Track Repeat & Swim Tuesday – Doubling Up

• 3 • 13.1 Training, Triathlon

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Track Repeat Tuesday: It was our last week of indoor track repeats!

It was such a supportive and great group of mixed abilities but similar goals. We showed up each week, laid it down on the track, talked kids and work and half marathon training, and worked harder because we had each other’s encouragement and accountability.

I had such a great experience that I’ve signed up for the next session on the outdoor track, even though it’s a further drive than I’d like. I might miss five minutes of warm-up each week, but it’s worth it for the scheduled work-out experience.

Our coach e-mailed us a group photo, but without everyone’s permission to post it… here’s just our feet!

And a clip that shows me in all my glory after this week’s timed mile 🙂

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I loved being part of the group because the fastest runners were more experienced. They showed up talking about their kids taking the SATs vs. the ACTs, and then dropped sub-seven minute pace on their repeats. It was inspiring to see them so much faster than I am, because it gives me a glimpse of what my life could be like if I stick with this until my kids (now 4 and 5) are taking the SATs. I love the thought that I’ll show up to talk parenting high schoolers with my running friends and smoke the preschool moms in 10 years. That would be pretty awesome. Especially if the preschool moms look at me and realized that once their own kids are in elementary school and they’d been running an extra decade that they’ll be the fastest ones.

I’m all about competing with just myself, but sometimes other people around us can symbolize our future and past selves in a way that inspires us… and possibly them as well.

Timed mile: I ran 8:24 the first week of track repeats, and 8:15 today. Given that I just returned from vacation and had a cold and didn’t run while I was gone… I’ll take it 🙂 Just not back-sliding in the spring is quite the accomplishment, especially given the extra time I’ve spent swimming and going to spin class that takes away from my running.

But… There’s a half marathon around the corner and I’m starting to panic. I need to prioritize some long runs to make sure I can finish the race in May. I don’t want to drop out; I’ll train so I can finish and try to actually start out realistically. Remember the year I didn’t train enough in the Spring and then ran 10k pace and crashed during the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon? Yeah. Let’s not do that. Let’s get some solid long runs in and then take a “scenic” approach to the Coastal Half.

Doubling down: After doing a warm up, drills, timed mile, and cool down I think my running workout was probably still under 3 miles this morning. So I decided to pack up from track repeats and go swim at the gym. I have to shower before entering the pool anyway, so I just grabbed my swimsuit and gym bag and went from track to the gym.

Given how uncoordinated I am in the pool, I spend most of my time practicing form and doing drills that work on coordination and technique. I realized that I don’t usually have much muscle fatigue after I swim (unless I’m doing a lot of kickboard drills) so it’s a good workout to do after I run or bike. That way I get the extra practice in, and don’t sacrifice a day of running for the sake of swimming.

Tomorrow I’m going to try another double day: swim lesson in the morning, and spin class in the evening.

Double workouts like the best strategy for making more time to run, which I desperately need to do if I’m going to finish that half marathon in May.

How many days are there in a week? I should be running at least 3 days a week. If I also swim twice a week and spin once a week, that’s 6 workouts a week. I’d get even more out of my swim lessons if I swam 3 times a week, and I often indulge in two spin classes a week because I really enjoy them. That’s up to 8 workouts a week. If I don’t combine swimming with other days, this isn’t going to work! It’s easy to tack on a 20 minute swim at the end of another workout if I time it right.

Plus, I just learned that my gym actually has drop in babysitting rates. I’d been under the impression that to use their babysitting you had to sign each child up for a monthly membership – turns out it’s $11 for the first child and $8 for the second with a two hour max. That means I could swim and shower for less than $20… and probably throw in a 20 minute bike ride for free. Hellooooo Spring training! I’ll have to see how they like it, but they’re pretty flexible, separate easily, and love playing with new toys.

What’s that Tracksmith calendar say?

Oh yeah…

zero days off.

I might actually agree with that. I never thought I’d be the type of person to work out every day, but I like rotating between swimming, spinning, and running.

I like it a lot.

 

Swim Thoughts – Newbie Triathlon Training

• 2 • Triathlon
Spring approaches! The produce is getting better and better tasting 🙂

First I couldn’t help but share the news that the taste of Spring is starting to creep into the grocery store; the peas taste sweeter, the strawberries are arriving a bit riper. It’s a beautiful thing.

Swim

I went to the gym yesterday to practice swimming before my next lesson on Wednesday. My assignment was to hold onto a kick-board and practice breathing while I kicked back and forth across the pool. It’s hard; I have the urge to bring my head up out of the water rather than turning it to the side.

