same mileage) in 37:12 minutes (it is always very windy on the way back). Including the ride to and from the trail, I rode 24 miles, putting my total at 42 miles for the day. Go me! I am ready for the bike!

Tonight: swimming and possibly other cardio!

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!

Bad Luck Left Leg

Friday I didn't have time to do a full-blown training session so I decided to go for a run. This is what happened! It still hurts three days later! So that was a bust!

Saturday Skyler and I went for a hill climb bike ride. It was nice! I like being able to practice my hills. Our total time for 1:35:00 minutes. The total distance was 24 miles. Keep in mind that there were two really tough hills in there! I enjoyed it a lot! Only 19 more days!

Feeling Great

Last night I did the stairmaster for 25 minutes and then went to my spin class. I felt amazing after I finished! My body shape is looking better than it has in recent weeks. My stomach is my biggest flaw right now. Everything else looks great, but my stomach doesn't fit the style of the rest of my body. I am going to try to cut down on calories in a few places. I think my breakfast can be improved and I can eat less salt for my dinner. Swimsuit season is upon me and I need to be ready!

Goodbye Scale!

For the past three weeks I have watched my weight rise two pounds. I have been quite bummed about this. We live in a weight-obsessed society so oh course it would bother me. But then I realized that my weight just tells me how many pounds I am. It doesn't take into account my muscle gain or fat ratio. So although I have gotten down to 108 within the last six months and am currently at 110, I feel better about my body than I did six months ago. I would rather weight more and have a better looking body. Do I really want to look skinny and malnourished and have to watch everything that goes into my mouth? No! I would rather work hard, have a toned, lean body, and weigh a few more pounds. I am done weighing myself...I will be going on looks only!

Bike Ride

Last night I did my Weir Canyon bike ride. I realize now that it will always be windy in the late afternoon. My total time was 1:22. Time to trail: 7 minutes. Time to Weir canyon: 30:15 minutes. Time back: 36 minutes. Total home: 9 minutes. I feel like I am getting faster and definitely more comfortable on my bike. Tonight is my spin class. I work on my hills in there. Tomorrow night I am not sure I will be able to work out. Saturday not sure either.

I ran!

Yeah! Last night I ran 3 miles in 24:30 minutes. The time isn't great, but I have a guess that my speed is what got me in trouble a few months ago. I started running faster and faster every day and then BAM!, I couldn't run anymore. So I will run slow for now. I know I can run faster. And during the race I will. After running, I did a little of weight until I saw Jill. Then we went to yoga class. I am feeling sore today...that's a good thing. Tonight I want to bike. Maybe I will try riding down to the beach and back. It is further than Weir Canyon by about three miles. We will see!

Go Me!

Last night I swam 80 laps in 35:30 minutes! I was so excited for my time! I am getting faster! And, I was tired after I finished. Tonight running, weight, and yoga.

End of Week

Friday I swam 80 laps in 36:30 minutes. Not bad, but it is slower than Monday's time. Saturday I did a mountain bike clinic from 8-12. I probably got about 45 minutes of riding in. Then I ran about 2.5 miles. It was super hot so it was more of a run/walk. Even though I worked out every day last week, they were all short (except for my bike rides). It worked out to be a total of 4 days, in terms of the amount of time. This week I need to put in more time. Tonight I am swimming. That's all I have time to do. The rest of the week should go well. Less than four weeks until our race!

Feel Good

Last night I started off by doing the elliptical machine for 25 minutes. Then I went to my spin class for 60 minutes. Tonight I am thinking about swimming, if I can get off work early. Tomorrow I am going to a mountain bike clinic. I don't know if I will get a work out or just learn about how to ride. It should be fun though.

Windy Bike Ride

The funniest part about riding my bike is that my bike seems to pull to anything that is in the middle of the road. If there is a giant rock, my bike wants to run it over. If there is glass, my bike wants it. Luckily I have good tires so I feel protected. Anyways, I did the Weir Canyon ride. It took 31 minutes to get there and then 36:44 minutes back (10.5 miles each way). It takes about 8-10 minutes to get to/from the trail. I saw my friend Ben on the trail. I was surprised he recognized me except for when I thought about it, there aren't many girls on road bikes on the bike trail. Plus he knew what kind of bike I ride. Tonight I am planning on my spin class and cardio before. I realized that I need to start working on my arm muscles more. People can see those more than my legs and stomach and I want them to look amazing. I have good muscles, they just aren't defined (yet). Push-ups every day!

Not bad

Last night I ran 3.08 miles in 26:18 minutes. I am more excited about the distance part (obviously, since my time wasn't good). I ran outside too. It felt great. It was super hot and I loved it. Tonight I will be doing a bike ride.

Relief!

Last night I swam. Thankfully, this made my sunburned legs feel so good. But every time I did a kick turn I had to bend my legs and push off the side of the pool, which was painful, but not as bad as I felt all day. So I swam 80 laps in 35 minutes flat. That is about the same time that I swam last Monday. I only swam once last week so I am glad that my time stayed consistent. Tonight I am doing yoga, but I am unsure exactly what I will do before. I want to run, but that still leaves me with an hour before yoga starts. I don't want to do that SET class again. Hmmm....

Tomorrow I should be swimming, but maybe I will bike instead. Not sure. Thursday I am planning on my spin class. Friday, running and weights. Saturday, bike ride. Should be a great week!

