Saturday, June 19, 2010

Robotic duck in Walden Pond...

Pretty creative title, right? Haha...this describes me this morning. Lemme first explain where the robotic duck came from. I had personal training on Wednesday and my trainer had me doing some crazy hamstring stuff. At the time it didn't feel too bad, but, to give you a visual of what I looked like walking around work the past two days, just picture a robotic duck...waddling around with straight knees and an amazing inability to walk without shaking my ass in a completely un-sexy way. Haha. So anyway, I opted out of the social training ride last night, as I came home from work and layed down...and couldn't really get up. I ended up rolling over, taking tylenol and sleeping. This morning I was able to get up and go to Walden Pond to do an open water swim. It was warm enough to not need a wetsuit, which was a plus seeing as I don't yet have a wetsuit. The swim was amazing...it felt so nice to be swimming with the early morning sun beating down on me. It was also really cool because the pond was full of triathletes....no one else is crazy enough to get up early on a Saturday to go swim in a pond when they don't have to. Haha. You feel alot of comradery when you swim in a quiet lake with a bunch of other triathletes...even if you don't talk to them, you can just feel the support of everyone, it's really nice. I met this guy who was swimming the same distance of me, so we kind of became swimming buddies..I used his red shorts as my sighting point part of the time haha...it was easier than looking all the way up, and he was sighting alot so I used him as my point of reference....until I passed him. Then I had to start sighting for myself. Damn. Haha...we did a triangle in the pond, so when we got to the first corner we stopped and treaded for a minute and chatted about which cove we were supposed to be swimming to next. We decided on where we were going then we took off. This was where I passed him and got pretty far ahead. I wanted to wait for him, but I also wanted to get a good workout...so the selfish triathlete inside of me came out and I swam to the second point by myself. I turned to check on him and he was fine (which I knew he would be, he was a strong swimmer) and then I planned on treading and waiting for him to get to the second point....but then I felt something hit my leg. I looked down and there was a whole school of fish swimming around my body. They weren't big, but it freaked me out. I'm used to swimming in chlorine, where the biggest thing floating in the pool (hopefully! Eeek) is a band-aid! Haha...so anyway, I freaked out and swam away as fast as I could. There I was again being a jerk and not waiting for my swimming buddy. It turned out fine though, we both made it back and it was ok. Anyway, it was an awesome swim, and it's so cool to say that I train in Thoreau's Walden Pond. People say things like "from that book?" or "Who is Thoreau? (That one really kills me!) or "Whoa! Is his house still there? He was famous...you are so lucky!" Haha...it's pretty funny when people say that because it's open to the public..they could go too...anyway, I'm rambling. Time for some food and homework. Yay.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

oh...one more thing...

one more thing I meant to write in that last post...I have been trying out different energy gels/bars/chews/beans....I am wondering what all of you who read this and are triathletes/athletes use? What is your energy "food" of choice, and are there any that you really don't recommend? Thanks!

I can barely walk.

Well, after about 2 weeks without a personal training session, I had another one last night. It was a great session, I ate some Jelly Belly Sport Beans before I went and I felt energized and strong the whole time. Today, however, is another story. My body feels like it has been hit by a bus. It's nice to know that I worked so hard that rolling over in bed or trying to put on underwear is painful, but damn, is it painful! I would ideally like to get out for a short run today to loosen up the old hammies, but I just don't have time today. I have class this afternoon and then I have to go straight from there to the 5th grade graduation for the kids at the school where I work. I guess I will take today as a scheduled rest day and will get out tomorrow for a short run.
I am starting to get really excited for the Randolph Tri on July 11th. It is getting so close, 23 days! I really feel like I am ready for the race. My distances have been significantly farther than I will have to do in the race, and I feel good doing them. I am hopeful that I will be able to finish the race feeling ok, but I am prepared to feel like shit and still keep going. Looking forward to an open water swim this weekend at Walden, and the last 3 days of work for the school year next week! Yay!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

BRICKS and GU Chomps

I just got home from spending the weekend with Bryan. It was a great weekend! We spent Friday night just hanging out having fun. He took me out to Legal Seafood to celebrate my passing the MTEL Reading Specialist exam! Yay! I had a yummy meal and we got a great lobster bib picture...classic. Haha. On the way home we saw a carnival on the side of the road and decided to stop. It was hilarious and completely spontaneous. We stopped and walked around a little, and decided we were way too old to be there. All the people who were there were 15 and wearing mini skirts or pants that were 2 sizes too big for the guys and 2 sizes too small for the girls haha! We did play Skeeball though, that was fun! We also took pictures by this ride that we decided would probably have made both of us puke if we had gone on it. It was called the "freak out." Hahah!

