Sunday, August 06, 2006

Ruth left for her training in DC this morning. I spent part of it trying to figure out how to dump the files on my watch because it was full and then mapping out a running route for my 19 mile scheduled run. I had planned to run around Mercer Island but then remembered the I90 bridge closing because of SeaFair. So I put together a route that I could shorten if needed because Ruth was not available as a back-up plan.

I drove and parked near Super Jock and Jill. Ran around Greenlake and then down Stone Way. From there, I ran around Lake Union twice -- turning around at Stone Way and reversing the route to run it both directions. Of course, I forgot that the two bridges to be crossed would be up a lot because of the boat traffic. But missed it every time -- however, would have liked the excuse to rest at least one of the four times :P

I appear to have my confidence back and had a good strong run. I changed the lap settings to run 9 minutes, rest 1 (before I ran 10 and rested 1) and that was just perfect for me. When running up Stone Way, I did a reality check and was happy to learn that I felt really strong and could keep going if I had to! But I was grateful to end it when I did...

18+ Mile Run @ 03:07:00
134a
________________________________________________

The week started out difficult but ended strong -- because Cheryl got my head back into the right place :)

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Yesterday I talked to Cheryl, (my coach) whom I had been avoiding now for some time. It was exactly the conversation I needed to have as she pointed out that I have a pattern of getting a bit freaked out and having it come out in body fatigue in the weeks before my races. She would cut down my training and but I would still not get my head right and I would spiral downward.

She helped me realize that I was just scared -- and that was accurate because as soon as she said it, I burst into tears. I am feeling the pressure of so many people coming and this being such a long term goal (5 years in the making) that I was putting unreasonable pressure on myself. Anyway, it was good for me and a good reality check and after the (overdue) conversation, I am much better now :)

Ruth and I went for a no-pressure ride today with the goal of just getting my head back -- it could be 30-70 miles. I had 70 hilly miles on my plan and Cheryl cut it back. We set up the route so there were longer and shorter options. We parked at LogBoom and rode over Juanita and back for a nice warm-up. Then to Marymoore, around Lake Sammamish. Then to Bellevue, through Kirkland and over Juanita again back to the car. I felt strong and enjoyed the climbing and flats.

65 Mile Ride @ 04:10:00
122a, 163m
2500 elevation gain

Friday, August 04, 2006

Had a nice open water swim with Jeff this morning in the lake. It was like glass -- that is until it was shattered by the beginning of boat traffic for SeaFair.

1.2 Mile Swim @ 00:50:00

Then got in a weight session at lunch -- not feeling my strongest.

Weight Training

CORE
5 x 15 Plank (front and side)
2 x 15 Lower Ab Leg Up
Back Extensions 3 x 12 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Crunch Machine @ 25 lbs

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder front raise 2 x 15 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 1 x 12, 1 x 10 @ 90 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 12 @ 90 machine

BICEPS
2 x 12 Curl @ 30 barbell
Concentration Curl 2 x 10 @ 20 dumbbells

TRICEPS
2 x 12 double tricep extension @ 25 dumbbell
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 110

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Did my tempo bike on the rollers this morning and it was not easy to get my HR up even though the pace was good. Ended up working from home to attend to the leak we had in the kitchen sink.

17 Mile Tempo Bike

10 Min WU

45 Min Tempo Pace
129a

5 Min CD
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Then went for an aerobic run down and around Greenlake. I am sore from yesterday's hill workout and had to push myself to keep the pace up.

5.5 Mile Run @ 52:32
133a, 155m

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Last night I fixed our dryer by replacing the timer. Now this is really good stuff on its own as I saved us quite a bit of $$ by figuring out how to do it myself. But the reason I am putting it here is because I was really excited about it last night and kept mentioning how proud of me I was. Then Ruth had a good point. She said "I think you did a terrific job with the dryer but it is interesting that you find that to be such a huge accomplishment when you accomplish so much with your training and racing -- but do not give yourself even a fraction of the credit for it." Hmmm. Something to think about...

We slept in this morning and I decided to head across the bridge to beat the traffic for work and get in my hill workout at lunch.

I started the run with a tummy ache that I could not shake even when I slowed down to a barely moving jog. But once I started the intervals, all was good. I picked a hill that is a bit deceiving as you think you have crested it long before it is over.

5ish Mile Hill Repeat Run

WU @ 00:14:16

Interval 1 @ 02:01 (different distance than the rest)
135a, 154m

Interval 2 @ 01:41
146a, 186m

Interval 3 @ 01:46
168a, 181m

Interval 4 @ 01:45
178a, 187m

Interval 5 @ 01:43
176a, 183m

Interval 6 @ 01:42
166a, 189m

Interval 7 @ 01:42
182a, 185m

Interval 8 @ 01:46 (yikes, slowing down)
179a, 185m

Interval 9 @ 01:37
181a, 191m

Interval 10 @ 01:32 (whoop whoop)
183a, 190m

CD @ 00:10:21

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Today's swim was boring but good for my training. We had 3 x 400 Pull descending...a bit of kicking and repeat. The good news is that I got in 300 more yards than usual.

2800 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00
__________________________

Got in a lift at lunch today. My right shoulder is still bugging me a bit (pulling today did not help) so I kept my shoulder weights lighter and skipped planking.

Weight Training

CORE
3 x 12 Captain's Chair (switched to straight leg lift)
2 x 15 Lower Ab Leg Up
3 x 12 Back Extensions @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Crunch on Ball (front and side)

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder front raise 2 x 12 @ 10 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 2 x 15 @ 70 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 1 x 15, 1 x 12 @ 90 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 12 @ 90 machine

BICEPS
1 x 12, 1 x 10 Curl @ 30 barbell
Concentration Curl 2 x 12 @ 20 dumbbells

TRICEPS
2 x 15 triceps kickback @ 15 dumbbell
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 110

Monday, July 31, 2006

Got to swim with Duncan today at practice. Even though he is always kind, he kicks my ass -- a good humbling swim. Part of our set was 3 x 150 pull and I thought my arms were going to fall off by the end :(

2500 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00
_______________________

Took the Hindenburg for a spin around Mercer Island at lunch. My legs are sore from yesterday and my pace was pretty pokey...

19.5 Mile Bike @ 01:25:00
110a, 146m

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Had a 17 mile run on the plan for the day. Ruth dropped me off at Kenmore Log Boom and I ran from there to Gasworks and the plan was then to run home from there. I set my watch and did it as a 10 min run, 1 min fast (eat drink) walk. I felt so strong and light the first 2 hours. There was the exception of the guy who was resting on his bike as I passed who thought he was being considerate by "commiserating" with me about those tiny 100 lbs girls who just run like they are floating on air. Not like I asked or even invited his remark but I guess that he thought he had license to say that... After my initial surprise and then indignation, I did remind myself that I do often kick their little asses as they float along :)

When I got to Lake Union, I decided to go around it the long way via Seattle and headed left. It was then that I started to hurt. I was alternating a sip of nuun with a sip of water with a cliff block during my 1 minute walk recovery intervals. Maybe I should incorporate some caffeine when I start to hit that wall.

I called Ruth when coming up Stone Way realizing that I had under-estimated my mileage and needed a scoop. She met me at Jock and Jill at Greenlake with the most delicious cold watermelon I had ever eaten! YUM

17-18 Mile Run @ 02:59:26
136a, 186m
_____________________________

Logged 17 hours this week -- over 10 was RAMROD...

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Went to 24 this morning for a swim with Ruth. Did not push it but had a very nice swim and the lane to myself :)

2500 Swim @ 00:55:00

Then after spending the afternoon with Janarath, we got in some weight training. I have not been in the weight room since the week of July 3rd and it sure did show! One thing I noticed during RAMROD was how much my hip flexors and back hurt -- more than they have during our other long rides and I believe it was because I have not kept up my core for the past few weeks. This will not happen again.

Weight Training

CORE
3 x 15 Captain's Chair
5 x 15 Plank (front and side)
2 x 10 Lower Ab Leg Up
Back Extensions 3 x 12 @ 10 lb plate

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder front raise 2 x 12 @ 10 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 15 @ 90 machine

BICEPS
2 x 12 Curl @ 30 barbell
Concentration Curl 2 x 10 @ 20 dumbbells

TRICEPS
2 x 15 triceps kickback @ 12 dumbbell
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 110

Friday, July 28, 2006

RAMROD recovery day :)

Thursday, July 27, 2006

At 3:15 AM, the alarm went off. Why? Because our friend Dave (4x finisher) talked Ruth into a 5 AM start time for the ride. We grabbed our bags and headed south for our very first RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day).

We pulled into the Enumclaw parking lot at 4:35 in the dark and it was almost completely full. We registered, had a bit of back and forth about the layers to wear and crossed the start line at about 5:15 AM. The first 30 miles were through the dusk under overcast skies. We kept the pace easy and were passed over and over again by herds of pacelines. The first stop was disappointing as it was just water and porta-potties -- no food :( I think the picture Ruth snapped of me sums up our mood...