Bad Idea

Friday night I didn't get to work out because of a family dinner thing. Saturday I went running! Yeah! I ran 2.5 miles in 22 minutes. It is really hard to hold back and not run further and faster, but it will be worth it. After my run Skyler and I rode our bikes to the beach. It was pretty windy in the way down. We stayed at the beach for about two hours with his family. Somehow I missed putting sunscreen on the backs of my legs and I got fried! Ouch is an understatement! It hurts to even move. We rode to the beach in 45 minutes (trail only) and rode back in 38 minutes. It was a good workout but the consequences of the sun made it horrible!

Bike Ride

Wednesday I went for a nice bike ride. I rode from home to Weir Canyon and back. It is 24 miles. My time to Weir Canyon from the trail start was 32 minutes. My time back was headed towards 34 minutes (because of the head wind). It may have been longer but I forget to stop my stopwatch. Oh well. It was a good ride and I sprinted at the end. I didn't work out last night, but I am hoping to tonight. Not sure when I will be able to between doing work and tending to possible house guests. At least I have my bike ride for tomorrow. Four days isn't bad, but it isn't what a triathlete would do.

Ouch!

Last night I ran! It felt so good! I am not trying to push it so I am running slower and shorter. So I ran two miles in about 17 minutes. Horrible time. I wanted to run faster but my leg was kinda hurting. Later I realized that it wasn't my shins hurting, but the huge bump on my leg from a shinner I got from softball the night before. So that was good news. Next I went to a SET class, which turned into a Lift class. Last, I did yoga. I spent a long time at the gym yesterday, but I didn't feel worn out. I think I need to fix that. Tonight I want to ride my bike!

Wowwie, Maui!

Maui rhymed with Wowwie, which is the only reason I wrote that. Wowwie isn't even a word but it perfectly describes my swim yesterday. I swam 80 laps in 34:55 minutes! That is my fastest 80 lap time yet. AND I did a split time on my one mile mark and the time was 27:55 minutes, not surprisingly, my fastest mile time yet. That makes me feel so good. I am getting better. Too bad the swim is the shortest part of the race. But I do need the practice because I have tended to freak out on the swim during each race (except for my first). Camp Pendleton is only a month and a week away. I am nervous just thinking about it right now, but I am positive I will do fine.

Good Example

If I could do the same training I did last week every week then I would be so happy. Friday night I swam 80 laps in 35:50 minutes. Then I ran 1.5 miles (I know, it is short and slow, but I will eventually get there). Then I did the elliptical machine for 30 minutes. Then I did some squats, lunges, and arm weights. Saturday morning Skyler and I did a 30 mile ride, which included some big hills and a strong head wind going back. My legs were shaking after we finished. I hope I can get a bike ride like that in every Saturday. So, last week I was able to do every event twice. The only improvement I see is to do longer runs, then it will be perfect.

Tonight I am planning on swimming. Tuesday-running and yoga. Wednesday-swimming. Thursday-biking. Friday-leaving for Lake Mead. Saturday-maybe swimming at Lake Mead. Hmmm...maybe I could take out my Wednesday swim and make it a bike ride instead. Sounds great!

First Bike Ride

Last night I decided on a change of plans. I ditched swimming and decided to ride my bike instead (I knew I would miss my spin class tonight so I wanted the bike training more than the swim training). I rode the same distance as I did on Saturday (Orangewood to Weir Canyon). The total distance is 24 miles. I did it in 1:25:43. This is the time from door to door. I think I did my ride on Saturday in about 1:30:00 minutes. But the catch about last night was that there was a heavy head wind on the way back. My mile pace dropped a lot on the way back, but I still managed a faster time than last week. I am going to watch my times and see what happens. I definitely feel faster on my new bike. Adjusting to aero bars is kinda hard. I need to figure out how to not let my shoulder blades hurt. It was fun though!

Tonight, no training. Lakers party. Tomorrow night I would like to do my late-night gym night. Maybe swimming, running, other cardio and weight lifting.

I did it!

Yesterday as I got out of my car to go into the gym, I looked down and noticed that my shin splints were gone! I was so excited! I immediately headed to a treadmill, did a 2 minute warm-up, then ran 1.5 miles. I ran at a slow pace (6.5mph), but it felt so good. After, I did the elliptical machine for 20 minutes and then some weight lifting. I ended with my yoga class. After I got home I noticed that my shin was a little swollen. I will wait until probably Saturday before I try running again. I don't know how I will work up to six miles in six weeks, but I will give it a try.

Tonight I was planning on swimming, but it looks like I won't make it to my spin class tomorrow, so I think I will give my bike its first real test run (if it doesn't rain)!

Hard to Believe

Last night I swam 80 laps in 35:42 minutes. I thought I might be two laps off in my counting, but the time seems about right. I hope it is because I am getting faster! I love it!

I am going to try running for real tonight....a nice long (maybe 1.5 miles run). It will be great!

New Bike

Saturday morning I started off my day with my last ride on my Fuji Finest bike. I rode 24 miles total in 80 minutes. I rode towards Yorba Linda instead of the beach. I forgot that it would be windy on the way back. It was a nice ride though. A side benefit is the tan I am getting by riding on Saturdays.