Then yesterday was kind of a weird day...it was long, and we kind of did alot, but we were also kind of really lazy. We woke up and went to get breakfast, that was fun, we had a delish breakfast and got some caffiene pumping through our veins. Then we went to REI so I could get a new bike computer. (More on this later.) After that we went back to his house and we called his sister and his parents because we had thought we might hang out with them, but they all ended up not really feeling like doing anything haha...so we watched a weird movie on Netflix. I think it was called "The Management" but I'm not positive if that was even the name. It was the weirdest Jennifer Aniston movie I have ever seen...haha! We also tried out some energy gummies that we bought at REI. They were called "Sharkies" and they sucked. Haha...we both felt tired after we ate them. Note to self: Don't use Sharkies during triathlon. Haha

By the time the movie was over we were both in semi-coma's from a big breakfast and a rainy day. We kinda layed around for a while and then I tried to get Bryan off the couch to do some stretching...he wasn't too happy about that. Haha. Finally we were getting kind of bored, so we were thinking of what to do. Bryan's dad loves pie, and one of the first things he ever asked me was if I made pie. He was amazed that I said I know how to make key lime pie, so yesterday we decided we would make a key lime pie and bring it to his parents' house which is about an hour away from Bryan's apartment. We decided we wanted to make something else too, so we went with coconut macaroons because we thought it went well with the key lime tropical theme hahaahaha! We laughed for a while then we went to the store to get the stuff to make the pie and macaroons. I said we should just get key lime juice, but Bryan saw real key limes and decided he wanted to "squeeze those limes!" So we bought those. He was pretty hilarious standing at the counter squeezing these tiny limes...it took forever just to get 4 oz. of lime juice...but he was a man about it, because after all, there's no crying in lime squeezing. Haha. My challenge for the night was to make homemade whipped cream without an electic mixer. I think I got an arm workout from whisking for so long. Anyway, the pie came out great, his parent's loved it, and we had a great time at their house!

Today we went shopping and out to lunch with his family, and his mom made us pumpkin waffles in the morning. Those were pretty amazing. We played scrabble last night and his mom won...she managed to use all 7 letters to make the word decanter and get a bonus 50 points! I was impressed! Today we also played boggle...that was pretty fun, I love playing board games!

I had a really great weekend, and I'm not looking forward to starting another busy week. I better get to bed soon, but before I do, I have a little training info to share too. On Thursday afternoon my class was canceled, so I decided to take advantage of that and go for a long BRICK. I went for a 25 mile bike ride and then I ran a 5k. It was really great...I felt so good, and I got to test out my race day nutrition. I ate a packed of orange GU chomps while I was on the bike, and I really noticed the difference in my energy level. My energy picked up immediately and lasted throughout the bike and run. I was pretty happy with that. I didn't have any digestive issues with them either, so that's good. I bought some other energy options at REI yesterday, so I plan to try those out in the next two weeks and see which I like best for my race day nutrition. I decided I will use some sort of energy "food" during the race because it made me feel so much more energized the other day, and I don't see how it could hurt me as long as I pick something that doesn't bother my stomach and something I can eat easily on the bike. Anyway, I was pretty damn happy that I was able to do that long of a brick. I hope to do another one this week sometime.  That's all for now! Goodnight everyone..

Monday, June 7, 2010

Things I Learned This Week...

Here is a list of things I have learned in the past week or so:

1) A marathon is no longer a ridiculously crazy thing that only "crazy athletes" can do...I actually can see myself running a marathon sometime in the future.

2) I LIKE running. What the hell is that about!? I have always hated running!

3) When running up a large hill, it is best to do one of three things: 1) blog in my head...this solved two problems...I don't have to think when I blog later, and I get up the hill without thinking about it. 2) Stare at the sidewalk about 5 feet in front of me. This keeps me from staring up the hill and thinking about how much further I have to go. 3) Practice chords on the air guitar...haha...this sounds hilarious, but really, it works! Today I was practicing what Bryan taught me this weekend, and I got up a big hill before I even really thought about it!

4) I can run faster and farther than I ever thought I could. Last week I ran 6.5 miles, and today I ran 5km in 30:30. That is a minute and a half faster than I ran the same course a month ago. I am impressed with my progress. Go me!

5) Cold beer tastes amazingly wonderful after biking 20 miles. It's like an orgasm in your mouth. There is no other way to describe it. Oh, and triathletes will find any reason to "carbo load" with Bertucci's bread...even if it means pretending we need it after riding only 20 miles. Haha!