After that, the sun started to come out, our mood improved and we rode through Eatonville to outside of the Nisqually entrance of the park. Finally, 60 miles later, there was some food with delicious fruit there but they ran out of peanut butter -- not something that would EVER happen on Ruth's ride! From there we rode into the park entrance and starting the climb to Paradise. Aside from simply finishing the ride, my goal was to keep Ruth's pace when climbing as she is such a strong climber. I stayed right with her -- surprising her even and followed her as she picked off many who had thundered by us on the flats up to the (almost) top as the route this year was cut a bit short due to construction at the visitor's center. Got a nice picture of Ruth and Dave at our very scenic water stop.

Then we had a nice descent, climbed back up Backbone Ridge to a checkpoint and then another beautiful descent to a terrific rest stop at Box Canyon Picnic Area at mile 88 (yum, chocolate croissants!)

Rode a bit longer to the most challenging part of the ride -- Cayuse Pass, a 9 mile climb at mile 100 of the ride. Right before we started to ascend, we were caught by construction which meant that there was a bit of a bottle-neck with some rather obnoxious other riders who were in a hurry to go by us as soon as we were released :(


I hung in there with Ruth during 8.75 miles of the ascent as she picked off many of the riders one by one. I voted against stopping at the water stop mid-point and wanted to just get it over with. At one point, there was a guy climbing who was "too cool" to wear his helmet and did not like getting passed by Ruth. So he started to chase her but could not keep up and settled in front of me. This made me very unhappy as he should have retired his spandex shorts about 20 washes ago and his large sweaty frame was blocking everything in view. I pulled a break-away -- nothing like translucent shorts for inspiration and continued to chase Ruth up the mountain. During the last 1/4 mile, all I could do was watch her pull ahead (chased by another guy who was inspired by her) and she finished about a 100 yards in front of me. Ruth got a nice picture of Dave at the top.

From there, it was all downhill...to the best rest stop of all because they make custom deli sandwiches for you! Then a gradual 35 mile descent (unfortunately with a wicked headwind, but is normal for the base of Crystal to Enumclaw at that time) to the finish. We were really psyched at the end with a finishing time of 10:07 -- as Ruth said, we can now call ourselves real cyclists :)


After a shower and mini post-race massage, we enjoyed a beer together and bragged a bit more :)

As Ruth put it best: I am proud of us!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Rest for RAMROD day :)

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Had a decent but not fabulous swim this morning -- 5x(4x 100). Did one set on the 1:40 and then really struggled to do the next ones on the 1:35.

2650 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00
_________________________

Did not get a chance to get to the gym today but did come home and do some core before dinner.

CORE
5 x 1 min. Plank (side and front)
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball (side and front)
3 x 15 Back on Ball

Monday, July 24, 2006

I did not realize I was supposed to run 10 miles today until 10 PM last night. So I decided to let my sleep deprived body make the call in the morning.

At 6 AM I woked up and went for a run down to and around Greenlake. I felt crappy the entire time and my HR stayed between 175-180 the entire run. I did not start to even get into a groove until I was climbing 5th back to our place.

5.75 Mile Run @ 00:54:00

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Today I had a meltdown. Spent the morning trying to put our new home back together and getting the remainder of stuff out of the old place -- in the heat.

We planned to ride in the afternoon but right before we were going to go, I had my meltdown. I did not want to go ride my bike. I wanted to sit in an air conditioned theater just like normal people. I was tired of having things I had to do and just wanted to not do anything. Ruth was very sweet and took off her bike shorts and jersey and took me to see a movie -- just like normal people. Unfortunately, all the normal people filled the theater and by the time we got there, there were only a few seats left.

So we turned around, got on our bikes and went for a ride down and around Mercer Island and were rewarded with a nice tailwind.

35 Mile Ride @ 02:31:00
__________________________

It has been a very long week...missed two days of training ...

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Swam the Lake Padden Open Water 5k Swim today. I am not too discouraged that I finished at the bottom of the pack (4th from last) because it was a training swim and it has been a very long week. I worked hard on sighting and stroke and know that I swam a good swim. The time is a guess-timate until results are posted.

3.2 Mile Swim @ 01:36:00

______________________________________

Then spent the remainder of the day cleaning out the old place. Not an ideal day for such a task!

Friday, July 21, 2006

Yet another crazy day at work. Got out in the afternoon though for a quick tempo ride around Mercer Island.

19.75 Mile Tempo Ride @ 01:12:00

12:00 WU
116a, 145m

43:04 Tempo
144a, 225m

17:00 CD
130a, 159m

Thursday, July 20, 2006

No training for me on Tuesday or Wednesday. Between moving and cramps from hell, I had nothing else left. Hopefully we will be completely out of the old place by the end of the weekend.

Went to swim practice this morning and got in good workout even though I felt like I was swimming through mud!

Swim Practice @ 2200
___________________________

Managed to squeeze in an interval run (4 x 1 Mile @ 8:20 Pace w/ .25 recovery) on the treadmill between meetings.

6 Mile Interval Run @ 01:00:00

1 Mile WU @ 10:00
126a, 138m

Mile 1 @ 08:20
149a, 153m

Mile 2 @ 08:20
151a, 156m

Mile 3 @ 08:20
152a, 157m

Mile 4 @ 08:20
153a, 159m

.25 CD

Monday, July 17, 2006

Did my long run today from Gasworks to beyond Matthews Beach and back. Ran it at 10 minute run, 1 minute walk recovery. During recovery, I alternated between eating a cliff block with water and a sip of Gatorade. I was pretty tired by the time I was done but made it through. My foot pod had me at 15 miles but the markers on the trail had me at over 16.

When I came back to Gasworks, I was concerned that I had not run long enough so I continued on the trail to Freemont although running up a hill was the very last thing I wanted to do at the time. Something good happened on that hill. Halfway up it, I could not tell that I was running uphill and cruised up it easily.

16 Mile Long Run @ 02:39:03
134a, 149m

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Today was our double mountain pass training ride -- and we planned to park at Greenwater and ride Cayuse up, down and back up again. The way we came back up Cayuse is the last pass for RAMROD so we wanted to have a good idea of what it would be like.

The ride up Cayuse was good -- Ruth took it at a pace slightly faster than my comfort zone but I hung in there and did not let her drop me. Then we had the descent down the other side where I lost sight of her. I tend to get nervous Nellie when descending especially if there are turns and if the road is a little rough. It was very rough in the rock slide area -- and down to one lane. I was quite unhappy that she had gone through that area without me as it would have felt much safer to have the two of us battling the cars for space.

So there was a lot of silence back up Cayuse but it did not make much of a difference because she rode it faster than I. I decided to not try to keep up and just make it my ride -- with the goal of keeping my cadence at 60. It was HOT HOT HOT and I HATE HOT. My HR was 148 climbing it. One thing I learned today is that Cliff Shot Blocks are my new favorite training food.

At the top of Cayuse, I decided that we needed to ride to Chinook too because it was there :)

We finished the ride strong and the mountain flower she gave me at the top of Cayuse thawed things a bit and I decided to talk to her again :) We do rock after all.

78 Mile 3 Pass Ride @ 05:45:00
6700 Elevation

________________________________________
Put in fewer hours this week -- tapering for Fat Salmon and my long run is not until Monday.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Today we swam the Fat Salmon 3.4 mile race. The water was choppy and we fought a headwind a lot of the time. I know that this was not a priority race -- it was a long training swim for me but I was quite disappointed that I came in about 10 minutes slower than the time I had the last time I swam it -- and the conditions were not ideal that time either.

It is hard to not feel discouraged as my times continue to be slower and slower. I know that two years ago, I did swim it much harder and would not have been in the shape to ride RAMROD that summer. That is my consolation/justification at the moment. Still a bummer and yet another disappointment.

I hope that all this distance training is the reason and I will be able to see and know the payoffs of all the miles and hours I am putting into training -- in the positive results of a race. Perhaps it will also help to not be in transition with our home packed up -- waiting to move into the new one.

3.4 Mile Swim @ 02:00:00

Friday, July 14, 2006

Managed to squeeze a run into my crazy busy work day. Started the run with the intention of just going 3 if I continued to feel tired. But felt strong and did my usual @ 5.5-6 mile loop that included the slough.

5.5+ Mile Run @ 0:52:16
152a, 194m

Thursday, July 13, 2006

We swam in the lake this morning to rest tomorrow for Saturday's 3 Mile Fat Salmon Open Water Swim. It was choppy out there -- both ways and a thoroughly unpleasant swim -- despite the wonderful company.

1.4 Mile Open Water Swim @ 00:50:00

Then I bricked it with a ride to work on the Hindenburg. I was tired and cold and definitely in survival rather than strong mode.

12 Mile Bike @ 01:00:00
___________________________

I talked Ruth into skipping a PM bike and instead coming to Bellevue and going to Happy Hour with me. We both are really tired and the decision was reinforced by the rain outside as we ate cheap sushi :)

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Went to bed last night at 8:15. We are pretty whipped and things have not even begun to get crazy yet!

