23 September 2006

Weekend Update

Yesterday turned out to be great. After my awesome swim, I headed out on my bike. I went and got a haircut then just cruised around. I ended up visiting a friend I haven't seen in about 3 years. It was great to catch up. Around noon I hooked up with hubby and we went and had lunch. Then it was home for some yard work; install a/c in the bedroom; and a little nap. Overall a great day.

This morning I slept in a little; at least the animals let me sleep till 6:25 - nice of them. This morning was a run. It is also primary day and I needed to vote. So I planned my route to take me past my polling place. I had 6 miles in mind. I headed out and it was a little tough going at first. I voted and then got serious. The run turned out to be good. My pace is getting quicker though still not where I want it to be. At the turnaround point I sat and looked at the ocean for a few minutes, then headed home. I got a grain of sand in my shoe and it started a blister on my arch. That is not good. But overall an awesome run.

There were a couple of things I've noticed that I need to write down or I'll forget. 20 - 30 minutes into my workout I have a blood sugar reaction. I've been paying attention for the last week or so and it happens almost everytime no matter what activity I'm doing. It's not a severe reaction and it passes rather quickly, but it happens every time. I always have a non-fat, plain, yogurt smoothie with fruit before working out. I guess I'm going to have to play with this a little and try and tweak it to avoid that reaction.

I've also noted that about 2 miles into a run is when I really warm up. The first 2 miles or so are absolute agony. I try to talk myself out of doing it; I don't want to run; everything hurts; I'm running really slow; finally things start to gel then I feel like I can run forever. So remember, the first 2 miles suck.

I think my theory on eating is starting to show some benefits. I've noticed that I've had a touch more energy the past few days. My workouts have also been just a touch more. More intense, more disciplined, more focused, just more. Also, I feel a slight change in my body. I haven't seen the scale move but things fit just a touch better. I know it's only been 5 days, but I believe the human body adapts rather quickly. I think I may be on to something, we shall see :)

This next bit is going to show how truly shallow and unkind I can be so you may want to skip it. There is a lady down the street from me who is huge (at least 600 lbs) and does nothing but lie in bed all day and night. Her bed is in the carport that's how I know this. She has a whole little room set up there with a tv, bookcase, table and chairs, couch, it's quite nice. Okay, here comes the shallow part. When I run or bike or drive past her I always look at her and she inspires me to move. When I'm feeling like not working out I just look/think of her and that gets me going. Mainly because I know I could get like that if left to my own devices. So I run and bike and swim and yoga and whatever else gets me sweating and stretching. She is my inspiration.
I mention her because I did not see her this morning. I'm guessing she actually went out, not sure how she did that?!?!?!?!

Okay, enough about me. Some folks are racing this weekend and I hope they do great.

22 September 2006

A mental health day.

That's what I've taken today. For the last few weeks months I've been feeling in a rut. I realized I'm stressing just a tiny bit and things are not great. I have a friend passing through town today, literally, passing through, so I used it as an excuse to take a mental health day. I need a day for me.

I got up at my regular time and headed out to the pool. Since I had time I decided I needed to go long. I ended up doing 3150 m (1.96 miles) in 1:40. It was great. I did some drills, some intervals, some kicking, etc. I really pushed myself. By the time I was done I was tired. Yeah!!!

Right now I'm hanging around the house, eating breakfast, and hanging with the animals. In a little while I'm going to go for a bike ride. I need to get a hair cut and run a few small errands. I figure why not do it on my bike?? Then, a little later, I'll head to the airport to meet my friend. We'll go to lunch, maybe drive around see a few sights, then it's back to the airport and see them off.