Saturday afternoon Skyler and I picked up our new bikes. They are awesome! We took them for a short test-ride yesterday. It is kinda scary to ride in aero position, but I think I will be used to it in no time.

Tonight I am swimming. Good luck to me. 47 more days!

Just Fine

Last night I only had time to go to my spin class. It went good. I really like that class. Tonight I would like to do some other cardio and weight lifting. If I go, it will be later tonight. Tomorrow I want to do a bike ride in the morning. Then, we are going to pick up our new bikes! I am pretty excited about that! I will post pictures after I get it!

Getting Faster

Last night I swam 80 laps. My one mile split was 28:35 minutes. My total time was 35:38 minutes. That averages to 26.73/lap. Congrats to me! I am getting faster in my swim. I like to see improvement.

Tonight I am going to my spin class but I am also going to try to run for a little bit. Only seven weeks until my first international distance race. Hopefully I can run!

My Weaknesses

Maybe if I put them in writing I will truly recognize my weaknesses and try harder to eat in moderation:

1. French fries--all types. I love the salty taste especially when they are a little bit crunchy. Favorite: Del Taco, Least: INO (Even though they are my least, I still love them. Plus I love dipping them in spread)

2. Mexican Food. Again the saltiness is my weakness. I could make a meal out of just eating chips and salsa. I don't usually eat chips and salsa outside of a Mexican restaurant, but watch out when I am at Joaquin's!

3. Cupcakes. The deception of them being so small justifies me eating more than one. I have an obsession from them. I am pretty good about eating in moderation because all cupcake shops are in south county.

4. Bread. Bread is not so bad when eaten in moderation, but I don't like to eat in moderation. I can eat 4 or 5 breadsticks in one sitting and then also eat my main course. Dang those carbs.

5. Social Eating. I can monitor my eating habits at home really well. The problem is when we go out to eat with friends. I justify by saying, everyone else is doing it. I can admit that I am a social eater. Help me!

"Running" out of ideas

I have been researching other ways to relieve my shin splints on the internet. I know about the icing and massaging. I have done that and still no results. Yesterday I decided to give it a GO and start running again. Well, I did a fast walk for about 12 minutes and then 3 minutes jogging and then another one minute walking. It didn't hurt any more than normal. I iced last night and this morning. Today I read about more stretching, so I will be doing those throughout the day. I could tape my leg but I don't feel like that will help much. I mean, taping my leg and then training? Seems like opposites. I will give the stretching a try and then slowly, very slowly, start running again. I think that because I am still doing cardio that my run will be fine even if I don't get enought training in. At least I have the endurance.

So last night I did that walk/run thing and then the elliptical machine for 20 minutes. Then I did some weight lifting. I have been neglecting that and of course I am feeling it today. After that, I did yoga. Yeah for me...I made it there and it felt great. I am getting the hang of crow! Tonight--swimming!

Long Weekend

No workout Friday night. Saturday I swam 80 laps in 36:26 minutes. That was really good! Monday I swam 64 laps in 28:38 minutes. If I would have continued to 80 laps then I think it would have been my best 80-lap time. After the swim my family biked to the beach. It took a long time. Almost two hours each way. Skyler and I rode on our beach cruisers so we could get a little bit more of a workout (only one gear). Tonight I will be going to yoga. And I am going to try to run about half a mile. I need to be able to run six miles in less than two months. Yikes!

Yeah!

Last night was a good workout. I started with 25 minutes on the stair master and then finished with my one hour spin class. I am feeling great! Either tonight or tomorrow morning I will be swimming. I would like to start running but I am going to give my legs until Tuesday to start acting better. I was planning on biking tomorrow but the rain will probably spoil it. But my family will be riding bikes to the beach on Monday. That should be fun, but will be a lot slower than usual.

Bad Girl

So I pretty much haven't done any training for the past two days. I have not felt up to par, not has Skyler. He swam at the NOVA team pool yesterday in Irvine and I think it just wore him out. Tonight I will be going to my spin class but I would like to get some swimming in before. We will see.

Hmmmm

Last night I swam 80 laps. Here is my dilemma. My time was 35:45. That is about 33 seconds faster than last week. But I might have messed up on my counting again! So my time possibly could be about 36:40 which is about 20 seconds slower than last week. So i am unsure but I do know that I was super tired after finishing. It felt good to be tired after swimming. I need to keep up the 80 lap days.

Today I am going to try to buy new shoes. There is a running shop by my house but it is kinda expensive. So I am going to check it out and see what happens. I might try biking today after work, possibly on the river trail. It stays light so much longer now and I need the outside practice. I could get a good 50-60 minutes in and still have time to go to yoga at 6:30. We will see!

Catch up

Thursday night I went to my spin class and did 20 minutes of stair master before that. I concluded that my left leg problem probably has to do with my running shoes. I am in need of some new shoes. Hopefully I will be getting those tomorrow.

Saturday I decided that I would ride my bike to a cupcake shop in Costa Mesa. After being on my bike for 5 minutes I changed my min because I knew the cupcakes wouldn't make it home due to the heat. So instead, I rode down to the beach and back. It was 24 miles total and I did it in 90 minutes. Not bad! I will be ready for my Olympic race in two months from today. Just need to work on my run!

Yeah for me!

