Tested my new rollers today and my learning curve is a bit steeper than I hoped it would be....but I was able to stand for a few seconds at a time. I was feeling very un-motiviated but I managed to make myself go for my long run (8 miles) turning today into a short bike long run brick.

12 Mile Bike Rollers @ 00:45:00
8 Mile Run @ 01:20:00

Today was my first day at my new job. Started it out with a really good Swim Practice and a very hard set:

2 x 100 @ 01:45
1 x 200 @ 03:30
2 x 100 @ 01:45
1 x 200 @ 03:25
2 x 100 @ 01:45
1 x 200 @ 03:20
2 x 100 @ 01:45

There was an additional 03:15 and 01:45 but I and my shoulder were done.

2550 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

I am officially unemployed :) Spent an hour this morning putting together my new rollers and am now sitting at the service station getting my oil changed. It promises to be a just beautiful day and I am looking forward to spending a lot of it on my bike.

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After getting the oil changed in my car and a bit of nesting/shopping, I finally got on my bike. Went around the lake from home and rode the North end first. I pushed my speed and HR but was DONE when I ran into Ruth at UW who had parked her car and was taking her beautiful new bike for a spin after work. I threw my bike in her car and drove up the hill home.

50 Mile Ride @ 03:15:00
133 ave

I ended up at the office a bit late last night and opted to drive home and get on the rollers rather than ride my bike in as planned. Once I arrived home, it was pretty apparent that I was beat and ended up going to bed at about 7:45 PM. That was the best decision I had made all week as I slept about 9.5 hours and just feel so much better this morning.

Just as I about to hop on the rollers this morning for an aerobic workout, my phone rang and it was a team member whose child was sick. So I switched gears and came into work early.

Today is my last day with my company. I definitely have mixed feelings about it -- this is the longest I have ever worked at any one place and I am so sad to leave my teammates and at the same time, am excited about the future. I will try to get in a run this afternoon before my PM appointment.
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Managed to get in a quick run between picking up my new rollers and a last minute dentist appointment. Parked at 5th and 80th and then ran down and around Greenlake and back.

4 Mile Run @ 00:38:30

I woke up this morning still feeling very tired and a bit congested. I don't feel sick though, just tired -- perhaps the congestion is allergies. I had a tough time at swim practice getting any sort of speed up and limped through.

2200 Swim Practice @ 00:50:00

5:20 this morning started way too early but I dragged myself out of bed anyway to go to my last spin class with April in Bellevue. I had a hard time getting my HR up but got in a good workout anyway.

Spin Class @ 00:50:00
133a, 152m

WEIGHTS

CORE
5 x 15 Back

UPPER
3 x 18 Row @ 60
3 x 20 Pull Down @ 60
3 x 18 Tricep Push Down @ 40
3 x 18 Bicep Curls @ 15

LOWER
3 x 18 Squats @ 10 DB
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The last thing I wanted to do after work was to go for a run but I dragged myself around Greenlake anyway. While I am glad I did it, I was definitely not at my best feeling tired both in my lungs and legs.

3.2 Mile Run @ 00:27:53
141a, 172m

This morning, I woke up and did some stuff around the house planning to go for my 8 mile run when Ruth went grocery shopping. Changed into my running clothes and did some core before heading out.

Then I had a change of heart and realized that I really really really did not want to run. Ruth supported that because, as she mentioned, I have a choice now, but will not in a couple of months.

So I put on my "I look like I am going to work-out but these are my good slacking only clothes" and happily took the day off :)

CORE
3 x 1:00 Plank
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball
2 x 12 Lower Ab (Ball Lift)

This weekend, I had to get in a 60 mile ride and a 8 mile run and the order could be dictated by the weather. Even though there were dire weather reports about today's rain, I decided to start the ride outside on the Hindenburg and turn around when it started to dump and finish on the rollers.

I had a late start because the front tire was flat and found the piece of glass that must have embedded itself in the tire. The weather stayed decent from home to Seward Park so I decided to continue to around the south end. Once I hit Renton, it started to rain, and then harder to the point where I was feeling quite sorry for myself as I hid in the bathroom at Coulon Park. After a stern self-talking to, I headed to Bellevue and decided to go home over Mercer Island. No idea what the exact mileage was because I do not have a computer on that bike so I estimated the ride to be 40 miles leaving me 20 to finish on the bike.

Once I got home, I had a really tough time getting on the bike. I was wet, cold and DONE. But I managed to get in 15 miles before I just could not take it much more and got off. When Ruth came home to a shaky me, she reviewed my nutrition with me and helped me understand that one Powerbar and 1/3 of a bottle of Gatorade was not enough fuel for that ride.

55 Mile Ride @ 04:06:35
131a

Went for a swim this morning at 24 before meeting with Cheryl to plan my training for the spring. I did a 500 WU (this is all meters) and then 5 x 50 Kick, 10 x 100 on the 2 and 5 x 50 kick. I was consistent but not particularily fast.

2200 Swim @ 00:45:00

I actually thought this morning that I really did not feel the effects of yesterday's hill workout. This assertion was clearly disputed during today's spin class...

Today is my last Thursday with my current company. And probably my last spin class with the Thursday instructor. I do not think I will miss her terribly like I miss Dina but she delivers a solid, but not necessarily inspiring workout.

Spin Class @ 00:50:00
137a, 154m

Okay, enough slacking off for me and back to my training. Today I did my first hill repeat workout in....months. I got in a good mile plus warm-up and then did 5 hill repeats on 108th Ave and finished with some weights.