I was pleased to discover that swimming did in fact make my legs tired after only about 20 minutes, and the exercise endorphins kicked in on the way home. It felt great, even at this beginning stage I felt like I’d worked out. That’s a good feeling, because it means that it’ll give me a mood lift even before I’m really proficient at it.

Some nervous thoughts

I was practicing tilting my head to the side to get air and got some water at one point, and thought how on earth am I going to do this when there are people kicking near me and waves coming?

You could turn your head perfectly in the ocean and get a wave in the mouth. I’m going to have to take it in stride, blow out, and wait for my next chance to breathe. That’s fine, I can do that… but I’d like to get some practice first! I’d like to line up at the start of that swim in July knowing that I’ve taken waves in the face and kept going.

I’d also like to practice getting kicked in the face and recovering.

Not sure how to do that.

Actually… maybe I can put the kids in life jackets, give them kick-boards, and swim behind them. Pretty much guaranteed kick-in-the-face scenario.

I’m not sure if I’m kidding; this might be just what I need to build confidence.

That’s how we get through our fears, after all; we face them, make it through, and realize that we’re stronger than they are. Intellectually I know that if I get kicked in the face I can flip on my back and take a breather and then keep going… but there’s nothing like lining up knowing that you’ve actually BEEN kicked in the face and it wasn’t so bad as you thought.

Is it just me, or was running less complicated? Breathing was still the hardest part as a beginner, but if you needed to breathe, you just stopped running. If you just stop swimming… well I guess there’s the back-float 🙂

I’m going to be a strong enough swimmer that I can take waves in the face and swim with a crowd.

This is so exciting 🙂

 

Swim swimmy swim

• 4 • Triathlon

I had my first swim lesson today!

I learned a lot of things. Including that most people don’t bring their giant beach towels to the gym pool. (It’s cozy and fluffy. It might keep coming with me.)

It was so exciting to walk into a place where I felt nervous and uncomfortable, and know that soon I’ll feel right at home. That’s one of the gifts that comes with adulthood, isn’t it? We know we’ll acclimate, adjust, learn and be socialized into new settings.

I remember feeling so nervous the first time I showed up at a 5k, or to spin class; two places where I now feel completely comfortable. Now I feel nervous at the gym going into the pool.

Will I find the pool entrance from the locker room? Ok, obviously I’ll find it, but how long will I wander around looking for it making other women feel awkward because I’m gazing around while they’re changing? Where do I shower before getting into the pool? Is it super weird or just sort of weird that I don’t own a one piece because I have a long torso and don’t like them? How exactly do I ask someone if I can share their lane, and is it better to just wait? Am I going to be FREEZING COLD the entire time I’m in the pool?

But underneath all that nervousness is the knowledge that all these questions will get answered, my comfort level will build, and soon I’ll wander through the locker room on auto-pilot… and I’ll even have remembered to bring face-wash and moisturizer in the bag with my shower shoes.

It’s so easy to think when you go somewhere new or try something you’re not good at that the reason it’s uncomfortable is that you don’t belong. It’s tempting to think that maybe this isn’t your scene, it’s not the place for you, this isn’t your thing. But learning to hold out until your accustomed to the social setting and nuances makes all the difference. THEN you can decide if you like this activity or gym or fitness class or whatever it is.

I thought I wasn’t a runner. I couldn’t breathe when I ran, it was boring, it was hard, it wasn’t my thing.

I thought I was probably crazy buying spin shoes a week after my first spin class, because I probably wouldn’t stick with it.

Yes, I experienced some nervous excitement going to my first swim lesson. But I knew I’d figure things out. That things will get easier. That it’s fine that I can’t get the hang of turning my head to the side to breathe yet. This is the fun phase; the place where the most transformation takes place. I will be a different swimmer in a month, and unrecognizable in the water in two months. I know this, I trust in this, because I’ve transformed before.

I’m so excited to be working on this new life skill. I love the water. I love the ocean, and paddle-boarding, and sailboats and snorkeling. I would love to be a strong swimmer… and here’s my chance, with the Tri for a Cure as my motivation.

So thank you, running… for making me believe I can become a swimmer.

Tri Training Begins: Bike Run Trial

• 4 • Triathlon

Triathlon training has begun!

Swim: I joined a gym with a pool. I signed up for some 1/2 hour lessons with a swim instructor who came highly recommended by a friend. (She has experience teaching children, so she’s patient and can start from the very beginning, but has also coached adults for triathlons, making her a perfect fit!)

Bike: I went to the gym to scope everything out and sign paperwork prior to my first lesson on Wednesday (eep!) and did a bike/run trial. I thought it’d be fun to get a baseline estimate for how long it’d take and how it’d feel to do 15 miles on the bike and then a 3 mile run. It’ll also be neat to gauge my current fitness level is so I can see growth between here and July.