Skyler and I signed up for our next race. It is on July 19 at Camp Pendleton. It will be our first International (Olympic) race! It is a 1.5K swim (1500 meters), 40K bike (25 miles), and 10K run (6.2 miles). I am super excited! The swim is in a boat basin so there won't be any waves to fight against. The only part I am worried about is the run (of course). I need the training time to work up to a 6 mile run, but I still have shin splints. I am hoping that they will be gone by next week so I can get started. The race is in two months. So I kicked my swim up a notch. Instead of my usual 64 lap swim (1 mile), I am going to be swimming 80 laps (1.25 miles) in preparation for the race. It is always good to train for a longer distance than the race. Last night I swam 80 laps in 36:18 minutes. Whoa! That is faster than my normal time, which is usually a shorter distance. That gives me a 27.2 second pace. Wow! That's fast! I am excited about the swim.

Skyler has an Xterra triathlon this weekend. He will be using a mountain bike as opposed to a road bike. Should be interesting! I am glad that I will be just speculating!

Ouch!

I am so frustrated! My shin and left foot are not getting better! I haven't been running. The only time I have ran in the past 3 1/2 weeks is at the race. That's it! So I have been icing my shin for my shin splints and now my metatarsalgia is acting up again. I went to the gym last night. I did the elliptical machine for 30 minutes and then the stair master for about 10 minutes and then my left foot was hurting. This is the same injury I got from snowboarding. Too much pressure on the ball of my foot. Whatever! I will stick to swimming and biking for one more week, then I will be running again!

We did it (kinda)!

Skyler and I completed the St. George Triathlon...or at least the bike and run portion. The swim portion was canceled due to high winds making the water choppy AKA wimpy Utah triathletes. That's ok because we still had fun. We made a whole weekend out of the trip.

Here are our times:
Skyler 1:14:38
Elise 1:20:24

My bike time was 47:22, compared to my bike time last year (50:56). That is a 3:34 minute improvement. Nice! I expected it to be better, but with the high wind factor that is still great. My run time was 27:07, compared to my run time last year (29:21). That is a 2:14 minute improvement. I thought I did worse on the run this year, but I guess I did better. Go me! My favorite part of my time was that I was only 6 minutes behind Skyler. I think we would have been very close in the swim too. Interesting. I have been careful not to bring this fact up with him because he is sensitive about the thought of me doing better than him. Oh well...I feel great about myself.

Big news! We are signing up for our next race, which will be an Olympic/International distance. 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run. I am worried most about the run because of my shin splints. They still haven't gone away! Boo!

Wow! Two more days!

The big day is almost here...opening day for triathlon season for me! I am excited and a little nervous. I have been icing my left leg so that I won't have a problem with my shin splints. But I am nervous because I haven't ran in so long. Let's hope it is like riding a bike. Yesterday I swam. I think I did really, really good. I swam 32 laps and then looked at my watch and it said 15:16, which is not great. So I decided to kick it up a notch. I finished the second 32 laps in 14:20. So either I miscounted on the first set of laps or I swam so much faster. I think I miscounted because I have been doing that a lot lately. I start thinking of other things while swimming so I lose track of numbers.

We are leaving tonight for our triathlon. We will stay in the Lake Mead trailer tonight. Tomorrow we will practice swimming in Lake Mead to get used to our wetsuits. Then we will drive to St. George that afternoon and pick up our packets. Then the next morning is the race! Pretty excited! I am going to wish myself luck! Good luck! And good luck Skyler!

Almost There

Monday I swam 64 laps in 29:42 minutes. I miscounted my laps so it said 28:42, so I most likely had two more laps to swim. Oh well, it was a great time. I didn't have time to do anything else because I had to go grocery shopping and to Skyler's softball game.

Tuesday I rode my bike at home for 50 minutes. Not too bad. Then I went to yoga for an hour. I needed it. It's been probably a month or so since I got a good yoga session in. Tonight I will, sadly, only have time for swimming. I better make it good. Shin splints still bugging. Worried about run!

Oops

Well, Friday night I had a pretty good workout. I did the stair master for 30 minutes. Then I did some squats and arm weights. Then I did the elliptical machine for 25 minutes. Saturday we were supposed to have an elaborate workout involving swimming and biking, but it fell through. Instead I swam 64 laps at the gym in 30:10 minutes. I splurged on dessert today (I know I am so bad). I have two s'mores. Last night I had half of a brownie. Argh! At least I am working out a lot to work off the calories and fat. 6 more days!

Yeah

Last night I got a great workout. First, I did the stair master for 25 minutes. Then, I went to my spin class for 60 minutes. I pushed hard, as usual, and it felt great. Not sure what I am going to do tonight because tomorrow I am swimming. I don't want to run, my legs can't handle it. Probably just a lot of cardio, that's the only way I will be able to get rid of extra fat. 8 more days!

Better

Well, I swam again last night. Better than Monday. I swam 64 laps in 29:45 minutes. I like being under 30 minutes. After swimming, I did the elliptical machine for 30 minutes. I am bummed that I can't run yet. I have been icing my left shin for the past two days. Tonight I will go to my cycle class. Maybe before I can get some more cardio in. Race is in 9 days. Bummer part is that no one will be there to cheer us on. That always helps. At least Skyler will be there to cheer me through the finish line again.

