12 January 2008

New Toys

I kids!!! I've been not too consistent in my posting lately because my computer has been giving me grief. It started before the holidays but I kept hoping it would get better. It didn't. Finally, last week I caved and decided to buy a new computer. After shopping around I decided to order a custom computer online direct from HP. It arrived today. I wasn't too excited because it has Vista (no choice there) but so far so good. I got it up and running and it clearly works so that's a good sign. My old computer has XP and I got this cool cable that will transfer files from XP to Vista. That makes moving my info that much easier. Okay, that's all I had to say. I've got to clean off the crap on this one I don't want and get my files moved from the old one. I'll be busy today.

09 January 2008

Bits and pieces

Well, last night was my first cycling clinic. We ran through skills like clipping in and unclipping, signaling, eating, drinking, etc. We had to split ourselves up into beginner and intermediate. I debated which group to join. I finally chose the intermediate group since I do know how to ride. We headed over to an empty parking lot and proceeded to show our stuff. Within the first 10 minutes I fell twice. I was the only one that fell all night. And I did it twice. Yay!!! Way to show off my wicked biking skills. After I fell the second time I realized that my left pedal wasn't unclipping right. I clipped in and out a few times and the pedal loosened up a bit. Before tomorrow nights clinic I'm going to loosen that pedal just a tad to make escape easier. After falling twice I was nervous the rest of the night but it was uneventful. The bottom line is I think it will be a good clinic. The coaches are all really nice and I think it will be a fun 8 weeks.

This morning was swimming. I got to the pool and it was darn near empty - cool!!! I worked on my TI drills again. I figure, I can swim, but becoming comfortable in the water and not freaking out is worth the time and effort. But half way through my swim my shoulder started acting up. I also noted that the right side of my neck was sore. Luckily I had an appointment with my chiro today so he worked on my neck and shoulder. Holy crap!!! Now it really hurts. Hopefully I'll be able to swim on Friday....

I'm tired tonight and I've got some stuff to do so that's all for tonight. Tomorrow morning is running - oh joy!!!

07 January 2008

Back to the routine

I actually like routine. I like knowing what's going to happen when. I like being able to predict how my day will play out. Don't get me wrong, I like being spontaneous too, but I definitely like routines.

This weekend started things getting back to normal. One day last week Hubby took all the Christmas decorations down, so this weekend was just cleaning up and getting things back on track. Saturday was super busy so not much got done. Sunday morning was the race then I came home and got everything done; biscuits, laundry, cleaned the house, mopped and vacuumed. I'm very pleased. I was exhausted last night and soooo ready to get into bed. Even though I did a lot of reading this weekend, it's seems I didn't spend a lot of time sitting still. Hmmmm. I watched my Total Immersion DVD yesterday as I rode my stationary bike (I rode for an hour and I also read some books).

But, as soon as the alarm went off I was ready to get up and go swimming. I got in the water and immediately started doing the TI drills. It was then it hit me. It's not that I'm not a good swimmer, I am, it's that I'm not completely comfortable in the water. I don't know exactly when that happened, as a kid I used to be part fish. So it's something that developed as an adult. The initial TI drills are just about balance. I did numerous laps balancing on my back, halfway turned on my sides, on my side with my face underwater. I did these over and over until I felt comfortable. Until my breathing calmed and getting water in my mouth or nose didn't bother me at all. Once I mastered each part I decided to try a couple of laps swimming. What a huge difference. I was calm, relaxed and moving through the water like a fish. I was able to breath bilaterally because I practiced balancing on both sides, and I was only doing 15 strokes per 25 yards. I could have swam for hours that way. So basically, TI is a hit and I will use it to refine myself in the water and become the fish I used to be.

I really feel like I'm starting from the bottom this year. I'm running slow and steady and not doing anything drastic, like I did when I started running. I'm taking the cycling clinic to learn to be a better biker. I'm doing the TI in swimming which is basically going back to the beginning and starting over. I probably should have done these things when I started doing triathlons 3 years ago instead of just, literally, jumping in. Anyway, I'm feeling confident and strong in all three areas and I think that is the most important part of all.

Speaking of running, I spent about an hour in the bookstore yesterday looking over running plans trying to find a good training program for the next few months. I didn't find anything I liked so I didn't buy anything. I have some specific things I want in a training program. The main thing is that I will only run 3 days a week. This is because of my knee, my foot, and my schedule. I'm not a 20 something who can run 4 days in a row. I need a program that's 3 days a week of good, focused runs that get me where I want to be. After looking through all the books in the bookstore I was bummed and figured I'd just cobble something together on my own. When I got home I found a Jeff Galloway book I'd forgotten about. Looking through that I found a half-marathon training plan that's perfect. It's 3 days a week with some good challenging runs and even a little speed work towards the end. I'm very excited and it starts tomorrow.

Well, I should get to work. Being back to the routine means kicking in the work again. I've been slacking the past 2 weeks.

06 January 2008

Ron & Bob's 5k

If you look over at my race schedule you'll see another notch in my 2008 race belt :) The race was this morning and I almost forgot about it. Luckily I remembered last night in time to get my stuff ready and get to bed at a decent hour.

This race is really easy. It's 2 loops of Kapiolani Park which is basically flat and boring. Almost every race on Oahu starts and/or end at Kapiolani Park. Everyone who runs, runs around Kapiolani Park at some point in their training.

Since I did so well on the 10k on Tuesday I decided to see how I could do on this one. I warmed up before the start so that I could go out kind of hard, and I did. My 1st mile was 11:17. My 2nd mile was 11:30. The last 1.1 miles was 12:49. Towards the end I thought I was going to throw up and I had to walk for a few seconds, so I know I pushed it. I'm very, very pleased with myself. Feeling like a real runner.

It has been a busy weekend and it's the beginning of a busy 8 weeks. My cycling clinic starts on Tuesday. That will be Tuesday and Thursday nights till 7:30. Swimming will continue on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. While the running will continue on Tuesday and Thursday. There will also be cycling on Sunday mornings. And I'd like to get a long run in on Saturday mornings. This can all work because I'm not pushing myself on the swimming. I'll be pushing myself in all the other disciplines. I'll start pushing harder on the swimming in March, about a month before my first tri. Oh yeah, there'll be some weight training in there also. I'm viewing it as a push to get myself really going. I'm looking forward to it.

Well, I have to finish cleaning the house and getting the laundry done. Then I have to go grocery shopping...... Ugh!!! Busy, busy!!!

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...