A Little Bit of Triathlon, A Little Bit of Marathoning

My mind has been all over the place lately. I have been absolutely loving triathlon training this summer and know that I want to do bigger things in the years to come. I want to go both faster and longer and really commit to training. I won't be signing up for anything until the winter or spring but I have already started to get an idea of what I want to do and I am SO excited about it. I keep trying to remind myself to focus on the present and not get caught up in figuring out things that are so far away.

I have a race this Saturday and although it's been on my calendar for a few months now I still am having a hard time coming to terms with this. Part of me is really happy about this, mostly because I love racing and can't wait to push myself, while the other part of me is sad that the triathlon season is coming to an end. After the Culpeper International Triathlon this weekend I will be racing the Keystone Sprint Triathlon at the end of August and while I plan on completely racing it, it is not a primary focus for me. I will be going on vacation for a week in the middle of August and it's still up in the air whether I will be able to bring my bike with me.

Then there's the marathon. After this weekend I need to start shifting my focus towards training for the New York City Marathon. It's hard to get on the Internet and not be surrounded by updates from everyone and their dog training for some fall marathon. With a little less than 100 days until New York it's probably time that I added in a bit more running. Because I'm very indecisive with regards to everything, I am both happy and a bit sad heading into marathon training. I am sad to be doing less swimming and biking, mostly biking, and sad that I don't have another 1.5 months to dedicate solely to triathlon training.

But I am also really excited to be training for a fall marathon. I likely won't be running another full marathon for awhile since I want to focus on triathlons and after such an incredible half marathon training cycle this spring I am excited to see what I can pull out in the marathon. I'm not exactly sure why but I've been feeling especially inspired lately and am dreaming up a big goal that I want to chase. I am not content with just training to finish and don't want to do only the bare minimum. I want to push myself because I know that I am capable of it.

Everything's Coming Together

This past week was another big training week for me, with both my longest bike ride ever and my biggest week in terms of overall hours. More impressive than the hours put in is how great each individual workout was. I feel like all of the hard work I've been doing is finally starting to show and I couldn't be happier about it, especially with my next race just around the corner. Here's how the week played out:

Monday: 2800 yd swim

Strength

~19 mile easy bike in the rain with the Gung Ho beginner ride

Tuesday: 2000 yd swim

60 min yoga

7 miles track (15 min w/u, 10 x 400, 15 min w/d)

Wednesday: 3 mile recovery run

15 min abs

Thursday: much appreciated rest day

Friday: 3200 yd swim

Strength

5 mile run with negative splits (9:35, 8:57, 8:44, 8:43, 8:34)

Saturday: 42 miles bike @ 15.8 avg

Sunday: 6.61 mile run with negative splits (9:54, 9:12, 9:07, 8:51, 8:43, 8:31, w/d)

Both Monday and Friday's swims were really strong and huge confidence boosters. I've talked about it before but I have a pretty strained relationship with swimming and am often scared of really pushing myself because I know no matter how hard I train I will never see the speeds I did when I was competing. This week I was able to put these thoughts aside and really make some progress in the pool. I'm also starting to chase some of my former training times, all in good spirit. I know I won't get back to where I was but it's fun to see how close I can get.

My long ride this week was my longest ride ever and was very enjoyable. After last weekend's super hilly ride I chose something a little flatter but with some climbs mixed in. My legs were not feeling any of the hills but felt great on the flats. I was hoping to do this ride a bit faster but my main goal was to keep the pace steady and that's what I did so I'm calling this a success. I also came up on what looked to be a pretty bad biking accident. I couldn't see how bad it was but the guy was rushed off in an ambulance. Really hoping to hear some good news.

This week's runs were the best workouts of the week. While the goal of Tuesday's track workout was more about consistency than speed I was happy to see how easy it felt to hold a sub 9:00 pace the whole time (including warm up & warm down). The real magic happened on Friday and Sunday's runs though. I wasn't expecting much out of either run since most of my runs this summer have been less than stellar. Instead I surprised myself by starting off slow and descending down to 8:30 with relative ease. Strong yet relaxed.

This week certainly left me with a lot of confidence in the work I've been putting in heading into my next race. I'm fairly clueless about what I'll be able to do given the course and the insane humidity in Virginia but I know that I did the work. Could I have done more? Yes, such as longer runs, but I was being cautious with my hip and regardless I did what I could with what I was given. Now it's time to relax and enjoy a lighter week because Saturday is race day!

When Little Things Add Up to Something Big

I think the most rewarding thing about training for endurance events is seeing progress after training really hard. I don't want to say I was in a swimming rut but at the same time I didn't really think I had much progress to make unless I started putting in a ton more hours than I wanted to. Even if it was only for a quick 1500 yard swim I have been swimming regularly since February and was reminded yesterday why.

LOVE open water swimming

During the middle of training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon (which seems like it was so long ago!) Mike started having me swim 1-2 times a week. I wasn't thrilled about being back in the pool but figured it was good cross training since swimming is so easy for me. Some workouts I did pretty easily, some I worked harder. I pretty just went with how I felt that day. I figured getting a head start on swim training would make it easier to focus on running and biking during the triathlon season.