Venting moment: I don't like it when people get on my case about eating healthy. People assume that my body is exactly how I want it and that I didn't need to do anything to get this way. I work very, very hard to keep my weight down. I don't get to eat sweets whenever I want. I don't get to come home from work and lounge around the house. I have to put in my time at the gym every day and eat non-good tasting food. And after all that, I am still not exactly how I want to be. I have tummy fat and wide hips. I hate that. Not hating, just saying.

Sucky!

I am so mad! Yesterday was going to be my big running outside day. Well, I got about a mile away from home before my shin splints came back in my left leg. There was no way that I wanted to ruin them more, so I stopped running. It took me quite a while to walk back home. The whole way I was fuming. All I can do is get mad! So I got home and decided that I would ride. I rode for about 2 episodes of Arrested Development, or 44 minutes. I told Skyler about my shin splints and he got mad at me for worrying about them. Of course I am going to be mad because our race is NEXT WEEK! He thinks I am too hard on myself. I seem to get shin splints right before every race because I up the amount of running that I do. Hopefully my run won't suck. Tonight I am swimming and doing some other cardio.

Ok start

Yesterday was the start of my two-week countdown to the St. George triathlon. I swam 64 laps in 30:22 minutes. I feel like my swim isn't getting better, almost worse. But maybe I just need to swim more often. Right now I want to focus more on the bike because that is the biggest chunk of the race. So after swimming I came home and rode my bike for 25 minutes. Tonight I will be running outside and doing yoga.

Meh.

Friday Skyler and I went to the gym together for the first time in probably a year. We have different schedules. Anyways, while he swam I began running only to start having shin splint pain. So I stopped after only 7 minutes. I did 30 minutes of elliptical instead. After I got home, I did 45 minutes on my bike. I am so glad that I have that trainer at home...it is helping me get more bike time.

Saturday I didn't go anything specifically geared towards training, but I got 5 workouts in for the week so I am happy with that. I made a training schedule for the next two weeks and I will be sticking to it. Tonight I am swimming for 30 minutes and then biking at home for 45 minutes. Good luck to me! Only 12 more days!

Ok I guess

Wednesday night I couldn't swim because of my lame shoulder so I do the elliptical machine for 30 minutes and then the stair master for 15 minutes. I did some squats too, and I was very sore the next day.

Last night Skyler had set my bike up on our bike trainer, so I was able to ride my bike at home (since I didn't have time to go to my class). I was able to ride for 45 minutes and watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy. I love it!

Tonight I am planning on running and swimming. Tomorrow I would like to bike. It should be a nice day tomorrow.

Baby Elise

An hour before I got to the gym I went to the doctor to get a cold sore checked out. While I was there, the nurse gave me a tetnas shot. I haven't had one of those for 15 years. I forgot how sore you get from them. Anyways, so I went to the gym and started off by running. I ran 3.1 miles in 23:30 minutes. Not bad (I was super frustrated because it took 15 minutes to wait for a treadmill!), and then I went to yoga with Jill. My deltoid muscle (left shoulder) would barely do anything without a ton of pain. I didn't realize how much I need my shoulder to do yoga. It was pretty much a waste of an hour. This morning I woke up with my shoulder hurting even more. I feel like such a baby. Tomorrow I should be all better, but that means I can't swim today. Oh well!

What happened?

Last night I swam 64 laps in 29:55 minutes. This is not a great time, but not bad either. The thing is that I felt like I saw swimming very well and fast. So either I miscounted my laps or I need more time in the water. Hopefully this Saturday Skyler and I will be swimming at Corona del Mar.

Get Fit 5K

Today Skyler and I ran in the Get Fit 5K in Placentia. We did this race last year also. We both kicked butt this year. Skyler finished with a time of 22:20 (that's close to what it is but I don't have the exact time) and I finished with a time of 23:06. Skyler was fifth in his age category and I was second (missed first by 3 seconds). I improved my time by 3:20 minutes. Last year I walked for about 30 seconds after the big hill, so that was a huge bummer. This year I was determined not to do that and accomplished my goals. After we got home I went swimming at the gym (I wanted to bike but Skyler is in the process of putting a Cat Eye speed-reader thing on it). I swam 64 laps in 29:45 minutes. Not bad. Three more week until St. George. We both did an awesome job today!

Awesome me

Last night I started off by doing the stair master for 20 minutes. Next I moved onto the elliptical machine for 25 minutes. Last, I did my cycle class for an hour. That was a lot of workout time. I am not sure if I am going to work out tonight because of my race tomorrow morning. After my race I am going to ride my bike. My goal is 25 minutes. That is 90 seconds better than last year. I am going to do great!

Swim Again

Last night I started off by running 3.1 miles in 23:15 minutes. I wish I was able to keep my pace up when I am not running on a treadmill. I want that time for my 5K on Saturday! I need to be pushing harder on my runs. At the very end of my run my shins started acting up. I iced them for about 15 minutes last night. Hopefully I will not develop shin splints again. After running I did some swimming. It had been about two weeks since I last swim. My start was a little rough because I was tired from the running. But I was able to do a good 50 lap swim in 23:50 minutes. Tonight is my cycle class. I am not sure what I will do tomorrow night, but i will keep it light because of the race on Saturday morning. I would like to do an ocean swim Saturday afternoon, but I am not sure what plans we have for the weekend.