Katie did hills with me today and that made the workout so much better. We ran Greenlake to the Dog Park area and did hill repeats on gravel paths. I decided to do 4 hill repeats and then added 1 at the end of that to push myself. I have a long way to go but her advice and coaching helped me improve my splits each time. Next time I will do 7 and she advised me to keep the middle 5 at 1:25.

Hill Repeat Run @ 00:55:62

WU @ 16:41
149a, 193m

Hill 1 (not the one I repeated -- it was just there) @ 01:41
132a, 149m

Hill Repeat 1 @ 01:33
130a, 156m

Hill Repeat 2 @ 01:27
147a, 164m

Hill Repeat 3 @ 01:28
150a, 168m

Hill Repeat 4 @ 01:23
151a, 167m

Hill Repeat 5 @ 01:21 (extra credit)!
147a, 197m

CD @ 18:00

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Got to swim with Duncan today -- pushed myself quite a bit more trying to keep up with him initially, and that turned into not letting him lap me -- and then that turned into not letting him lap me before I hit the flags. He did 300's to my 250's and 250's to my 200's. Despite the declining dignity, I had a terrific swim, got in more mileage and need to swim with him more.

2650 Swim @ 00:55:00

We had a late afternoon appointment to sign all the condo papers. whew. I had a tempo bike workout on my schedule and opted to just do it on the rollers because I needed things to be simple and easy. I lost the lap information so no HR but it hovered between 128-132 during the tempo portion. That does not seem high but I could not get it up higher than that.

19 Mile Tempo Bike @ 01:00:00

10 Minute WU
45 Minute Tempo @ 19-20 mph pace
5 Minute CD

Then I did a quick home core and weight session.

Weight Training

CORE
5 x 15 Plank (front and side)
3 x 15 Back on Ball
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball (front and side)

BICEP
2 x 12, 1 x 8 Bicep Curls @ 16 lb weights

TRICEP
3 x 15 Tricep Extensions (behind head)

Monday, July 10, 2006

Two beautiful words:

REST DAY

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Katie ran with me today and that made it so much better. I had to run 8 miles today and my legs sure were tired after yesterday...

I ran to her house and then we ran 5-6 together -- then I ran home.

8+ Mile Run @ 01:33:30
141a, 175m

__________________________________________________________
Another long training week...not much more to say than that...

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Went for a RAMROD Training Ride today. After riding a bit with the group, Ruth and I agreed that we are each other's favorite riding partners and were happy to let everyone go ahead, posture and jostle for position while we rode at our own pace.

Got in over 5500 feet of elevation and while we did not finish as spectacularily as we had last week, we ended quite strong. The worst part of the ride was the 2 miles and then 10 miles on I-90. Ruth summed it up best by saying "If I never ride I-90 again on my bicycle, it will be too soon.

116 Mile Ride @ 07:50:00
121a

Friday, July 07, 2006

We need to set our alarm earlier on Lake Fridays...by the time we got to the water, we just missed the gang taking off. I had a good swim though and made it to the 2nd bouy and back.

1.25 Mile Open Water Swim @ 01:00:00
___________________________________

Got in a quick lift at lunch today.

Weight Training

CORE
Back Extensions 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Legs Up Slanted Bench
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball (front and side)

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 12 @ 25 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 10 @ 10 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 2 x 15 @ 65 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 12 @ 90 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 10 @ 90 machine

BICEPS
2 x 10 Curl @ 30 barbell
Concentration Curl 2 x 8 @ 20 dumbbells

TRICEPS
2 x 15 triceps kickback @ 12 dumbbell
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 110

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Last night, I was still feeling burned and un-motivated so I made the decision to sleep in and get in an interval (4 miles @ 8:20 Pace .25 recovery) run on the treadmill at lunch. It was a good decision even though work was crazy and it was the best I could do to fit it in.

6 Mile Interval Run @ 00:57:21

WU 1 Mile @ 09:38

Mile 1 @ 08:21
147a, 152m

Mile 2 @ 08:20
149a, 157m

Mile 3 @ 08:20
154a, 160m

Mile 4 @ 08:20
155a, 163m

CD .25 Miles @ 04:13
124a, 108e

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

While it was nice to have Tuesday off, this morning felt like another Monday. But a bit more brutal as I was recovering a bit from yesterday's mango/strawberry margaritas....

So swim was uneventful. There were so few people there that I had my own lane. Tonight we have a bike interval workout planned.

2300 Swim Practice @ 00:50:00
______________________________________
Went into today's bike interval workout not feeling my best. Ended up doing 4 x 2 Mile Intervals on Lake Washington BLVD. I did not time them -- and did a .5 mile recover in between each one.

15 Mile Bike @ 00:56:00

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Today we went for an AM Independence Day Swim and Bike Ride.

Jeff and I swam to the 2nd bouy and back today. It was a nice swim and I got to work on my stroke during the swim.

1.2 Mile Swim @ 01:00:00

Then Jeff, Ruth and I went for a ride around the south end of Lake Washington. I rode for the first time with the new Zipp Wheels -- damn they are fast. I got in a couple of sprints and it was all together an excellent ride!

40 Mile Ride @ 02:30:00

Monday, July 03, 2006

I know I was supposed to take the entire day off, but I was feeling a bit antsy and wanted to get in a workout that will not get me in too much trouble. Plus I am finally starting to get the tiniest definition in my arms and I would be so sad to lose it... So I got in a lift at lunch today.

Weight Training

CORE
Back Extensions 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Legs Up Captain's Chair
3 x 15 Crunch on Machine @ 25 lb
5 x 1:00 Plank (front and side)

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 1 x 12, 1 x 8 @ 10 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 1 x 15, 1 x 13 @ 65 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 90 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 10 @ 90 machine

BICEPS
2 x 12 Curl @ 30 barbell
Concentration Curl 2 x 8 @ 20 dumbbells

TRICEPS
2 x 15 triceps kickback @ 12 dumbbell
2 x 12 Assisted Dip @ 110

Sunday, July 02, 2006

I had a miserable terrible awful dreadful horrible death march disguised as a long run today. It has been a long training week and I looked forward to perhaps a light little run before resting on the Madison Park Beach with Ruth whilst sipping some cold, sweet alcohol laced beverage. After all, we certainly had earned it with all the hard long training we had put in.

Then my coach came over to talk about training for the next month and left me with a 15 mile long run to do before meeting Ruth at Madison. The plan did not sound too bad as I was to do it as a run (10 min) walk (1 min). My first three miles hurt. A lot. Then I started to feel better running around Lake Union until the heat got to me and even though I had water and gatorade with me -- and took a sip of each during the 1 minute walk, I started to get slower and it became harder. Much. I also went off the planned route a bit because I got little lost. By the time I hit the Arboretum, I had to walk for 5 minutes to try to get composed again.

Finished by running straight down Madison for a total finish of about 12 miles. In 2.5 laborious wretched hours. By the time I got to Ruth, I was hot and cranky beyond words -- even though I had plenty of words to describe my unhappiness. Ruth said that I am built for endurance sports (I disagreed today) -- but perhaps the Itiderod might be my race...

12 Mile Run @ 02:29
127a. 229m
___________________________________________________

Almost hit 20 hours of training this week. Next week will offer a bit more relief...

Saturday, July 01, 2006

We are bone tired but so very proud of ourselves. Today we rode our longest ride ever as part of our training for RAMROD in July. We did the Flying Wheels route with an extra 35 loop in Snohomish that Jeff had shown Ruth last month. The best part was running into Jeff and his daughter Kaitlin on the trail -- perfect timing because he directed us to the right turn-off for the loop.

About halfway through, I was starting to bonk a little as I had nothing to eat since the egg and cheese bagel I had for breakfast. We stopped in Snohomish after the loop and had a nice lunch of turkey sandwich. When that kicked in, I felt really strong again. I am afraid that I may be built for this kind of thing :(

The route was perfect as we hit the worst elevation at mile 100 -- very similar to the RAMROD route although it was no mountain pass, we did get in over 4500 ft of elevation.

139.5 Mile Ride @ 09:00:00
120a, 165m

Friday, June 30, 2006

It sure was a beautiful morning for a swim! There was a bigger crowd at the lake at 5:45 than I have seen all summer. The sun was out and the lake like glass so there were no excuses and we swam to the 2nd bouy and back.

1.22 Mile Open Water Swim @ 00:45:00
_________________________________

Have an appointment at 5:30 at Speedy Reedy to put on my amazing new wheels. Ruth had an appointment on the East Side so we got to eat lunch together. That left me with little time to get in a lift before heading across the lake in holiday traffic. So I left a bit early and came home to do my living room workout.

Weight Training

CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball (front and side)
3 x 15 Lower Ab Leg Lift
3 x 15 Back on Ball
5 x 1:00 Plank (front and side)

SHOULDER
3 x 12 Shoulder Raise @ 8 lb dumbbells

CHEST
2 x 15, 1 x 10 Push Up on Ball

BACK
3 x 6 Reverse Fly on Ball @ 8 lb dumbbells

BICEP
3 x 15 Bicep Curl @ 16 lb dumbbells

TRICEP
3 x 15 Tricep Extensions Over Head @ 16 lb dumbbells

Thursday, June 29, 2006

It has been a very full and stressful week. Last night, Ruth agreed to sleep in if I needed to in the morning. When the alarm went off, I (of course) wanted to go back to sleep but Ruth was awake and got up to go to swim practice. So I joined her and was glad I did.