Just like those of you who grew up runners and know your running inside and out, I have a few ways to measure how swimming is going for me. The first is the obvious time. Yesterday I did a workout that I did a couple weeks ago but this time I did it much faster and with more ease. A month or so I was really struggling to see 100s at 1:10 but now 1:11-1:12 is a pace I can hold for 10-15 repeats. I haven't done an all out 100 in awhile but I'm betting that time would be considerably faster than the last time as well.

My second favorite type of pool

To go along with the first way, another way I measure my swimming fitness is how long I can hold a certain pace, or how strong I feel at that pace. Holding 1:11-1:12 I felt really strong and quick, like I could have kept going. I didn't feel like I was holding on for dear life and struggling. They felt strong and in control.

The last is my technique. During my swims in the spring I did some type of technique or form work during the majority of my swims. I think the best way to see improvements on the swim is by focusing on technique first, not speed, and so I did a lot of my slower swims with my technique in mind. When I first started swimming back in the spring my technique would start to waiver during longer intervals, even if they were easier. The longer I swam, the worse my technique would get. Now that doesn't happen anymore. I still make a conscious effort to pay attention to my stroke even during hard repeats though.

Besides just steady and consistent swimming I have also been doing regular strength and conditioning, focusing on my shoulders, arms, upper back and core. I had shoulder surgery a few years ago because of swimming and my other shoulder isn't in great shape so if I want to be able to swim healthily and also get better I need to take care of my body. Besides a noticeable physical difference, I can tell that all this work is showing in the pool. Seeing progress like this is what motivates me to keep training hard.

Another Big Week, Another Big Ride

Things are really ramping up around here! Last week marked my biggest week of training so far with more miles on the bike than I ever expected I would hit this year. Despite a few days of being pretty tired I am absolutely loving the higher volume of training. Oh, and remember how in my last post I mentioned that I had a pretty sluggish ride on Wednesday? Turned out both of my brakes were rubbing which completely explains why I didn't feel that bad but wasn't really going anywhere!

I was glad I figured that out before my long ride on Saturday, which quite frankly was too long. I was planning on doing the same route I did last weekend - 33 miles - but instead ended up doing 40. The added miles wouldn't have been so much of a problem except this route was very hilly. Definitely the hilliest ride I've ever done. I've been trying to do a lot of my rides and runs when it's a bit warmer out so I can get [more] used to the heat since it will likely be nearing 90 degrees during the run portion of my upcoming race.

My boyfriend and I set around early afternoon on Saturday with hopes of not being rained out or blown away by the storms that were on their way. Luckily we only had a few drops of rain but unfortunately we had a pretty strong headwind for the majority of the second half of the ride. Despite the heat, wind, and monster hills this ride rewarded you by taking you alongside a cute and quaint part of the Susquehanna River.

Once we got to the river we took a little break to refuel and enjoy a few minutes on the water before the big 2 mile climb back towards York. The way out wasn't too hilly but we went back a different way that was just unrelenting hills. There were hardly any flat sections on this ride, making my quads pretty trashed by the time we made it back.

Although this ride was a bit more than I was expecting it was something I think I needed to do. I had been doubting my abilities on the bike and was becoming frustrated that I wasn't making any progress with hill climbing. This ride was by no means fast but I was able to do hills that I never would have even attempted had I been on my own.

3875 ft of climbing over 40 miles!

With my next race - Culpeper International Triathlon - a little under two weeks away I am starting to get nervous. I have been putting in a lot of hard work and am excited to see how I do on race day. I am starting to get excited about fall marathon training too, which I am pretty surprised about. Seeing everyone starting training these past few weeks has me motivated to pay extra attention to my runs during these next few weeks of training.

A Welcome Reminder to Take Care of My Body

For the first time in years (yes, years) I am really truly pushing my body. Don't get me wrong, I trained hard for my half marathon this past spring, definitely a lot harder than I trained for my other running races. I did my share of hill repeats, tempo runs, track workouts and long runs and by no means did I skimp on them. There were times where my legs wanted nothing to do with running despite having a long run on schedule for the day. I had enough bad/sluggish runs to believe at the time that I was really pushing myself.

Yesterday I had a ride that reminded me of the feeling of exhaustion I would get about midway through the swim season. It would be during one of our 3.5 hour Saturday practices pushing 10,000 yards in one workout, and I would feel like all of my energy had been drained right out of me. No matter how hard I tried I wasn't moving very fast. I would have one of these practices sometime in December year after year and it was always the reminder I needed to take a little better care of my body.

After this past weekend's long ride I had an interval run to do on Sunday that was just plain miserable. Maybe it was this heat wave, maybe it was probably pushing it a little too hard on the ride or (most likely) it was some combination of the two. Despite running at paces I haven't seen in a really long time I still felt like crap out there. It felt like a bad run, the kind you get every so often that you plead with yourself to get through.

Knowing how rough that run was I made sure to recover well on Monday. I know that pushing myself so hard in one workout that it prevents me from doing the rest of the week's training is pointless and counterproductive. With my next race about 2.5 weeks away I wanted to be smart about my training. But then I got a little overexcited at Tuesday's track workout and probably ran too fast. It's somewhat rare for me to have runs where I feel great in the summer but on Tuesday I think I felt a little too good.