So I have been feeling in a rut and a little stressed out lately. I've been training, mostly, but I've been missing some workouts and lots of time my heart is not in it. I decided the other day that I feel like I have no time to myself. I got a new bird about a month ago and I've been spending time with the bird pretty much whenever I have free time. Well, this is proving to be a problem. I have things I want to do but I can't with a bird on my shoulder. So I started feeling resentful and I was angry for having to do things I always do, dishes, cleaning, laundry, etc. I can't leave the bird out alone because her and the pit bull seem to want to go at it, and I'm pretty sure I know who would win :( Anyway, I think I've come up with a solution. A store here sells these magnetic screen doors. I figure I can put on on the computer room door so the bird can't get out or the dog in, then I can do things I want without having to worry about dog/bird interaction. Anyway, that's what's bugging me and today I will find a solution so it stops bugging me!!!!

Okay, enough. I'm off to get ready for my bike ride and just enjoy my day!! See ya later!!!

20 September 2006

Today I was back in the pool for the first time in 2 weeks. It was interesting.

At first I felt like a real clutz. I couldn't seem to get it together. My stroke was all lopsided; I couldn't seem to breathe properly; I kept sinking; ugh, it was frustrating. But I kept plugging along. This is the price you pay for skipping workouts for 2 weeks.

Eventually things began to smooth out. First my breathing evened out and got better. Next, my stroke seemed to straightened out. I still kept sinking and I can't figure out that that is about. It's not that my feet are sinking, my whole body is sinking. WTF?????

The workout was:
300 sw, 300 k, 300 pull
200 sw, 200 k, 200 pull
3 x 50 rt/lt
300 sw
3 x 50 fingerdrag


Total distance: 2100 m Total time: 1:13

By the time I got to the fingerdrag drill I was totally on it and doing flipturns. It felt really good again and back to where I was before I started.

Okay, I really should get to work.

18 September 2006

I have a theory.

It's still a working theory, but I really think I'm on to something.

First, a couple of observations.

When you drink lots of water your body wants more. It drives me crazy how thirsty I get the more water I drink. I drink 3-4 liters a day and I'm sitting here right now feeling parched. I know it's not true but the more I drink the more I want. Now water is how the body gets cellular waste out so it is important in many many ways. I've noticed people who drink more water go to the bathroom more, even when they are not drinking water. People who don't drink a lot of water don't exhibit this tendency. Hmmmmm...

I've never liked salt. I don't put it on my food and I'm not a fan of salty things. When I would race my sweat was salty but not as salty as some peoples. When I started long distance (read marathon) training I started to investigate salt tablets. I discovered very quickly that I don't like them and I don't like what they do to my body. I looked into products, gels, drinks, etc, that had more sodium in it so I could get my salt that way. Yeah, bleh!!! Then I started talking to other athletes and I noticed an interesting pattern. People who did not take salt pills would finish races just covered in salt (tris and running). You could actually see in on their legs and arms and on the shorts. Meanwhile, people who took salt tablets didn't exhibit this tendency. Hmmm......

Finally, weight loss. I have done a lot of reading on people who lost weight and talked to a lot of people who have lost weight. I've also talked to naturally thin people. It seems these thin people (naturally or done themselves) have a common theme. They all eat when they are hungry and eat lots of natural food. By this I mean food in it's natural state; fruit, veggies, etc. Many also never counted calories when losing. Lots of them kept food journals but didn't necessarily count calories/points/fat/whatever. Hmmmm.........

Let me say these are sweeping generalizations. One size does not fit all, but lots of people fall into the above categories.

I've noticed recently that counting calories/points is not working for me. I train almost everyday and I get freaking hungry. 3oz of chicken on a salad is not going to cut it for me. I use FitDay and there are days when I only eat 1400 cals. and other days when I eat 2500 cals. Neither of these days am I stuffing myself. I'm only eating when I'm hungry and I'm eating heathy, whole foods. Yet I battle with myself about losing weight. I beat myself up for eating 2500 cals when it consisted of fruit, veggies, and meat. That would lead me to eat crap that wasn't good for me.

I've done some reading and talking to people and I've developed the following theory. The body only holds onto things it's denied. When you don't drink water regularly your body retains water. When you don't eat enough salt your body doesn't let much of it out in sweat. When you restrict your calories your body holds onto the fat.

About 6 months ago I started salting my food regularly. When I did Tinman my black tri suit was white with salt when I was done. That has never happened before.