It took me about 40 minutes to bike 15 miles, but then my legs and body were tired from the cycling and it took me much longer than usual (35 minutes) to run 3 miles on the treadmill afterwards. Part of it was the feeling of switching leg muscles, but I think more of it was that the entire time on the stationary bike I kept thinking of the 15 mile marker as being “the end” and I rode all out trying to accurately gauge how fast I could cycle 15 miles. That didn’t leave much left for the run.

I’ll have to learn to pace at least a little bit for the race so I am able to enjoy the run portion rather than crashing.

Accuracy of stationary bikes: I’ve been going to spin class once or twice a week recently, and sometimes the stationary bikes say I completed 13 miles, sometimes they say 7, once I hit 18, all in a 50 minute spin class where I’m exerting enough effort to break a healthy sweat. I am sure there’s some variance between days depending on how good I feel, but I doubt that I only hit the 7 mile mark in 50 minutes of biking on a day I had sweat dripping down my arms.

Indoor bikes aren’t going to be completely reliable. They’re not going to be calibrated perfectly, there’s going to be variance, and there’s a huge difference between biking on a stationary bike when you can easily adjust the gears to fit your cadence vs. biking outside where you don’t control the hills, and need to knowledgeably switch gears to maximize your biking performance.

I need to do some outdoor biking: I won’t really know how long it takes me to bike 15 miles until I do it outside. It’s going to depend on the terrain, the weather, the bike, my comfort level with switching gears, and so many other variables. Looking outside right now, all I can see is a blanket of white, because we’re in the middle of the snowstorm… so all that is going to have to wait! In the meantime, doing some indoor cycling will develop those muscles so I’m ready to hit the great outdoors come spring.

Wait… what about that half marathon in May? While I’m incredibly excited about this triathlon, I have a half marathon in May that I need to prepare for first! It never hurts to be in great half marathon shape, and when it’s over in the middle of May, I’ll still have 2 months to step up my biking and swimming for July. So while swim lessons once a week are fantastic, and I don’t want to lose my cycling muscles, I don’t need to be spending 5 days a week on the stationary bike in February at the cost of my long runs.

I’ll try to keep running a focus for now, while still doing a little base building in the swimming and cycling categories. I don’t want to peak early, I don’t want to burn out schedule-wise, and I want this to be fun and manageable.

I don’t ask for much, do I.

Why Fundraising for Tri for a Cure is Awesome

• 1 • Triathlon, Uncategorized

So, fundraising is actually awesome. I didn’t realize how humbled, grateful, and supported I would feel seeing people donate. I hoped that some of my family and friends would donate $20 each with a brief “good luck!” message.

I never expected to receive $100 with a heartfelt message from a blog reader telling me she looks forward to my posts and has been inspired by my running journey since 2013 when we both were training for our first half marathons.

I never expected my mother’s cousin to donate $120 because she’s a cancer survivor, and tell me she’s always been proud of me.

I certainly didn’t expect my sister, who is an amazing counselor and dance movement therapist with student loans to match those accomplishments, to donate $52 and call ME amazing.

A friend donated $100, got her husband’s company to match the donation, and posted on Facebook making sure friends knew I was fundraising… which has already earned me another $20 donation.

I’ve gotten emails from my parents, in-laws and an Aunt saying they plan to donate. One of my other mother’s cousins has already donated and left a funny and personal message, and after only 2 days since I even heard I had a number, I’ve reached the minimum fundraising amount and am halfway to my goal!

I was even listed on the sidebar as one of the top fundraisers so far, coming in at number 8 less than 48 hours in.

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This is how I feel right now.

I didn’t want to ask anyone to donate… but I’m so glad I did. I hope I did it in such a way that people didn’t feel obligated, and I know that I feel incredibly supported in this crazy and exciting endeavor, and in the desire to raise funds to combat cancer.

I hope I keep seeing  more messages roll in from friends and family and acquaintances who dislike cancer and like me. I appreciate both sentiments, and will carry every positive message I’ve received with me in my heart while I’m training, and forever. I hope people will feel comfortable donating much less than $100, because I love receiving every single message of support, and no amount is too small – it all adds up.

We all have days that don’t go so well. I will treasure these comments, this support, the knowledge that people would sit down and click the link and fish out their credit card and enter in 16 digits and say something nice about me… I can’t even find time to do the simplest things like that most days. Life is crazy.

It means a lot that someone would do that for me, for this fundraising cause, for research against cancer. It means a lot to know what great people I have in my life, who would take the time to make a donation, who are willing to help. It makes me feel like the world is a wonderful place.

Katie, who was my first fundraising donor and is an experienced Tri for a Cure athlete, told me that this experience would change my life.

I’m starting to realize she meant more than learning to swim.

You can donate here.