Going into Wednesday's ride I didn't feel particularly tired but that quickly changed once I started riding. I actually didn't even feel that bad during the ride, I just couldn't get up to the speeds I normally do. I wanted to do a hillier route and instead of focusing on the pace worried more about not dying on the hills. What surprised me most was normally when I don't hit the paces I want I kind of freak out. Although I wasn't happy about going so slow I was able to recognize that my body was tired and just didn't have the energy. I was also riding at 1:30 when it was 95 degrees with no shade, so there's that.

Apparently iPhone5 doesn't like these temps either

Yesterday's ride was the reminder I once again needed to take care of my body so I can continue to ask it to work hard. I know there are plenty of people who are putting in twice as many hours as me or more and handling it fine. Good for them. Sometimes I get frustrated that I used to be able to train close to twenty hours a week just fine and now I getting exhausted hitting 9-10. I have to constantly remind myself that swimming takes a lot less out of your body and is fairly quick to recover from, and also that it took years for me to build up to training that much. I'm not used to working my legs so hard and they are reminding me of it.

I am making sure to hydrate like crazy, get enough sleep, fuel properly and take my recovery workouts super easy, especially in this heat. Today I am heading up to a state park to get in some open water swimming and then to the gym for some shoulder stability exercises and core work. Between Friday, Saturday and Sunday I have a trail run, an interval run, a long ride and a swim to fit in. Hopefully the severe storms they are calling for on Saturday will pass. I'm hoping some time in the water will be exactly what my body needs to get ready for more training.

Big Day On the Bike

Yesterday was a big day for me. I had a two hour ride on the schedule and was very nervous about it. It was going to be my longest ride, done by myself, and done on a completely unfamiliar to me course. I didn't want to be so nervous about it but I was. To try to minimize my nerves some I decided to follow the route for a 30 mile ride that took place back in June. I figured the organizers of this ride probably chose roads that weren't very busy, plus I knew it was a popular ride meaning people had to like the route.

It was raining when I woke up so I decided to postpone the ride to around 12:30 which was not my smartest move. I normally have no trouble riding in the heat that wasn't the case today. It probably didn't help that I didn't drink anything before I left for the ride. Stupid, yes. Something I'm working on, also yes. I know it sounds silly but I really do forget to drink sometimes.

Despite a few things going wrong, I really enjoyed this ride. The ride went something like this: first ten miles I was smiling ear to ear, second 10 miles I was getting annoyed with my directions, last 10 miles I was ready to be done but still loving being out there. Even though I had the directions clipped to my bike, they were very confusing and I had to keep stopping to figure out where to go. Plus I ran out of water with about 6 miles left.

Looking back I feel silly for being so nervous. I enjoyed [almost] every minute of this ride, which for someone who hated riding last year, this is a big deal. It's kind of weird, when I'm riding with others or near cars I'm fairly anxious and nervous but when I'm out there all alone I'm completely at peace and happy. For most of the ride I had the road to myself and felt so good out there. The nice thing about being so new to riding is that I feel like I'm making so much progress with every ride.

33.31 miles - 2:03:14 - 16.2 mph

When I was so nervous about this ride to try to calm myself down I would say that I could do this ride easy and not worry about pace. Ironically I rode my longest ride to date at one of my fastest training paces to date. Funny how things work out. Next week I have another two hour long ride on the schedule and I'm planning on doing the same route. Despite my issues with the directions I really liked this route. It was the perfect mix of hills and nice flats.

My plan next week is to eat a bigger breakfast before heading out, start hydrating the night before, and bring a mix of gatorade and water with me. I also want to see if there is any place along the route to stop to fill up my bottles.

Triathlon, I Love You

I know I've mentioned this since starting triathlon training a few weeks ago but I am surprised how much I am loving this sport. It makes sense, considering I grew up as a swimmer and have been running for a couple years now. Last summer when I trained for my first triathlon, I wanted to love the sport but truth be told I didn't. I hated biking and was still at war with the pool since quitting swimming. My first triathlon was somewhat of a nightmare due largely to temps well over 100.

I enjoyed the race but felt very intimidated by all of the faster athletes with all of their fancy gear. My second triathlon was my first glimpse into how much I would come to love this sport. I had a plan and despite having a mechanical error that had me sidelined for a few minutes I was able to really push it on the bike and still hammer on the run. I very quickly jumped into a half-assed marathon training cycle that has left me still nervous about training for another marathon.

After I quit swimming I took up running because I wanted something else to do. I had identified as a swimmer for the majority of my life and suddenly I was no longer a swimmer. After watching coverage of the NYC Marathon from my tiny dorm in Pittsburgh I decided I wanted to be a runner. Even though I had always been terrible at running it seemed logical to me at the time and so I started my journey to becoming a runner.

This past spring I trained for the first time for a running race with a true goal in mind. I worked really hard and crushed my goal but something was still missing. I had to really force myself to do a lot of the training and even though I told myself I was loving it I really wasn't. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of things I did love about training but finding the motivation to get out and train every day was more of a struggle than it should have been. And despite running a marathon and five half marathons with my PR being a 1:49 I still didn't feel comfortable calling myself a runner.