I swam with Duncan today and it was a good decision as it evened out the lanes and pushed me to work harder. Part of the workout was to do a 10 minute swim and count laps (10:00 @ 625) and then a 5 minute swim and do more than half the laps of the 10 (5:05 @ 325).

So I almost made it...I really need to work on my flip turns as I lose a lot of speed on the wall.

2350 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00
______________________________
Today's bike hill workout was tougher mentally than physically. I was hungry and not in the mood at all to do it. But I completed 5 hill repeats on the Hindenburg from Lake Washington BLVD to Pine. Did 1, 3 and 5 seated and 2 and 4 as 8 revolutions standing, 8 seated.

Bike Hill Workout @ 01:07:28

WU @ 11:52
91a, 112m

Interval 1 @ 06:33
140a, 149m

Interval 2 @ 06:52
143a, 157m

Interval 3 @ 06:48
143a, 157m

Interval 4 @ 06:51
146a, 157m

Interval 5 @ 06:55
144a, 156m

CD @ 06:15

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Got in a good interval run before before entering meeting hell at work. I did 10 x 400 with 200 walk/jog recovery. My fastest was a 1:39 and slowest was a 1:44. I was happpy that I was able to keep the last few fairly consistent.

6+ Mile Interval Run @ 01:02:00

WU @ 00:18:14
164a, 199m

Interval 1 @ 01:43
173a, 195m

Interval 2 @ 01:39 (fastest one)
151a, 172m

Interval 3 @ 01:43
153a, 175m

Interval 4 @ 01:41
158a, 192m

Interval 5 @ 01:42
162a, 195m

Interval 6 @ 01:44
164a, 194m

Interval 7 @ 01:42
168a, 207m

Interval 8 @ 01:42
159a, 199m

Interval 9 @ 01:42
173a, 203m

Interval 10 @ 01:43
164a, 211m

CD @ 10:57
143a, 211m

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Sprint workout this morning. We drove to Lake Washington BLVD and did the same workout as the one last month. However, I shortened my recovery and by accident, I believe I shortened a 1 mile sprint to a .75 - may have done it twice judging from my lap time but I am not sure.


16 Mile Sprint Bike Workout @ 01:44:05

WU @ 11:29
99a, 123m

1 Mile Sprint @ 02:59
139a, 152m
.25 Recovery @ 01:03
130a, 147m

.75 Mile Sprint @ 02:07
139a 150m
.25 Recovery @ 01:01
131a, 147m

.5 Mile Sprint @ 01:31
138a, 148m

Recovery to top of Seward Park Upper Loop @ 03:30
127a, 144m

Upper Loop 4 Laps @ 10:49
143a, 159m
Recovery @ 02:28
117a, 148m

Upper Loop 4 Laps @ 10:49
141a, 161m
Recovery back to blvd @ 03:14
113a, 152m

1 Mile Sprint @ 02:19 (?)
147a, 158m
.25 Mile Recovery @ 01:01
140a, 156m

1 Mile Sprint @ 03:09
152a, 159m

CD @ 09:05
127a, 156m

Commute to Work @ 00:35:21
125a, 160m

___________________________________

Ended up working late and was not able to leave the office until after 6:00 so I did not get in the planned Open Water swim after my bike commute. So I rode to Madison Beach and hung out waiting for Ruth to get done.

10 Mile Commute @ ??

Monday, June 26, 2006

Got back in the pool today and learned that we were supposed to have access to a shower as they are remodeling the women's locker room but that did not happen. We do have access to a rinse off shower on the deck :(

The other terrible news is that there is a rumor that Sarah has left Swim Seattle for good. I am going to confirm that rumor with her shortly :(

But regardless, I had a good swim practice. I really need to butch up and swim with Duncan again now that Sarah is not swimming as I do not get challenged enough in my own lane.

2500 Swim Practice @00:55:00
______________________________
Busy schedule at work! Managed to squeeze in a speed weight training session at lunch.

Weight Training

CORE
Back and Side Extensions 5 x 15 @ 10 lb plate (no weights for side)
3 x 15 Legs Up Captain's Chair
3 x 15 Crunch on Machine @ 25 lb

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 12 @ 10 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 1 x 15, 1 x 11 @ 65 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 12 @ 90 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 10 @ 90 machine

BICEPS
2 x 8 Curl @ 30 barbell
Concentration Curl 2 x 8 @ 20 dumbbells

TRICEPS
2 x 12 triceps kickback @ 12 dumbbell
2 x 12 Assisted Dip @ 110

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Happy Pride Day!

Went for a quick run down to and around Greenlake. Didn't feel good until I was on my way up the hill home...perhaps that was how long it took me to sweat out last night's alcohol.

Apparently I need to build up a better tolerance -- we are off to the parade right now and I will work on my alcohol tolerance today :)

6 Mile Run @ 00:57:21
148a, 187m
____________________________________________

It was an honest recovery week with a good ride on Saturday.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

We had a beautiful ride from Enumclaw to Chinook Pass. It was sunny, warm and beautiful. It is so interesting how different Ruth and I are -- she always takes off too fast (for me) and I always end a bit fast (for her). When we started the real climb to Chinook, it was quite warm and I freaked out a bit because of the heat and really struggled.

Then Ruth dropped me and when she stopped at 123 and 410, I was quite cranky and feeling as though I might die from dehydration on the ride. Ruth pointed out that my water and gatorade bottles were actually half full but I returned that I was SAVING them for the final throes of the death march and was quite dramatic about the whole thing.

Then she said the magic words "we could turn around -- we did accomplish our mission". That got a very quick and indignant "no" from me and we went up easily to the top where there was snow, and it was much cooler...She had been feeling not so great at the beginning but once she hit some elevation with full sun, she was feeling fabulous. I, on the other hand was feeling good until the full sun and elevation :(

On the way home, she had a brilliant idea. We went into the Safeway we had parked at and got wet wipes, recovery drinks, a sandwich and deodorant. Then we proceeded to "shower" in the car and went straight to The Rose for the Beer Garden and catch up with everyone at Pride weekend. She said that if we came home to shower, it would be all over and we would not go out -- she was right and we had a fun time despite being as sticky as fly paper -- the 4 beers helped.

90 Miles @ 06:09:00
I forgot my HR strap...

Friday, June 23, 2006

It sure was a beautiful morning for a swim and we swam a bit further this time. Of course, our Friday open water swims are just a vehicle to the real joy -- coffee at Essential Bakery with the crew. Jeff joined us today for the first time and seemed to enjoy the entire experience.

2200 Open Water Swim @ 00:45:00

I managed to finally make it back to the weight room after a few weeks off. I was not as weak as I thought I would be and even took the opportunity to increase some of my weights. However, my Biceps turned into little macaroni noodles during my rest...

Weight Training

CORE
Back 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Legs Up Captain's Chair
3 x 15 Crunch on Machine @ 25 lb
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball (3 front, 2 side)

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 12 @ 10 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 1 x 15, 1 x 12 @ 65 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 12 @ 90 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 10 @ 90 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl 1 x 10, 1 x 8 @ 20 dumbbells
2 x 10 Curl @ 30 barbell

TRICEPS
2 x 12 triceps kickback @ 12 dumbbell
2 x 12 Assisted Dip @ 110

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Had a last minute meeting cancellation so I was able to get in run during lunch. It felt good and I worked to keep my turnover quick and light. HR was quite high but I was comfortable -- although working. I think it was the heat that drove it up.

5.5 Mile Run @ 00:51:16
151a, 193m

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Had a really nice commute in on the Hindenburg. I sure do love that bike! When I was on Mercer Island, I heard a scuffling to my right and then felt something brush my feet -- and felt a simultaneous thump thump. I looked back and a squirrel had run under my bike but I did not squish it as I saw it continue to run (although its tail looked a little dented) across the road.

I hope it is all right. I would have felt terrible :(

17 Mile Ride @ 01:15:00
123a, 158m

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

This morning, I entered chilly Lake Washington rather reluctantly with some other swimmers on my team. But I had a nice solo swim. I was planning to just swim a shorter distance and get out early, but I was feeling good and it was a beautiful morning so I did the usual distance to the tennis court fence.

1.5 ish Mile Open Water Swim @ 00:45:00

Did not manage to get in a weight training session today but I did ride to our session with our financing guy in Wedgwood to sign the next 30 years away...

14 Mile Ride @ 00:56:34
122a, 160m

Monday, June 19, 2006

Our New Home

The perfect ending to yesterday's race was a call from High Heermans, our amazing and wonderful realtor who phoned to let us know that we beat 5 other offers and got the condo we wanted -- at our price, with the space we needed -- in the neighborhood (Maple Leaf) we currently live in and love! We swung by his office on our way back from Victoria and signed the first round of papers.

whoop whoop!!!