Relief

Yesterday was April 15th and a lot more stressful than I thought it would be. After working a few extra hours than normal I was able to rush over to my old Anaheim gym and run into the beginning of my yoga class. It was well worth the rush! I needed the relaxation! Tonight I will be swimming and running.

Catch up

Friday night I did my normal Friday night routine. I ran 3.1 miles in 23:30 minutes, then did some weights and lunges, then the elliptical machine for 30 minutes. Not a bad workout.

Saturday I had to work so no workout.

Monday I ran outside so I could prepare for my 5K this Saturday. I ran 4.4 miles in 35 minutes. Not bad. I will be ready.

Tonight I am hoping to make it to my yoga class.

Bad, bad Elise

I haven't done any workouts since Monday. I feel horrible! I hate not going to the gym...I get so anxious. I am leaving work early today to make sure I have time to go to the gym. I am going to swim tonight. I would run so I think I will save that for tomorrow night because I don't want to swim at the gym late at night. Our 5K is next week and I was ready before the start of this week. Maybe I will run tonight and tomorrow. I think I can get 4 more running sessions before the race.

Quick Run Down

Friday night I ran 4 miles in 32 minutes. It was my endurance run. I am going to have to put in more miles to stat training for the Half Ironman, although I have a while before that happens (almost one full year). I did a little bit of weights and a lot of squats. I finished it with 20 minutes of the elliptical machine.

Skyler and I did a bike ride down to the beach and back this weekend. It is 13.5 miles, but 12 miles of bike trail. The wind was very strong on the way down. I made it in 50 minutes. Skyler zoomed ahead of me quite a few times and then backtracked so he did more miles that me. The ride back took 38 minutes. The wind really does make a difference.

Last night I was going to swim but realized I forgot my towel. Luckily I had brought my running shoes and was able to do the elliptical for 25 minutes and the stair master for 20 minutes. Not bad! Tonight is running, weights, and yoga!

Ohhhh

Last night I did 20 minutes on the stair master before I went to my cycle class. While in my class the teacher said something about not pointing your toes. So I thought, do I point my toes? I made an conscious effort to not point my toes and suddenly my calves are burning. I guess I had been getting more of a quad workout and now my calves will get to participate too. Hopefully tomorrow I can get a good bike ride in.

Good Job

Last night I ran 3.1 miles in 23:25 minutes. That is almost a 7:30 mile. I am feeling good about my 5K distance time. Our race is on April 19. My time last year was 26:26. Ouch! That was bad. It was partly due to my stop on the hill. I blew it but this year I will blow my time out of the water! I am aiming for 23:30. After my run I did the elliptical machine for 20 minutes. Tonight is my spin class. Whooo-hoo!

Go me!

Where to start? Well, I think I left off on Wednesday. Thursday I did my spin class. Friday night Skyler and I took the train down to Oceanside, along with our road bikes. We biked from the train station to our hotel, about 6 miles away. The next morning we got up super early to spectate the Ford half Ironman. It was awesome. I decided that I am going to do a Half Ironman. My goal is to be at that particular Half Ironman in two years, but maybe I will be ready next year. We will see.

Last night I swam 90 laps (!) in 42:30 minutes. My pace wasn't great but I was going for endurance last night. It was the furthest I have ever swam before...about 1.4 miles. For the half Ironman, the swim is 1.25 miles. I can do that no problem. I think my biggest issue is the run. My knees might not make it that long. I know I can endure 13.1 miles but let's see if my body will hold up. Right now I need to focus on my race that is in 1 1/2 months. I am so excited!

So I have been really stepping up my workouts lately and pushing myself further. I have been really proud of myself and have been seeing a difference in my body. The bummer is Skyler. Yesterday I was telling him about my amazing swim distance and he said that I should try doing the ab machines at the gym. Come on! I am working my butt off (literally) and he is just concerned that my abs aren't looking how he wants. Talk about a downer. Sometimes I get mad at him and I want to punish him by eating bad foods. But then I remember that ruining my body will punish me too. I want to look great, not for him, but for myself. Done ranting!

Yeah for Wednesday!

Yesterday I ran 3.1 miles (instead of 3 miles) to practice for my 5K that I just signed up for next month. But I did keep track of my 3 mile time also. I ran 3 miles in 22:40 and 3.1 miles in 23:20. I am so proud of myself. I am going to kill my time from last year...I think it was around 25:30. After running, I did the elliptical machine for 20 minutes.

Make-up Work

Since I didn't swim very far on Saturday morning I decided to make it up by swimming 80 laps last night. I swam it in 37:00 minutes. Not a bad time for the distance. My 64 lap time was 29:34 minutes. Only one and a half months until our St. George Triathlon. I signed us up for the Get Fit 5K Run in Placentia on April 19. It will be a good warm-up.

6 days in one week!

Thursday I went to my spin class. I only got to do the stairs for 8 minutes before class. Class went fine. Friday night I ran 4.5 miles in 36:25 minutes. That was my endurance run for the week. I did weights for about 25 minutes. My legs were sore the next day. Saturday I tried to teach my friend Jill to swim at the gym. I didn't do too much swimming myself, probably only about 16 laps and they weren't fast. But I can say that I made it to the gym 6 days in a row. Awesome! Tonight I will make up my swimming by swimming longer. Goal: 80 laps!