I wanted to be a runner but I didn't feel like one. I felt like I didn't love running enough to be a runner. I also didn't think I had the experience or was fast enough. I blamed this on swimming. I was a good swimmer and swam for almost 10 years. I earned my right to be called a swimmer. For a while I accepted that I would never be a runner but rather a person who did running races (yes there is a difference).

Then I started triathlon training. Under Mike's guidance I feel like my training has a purpose and a plan. Between the last few weeks of training and my two first races of the season I feel amazing. I had a breakthrough in the pool and am finally able to enjoy swimming again, and I am loving biking. Last year I dreaded riding and this year I'm practically counting down the days until I can ride again.

I am excited about training every single day and look forward to putting in more, harder work. During this weekend's race was when I noticed the transformation though. I was nervous before the race, but not because I was nervous about failing to meet my goal, but rather because it actually meant something to me. As soon as I got in the water my mind calmed and my body just knew what to do. And on both the bike and the run I couldn't help but think that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

I doubted, and still do I must say, my abilities as a runner. With triathlon it's different. I want to be good and I'm not scared about finding out how good I can become. I want to do the work and I believe I am capable of a lot more. I can't quite put into words why but I feel completely at ease calling myself a triathlete. Despite having minimal racing experience both my mind and my body somehow knew what to do on Sunday and I trusted that because it felt so right. I haven't felt this at ease or natural with something since swimming and I am excited to see where it takes me.

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

Somewhat going along with Monday's post is the idea of getting out of your comfort zone. I like to be comfortable, as I'm sure most people do. Trying new things stresses me out and for the most part I would rather just stick to my habits and continue on my way. I've been trying to change this way of thinking because I don't want to miss out on opportunities because I was afraid to get a little uncomfortable.

I have a vocal cord disorder that when I start getting really stressed or anxious my vocal cords close up, making it sometimes impossible to breathe. I have learned the signs and can identify when this is starting to happen so I can hopefully make some adjustments. The worst thing about having this disorder was for years when I would start feeling my vocal cords closing up and my breathing becoming labored I would freak out even more, which only made things worse. It was a vicious cycle that for the most part I know how to control.

It was for a short time but I never thought I would see that pace

The first few times I went out biking this year I could feel my vocal cords closing as soon as I would start riding. I was way more nervous that I had any right to be. Once I got out on the road I quickly realized how much fun riding is. I have since had the very-obvious-to-everyone-else-bu- no- to-me epiphany that the only way to get more comfortable riding is to ride more. Duh!

This past Sunday I went on a group ride that previewed the course for an upcoming triathlon I'm doing. A few miles into the ride I noticed how much my mental game has changed when it comes to riding. I used to be terrified of riding with a group but yet here I was with 14 other riders climbing hills I always thought were too big for me. Instead of being nervous about the ride I was excited to be trying something new.

I might not be the best cyclist (trust me, I'm far from it) but the more I ride the more I'm improving. The funny thing, to me at least, is that last summer I would try to plan routes based on the hills. This summer I'm doing the same thing except instead of trying to ride as few hills as possible I'm constantly trying to challenge myself and find a bigger or steeper hill to climb.

I've quickly come to the conclusion that the things we fear the most and are so afraid to try are often the things that turn out to be the most rewarding.

Getting Ready for Triathlon Season

I'm still having a hard time comprehending that the Nike Women's Half Marathon weekend is over already. Part of me wants to jump into training again but part of me just wants to relax. I'm listening to that part of me and enjoying sleeping in and being lazy. I do have some big goals for the rest of the year and if I want to have a shot at achieving them I need to let my body recover properly. I also think I mentally need the break. Finals are starting next week and the last thing I want to worry about is having a hard week of training.

So today is Thursday and I haven't run or exercised at all since the race. I thought about going for a quick shakeout run but chose sleeping instead. I'm not sure if I will get in anything this weekend since I will be working at the Frederick Running Festival and will likely be on my feet almost the whole weekend.

With summer right around the corner, I have been starting to look at which triathlons I want to do. I got a road bike for Christmas and am excited to train on that this year instead of my hybrid. I'm not 100% into the idea of triathlon training right now but I know that will change once I spend some time out on the roads in Pennsylvania. I don't live in the best area in Maryland so I do all of my rides on the trainer until I'm home for the summer.

I mentioned a couple months ago some of the races I was looking at and although I have yet to register for any I am still planning on doing those same races. I will most likely not do an early June triathlon because the ones I found are either too expensive for what I would want to pay for a sprint or are too hilly. I am not a very experienced biker at all and besides being terrible at riding hills I am also terrified of them. I want to have time to work on hills rather than scrambling for the first two weeks I'm home trying to ride every hill I find.

I will be adding in additional races as I discover them or if I just feel like racing, but as of now my triathlon schedule is as follows:

June 24- York YWCA Ladies Y-Tri Sprint Triathlon
August 3- Culpepper International Triathlon
August 25- Keystone State Triathlon

Out of these races Culpepper will be my goal race. Even though it is a little farther away than I was looking for, it looks to be a great race and fits my schedule perfectly. And the other two triathlons are much closer to my house. The first one is barely over two miles away! These races are also more for experience, since I am still such a tri newbie.