I drink tons of water (have for years) and I pee like a racehorse constantly and never retain water, even during PMS. I don't get bloated.

For the next 2 weeks there will be no calorie counting. I will eat when I'm hungry. I will have a little protein everytime I eat. I will eat lots of fruits and veggies. And I will see what happens.

I believe that if I can convince my body I will be getting good food constantly my body will release the fat and let it go. It's not going to be easy because I do need to eat just a tiny bit more than I'm burning to get rid of the fat. I think it will work though. I'm going to give it a shot. I always feel better when I'm eating well, good food and enough food. Let's give it a try and see what happens.

17 September 2006

Na Wahine Sprint Duathlon Race Report

I have never done a duathlon. We don't have many here in Hawaii, I think there are 2 a year. It's just not popular. So this would be a new experience for me.

I arrived at the start/finish/transition area at 5:15 a.m. The race was scheduled to start at 6:30 so I had plenty of time to set up my area, use the bathroom, eat my breakfast, use the bathroom, what is it about race morning and the bathroom????

After roaming around for an hour it was time for the athlete's meeting. Here is where they explained the duathlon. We would do a 1 mile run, 12 mile bike ride, and 5k run. The route of the 1 mile run was across the grass of the park to the bike path on the other side. Okay, this would be bad. Every since my ankle problems last year I don't do well on uneven surfaces. Luckily it was only 1 mile and we were on grass for about 1/3 of that.

At 6:30 on the dot the horn goes off and we go. They had this bizarre inflatable arch that we had to run through and only about 3 people across could fit so there was a real bottleneck at the start. Off we go across the grass. I'm moving slow and watching my footing. People are passing me left and right but I refuse to move any faster, I do not want to hurt myself. Finally we hit the bike path and I took off. Now I'm passing people. Before you know it we are in T1. Time: 14:16

Most of the bikes are gone, god I hate that!!!! I change shoes, throw my helmet on, grab my bike and run. Now I can ride. I have these large, powerful thighs and I laid it on. Right out of T1 I was passing people. Within the first mile we hit this agonizing hill. It's a pretty good climb and it goes on for about 4 blocks. I powered up that as well as I could and I managed to pass a couple of people. Woo Hooo!!! Once we crest that hill we turn on to 18th Ave. which is a major downhill. As soon as I got around the corner I poured it on and I hit 33 mph going down that hill. I couldn't believe it, that's the fastest I've ever gone on a bike. The rest of the bike was pretty uneventful. It was 2 loops and I did very well, passing people almost all the way. The only time I got passed was when the elites came by on their 2nd loop. Otherwise, I was hot and there was no stopping me. When I came in from the 1st run I was in 176th place. After the bike I was in 126th place. Does that give you an idea how I was flying??? Okay, bikes over into T2. Time: 47:08

Off on the 5k. I was having a little problems in the early part of this. I couldn't seem to catch my breath while running. I was starting to get a little concerned but when I stopped and walked within 30 seconds I was fine. When I hit the 1 mile marker I realized what my problem was. I had done the 1st mile in 11:10. I don't run that fast. At least I knew what was wrong. I slowed my pace a little and took some short walk breaks and was fine for the rest of the run. I felt really good and had to force myself to take walk breaks. I wanted to keep running.

Before I knew it I was turning into the finishing chute. This again was over the grass and I was careful not to hurt myself at this point. A couple of people passed me, those who could really turn it on over grass. About 50 feet from the finish line it became a dirt path. I still had the energy to turn on the after burners for the final stretch. Time: 38:16.

The complete numbers:
1 mile run: 14:16
T1: 1:34
12 Mile bike: 47:08
T2: 1:40
5k: 38:16

Total: 1:42:52

A couple of weeks ago I set some time goals for myself. I wanted to do 45 on the bike and 35 on the run, for a total time of 1:30. I'm pretty pleased because I came pretty close. Overall it was a great race and it was fun. I like doing new and different things.

Oh yeah, Beansprout was absolutely right. This did show me what I need to shake up and where I had gotten to comfortable in my training :)

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...