1st Brick

My first brick was on Sunday.  I was so nervous about it Saturday night that I had a hard time sleeping.  70 min bike ride followed by 10 min run.  It was a little hard to get my legs moving after coming off the bike.  I had my heart rate monitor on and my heart rate was sky high by the time I finished the run.  (165 max)  Although the bike was good.  I mapped out about 14 miles for the 70 min and actually ended up going  2 extra miles to reach my time.  Had some Gu before the ride.  Which is less than pleasant.  Also tried a recovery drink when I was done which was better than the Gu and almost enjoyable.  Next Sunday is a 30 min ride followed by a 30 min run.  My ride Friday was 80 min and then to have one day of rest and get back on the bike and ride 70 min, my legs were feeling it last night and today.  Week 7 here I come. 

6-16-11

My 40 minute run last night was a bit disappointing.  I started out with a side stitch and had one heck of a time getting rid of it.  It was painful to say the least.  I had to take 4 short 15 sec walk breaks to try and relieve it.  I am better off running before dinner.  My toe started to hurt as well but I think my nail was too long.  I'll measure out my distance either tonight or tomorrow.
Swimming this morning was good.  I got there about 7:20 and most of the swimmers had left already which was nice.  800 yards in 25 minutes.  Tried to lessen the short breaks as much as I could.  Goggles worked fine (although I spit in them before hand) and my swim cap actually stayed below my ears until the last 100 yards so that was good.  Gotta make sure its dry and pulled down below my ears.  Seems like once its in place it kinda sticks. 
I have a headache today but I think its from the bite I have on my head.    My arm aches like crazy today and I forgot my icy hot.  Seeing that is is muscular rather than out of alignment the icy hot helps.  52 days to go. 

No Wetsuit

I found out last week that wetsuits are not allowed during the triathlon I am doing.  Not sure how I feel about that yet.  I am still going to swim with the wetsuit until the water warms up.  1 day at the lake and 1 day in the pool. 
I sent my registration in last week so it should be official this week.  I am anxious for my packet to come in the mail. 
Last Thursday I had a bit of a rough night.  I went for  walk with Ann and about 1.5 miles in I got all weak and sweaty.  I thought uh oh am I going to pass out way out here.  I slowed down and walked it out and finished.  I went home and laid on the couch.  Friday night I slept 13 1/2 hours and Saturday night I slept 10 hours.  I felt good Sunday morning and my run was fine.  I'm not sure if I was still hungry or my body was just saying hey take a rest, so I did.  Listen to your body it knows what it is talking about.

Wetsuit Experience 6-7-11

So this past Sunday was the first day I put the wetsuit on which was a chore in itself.  It also happened to be the first time to really swim in a lake.  I had those same feelings of panic that I did that very first day i was in the pool.  I started to swim and was like how come i can't breathe?  Well when I stood up I realized i was holding my breath.  The wetsuit gives you super floating capabilities which is something else to get used to.  So I spent 20 minutes just hanging out in the water.  So Tuesday was a swim day.  I packed all my stuff up, wetsuit too, and headed to the lake after work.  Rough!  The water was, what I thought, rough.  So we had measured out the distance between 2 of the buoys the weekend before but the closer you got to the one buoy it was nothing but seaweed and god knows what.  So I backed it off to what I thought was halfway between maybe a bit over and just swam that length.  Well 400 yards in the pool is about 20 minutes.  Last night 28 minutes before I was done.  Now granted it may have been over, but geez.  My arms hurt so bad by the time I was done.  Which I can't figure out because I have been swimming for 5 weeks.  So can it really be that different when you are dealing with the elements?  I gotta find out.  Now I know I wasn't as relaxed as I should have been, but I am hoping the more I do it the better I will be.  I did backstroke in there a little bit so that could have been the weakness in my arms as well.  So just another fear to conquer along the road.  The weather just hasn't been the best.  The wetsuit has its downfalls, but has some perks as well.  The ability to float is crazy.  So this morning I have some sore arms and shoulders for the really the first since I started that it bothered me during the night.  Practice makes perfect, right?

June 2, 2011

The weeks are flying by.  This is my 5th week.  I got my bike finally on Saturday.  Rode on Monday morning for 45 minutes.  Might need a new seat.  My bum got kinda sore about 40 minutes in.  Need the weather to warm up for those morning rides cause it was cold.  I ripped my pants even though I had them tied with a rubber band.  Swimming tomorrow with Taylor.  I switched my schedule around cause she is coming to stay tonight. 
Swimming has come a long way only now I am fighting with wrist pain that has been creeping up into my forearm.  It was a tough swim Tuesday morning from the pain, then it ached all day.  Icy Hot is my new friend.  700 yard swim tomorrow, not too worried.  Got a wetsuit from Theresa to try out.  When I will be able to get into open water is anyones guess.
We had gusty winds yesterday with  a high wind warning.  My run was not pretty but I did the 35 minutes without resting.  Like I said it wasn't pretty but I pumped it out.  Sometimes I felt like I had stopped moving.  When i run I get to a point where your struggling and then you get over that hump and your ok.  Not great, but you ok to finish.  Next week 40 minutes hopefully with a bit warmer weather and no wind.
It amazes me at what your body can do if you give it something new.  I sure have learned how strong I am and how determined I am.  I am not a quitter that's for sure.  Facing fears is definitely something new with this adventure.  That first day in the pool was shear panic.  Not knowing how to swim with my head in the water or breath without sucking in water and dying.  The minute that I stopped trying and just kind of let it happen was amazing before I knew it it was coming naturally to me.  Running is the same thing.  That first 20 minute run I walked for 2 minutes ran for 2 minutes, which got me nowhere.  I started to push myself to run and before I knew it my body was capable of running 25 minutes straight then 30 minutes straight and now last night 35 minutes straight.  Now it isn't fast but its running not walking. 
Biking is different since I have been spinning for over a year so those biking muscles are there.  The difference with being on the bike is getting used to the feeling of balancing the bike which your spin bike is stable and the pressure that is on your back since you can't really adjust your handle bars like you can on the spin bike.
I believe most people are stronger than they think they are and will never know just how strong they are unless they push themselves to find out.
You are stronger than you think you are!!!!!!!