Last year I did two triathlons and had two very different experiences at both. My first triathlon was around 2 hours away, was an Olympic distance and was on the hottest day of the year. I ended up walking almost all of the run because it was so hot and I was definitely dehydrated. My second triathlon was 30 minutes from my house, was a sprint, and was a cool day with rain during most of the race. I also had some bike issues and lost close to 10 minutes trying to fix my bike.

I don't know that much about triathlons but I am hoping to make some serious improvements from both training and my racing from last year. Triathlon training will also slightly overlap with fall marathon training once again so that will likely affect my training towards the end of July and August.

Keystone State Tri Training Week 6

Monday:
Sometimes I feel like I need a rest after the weekend. I had little motivation to do much of anything on Monday. I did drag myself out of the couch to go to the gym for some strength training. I had a bit of a breakthrough at the gym was able to increase my weight in most exercises. Lifting makes me feel so strong in a way that running doesn't. They really compliment each other well.

Tuesday:
I opted to sleep in instead of going to my usual yoga class. I then went for an easy bike ride to loosen up my legs from Monday night's lifting. The ride was slow but just what my legs needed. Then in the evening I went to the track for some 400 repeats. I had a hard time settling into a groove but I still was happy with my workout.

Wednesday:
The day I questioned everything. I was insanely tired and needed the extra rest. It was hard choosing to take the day off but it was greatly needed.

Thursday:
My car needed an inspection so I ran to the gym for yoga class. It was a short, mostly downhill run that really didn't take much out of me. After an hour of yoga stretches, I did a strength session. I debated whether I should have even lifted so I went easy on my lower body and really pushed my upper body.

Friday & Saturday:
My boyfriend and his younger brother threw a back to school party that ended up a little out of control, leaving my boyfriend and I running around playing chaperon all night. I think between 7:30 at night and 4 in the morning I sat down for maybe 30 minutes. After the party Friday night, Saturday was spent cleaning and catching up on sleep.

Sunday:
Triathlon!

Weekly Totals

• Swimming: 825 yards
• Biking: 30.2 miles
• Running: 13.01 miles
• Yoga: 60 min
• Strength: 1 hr 35 min
• Total hours: 7 hrs 6 min

Keystone State Tri Training Week 5

Monday:
I started the week off with an easy bike ride on the trail. My legs were tired only climbing during rides so the flat trail was greatly welcomed. My pace was slow but the whole ride was very enjoyable. In total I rode 17.2 miles.

Tuesday:
After going to my Tuesday morning yoga class I went to the gym for some strength training. In the evening I went to the track for my weekly track session but was stormed out. I contemplated pushing through the storm but I called it quits after a tornado was spotted in my county. Safety first.

Wednesday:
Wednesday was a lazy day. I really don't remember what I did all day but I did manage to get for a 2 mile recovery run.

Thursday:
Thursday morning I did my weekly long run where I hit double digits for the first time. Of the 10 miles I did 2 at marathon goal pace and another 2 at half marathon goal pace. Very successful run. After my run I stretched out with a lunchtime yoga class.

Friday:
I was planning on going up to Pinchot for some hill work on Friday but heavy rain scared me away from trying to ride. Instead I went for a recovery run that was the opposite of Thursday's run. Then in the evening I went to the gym to strength train.

Saturday:
Rest day! Gosh I love my rest days.

Sunday:
I finished off the week with 4.69 miles of easy running to make my weekly total 22 miles, a new weekly high for me.

Weekly Totals

• Biking: 17.2 miles
• Running: 22 miles
• Yoga: 90 min
• Strength: 1 hr 25 min
• Total hours: 8 hrs 4 min

Keystone State Tri Training Week 4

Monday:
Even though the week before was vacation I was still really tired on Monday morning and opted to sleep in instead. I then hit the track for my longest track workout yet! I did 3x 800 hard, 400 recovery, followed by 3x 400 sprint, 800 recovery.

Tuesday:
Tuesday morning I went to my usual yoga class, which felt amazing after Monday's track workout. It really is amazing how much a little stretching can do for the body. Later in the day I went up to Pinchot to ride a loop of the tri course, followed by a 2 mile brick on the trails. Despite my legs being tired I saw a lot of improvement on this ride.

Wednesday:
The plan was to do 2 loops at Pinchot this time but heat exhaustion got the better of me. I called it quits for the day only 10 minutes into my ride due to dizziness and nausea. At night I went to the gym and lifted after hydrating like crazy.

Thursday:
I went down to my boyfriend's house on Wednesday night and we didn't wake up until around noon. Then we hung out for awhile and I lost all motivation to workout. Not thrilled about it, but it was a rest day.

Friday:
By Friday morning I knew I was doing the race on Saturday but wanted to get in a quick shakeout run to loosen up my legs. I did 2 miles of easy hills near my house and felt great. Then I went to the gym for some strength training.

Saturday:
Race day! I ran my first 15K through the tortuous rolling hills of Druid Park.

Sunday:
My IT band felt tight after the race so I rested so as not to aggravate it any more.