Sunday, June 18, 2006

I raced the New Balance Half Ironman today as a zen experiment. No HR monitor -- no watch. I was going to race it completely by feel and have fun. Julie raced a half iron that way (lost her watch in the swim) and qualified for Hawaii so I figured that I might be able to have some similar success...not exactly....





I am disappointed in my results -- I felt good throughout the entire race and was certain that my bike was much better than it was. The bike did not kick my ass like it had last year and I felt strong throughout -- even was having fun during it. But I was not in my aerobars much (had just put them on earlier in the week) and that may have made the 7 minute difference in my bike leg.

Here is my race report -- I will post pictures later today as they are right now in Ruth's camera. Until I saw my results, I was quite happy with my race and had a good time without getting my ass kicked. I guess I could have had a bit more of an ass kicking...

Pre-Race
I registered the day before and got my bike checked out. We were planning to ride a bit but it started to rain as we were standing in line and we retreated back to the hotel room. When the sun came back out, we took our bikes for a leisurely amble along the Goose Trail and then went out for a nice dinner.

Woke up before the 4:30 AM alarm went off and got a sweet parking spot. Racked my bike in a good spot and got chipped and body marked in plenty of time.




















Swim
The swim went well -- all the women started together and I focused on sighting. I swam the last half off it with someone whose pace was comparable to mine and came out of the swim feeling good.














T1
Nice fast transition. Nothing got tangled in my bike and it felt smooth.

Bike
I just really enjoyed the bike ride. I was a bit more social than I usually am and chatted with a guy near the beginning about his awesome spiderman jersey. I got dropped by the men over and over and then more and more women. There were a couple of times when I accelerated to drop some women who I had to leapfrog with. Of course the converse happened too :)

What I liked best about the bike was that I did not feel any sense of despair at any point. Last year when I raced it, I just dreaded some of the hills (we do the same loop 3 times) and every time I hit them this year, I just thought "bring it" and my legs never felt tired or weak. Only got one "good job" from some idiot dude at the end.














At the end of the bike was when people really started to accelerate. Jeff, I thought about what you said about "smelling the barn" as all these guys zoomed by me the last mile and giggled.

T2
I thought this transition went smoothly too but it was markedly slower than last year. The only thing I can think is that I put on my race belt in transition instead of while running out. I did put on my hat while running out though...














Run
While I was on my bike, I kept telling myself, "soon, I get to run around that beautiful lake -- twice!". I started the run feeling really good and looking forward to it. The first few km, I tried to keep pace with a woman who was running strong but I finally forced myself to drop back because I could not get my breathing in check. I also did not race with my usual hydration pack -- instead opted to use their stops and that worked well. At km 5, I noticed that there was a nice downhill and I told myself that the next time I see that marking, I would only have 5km to go AND it was a downhill gift.

Near the end of my first loop, I felt this hand on my left butt cheek. Now we are not talking a pat here -- we are talking a pat, grab, squeeze repeat combination. I was startled and wondered what Ruth was doing. With the hand still firmly attached to my unpleasantly sweaty backside, the guy who did it came along beside me and said -- while removing his hand "oops, you are not who I thought you were..." I replied, "no, I certainly am not". He then said, "oh well, guess the boost did not hurt" and he was right. So apparently I am not only a body double for someone but also an ass double. It cracked me up and was a nice distraction.

Coming through the first loop, Ruth yelled ":54 -- negative split it". Now that was my goal but the idea seemed quite preposterous at the moment. A guy I was leapfrogging with heard her and said "easy for her to say" and we laughed about it. But I really did try to negative split it but was unsuccessful. At the very end, a chick surged ahead of me with that evil R (for relay) on her barely sweaty calf. I developed a true dislike for those well rested Relay participants during the run.

So I finished feeling like I raced well and strong. I wish I had raced faster but as my coach reminded me, it was not a priority race and I have been focusing on distance, not half ironman speed. I am working to get over my disappointment about my bike and overall time.

There are lots of pictures of me actually smiling -- something I did not do last year :)

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Tapering SUCKS. I just sat on my ASS all day eating WAY too much food today. Thank goodness I had a long strenuous day moving my index finger in a 1.5 inch perimeter on my touchpad as that most certainly justified the ENTIRE box of Annie's Mac and Cheese I inhaled...bleah.

Last night, I actually slept well for the first time and opted to skip swim practice and sleep in since I was actually in a sleeping groove...

After Ruth got home from HER solo century ride, I rode with her to the Capital Hill because she had an appointment there. I rode from there to Seward Park and got in my aerobars for the first time this season.

17 Mile Bike Ride @ 01:17:00
117a, 163m

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Tapering rocks! I did a short interval run workout today 4 x 1/4 miles around the Greenlake Track.

4.5 Mile Interval Run @ 00:44:11

WU @ 18:29
155a, 194m

Interval 1 @ 01:40
153a, 167m

Interval 2 @ 01:41
155a, 169m

Interval 3 @ 01:35
158a, 178m

Interval 4 @ 01:36
155a, 175m

CD @ 13:24
142a, 175m, 150e

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Today was another busy day. We started out the morning with a lake swim and I then worked from home to be available for the 2:00 inspection. Unfortunately, the inspector told us that the siding is Louisiana Pacific -- subject to many lawsuits...so off we go on the roller coaster again...

1.5 Mile Open Water Swim @ 00:45:00

I had a good grounding talk with my coach today and got back some badly needed focus. Did a tempo ride on the rollers this evening and felt so strong throughout. I averaged 18.5 mph during the tempo portion.

Tempo Ride @ 00:45:00

10 Minute WU
109a, 121m

30 Minute Tempo Pace
139a, 148m, 148e

5 Minute CD
123a, 148m

Monday, June 12, 2006

Didn't sleep well on Sunday night and took it easy during swim practice.

2250 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

The afternoon got a bit crazy. I left early to look at a condo that just came up for sale in our neighborhood (gasp and even affordable) and after we toured it, went for a run down and around Greenlake. Right after my run, we were at our realtor's until 9:3o writing up an offer. I did not have a HR monitor so I do not have that information.

6 Mile Run @ 00:54:00

Sunday, June 11, 2006

I have a 13 mile run on my training schedule but frankly, I just do not want to do it today. I am feeling stressed and burned out between work projects, house hunting and life in general...

But the sun is coming out so maybe I will rally...or not...
__________________________________________

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Today we rode from Eatonville to Paradise to get in an 80+ long ride that included a mountain pass. I was super nervous going into it because I was concerned that I would not be able to make it but Ruth's enthusiasm carried me through -- and up. Frankly I kicked that mountain's ass!

Once we got to the top though, it started to rain and we had a wet, cold and very miserable descent. By the time we hit Longmire, Ruth had a meltdown because she could not get warm. With dry socks, and bit of a rest, we finished the ride and the sun even came out for us. It was a very very long day...
89 Mile Ride @ 06:20:00

Friday, June 09, 2006

We were supposed to swim open water this morning but the bad water report combined with rumors of a sewage leak sent us directly to the pool where we had a good workout.

2500 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Commuted to work and back on the Hindenburg. Rode over Juanita in the AM. Ruth scooped me in the CD after work because we looked at a (crappy) condo there...

35 Mile Bike Commute @ 2:30:00
117a, 154m

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Ran the Mercer Slough this morning. Picked up the pace a bit and finished strong.

5.5 Mile Run @ 0:52:39
147a, 166m

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Today's swim workout was Ruth's favorite. 10 x 200. Long and boring...but good for us, I know.

2500 Swim Practice @ 00:50:00

Then rode the Hindenburg to work -- and have been slammed here ever since. If I can get out at a reasonable hour, we have a hill repeat workout planned.

12 Mile Bike to Work @ 00:43:00
129a, 161m

Ended up having to work late so I only got in one hill repeat up Madrona.
17 Mile Bike From Work @ 01:10:00
123a, 225m

Monday, June 05, 2006

Got in the average yardage in swim practice and then weight trained after work.

Swim Practice 2500 @ 00:55:00
__________________________

Weight Training

CORE
Back 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Legs Up Captain's Chair
3 x 15 Crunch on Machine @ 25 lb
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball (3 front, 2 side)

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 16 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 1 x 15, 1 x 12 @ 65 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 15 @ 75 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl 2 x 15 @ 20 dumbbells
Curl @ 25 barbell

TRICEPS
2 x 12 triceps kickback
2 x 12 Assisted Dip @ 110

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Ruth's parents were here for the weekend again before returning to Georgia and she raced the Issaquah Triathlon on Saturday (6th out of 60+ in her division, top 10% overall...whoop whoop). We had a good time with them at the race and then spent the afternoon looking at a couple of houses so I ended up taking yesterday as a rest day.

This morning I got in a 12 mile run around Lake Union and then 1.5 times around the outside gravel area of Greenlake. I felt quite strong and kept an overall 9:30 pace.
__________________________________________________

Hopefully next week I will get back on track with my workouts. No more visitors for a while.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Got in a swim/run bike this morning starting with the first (short) open water swim of the season at Madison Beach. From there, I hopped on the Hindenburg and biked to work.