Going strong

Last night I swam for about 30 minutes. I practiced my sprint swimming. I timed myself swimming 10 laps, then I had a break. My goal was to get faster each time. I did it! I am trying to be able to recognize my speed. Sometimes I don't know if I can swim faster. Anyways, I did this 5 times. I need to start adding something else in my swim workout days so that I am getting more accomplished. Swimming for 30 minutes just isn't cutting it. Maybe I can add cardio or weight lifting in there. Tonight is my spin class. I would like to do a little cardio before but I am working at my dad's today so I don't know if I can get there in time.

Ok

Yesterday I swam 64 laps in 29:58 minutes. Not bad! Need to improve speed and technique. I am going to be teaching my friend Jill how to swim on Saturday.

Whew!

What a successful training week! I got a lot accomplished! Well, Wednesday I didn't workout because I was feeling kinda sick. Thursday I did a little cardio and weight lifting, then I went to my cycle class. I am trying to push myself hard in that class and I think it is paying off. My thighs are getting pretty big, but now the rest of my body is out of proportion. Oh well...more motivation to even it out. Friday night I ran 4 miles in 32 minutes. I was working more on endurance than speed. I need to have both. Saturday I did something different. I got my road bike out and took my first ride of the year. Actually it is pretty sad that it is the middle of March and I am just getting my bike out. I did a 32 mile round-trip ride to a cupcake bakery in Costa Mesa. Yes, I rode my bike to get cupcakes! Well, I didn't want to waste gas driving there if the cupcakes weren't good, but it would have been worth it because I loved the cupcakes. And the chocolate chip cookie was amazing too! The ride was tough because I had a very strong head wind the entire way to the beach. On the way back it was so much easier. I was getting about a 5 minute mile on the way there and a 3 minute mile on the way back. What a difference! I took a tumble too while struggling to catch my falling water bottle. A little scratch on my knee was worth it to get to eat those yummy cupcakes. I am only bummed that I waited until I got home to eat them because then I had to offer Skyler half.

Go yoga!

Yesterday I did a pretty decent workout. I ran 3 miles in 23:00 minutes. Actually, that is a great running time. Then I did a little bit of weights until yoga class. The class was super full last night. At least Jill and I got our usual spots. I will not be working out tonight because I am not feeling too well. I woke up this morning feeling pretty miserable. Oh well....tomorrow is another big workout day!

Swimming, Drowning, same thing

Yesterday was my swim day. Right before I got in the pool my swim cap ripped in half. I have never swam without a cap before, but I figured it would be fine. The pool was full also. I started swimming and felt like I could barely swim. I felt like I was sinking, my bangs were in my face, and I was going really slow. It was pretty much how I swim in a race. So I figured out my problem during races....I am not used to swimming with a lot of other people. So I need to be thankful when the pool is full at the gym. Saturday I made tentative plans to ride my bike to the beach. Last Saturday had such beautiful weather so hopefully that continues. Oh, I swam 50 laps.

Bad/Good

So I am bad for not keeping track of my training last week, but I am good for doing some training. Wednesday I swam 80 laps (1 1/4 miles) in 35:50 minutes. That is a pretty good time considering how far I went. Thursday I ran 2 miles in 15:45 minutes, then I did my cycle class. Saturday I went for a 20 minute jog. It was a really nice time outside so I had to.

Good/Bad

Monday I started off the week well. I ran 4 miles in 31:22 minutes. It was a great run! Last night I didn't get to the gym because I had a lot of house cleaning to do. Tonight I am planning on swimming and maybe doing weights. We will see!

Good Week So Far

I haven't written about my training for this week yet but I have done some.

Monday-I did some sprint swimming. I have a little routine of swimming 5 laps at a moderate pace and then sprinting 10 laps. I did this 4 times for a total of 64 laps (I swam 4 extra laps at the end).

Tuesday-I ran 3.75 miles in 28:30 minutes. I didn't realize until now that it was a pace of a 7:36 mile. Fantastic!

Wednesday-I swam 66 laps in 31:10 minutes. I swam two extra laps by accident. My muscles feel pretty sore but I think that is because of the lunges I have been doing also.

I am awesome!

Last night was a great workout. I made sure I would have enough energy to finish the night, which I tend to neglect sometimes. I started out with a 2 mile run. I ran it in 15:40 minutes. After that, I went to a spin class. After class the instructor told me that I did my sprints perfectly. She didn't want to embarrass me in front of the class, but she said she wanted to tell everyone to watch me during sprints. I like doing them. She paints the scenario of us racing to the front of a pack of riders. I can really visualize it. So far this week I have made it four times to the gym. Hopefully I will be going tonight and/or tomorrow morning!

Good so far

Tuesday I ran a total of 3.3 miles. My pace was about 8:00 minute/mile. I had to take a bathroom break at about 2.5 miles. That was lame. After, I did about 15-20 minutes of weights and then my yoga class. Wednesday I swam. I didn't feel like I got a great swim in. I swam a total of about 60 laps. I didn't time my laps...just swam some fast and some slow. I must have swam hard because today I am a little sore. Tonight I will be going to a cycle class and hopefully some running/other cardio before.

Yeah!