Hill Repeat Run Workout @ 00:40:43

WU @ 00:15:21
127a, 138m

Hill 1 @ 01:22 ( I did a shorter distance for this first one)
149a, 160m

Hill 2 @ 01:35
147a, 230m

Hill 3 @ 01:33
144a, 227m

Hill 4 @ 01:30
147a, 167m

Hill 5 @ 01:29
147a, 166m

WEIGHTS

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down
3 x 15 Tricep
3 x 15 Row
3 x 15 Bicep

CORE
5 x 15 Back

Last night, Ruth had a brilliant idea that I swim at Greenlake since our pool is closed for the week. So I set my alarm for 4:40 AM and headed down.

Had a good swim and only had to subject one person to my freestyle only stroke and three point turns. She told me that my right arm was crossing over too much -- good to know because that is my injured shoulder.

2500 Swim @ 00:55:00
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Made up a pyramid workout on my bike today for the rollers. But before I describe it, here are the numbers for my gears. I have yet to really understand it but it is important that I do very soon.

Front Cog:
50 / 34

Rear:
23 / 21 / 19 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 11

So I did this all in my little front gear (34) and went up a gear every 5 minutes (15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) while maintaining a cadence of 90+ RPM. It felt good and the only time I felt like I had to really push it was when I was at the top at 11.

13.5 Mile Ride @ 00:45:02
131a, 150m

Spin class this morning was a bit abbreviated because 24 opened late. I was also bummed to see that my favorite spin instructor, April was not there. Her substitute was Gina, the screamer :(

I managed to get in a decent workout anyway.

Spin Class @ 00:48:00
135a, 162m
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CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball

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Went for a run during lunch in the rain. My legs felt fine. It just felt hard cardio-wise especially when running inclines.

6 Mile Run @ 00:54:00
140a, 181m

Went to the Helene Madison Master's swim practice this morning. I usually get a solid workout in with them but the climate of the group is very individual and not much of a team environment. It does in a pinch -- and it is amazing how many more yards can be done without the chit-chat :)

3000 Yard Swim Practice @ 01:00:00
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Got in a lift after a bit of lunch.

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down
3 x 15 Tricep
3 x 15 Row
3 x 15 Bicep

CORE
3 x 1 min Plank
3 x 15 Lower Ab Lift
5 x 15 Back and Side

Got on my bike this morning to try to get in a ride before the rain hit. This is the first time I rode the Orbea since New Zealand and I noticed fairly early my shifting was rather clunky -- but chose to ignore it making a mental note to bring it in to Dean at Pedal Dynamics for him to look at.

My plan was to ride around the lake before Janarah's playoff basketball game at 2:00 starting by going around the South end. On my way to Seward Park, I saw lots of people from Cheryl's group, including Jeff who turned around and rode with me long enough to have a quick chat.

When climbing the hill after Seward my shifting started to really mis-behave and I took my wheel off and put it on again. Noticed my derailleur was bent and tried to bend it back and made it much worse. So I turned around and limped to Triumph MultiSport in Leschi (thank goodness for the tailwind) where they fixed my bike and sold me a new seat. Threw the old seat in my pocket and continued the ride but adjusted the route to go around Mercer Island and then home to make the game.

Had a really good ride until it started to sprinkle and then just plain old RAIN on I90 but I made it home fine. I did push my cadence and HR to stay about 140 throughout but my overall speed was affected by mechanical issues.

45 Mile Ride @ 03:14:00
144a

Okay, my rhythm is not offically completely back. Skipped swim practice this morning and packed my bag for a run either at lunch or after work. But ended up doing neither. Not because I was terribly busy -- but because I was terribly sad. The last time I skipped workouts not either tapering or recovering was when my long term relationship ended in 2004. I have been with my company for 6.5 years and my team has been my family. I have grown a lot and when joining the company, I was 200+ lbs and almost entirely sedentary. They have seen me through a lot of changes and growth and it hit me hard on Friday that things were going to be different. This is the only job I have had where I actually miss people when I am out on vacation.

There are many new wonderful connections awaiting me at Starbucks in addition to the growth opportunities I am seeking so it is the right decision.

I did manage to get some core in this morning though..

CORE
3 x 1 min Plank
2 x 12 SuperGirl

I am offically back in the right rhythm! Part of my angst was interviewing for a new job, then waiting to see if I would be offered it and then a bit of negotiating...

But it ended up well and I will be joining Starbucks in a couple of weeks! :)

Swim practice this morning was good. I actually did my shoulder exercises last night and then swam this morning. And my shoulder has noticed...

2600 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

Went to Spin Class this morning also. In my gym bag, I had two shirts, three pair of socks, a hat, two shorts, etc...but no freaking BRA :( So I double-bagged the shirts and went for it.

Spin Class @ 00:50:00
139a

Another crappy sleeping night! But made myself get up at 6 to get in a run so I would be able to sleep tonight.

Drove with Ruth to Greenlake where I ran around it and back home and she did intervals.

4.5 Mile Run @ 00:40:00
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CORE
3 x 1 min Plank

I had a very difficult time sleeping on Sunday night and ended up not getting in a workout because of my packed Monday schedule.

Things feel much more back to normal today and swim practice this morning was very good.

2700 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00
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CORE

5 x 15 Crunch on Ball

I went for a ride from home to Seward Park and back on the Hindenburg. Was planning to ride a longer route but learned shortly into the ride that I did not have an endless supply of stamina.

25 Mile Ride @ 01:53:00

CORE
5 x 1 Min Plank