1/4 Mile Swim @ 00:15:00
13-14 Mile Bike @ 01:00:00

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Swimming does not seem to be in the stars for me today...Ruth woke me up at 5:42 and we realized I had set the alarm for 5:30 PM, not AM. So we rushed to swim practice and made it on time -- WITH my bag this time.

Got in a good distance workout even though I had to split the lane with someone because David was being a butt princess...

2650 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

Busy day but managed to squeeze in a spin class. The instructor (Gina -- noting the name so I know what I am getting into should I have to take that class again) started late and was rather un-inspirational . Who teaches spin instructors that yelling "come on" over and over again is an acceptable motivational technique?

So I continued working through her CD to get in a full 45 minute workout on the bike.

12 Mile Bike @ 00:45:00
138a, 154m

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

I woke up BEFORE the 5:30 alarm went off and even had a moment to check email and get gas before swim practice. Then I pulled in, found a parking spot and realized that I had forgotten my swim bag that had everything I needed for swimming as well as the clothes I needed for work!

Uuugghhhh

So I turned around, went home -- changed and then went into work early.

So I took a longer lunch and included the Mercer Slough in my run. I worked hard to maintain a tempo pace for most of the run and jogged/walked the last half mile. Of course, my HR monitor decided not to work so I have no HR information -- except I know that I worked very hard and kept my pace at 8:30-9:00.

7 Mile Run @ 01:06:07

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Got in weights during lunch. Just did 1 bicep and tricep because of time.

Weight Training

CORE
Back 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Legs Up Captain's Chair
3 x 15 Crunch on Machine @ 20 lb

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 16 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 2 x 15 @ 65 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 15 @ 75 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl 2 x 10 @ 20 dumbbells

TRICEPS
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 125

Monday, May 29, 2006

Had a really great ride today. We did the 7 Hills of Kirkland Century ride. I felt really strong on the hills throughout and while 100 miles still does not feel like an easy ride, I was comfortable the entire time.

100 Mile Ride @ 07:00:00

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Another rainy day! We went to the Helene Madison Master's practice and I got in a terrific workout as I was well matched with Sally in my lane.

That's it for the day because we are saving our legs for tomorrow's Hills of Kirkland century. Later today, we are headed out to take Janarah to see Akeelah and the Bee.

2800 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00
______________________________

My cycling totals went down over 100 miles this week and I put in about 7 hours less of training.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

With 90% chance of rain, we changed our workout around to an excellent (in my humble opinion because it was my brilliant idea) brick. We went to the 9:00 Spin Class with Ruth's favorite instructor, Shari -- and from there I ran to and around Lake Union picking up Katie at Gasworks while Ruth got in a 5k on the treadmill. The only flaw was that I thought the running route I planned was 8 miles but my foot pod only registered it as 7.6. Not sure which is right...

Spin Class @ 00:45:48
137a, 165m

7.6 Mile Run @ 01:10:36
145a, 233m

Friday, May 26, 2006

Got in a nice distance workout this morning. Did a set of 3x500's with the middle as pull. Then we spent the morning meeting with a real estate agent and our match coordinator with the Bigs and Littles program. After getting a lift in, we are taking the rest of the day off :)

2550 Swim @ 00:55:00
__________________________________________

Weight Training

CORE
Back 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Legs Up Captain's Chair
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 16 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 2 x 15 @ 65 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 15 @ 75 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl 2 x 10 @ 20 dumbbells
Curl 2 x 12 @ 30 barbell

TRICEPS
Kickbacks 2 x 15 @ 12.5 dumbbells
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 125

Thursday, May 25, 2006

I kicked ass in swim practice all by myself! I got to swim in my own lane and descended a set of 2 x 200's (3:10, 3:08, 3:05 and 3:00). Each 200 had a 50 recovery that I did as EZ backstroke.

So I guess last night was not a complete disaster after all...

2600 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00
_______________________________

Did my Bike Intervals on the rollers -- whew it was a workout!

After messing around a bit with my new HR monitor, I was able to download the splits and HR -- and export them to Excel. I accidentally rode an extra half mile during interval 7.

16 Mile Bike Interval Workout @ 01:01:00




















CORE

5 x 1 Min Planks

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Did a tempo run on the treadmill at lunch today. My HR was pretty high throughout but it was quite humid and warm...

5.5 Mile Tempo Run @ 00:51:51

1 Mile WU @ 11:23
155a, 181m

4 Mile Tempo Pace (8:20) @ 33:20
176a, 199m

.5 Mile CD jog/walk @ 07:07
136a, 106e

________________________________________________
I did NO training the rest of the night. I was going to ride home but the prospect of possibly getting caught in the rain along with feeling quite whiney and crampy propelled me to drive home instead. My funk continued (because I then felt like a complete slacker for not riding --- yet I still did not want to do anything but curl up on the couch). Ruth was very kind to me and took me out for Korean Food (Bimbimbop) and I then indulged in ice cream after 7PM.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Tough morning...just felt tired and my legs were quite sore. More so than they have been for a long time. I also started my period so that did not help. I got out of swim practice early and planned the rest of the day off.

I did some stretching tonight though -- something I had taken a break from the past couple of days.

1900 Swim Practice @ 00:40:00

Monday, May 22, 2006

Ran over to the gym and got in some weight training. Definitely not feeling my strongest... Planning my long run after work today.

Weight Training

CORE
Back 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Legs Up Captain's Chair
3 x 15 Crunch Machine @ 25

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 12 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 2 x 15 @ 65 barbell
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 15 @ 75 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl 2 x 12 @ 20 dumbbells
Curl 1 x 12, 1x8 @ 30 barbell

TRICEPS
Kickbacks 2 x 15 @ 10 dumbbells
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 125

______________________________________

Did my long run after work today. Was feeling tired and unenthused so I just did my regular route from home up 15th to 175th and back down Meridian. I was playing around with my HR monitor and inadvertantly dumped the data.

11 Mile Run @ 01:50:00

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Ruth was itching to get on her bike today so I moved my long run to Monday and rode with her. We went over I-90 and over Juanita and then got on the path to meet her parents at Redmond Center where they are staying for lunch. It felt good to ride with gears and we got some good speed and pushed each other a bit on the flats and hills. Then we rode back the flat trail home but by then I was pretty much done with being on a bike.

68 Mile Ride @ 04:36:00
___________________________________

The week got a bit jacked up but I managed to get in at least two workouts per sport in...

Saturday, May 20, 2006

The Tour de Cure went really well today! The weather cooperated, the signage and support were first rate and my riding partners simply exceptional.

Rolf, Jeff and I rode the 50 mile Tour de Cure route and left shortly before 9 AM. I made it up Inglewood Hill on my single speed! I was so psyched about it. Jeff had mentioned something about collecting dimes from Inglewood Hill walkers and that planted a seed in my stubborn brain that I was not going to part with that dime. And it nearly killed me -- I was sucking wind for a very long time after summiting -- my biceps hurt from gripping the handlebars. But I now have something to brag about.

Of course that pales in comparison to the chivalry and accomplishments of my riding companions. Rolf got a flat at the top of Inglewood and it took me a bit of time before I realized that they were no longer following me. Jeff stayed with Rolf and had his tire off and had almost completely fixed the flat before I got to them. Shortly after that, we came across another cyclist with a flat and Jeff was off his bike fixing that right away with Rolf's attentive assistance.

The weather was beautiful and the ride relaxing and fun -- we averaged about 10-12 mph. Rolf, who had never ridden more than 30 flat miles, was steady throughout the entire hilly 50 mile ride. And he was not even sore the next day! What a kick ass athlete. Jeff was just a wonderful riding companion and we had a lot of fun chatting -- and realizing how many scary similarities we have ... and he was happy to accompany me on the hill repeats we did while Rolf pushed his bike up two of the longer steeper grades.

50 Mile Bike Ride @ 04:00:00

Friday, May 19, 2006

Another really really good swim with Sarah this morning. Emily set a rather unreasonable time for our 125's at the end and we managed 4 at 2:00.

2500 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

That was my only workout today as I spent the day with Ruth's parents. I took them for a ride on the route so Rolf could see what he was getting into and we also adjusted his loaner bike. Ruth was actually done at 7 PM (she is really an amazing event organizer) so we were all able to go out for dinner that night. Rolf (with his new martini bike socks), Jeff (maybe Kevin) the Hindenburg and I are planning to depart at 9 AM and ride the best run Tour de Cure ride ever!

Please send good wishes for little to no rain...

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Today's interval run was an excellent mentally and physically challenging workout. Ruth woke up at 4AM and went for her run shortly after while I slept in -- I figured that at least one of us needed to be rested...

So I dropped her off at work to help her with truck/supplies logistics and then went to Greenlake to get in my pyramid workout. (200, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400, 200) with 400 recovery inbetween.