Weekly Totals

• Biking: 9.6 miles
• Running: 18.8 miles
• Strength: 1 hr 25 min
• Yoga: 60 min
• Total hours: 6 hours 16 min

More Hills

This morning I headed back up to Pinchot for some more hill work. I felt more mentally prepared this time and as a result the ride was quite enjoyable! This time the ride started out with a pretty big hill. I was dreading this hill but it ended up not being nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Don't get me wrong, it still kicked my ass, but it didn't kill me.

The rest of the ride was mostly rolling hills with one another pretty big hill somewhere in the middle. This hill was also not as bad as I had thought it would be. I still have a lot of work to do but I am starting to feel confident about this upcoming triathlon. It's amazing what a little practice will do!

After the ride I hopped off my bike and quickly changed into my running gear. I did two easy miles for my first brick of this training cycle. At the beginning of the run when things felt weird I kept telling myself to pretend I was running my warm down lap at the track. That seemed to help a lot.

Then I picked up the pace a little during the second mile to a slightly faster also comfortable pace. I payed no attention to my watch, just running by perceived effort. This seemed to work well since my second mile for was thirty seconds faster than what I thought I was running.

Never Accept Defeat

This whole triathlon thing has presented me with a lot of challenges, some more welcomed than others. As a former swimmer I only had to get over fears of swimming in dark, murky waters. Even running isn't too bad. I may not be the fastest runner but I feel comfortable during most runs. That leaves cycling. I am a complete newbie and even though I have been making progress I still have a lot to learn. I also have a lot of room for improvement.

After a tough ride on Sunday with my boyfriend I started questioning why I even cared about the sport of triathlon since I am so bad on a bike. I was angry and thought there was no point in trying since I was hopeless. Then my boyfriend said something to me that is common sense but something that I needed to hear from someone else. He reminded me that I hadn't even been riding for a year so I couldn't expect myself to keep the same pace as someone who has been riding for 5+ years.

When I was swimming I felt so at home and at peace with myself. Sure I had tough, challenging workouts but I still knew relatively how to tackle them successfully. I hadn't experienced that struggle of the unknown and doing something new in over ten years. I pushed myself constantly in the pool and I push myself on runs now, but not in the way that I have to push myself on the bike. It is pretty hard to explain but it is a real struggle for me.

After that ride on Sunday I was terrified about whether I could complete the bike portion of my upcoming triathlon. It has a lot more hills than I am used to. I knew, though, that the only way to get better at hills was to practice climbing. This morning as I was riding part of the course I experienced many emotions. At times I was all I love cycling, I could do this all day! and then when it was time to start climbing the negative thoughts would creep back in.

Once I was done the ride, though, I felt stronger than on Sunday. I started to think that with some serious hill work I can do this ride. I really have nothing left to lose by trying and I know that if I don't try I will regret it big time.

Why I Didn't Follow a Training Plan for My First Triathlon

At the end of March when I first started triathlon training I made a training plan that I was going to follow. After only a few short days though my plan was pretty much thrown out the window. I always admire the people who spend hours writing up training plans and then follow them almost exactly. I wanted to wake up in the morning and check what workout was scheduled for that day. I quickly realized, though, that my lifestyle is not exactly welcoming of training plans.

As a student it is fairly difficult to be on any kind of regular schedule. Every day of the week looks different, and that is just my class schedule. Add in homework, studying, and social activities and it is a recipe for training plan disaster. On top of that, my boyfriend is very anti-schedule and hates to plan ahead. Since we don't live together it makes it very difficult to assume when I can squeeze in workouts.

When I tried to follow a training plan for my first two half marathons and was unsuccessful I felt guilty for missing workouts. Honestly, I felt like I was a failure. I wasn't motivated to run and just couldn't get my head into my training. I knew that I wanted to really enjoy triathlon training so I didn't feel burned out or bored ever.

What I ended up doing was writing down what workouts I wanted to do over each weekend based on how I had been doing with training. Then I would schedule the weeks workouts once I knew what my schedule was going to look like. I still missed workouts here and there but I was ultimately much more successful this way.

Some days I felt like running, so I would run. And when I wanted to bike, I biked. I did workouts that I wanted to do, not ones that my training plan said I should do. I enjoyed this cycle of training so much more because of it. I started to really look forward to training instead of fearing it.

I can't exactly follow the same approach for this next round of triathlon training since I am also at the beginning of marathon training and need to make sure I am hitting my long runs. Other then that, though, I'm sticking to my no training plan approach.

General Smallwood Training Week 14

Monday:
Another Monday spent doing schoolwork. All I was able to do was a 2 mile walk at night with my puppy.


Tuesday:
I woke extra early Tuesday morning so I went out for a glorious morning run. The run felt easy but I was going much faster than normal. After the run I went straight to a 60 minute yoga class to stretch out my legs. It is amazing how much help yoga has been since I started doing it last week.


Wednesday:
I wanted to do one last track run before my triathlon next week but I wasn't sure how my legs would respond from Tuesday's longish run. I ended up cutting the run short because I was getting dizzy & my legs felt more tired than they should have. I still got in 3.55 miles of good track running though. After the run I came home & soaked my legs in a bucket of ice water.