Last night I swam 64 laps in 29:10 minutes. That's a pretty good time. Tonight I am planning on running and cycling. My foot has been feeling better, but this morning I stepped on it wrong and it hurts a little bit now. Hopefully it will continue to heal because I am in full training mode.

Blah

I did not work out from Wednesday until Saturday morning. I felt pretty lazy last week. Saturday morning I ran about 2 1/2 miles around Orange. It was a gorgeous day outside. It felt great!

Getting better

Monday I swam for about 30 minutes. I did some drills. I swam 250m fast then 150m at a moderate pace. My fastest pace was 26.7 second/lap. I know drills are important, but I like the endurance swimming better. I will be swimming again tonight. Last night I did a long workout. First, I ran 2 miles in 16 minutes. Then jogged for 2:30 minutes. Then I finished with another 1/2 mile run. Next, I did some weightlifting for about 25 minutes. Last, I did my one-hour yoga class. This morning I woke up sore. I love that feeling.

Hmmmm

Well, I did my spin class on Thursday. I did ok. My foot just seems to hurt after periods of inactivity, like when I get up in the morning. Saturday I decided it would be ok to snowboard. I did fine for most of the day, but after about 4 hours my foot was done. I am going to try to stop babying my foot and just do stuff. Not doing anything sure didn't seem to help. I am not willing to let this stop me from doing the things I love. Anyways, tonight I will swim.

I have been inspired to start eating better and I am going to do that by 1) eating 5 or 6 small meals a day and 2) eating out a lot less. I can control what I eat at home. Today is day one and I have had two meals so far. I am going to eat a meal every 3 hours.

Awwww!

After reading my Triathlete magazine yesterday, I got super pumped to start training for real. But I still can't run and I am so frustrated. I will never take running for granted again, I promise. So yesterday I did the eliptical machine for 15 minutes and then some weights and then my yoga class. Tonight I will take off for family dinner but tomorrow I am going to try cycling.

Good but Bad

Yesterday I swam 80 laps in 38 minutes. That's not a bad time and I feel like I got a good workout. The bummer part is that my foot injury is still here and I can't run. I really want to run again. I hope my foot heals soon.

Last Week

Tuesday I attempted to run. I ran 3 whole miles and felt ok, but the next day my foot was hurting again, so I think I am going to lay off the running for another week or so. Oh, I ran 3.1 miles in 24:50 minutes. Wednesday I swam, but I was having a hard time with it. I felt like I was swimming really slow. Maybe it was because there were a lot of people in the pool and the water was slooshing a lot. I swam 64 laps in 30:15 minutes. No gym for the rest of the week because Skyler and I went to Las Vegas. I did do a lot of walking. I probably walked about 6 miles.

Swimming again

Last night I swam again. I swam 64 laps in 29:50 minutes. It went ok. I want to see progress, especially since this is the only exercise I have been doing for two weeks. My doctor said that cycling would be ok, but I don't want to push it. Argh!

Better

Monday night I swam 64 laps in 29:20 minutes. My time is getting better. Well, it better be because I have only been swimming lately. Tuesday night I attempted yoga. It was ok but I couldn't do a lot of stuff on both feet so my right leg is getting even more stronger than my left leg. Yesterday I went to the doctor and I have metatarsalgia which is a pain of the metatarsa bones. He said to stay off my foot as much as possible so I guess that means I will be swimming tonight.

This sucks

I injured my foot somehow while snowboarding last weekend. I am going to get it checked out next week. So in terms of training, I can only swim. Yesterday I swam 70 laps in 33:20 minutes. It was a little slower than I swam on Monday, but I am ok with it. I will be swimming again tonight. Hopefully I can get some weight lifting in also.

Swim Week

Last weekend we went snowboarding at Mammoth. It was definitely a great workout for my legs. Well, I think I pulled a tendon or something in my foot because I am having a hard time walking on it. So yesterday I swam because I didn't want to put pressure on my foot. I swam 64 laps in 29:40 minutes. That is a better time. My foot is still feeling weird today so I think I should stick to swimming this week.

Go Elise!

I have made it to the gym three days this week! I am having a great start. Last night I went to a new spin class at my new gym. I really liked the instructor (Heather B). I did 8 minutes of the eliptical machine before class. Wednesday night I ran 3.3 miles in 26 minutes. Then I did some weights for about 15 minutes. This weekend I am going snowboarding so that will work my muscles a lot!

Wow! Long lost friend!

I went swimming tonight at the gym. It was wonderful. I looked back at my old posts and discovered that I hadn't swam in a month...since January 7. I was actually a little scared to begin swimming again because I knew it had been a while, but once I started swimming everything came back to me. It felt so good. I swam 50 laps in 23:47. Then I did the stair machine for 20 minutes. This was a good start to my training. Tomorrow I will ran and do weights. Today I weighed 109.

Yeah, I did it!

I made it to the gym two times this week. I guess that is not too bad for a start. But the bummer part is that I feel like I have to work my way up to where I was just a few weeks ago. Running three miles is so hard now. I can do it though. Saturday I ran 3 miles in 24:18 minutes. Then I did the stair machine for 5 minutes. This week I will start kicking butt again. Speaking of swimming and biking, I haven't done those things for about a month. It will be hard to get back into those again. I can do it though. I am ready to look great. I told Skyler that I will be down to 105 in two months, if my muscle doesn't weight too much.