I ran the long side to the track for a nice warm up and was able get up to the 1600 before the phys ed class descended.... Even though I AM a 7 minute miler, I did reset my expectations so I would not start to feel too badly if I did not run the mile in 7 minutes -- and I did not. During my 1600, this guy appeared on the inside track and was ambling towards me -- he jumped out of the way but felt he had to yell at me to let me know I was going the wrong way. Now, he used the track as a SHORTCUT, and was not even running it but he did seem to feel entitled to write his own rules for the half minute he was on it. Ugh! Not that it added 7 seconds but I just wanted to take a moment to rant about him.

Then the class descended during my second 1200 and while I held my line on the inside of the track, it was a royal pain in the ass because they had no clue about etiquette - I had to yell track at one point to get one clueless strolling boy to move. After that, I decided to get my last 800 and 400 (crap, I just realized I forgot the last 200) on the inside loop of Greenlake.

Interval Run @ 01:16:31
165a, 194m

WU @ 18:48
161a, 185m

200 Sprint @ :55
188a, 193m, 192e
200 Recovery @ 01:09
174a, 192m, 145e

400 Sprint @ 01:42
180a, 189m, 189e
400 Recovery @ 02:57
144a, 189m, 178e

800 Sprint @ 03:26
187a, 194m, 188e
400 Recovery @ 03:09
149a, 188m, 178e

1200 Sprint @ 05:22
188a, 190m, 188e
400 Recovery @ 03:47
136a, 188m, 140e

1600 Sprint @ 07:07
187a, 194m, 190e
400 Recovery @ 03:26
148a, 191m, 178e

1200 Sprint @ 05:21
186a, 193m, 189e
Recovery @ 02:43 (jogged to Greenlake Track)
147a, 189m, 137e

.5+ Mile Sprint @ 04:45 (I missed the 2nd mile marker)
177a, 187m, 181e
Recovery @ 02:00
142a, 181m, 133e

.25 Mile Sprint @ 01:58
177a, 190m, 181e

Cool Down @ 07:49
151a, 181m, 138e

Took the time to S T R E T C H at Greenlake and then planked for 5 x 1:00 intervals when I got home.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

At 3:30 this morning, Ruth informed me that she was going to work. She is completely stressed about her event but I was able to convince her to try to go back to sleep.

I got in some upper weights and core at lunch.

Weight Training

CORE
Back 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Legs Up Captain's Chair

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 12 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 1 x 15, 1 x 12 @ 65
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 15 @ 75 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl 2 x 15 @ 20 dumbbells
Hammer Curl 2 x 12 @ 12 barbell

TRICEPS
Kickbacks 2 x 15 @ 10 dumbbells
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 125
___________________________________

Tonight I skipped my bike hill workout. Life is just a bit hectic right now and I opted for an oasis of time over dinner with Ruth. I am also now in day three of my sugar and alcohol restriction*. We had dinner with my coach on Sunday and were talking about weight and racing. I have gained 10 lbs since I qualified for Boston and that has had a direct impact on my racing. We also did strength and flexibility tests and while I am stronger overall, I am less flexible :(

Tonight I stretched using my stretch strap. I need a new one -- the one I have is a sash I had from a pair of pants and I tied it into loops. It is just a little short. I can sew so I should be able to figure something out soon. Or I will get more flexible and it will be easier to use :)

*So I have set a new guideline for myself. No alcohol or sugar before noon or after 7 PM-- except for special occasions. That will cut the calories from the soy lattes ( I switched to non-fat) and the non-fat but sugary creamer we put in our coffee in the morning at home. And it cuts into my nightly ice cream. I have stuck to it for 3 days now and I think it is a plan I can live with for a while because I am not completely cutting some of my favorite things out. But I am making a change.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

What a beautiful morning for a bike ride! Rode the Hindenburg to work today. Legs feeling a bit tired but spirits were high :)

17 Mile Bike Commute to Work @ 01:18:00
117a, 148m

I extended my ride home by taking the south end of the lake route. It was a fairly flat and a very pleasant ride. I cheated at the end by having Ruth scoop me at Gasworks.

25 Mile Bike Commute from Work @ 02:00:00
112a

Stretched at Gasworks while waiting for Ruth and then stretched again at home with the stretch strap.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Had a really good swim with Sarah today. She has such a terrific attitude and is helping me not only get stronger in the pool, but more flexible mentally. We had a couple of people join us in the lane whose speed was much slower and I was a bit disappointed although I was already working on turning it in my head into a good challenge thing blah blah blah.

After our first set, she said to me "this is a terrific opportunity to use the pull bouy for those 400's" (to even things out) and that was exactly what we did. Even though they followed suit and were still much slower, turning it into an opportunity was exactly what I needed to hear and an excellent reminder.

2500 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00
________________________________

I got in my long run after work today. I thought I had planned a 9+ mile route as I needed to get in 10 but it turned out to be just about exactly 9 miles. I forgot my HR monitor strap so I just have the time recorded. It took me about 45 minutes to start to feel like I could actually run. I am not sure if it was the heat, the end of a long Monday or what.

9 Mile Run @ 01:25:25

I also S T R E T C H E D after. I stretched my calves, quads and hamstrings for 30 seconds each.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

I took the day off today except for some light weights I did in the afternoon at home instead of going to the gym.

Weight Training

CORE
Back 2 x 15 on Ball
1 x 15 Crunch on Ball
5 x 1:00 Plank (front, side, etc)

SHOULDERS
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 12 @ 8 dumbbells

BACK
Reverse Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 8lb dumbbells

CHEST
1 x 12 Push Ups

BICEPS
Concentration Curl 2 x 15 @ 16 dumbbells

TRICEPS
Kickbacks 2 x 15 @ 8 dumbbells
________________________________

This was another 17 hour training week. whew.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Today's Skagit Spring Classic Century was a beautiful and fun ride. It was sunny throughout and some of the views quite breathtaking. We stopped at rest stops every 20 miles or so to stretch and re-charge. It was not too hilly and we struggled only three times in the ride. Once in the middle when the road was made out of rough chip seal and we were climbing up in a headwind, I convinced Ruth to paceline with me and that helped. Near the end, we had a flat and beautiful tailwind and I just took off. In my joy, I missed a turn and Ruth ended up having to chase me for about a mile -- she did not have much left in her legs and that sprint was not something she wanted to do. The ride back was a bit unpleasant against the wind with a slighly cranky girlfriend.

Finally, the headwind during the last 5 miles really picked up and I crawled to the finish at 11 mph. During the difficult times, I worked on my attitude and turned my thoughts around into it being good training experiences. We were done right at 4:30-- when the spaghetti dinner was supposed to end and we were SO HUNGRY but I still had a run to do. I strapped on my running shoes and took off -- there was a gravel path close, and I took it to the end (slightly over half a mile). I figured the end of the gravel path was a good sign and I turned around to try to get some spaghetti dinner. The good news is that I felt quite strong at the end and did not suffer during my (shortened) run.

100 Mile Bike @ 07:00:00
117a

1 Mile Run Brick @ 00:10:34
137a, 176m

Friday, May 12, 2006

I started the morning quite cranky -- apparently still was not done from last night. But then Sarah showed up and dragged me through a truly fabulous swimming workout. I left the pool in a much better mood than when I entered it.

2600 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

Then had an easy bike with the WE CYCLE team to work. I did work a bit harder as Jessica is already getting stronger.

10 Mile Bike @ 00:50:00

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Had a good tempo run this morning around Greenlake. Ruth and I ran to the track and she did intervals while I continued around the lake.

5.67 Mile Tempo Run @ 00:49:35
149a, 163m

Mile 1 @ 08:41
139a, 149m
Mile 2 @ 08:28
150a, 154m
Mile 3 @ 08:24
155a, 158m
Mile 4 @ 08:20
158a, 169m
Mile 5 @ 09:10 (1st half tempo pace, 2nd half met Ruth and CD pace)
149a, 163m
Mile 5.67 @ 06:32 (CD)
140a, 144m

Followed my run with some core.

CORE
5 x 1:00 Plank (front, side, etc)
4 x 15 Crunch on Ball (front, side, etc)

_________________________________

I was cranky on my ride home today. I rode home the long way -- over Juanita and Ruth met me on the trail close to Log Boom. I did not want to be on my bike any longer and was quite unpleasant to ride with :(

26 Mile Ride @ 01:45:00
111a, 150m

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Sleeping in this morning seemed to make the difference as I was dragging yesterday. Got in some weight training at lunch and my reps and weights were back where they should be.