Thursday:
I overslept on Thursday morning so I had to cut my swim short in order to make it to yoga on time. This may seem backward since swimming is a crucial part of triathlon training but yoga has really made a difference in the way I recover from running. Instead of doing a full swimming workout I just did 800 yards for time. I finished in 11:05 for a 1:23 pace. This gives me a good idea of where I will be for my triathlon next weekend. After I went to a 60 min yoga class where we worked on headstands. I am pretty terrible right now but I am up for the challenge. I finished up the day with a 2 mile walk with my dad and my puppy.


Friday:
I wanted to do a race simulation to practice my nutrition and pacing for my triathlon next week. I ended up riding 23.63 miles. I was going to run afterwards but it was really hot outside and I didn't think it was worth the risk. I practiced my outfit as well. I am still working on what to wear during the swim though. Any suggestions?


Saturday:
Friday night my boyfriend and I went to a concert and didn't get back to his house until almost two in the morning. We slept in Saturday and enjoyed a day just relaxing by the pool. It was my first full rest day in almost two weeks and it was greatly needed and appreciated.


Sunday:
My boyfriend and I were going to go on a short bike ride so I can practice riding on the road instead of on the trail but he woke up sick. Instead I spent the day taking care of him and enjoying another rest day.


Weekly Totals

• Swimming: 800 yards
• Biking: 23.63 miles
• Running: 10.55 miles
• Walking: 4 miles
• Yoga: 2 hours
• Total hours: 6 hours 28 min

Wrapping Up Triathlon Training

This morning I did my last longer ride before I start tapering for my triathlon next week. I rode for 23.63 miles and practiced my nutrition plan for the race. I still need to write a race plan but I was overall pleased with how today's workout shaped up. Now it is time to relax and start getting mentally and physically prepared to race next week.

I still have some things to work out, like what the heck am I supposed to wear during the swim, but overall I have been pretty on top of things. I took some time this week to create a packing list of all the goodies I will need for my race. I have been doing the little things right and trying to mentally prepare for what lies ahead of me.

This has definitely not been an ideal training cycle but I still made a lot of progress during it. I feel stronger and more confident in my abilities then ever. I feel ready to race and officially become a triathlete.

At the beginning of training I set some goals for myself and although I didn't pay any attention to them during training I still want to reflect on how I did.

1. Don't succumb to the fear of failure.
When it came to running and half marathon training I put so much pressure on myself to do well. I wanted to be fast and always set unrealistic goals for myself. Going into triathlon training I switched to the mentality that I am a newbie and just finishing is enough for me. Sure I want to do well, but I want to do well according to my standards.

2. Train consistently and don't let small things derail me.
Although there were a few weeks where I completely fell off the training wagon I was far more consistent than I was while training for either of my half marathons. During this training cycle I focused more on just getting out there and doing something regardless of how hard of an effort it was. I think the mentality that something is better than nothing really helped me.

3. Practice the things that scare me or I have never done.
I didn't do so good with this one. I did practice running on tired legs, and practiced running fast on the track but I didn't make much progress with my cycling. I also didn't do any open water swims during training. I still have one week left so maybe I can squeeze in some of the things I forgot, or skipped.

4. Make training a priority.
I did really well with this and I am really proud of myself for it. I started focusing on myself and what I need to do in order to be successful. I learned to say no and didn't worry about pleasing everybody anymore. I also did a few training runs with my boyfriend that I otherwise would have missed. It really is great to combine social activities with training.

5. Lose weight but fuel my body properly.
I wasn't so good at this during the beginning of training but over the past few weeks I have really started to pay more attention to my eating habits and how it affects my training. And as a result I have lost a few pounds and feel lighter and leaner.

6. Take things one day at a time.
I could have done even better with this but I surely did better than I normally do. There were many days where I didn't want to ride so I switched to something else. I didn't let a training plan control my life and by doing so I enjoyed training much more than I normally do.

7. Don't forget about the big picture.
I often get caught up in wanting to do everything but lose sight of how things will turn out in the long-run. I didn't stress about my lack of speed on the bike because I know that it will come with time and that I don't want to overtrain in my first season and end up injured.

Overall I would say that training has been a big success. I will be writing about what I would do differently but I am still really proud of what I did do.

Doing the Little Things Right

Ever since I was about ten years old I have always been told by my swim coaches to "do the little things right." This saying always drove me crazy but lately it has been my personal mantra. I have been super swamped with schoolwork this week and haven't had much to do anything other then sleep, eat, train, and study. Normally when I am this busy my nutrition suffers along with all of the other things that enable my body to train the way it should. Since my first triathlon is a week and a half away I am being extra careful to take care of my body though.

Eating clean.
I have a tendency to just grab whatever is the quickest and easiest, which in turn is often not the healthiest. This past week though I have been making an effort to eat lots of fruits and veggies and monitor my intake of macronutrients. I have also been making sure I am not eating too many calories. In just this past week I have lost 2-3 pounds and I feel much better. I just feel healthier.

Drinking lots of water.
I rarely drink as much water as I should be. Due to a medical condition I have I am often cold and do not want to drink anything that will make me even colder. And because I am infrequently hot I am infrequently thirsty. I have been drinking a large glass of water before every meal and often have another glass with my meal in order to ensure that I am properly hydrated.