6) A few months ago a "short run" meant like 2 minutes of running and then walking for 10 minutes. Tonight I only had time for a "short run" and it was 3.2 miles. I find that pretty F*$#@#$ amazing.

and last, but not least....

5) When given the choice between running now or running at 5 AM tomorrow, I will always pick now. 5 AM and I are not friends.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Finally time to blog...

Well I finally have some time to blog...so the other day I ran 6.5 miles...which was amazing for me! The furthest I had ever run before that was 4.5....so this was a huge jump! Last night I went on a training ride with my triathlon group, and that was fun too! My training is going really well, and I love belonging to Triumph Triathlon because it gives me people to talk to about triathlons...I mean, I'm sure my family, friends and boyfriend never get sick of hearing about it (haha) but it's nice to have people who understand when I say things like "my ass was so sore I could hardly walk after that run yesterday" or "I don't think I fueled right before that ride, my stomach was churning and I had no energy." Haha...these are things that people who aren't triathletes just don't quite understand. Lol. Not to mention it's awesome to have people to chat with while drinking Sam's Summer and eating pasta and bread. It was funny last night, we all went to Bertucci's and if you saw us from across the room you probably would have thought we had just undertaken some serious workout...we were crowded around the table, wearing spandex bike shorts and jerseys. We ordered a round of beer and water...haha...and then the bread came and we started gorging ourselves on carbs. Haha...you would have thought we were carbo loading for an Ironman...but in reality we had only ridden 20 miles. Haha....it was pretty hilarious to see triathletes gathered around a table on a Friday night.

On other fronts, I am trying to decide whether I want to carry an energy gel or some energy chews with me on the bike during my tri. I have read some things about people saying they didn't need any nutrition other than water and gatorade during a sprint, and other people say they needed a powerbar or energy gel...so when I do a brick this week I am going to try taking a couple energy chews and see how I feel. I think I will only need a half a packet of GU chomps if I decide to use those, or maybe one energy gel if I decide to use that.

That's pretty much it on the training front....time to go get some cleaning and homework done!!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Holy sh#%.....

....I just ran 6.5 miles!!! More on this later...now I have to get ready for my date...just couldn't wait to post this though!

Goal for today...

Just a quick post....I am going to try running about 5 miles today. This is the furthest I have ever run, and if I do it I will be soooooo happy! I figured if I write it down it might be more attainable and force to actually do it. Go me!! As Bryan Payne said in his latest post "suck it up and stop being a pussy!" This is going to be my mantra today as I run in the 80 degree weather. Hahah! Thanks for these words of wisdom Training Payne!!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Sushi for dinner and being truly happy :)

Well here it is, probably 5 or 6  days since I last blogged...sorry again...life is just getting in the way of blogging! In fact, I have so little time these days that I am multitasking (no Bry, I'm not pumping gas and talking on the phone! Haha) but I am stuffing my mouth full of sushi as I blog. Haha...anyway...the training took a bit of a back burner this weekend because I spent 18 hours driving, and probably far fewer sleeping. Last week I stayed out until almost midnight every night of the week...hey, that's what happens when you are dating a sweet guy :) and I still managed to get most of my training in. This weekend I just couldn't do it. I had other things I had to get done like babysitting and seeing friends and family. As important as training is to me, the people I love will always come first...and thats what happened this weekend. But, today I climbed back in the saddle (or should I say the pool) and swam 1000 yards...or for those of you who don't swim...40 laps. It felt great to be training agian, and I am really looking forward to a 4 or 5 mile run tomorrow. Wow...never thought I would hear those words come out of my mouth...crazy! Haha...I am also excited because I get to see Bryan tomorrow and we are going to get strings for my guitar so I can master ode to joy and be a rocker chick! Hahah....ok...maybe not a rocker chick...but ode to joy is a start...right? Haha. Anyway...I cant believe the triathlon is 39 days away..that's pretty scary for me...but I think I have trained hard so far and plan to continue..and I have alot of people saying they are going to come support me...so I am really getting excited! If this month of working full time, going to class 3 nights a week, training for a triathlon and spending time with my wonderful boyfriend so he doesn't decide to dump me, then I will be in good shape come July! Anyway...the sushi is almost gone, and I don't have much else to write, but I will try to write again  tomorrow.

Oh! One more thing...I saw a guy I know from my triathlon group tonight at the pool. It felt great to see someone I know, it made me feel like an athlete and like part of something bigger. It was awesome.   :)

I can honestly say I haven't felt this happy in a LOOONG time.   :)