Weight Training

CORE
Back 3 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
3 x 15 Ab Machine
3 x 12 Legs Up Slanted Bench

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 12 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 1 x 15, 1 x 12 @ 65
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 12 @ 75 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl1 x 15, 1 x 12 @ 20 dumbbells
Curl 2 x 12 @ 20 barbell

TRICEPS
Kickbacks 2 x 15 @ 10 dumbbells
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 125

LEGS
Lunges 2x15 @ 5 dumbells
Abductor 2x15 @ 75 Machine
Adductor 2x15 @ 80 Machine
________________________________________

We had a really good sprint bike workout today! I was quite nervous about it and Ruth was slightly cranky but we rallied :)

18 Mile Sprint Bike Workout @ 01:15:00

WU @ 11:00
94a, 118m

Mile Sprint @ 02:47
146a, 156m
.5 Recovery @ 01:56
124a, 155m

Mile Sprint @ 02:47
152am 165m
Recovery to top of Seward Park Upper Loop
124a, 161m

Upper Loop 4 Laps @ 10:42
148a, 166m
Upper Loop 1 Lap Recovery @ 04:32
117a, 158m

Upper Loop 4 Laps @ 10:46
148a, 163m
Recovery back to blvd @ 03:22
111a, 154m

Mile Sprint @ 03:11
150a, 162m
.5 Mile Recovery @ 02:39
115a, 154m

Mile Sprint @ 03:04
146a, 158m

Recovery @ 14:53 (Up to I90 and back)
111a, 155m

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Still feeling a bit beat up from the weekend but had a good swim practice even though the usual suspects were not there. I missed drafting Sarah and had to work hard all on my own :(

2350 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

Then I rode the Hindenburg into work and I was tired Tired TIRED and s l o w.

10 mile Bike Commute @ 00:52:43
120a

My ride home was a bit better but I definitely was not at the top of my game.

17 Mile Bike Commute @ 01:26:09
118a, 155m
_____________________________________

Tomorrow's bike sprint workout is going to hurt. Here are the instructions from my coach...

Intervals on Lake Washington Blvd:

Because the road is so bad until Mt Baker, I do a 2 mile warm-up from Madrona till Mt B, then start with 1 mile hard, 1/2 mile recovery, and repeat, you will get two intervals in until Seward.

Then go up the hill and do 4 laps of the upper loop hard, one easy, then repeat, back down the hill and 1 mile intervals on the way back.

Then take the upper loop by I-90 on the way home and recover after that. You just can't do the upper loop on Thursdays because of the weekly crit.

Time each of your miles and also time the 4 laps together (not each lap). Now you also have a baseline to see improvements.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Rest Day today.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Went for a run this morning at Discovery Park at my coach's suggestion because my next race will be on paths that are similar. This the first time I have ever run there, and despite the trail map -- I got a bit lost. It was fun and beautiful there.

8 Mile Run @ 01:20:00
135a, 152m

Then I lost 82 unretrievable minutes of my life taking Janarah to see Scary Movie 4 :(

After that, I did my weights.

Weight Training

CORE
5x Min Plank (3 front, 1 each side)
5 x 15 crunch on ball (3 front, 1 each side)
Back 2 x 15 @ 10 lb plate
2 x 15 Captain's Chair Leg Up

SHOULDERS

Overhead Press 2 x 15 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 12 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 2 x 12 @ 70
Chest Flyes 2 x 15 @ 30 dumbbells

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 10 @ 75 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl1 x 12, 1 x 10 @ 20 dumbbells
Curl 2 x 10 @ 25 Barbell

TRICEPS
Kickbacks 2 x 15 @ 10 dumbbells
2 x 12 Dip @
__________________________________

Below is my training summary for the week. I put in over 17 hours this week...longer than I have in a very long time...

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Today was a hard, long but excellent day.

I met 4 members of the West Seattle contingent of the Viking Cyclists this morning at Chelan Cafe and we rode from there to Tacoma and back for a 65 mile ride with 4000 feet of climbing. Ruth is riding the Tour de Cure this weekend in California.

I was quite nervous about it but made the decision to show up and see if I could hang. I found out shortly that they are much stronger riders than I but they were also quite kind, regrouped often and taught me a lot.

As well as being a good physical challenge, it was good mental training too. The thought "I am the weakest rider in this group" came into my head too often and I worked hard to turn that into "What a good opportunity to ride with stronger riders who are patient and willing to teach me. I am going to learn so much today."

At the end of the ride, I continued on down to Alki point to get in my final 5 miles to make it 70. Then I bricked it and ran for 20+ minutes. My transition was unfortunately a little longer than 5 minutes because I was told to move my car before it got towed.

70 Mile Bike Ride @ 04:45:00
128a, 233m

Transition @ 00:07:00

2+ Mile Run @ 00:22:10
148a, 183m

Friday, May 05, 2006

Got to swim with Sarah this morning and Emily wrote us a good speed workout. Sarah was ready to work so I just hung on and chased her the entire time :)

Swim Practice 2550 @ 01:00:00

Then rode in from there with Jessica and Phillip from my Commute Challenge Team. It was a nice leisurely ride and I was happy to just ride at that pace -- did one hill repeat while waiting but that was the extent of me working hard.

10 Mile Bike Commute @ 00:50:00

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Had a really good training ride after work today. Rode the Orbea home through Kirkland and over Juanita. After I went up and down Juanita, I did 2 hill repeats back up the steep side before heading home on the trail. I worked throughout the ride on keeping my speed up and monitored my cadence on the hills to keep it at 70. I was mostly successful and when I dipped below 70, I worked really hard to keep it above 60.

32 Miles @ 02:15:00
127a

Bellevue to Kenmore @ 01:00:00
121a

Hill Repeat 1 @ 09:19
151a, 160m

Recovery 1 @ 04:40
104a, 148m

Hill Repeat 2 @ 09:22
152a, 162m

Kenmore to Home @ 01:00:00
129a, 159m

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Got to swim with just Sarah today and had a terrific workout despite her dusting me on every long set.

2500 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00
______________________________

Did a recovery interval run (4 x 400) today on the treadmill. Then did a bit of core after.

5 Mile Interval Run @ 00:46:26

2 Mile WU @ 18:48
129a, 140m

.25 Interval 1 @ 01:51
149a, 157m, 157e

.25 Recovery 1 @ 02:39
135a, 159m, 135e

.25 Interval 2 @ 01:50
149a, 176m, 155e

.25 Recovery 2 @ 02:42
134a, 157m, 133e

.25 Interval 3 @ 01:51
148a, 159m, 157e

.25 Recovery 3 @ 02:43
134a, 158m, 135e

.25 Interval 4 @ 01:49
150a, 169m, 162e

1.25 Cool Down @ 12:09
137a, 162m, 138e

CORE
5 x 1:00 Plank (alternate front and side)

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Rode the Hindenburg to work this morning from downtown after the Bike to Work Breakfast.

I am feeling my legs today after weight training yesterday! OUCH.

12 Mile Bike Ride @ 01:05:24
121a

____________________________________
Commuted home on the Hindenburg but took it extra slow as I was riding with a new member of our WE CYCLE commute challenge team. Ruth met us in Bellevue and we rode to where she parked at Gasworks.

15 Mile Bike Ride @ 01:20:00
106a

Monday, May 01, 2006

Went for a run from home down and around Greenlake. My foot pod is definitely off because my pace was reading quite slowly and I finally turned off the pace reading portion of it because I was so frustrated with the time. However, I compared it to the last time I ran this in March and realize I have not declined as much as I thought.

6.1 Miles @00:57:32
138a, 193m
__________________________________
Met with my coach this morning to start to talk about my 1/2 Ironman and Ironman training plan. Not quite as painful as I anticipated but I learned that is because these workouts are more focused for the 1/2 Iron in June and that after that, it is really going to hurt...

Some takeaways:
  • Every long bike needs to be followed by a 20-30 minute run.
  • LEGS (Lunges, Add and Abductors) need to be added back into my weight training 1x a week.
  • Do CORE 3x a week.
  • I am to ride RAMROD with Ruth (I was hoping to be support staff) and train like it.
  • My runs need to be on gravel/dirt paths.
  • Alternate my workouts so I am doing interval, tempo and hill workout per sport. But never do those workouts back to back.

At the end of the session, I asked her what one thing I should change/do differently to be successful this summer. She told me that I need to focus on my mental game. I have not had a really good race since 2004 and it has been my attitude that is getting in the way of success. My reaction when I do not perform as I want is to get mad and berate myself -- that interferes with my ability workout and race well. She said I have a head of steel and while that can me really good in terms of discipline and focus, it also gets in the way. So I have some visualization homework to do.

__________________________________
Got in a lift today during lunch and added legs.


Weight Training

CORE
1x 1 Min Plank with Rotation each side
3 x 1 Min Plank
4 x 15 crunch on ball (2 front, 1 each side)
Back 2 x 12 @ 10 lb plate
2 x 12 Captain's Chair Leg Up

SHOULDERS
Overhead Press 2 x 12 @ 22.5 dumbbells
Shoulder alternate raise side and front 2 x 12 @ 8 dumbbells

CHEST
Press 1 x 12, 1 x 10 @ 70
Chest Flyes 1 x 10, 1x4 @ 30 dumbbells (hand hurt holding weights)

BACK
Seated Row 2 x 15 @ 75 machine
Lat Pull Down 2 x 10 @ 75 machine

BICEPS
Concentration Curl1 x 12, 1 x 10 @ 20 dumbbells
Hammer Curl 2 x 10 @ 15 dumbbells

TRICEPS
Kickbacks 2 x 10 @ 10 dumbbells
2 x 15 Assisted Dip @ 125

LEGS
Lunges 2x15 @ 5 dumbells
Adductor 2x15 @ 75 Machine
Abductor 2x12 @ 75 Machine