Compression.
With coming home from college and packing all of my stuff up I forgot that I had a pair of compression sleeves. I busted them out after Tuesday's run and could feel a huge difference after I took them off. I recently read a great article about recovery methods and when to use them. The article said compression gear is best worn immediately after a hard workout so that is what I did.

Ice.
After a hard track workout on Wednesday I took the plunge (pun intended) and suffered through my first ice bath. I only submerged my calves and shins so it was a wimpy ice bath but it still did the trick. There was a serious reduction of swelling and my legs felt invigorated afterwards.

Sleep.
I am not one of those people who can survive on only a few hours of sleep. I rarely get less than eight hours a night and most nights I am getting 9-10 hours. This may not work for everyone but lots of sleep has helped keep me rested both physically and mentally. And naps are an even better way to recover between two-a-days.

Yoga.
I started going to yoga last week and already I have seen a huge improvement in my flexibility. The looming tightness in my legs after running is no longer there and my IT bands feel better than ever. My legs feel lighter too. I'm not sure how this relates but every time after I leave yoga the heavy feeling in my legs is gone.

An(other) Unofficial 5K PR!

Over the past few months I have had a love/hate relationship with running. Most of the time I hate it, but I want to love it in the worst way. After struggling through a series of miserable runs I decided to take some time off. I knew I would grow to truly hate running if I pushed myself through it. With triathlon training starting this was the perfect time to take my running hiatus. I still did 1-2 runs a week but I didn't worry about distance or pace.

With only three weeks until my first triathlon I knew I needed to step up my running game. I was planning on running on Friday but had no plans for how long or fast I wanted to run. As the day progressed I felt more and more like doing a hard run. It had been months since the last time I really pushed myself during a run so I felt ready to see what I could do.

I settled on three miles hard and even made a playlist to motivate me to run fast. The playlist started out slower and finished with music that would get my booty moving. Since I hadn't done a hard run in so long I had no idea where to expect my pace to be. I know that my overall fitness level is high but I wasn't sure if that meant my running fitness was also high.

I made sure to start off the run conservatively so I wouldn't burn out. There is nothing I hate more than positive splitting hard runs like this. Must be my Type A personality. Anyway, I settled into a pace that I like to call "easy speed." I was cruising along but not huffin & puffin yet. I felt like I was flying but I really wasn't sure how I was doing. I was quite surprised when I checked my watch for the first mile and saw 8:26.

I have only ever broken 8 min once before but I wanted to do it again. I picked up the pace during the second mile but made sure to keep everything in check so I would still have enough energy for the third mile. When the running got tough I tried to focus on keeping my cadence high. My cadence is still relatively low but this was definitely a good distraction. Before I knew it I had finished the second mile, and in 7:42! This was a new mile PR for me! I was so excited that I didn't even care if my third mile was slower just so long as it was still fast.

The third mile where was things got real. I started to develop a side stitch and I was terribly out of breath. But I knew I having a crazy fast run. It was during the third mile that I decided to change the run to a 5K. I ran a 5K time trial during my first week of training and wanted to be able to compare my times.

The third mile was a much of a mental challenge as a physical one but I finished it in 7:33. At this point I was already incredibly happy. But I still had .1 left. I wanted to quit so badly but I pushed through and finished the run in 24:27 for a new (unofficial) 5K PR! When I did my 5K time trial back in the end of March I did it in 25:41 for a pace of 8:18.

What made me even more ecstatic though was that I beat my 5K PR from when I swam back in high school. I don't count that time as my 5K PR because I was swimming 20+ hours a week and in much better shape. It is not realistic for me to count a time that I did years ago with that kind of training. For me my glory days were when I was swimming. I was really good at swimming, qualifying for nationals multiple times, but was forced to quit due to injury. It means the world to run a time that I did as a swimmer. It means more than I can even explain but when I saw that my time was 24:27 and my swimming PR was 24:29 I burst into tears!

General Smallwood Training Week 11

I have been really busy since I have come home and consequently blogging has taken a backseat to all of the many things on my to-do list. I was so busy last week that I forgot to recap my training! I know I'm a little late but I still want to recap my training so here is a very late week 11 recap.

Monday: 
I spent Monday with my boyfriend who had just come home from doing a century ride. I wasn't expecting to see him so I ended up missing my planned workout. I did manage to squeeze in a two mile walk though.


Tuesday:
Tuesday I was crazy busy and was only able to get in a two mile walk. These walks aren't anything strenuous and hardly count as training but they are better than nothing.


Wednesday:
I spent National Running Day out on the trails at a beautiful lake near my house. It was a gorgeous day but pretty hot outside so I kept the run short at 2.5 miles. At night I went to the gym with my boyfriend and did a  60 min strength workout.

Thursday:
I was pretty sore from going to the gym so I thought it was the perfect day to swim. I did a quick 1800 yard swim and really worked on my speed.


Friday:
42 miles on the bike for a new PDR (personal distance record)! You can read my recap of the ride here. I also took my puppy for a two mile walk in the evening.


Saturday & Sunday: 
The weekend was filled with a lot of schoolwork and other obligations. Not ideal but both days ended up being rest days.


Weekly Totals

• Swimming: 1,800 yards
• Biking: 42 miles
• Running: 2.5 miles
• Walking: 6 miles
• Total Hours: 6 hours 31 min