Gear and training, but mostly gear

One of the best things about triathlon is that there is an endless supply of gear to buy and try out. I think that is why the sport is called TRYathlon. :) I could spend hours looking at things that I would love to have, but then I have to pay for them which is sad so I spend hours looking for the best deal. I had to buy a new top to race in for the collegiate race and came across the new 2xu comp top.

2XU Comp Tri Top - It is going to look sweet with the ISU logo on it.

I also decided it was time to get new shorts because they are too big and plus this would be my 5th season in the same shorts. So I spent hours trying to find a site to purchase both to avoid shipping charges. I did not find this, but I did find free shipping on separate sites when you spend so much. Well, I got free shipping on the top and on the shorts and also got more gear.

Sugoi Blast Shorts

Sugoi Top - because it was 50% off and it looks cool

Bellwether J Pants - I don't own any tights so I figured now was as good of a time as any to get some.

Workouts this week went great except for Wednesday. I was just so tired and wore out that I only was able to finish 50 min of my 60 min bike. It has been so long since I have been sore and this tired. It is great. I miss it. It makes me feel like I am actually doing something. Today I have a 100 min bike and a 70 min run/15 bike Sunday. I was able to run for the full 60 min last Sunday and complete my runs this week with no pain other than the "good" pain. I think that week off and a lot of stretching was the key. Last Sunday's run was probably the best run I ever had. It was cold, but it did not feel cold. The path had some snow on it which kept others off of it. Blue sky, bright sun and the peace and quiet. I ran so relaxed and smooth which equated to a surprisingly fast run. I wish I could feel like that all the time. I loved it. This week has been tough for running outside. So much ice and slop everywhere. I am hoping it will be better tomorrow. Next week is my first recovery week. I was kind of worried about not really feeling like I was going to need it, but I can be safe to say now it is a much welcomed week especially because I have a project due in two weeks so I can use this coming week to work ahead a bit.

Good Start to the Year

So far school, work and triathlon have been well in balance. I have kept up with work, been able to get a little ahead in school and have been able to maintain my workouts with slight modification.

Week 1/10:
Monday: No workout but did get a new closet built at my house.
Tuesday: No workout again - another snowy day and finished up house work before actually making it to class
Wednesday: 30 min Run, Bike 60 min - Endurance
Thursday: 30 min swim, 15 min Run
Friday: 30 min Bike - Interval
Saturday: MECTC Triathlon Clinic Individual Race - 10 min swim (500 yards), 20 min bike (5.67 miles), 15 min run (1.85 miles)
Sunday: MECTC Triathlon Clinic Team Race - 5 min swim (275 yards), 10 min bike (2.9 miles)

This week 1/17:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 30 swim, 60 bike - Threshold
Wednesday: 45 Run, 60 Bike - Endurance/Interval
Thursday: Run 20 min, 10 bike
Friday: Off
Saturday: 85 Bike - Endurance
Sunday: 60 Run/Bike

I will start off with why my run workouts are rare. From all of the snow in the last two weeks, I have been wearing my snow boots which caused me to develop a bit of tendinitis in my heel. It first came about Wednesday of last week, but I just thought it was that stiff feel in my ankles I get every once in a while until I went running Thursday. Ouch. I cut my run pretty short because it was painful, came home, put ice on it and got on the computer to figure out what it was. I tried to stay off of it as much as I could Friday and Saturday. I decided I wanted to gauge my fitness a bit at the tri clinic so I popped a couple Aleve before the race and this allowed me to run pain free - for the most part. I passed on running Sunday for the team race. My Wednesday workout "run" was on the elliptical. I am just glad I can get my heart rate up to a relative decent level on that thing - although I looked like a crazy lady on it. I did run for a short while outside last night. I could feel a slight pain there, but nothing that bothered me. I am going to gauge Sunday on how I feel and then supplement my run with an extended bike workout as to not push my heel too quickly.

Ok, back to the MECTC clinic. For this being my second time in the pool since September, I felt awesome. It is one of those pools you get in and feel fast, even though you might not be. I felt really smooth. The good thing is that I was able to maintain my previous pace. The bad thing is that I wasn't and still am not fast, lol. Oh well. Minor details. The bike was good, but not the actual bike. We rode on T9 trainers. Problem for me: when I found a comfortable place, slightly leaning forward, I would slide forward on the seat so I would move back, but then I was too short to reach the peddles. My needs started getting cramped. I just concentrated on keeping my heart rate at my target level of 160-164. I didn't get as far as I would have liked but I also wasn't on my bike that I have been training on for 4 years. I think it comes out to 15. something miles per hour. I think I could ride that fast on my mountain bike for 6 miles. The run, I felt great. It was on a 1/8th mile indoor track. We started out already breaking into "groups". 3 girls took off in front of me pretty quick. I just wanted to maintain a relative "tough" pace which wound up being a heart rate of 178 and kept creeping up - my anaerobic threshold level is 177 so I was pushing myself. There was a girl next to me on the bike who wound up a little under a quarter mile in front of me, but she was breathing hard so I hoped she would die on the run and I was correct. I ended up lapping her twice and catching the other girl with relative ease. The last girl I caught on the last lap and then I was able to sprint out another 1/16th of a mile to get in front of her as well. I averaged about 8:10 per mile which was definitely in front of where I thought I would be at 8:30. The results haven't been posted. All I know is I did not win, but I would like to see how I compared to the rest of the girls to gauge my fitness level. I feel pretty good about where I am at. I really am going to hit the bike hard the next 10 weeks because I think that will help me the most in the race. I am going to take it easy on the run so I can make sure my foot heals and then hopefully be able to push the run the last 6 weeks or so. The swim, I just don't feel I am going to gain anything. All I want to accomplish is to make sure my arms don't get tired during the swim so I kick more and end up being tired for the bike. I can get into the pool once a week and probably twice most weeks - it just sucks swimming. I also learned a few drills at the clinic to do to help my stroke as well as out of water drills to help improve on days I can't get into the pool. February 5th and 6th the tri club is having "trials" to determine 10k run and 1 mile swim times to seed and decide who will be racing the official championship race. I am unable to make it to those so I will have to time myself around those dates so I can compare myself to the rest of the team and my past levels to see what I need to do prior to the race. I am getting nervous because I want to do well, but it is getting exciting as well, I ordered my tri top which is the fun part of tri - the gear. And just in case I don't get to it, next weeks workouts 1/24:
Monday: 60 Bike - Threshold/Interval
Tuesday: 30 Swim, 30 Run?
Wednesday: 60 Bike - Speed
Thursday: 30 swim if I don't have class, 45 Run?
Friday: Off
Saturday: 90 Bike - Endurance - Livestrong Ride
Sunday: 60 run endurance?

Run workouts are still up in the air depending on heel healing. That sounds kind of like magic.

New Year, New Excitement

It is hard to believe my last post was in September, well, no it isn't. If someone asked me 6 months ago if I would be able to juggle work, graduate school and triathlon, I would have said of course. How different can graduate school be from undergradute right? Well I found that out. Imagine undergraduate classes or for those that can't remember that far back, take a normal work day. Now take an entire months worth of work/classwork and pile that into one week. It was just non-stop all the time. I quickly learned that I could not treat grad school like undergrad. I fell behind quickly in about 3 weeks, spent the next 3 months catching back up just in time to be finished with the semester. My workouts were non-existant because my "free" time was spent working on homework and projects. I squeeked through with work. I worked "full time" which equated to about 25 hours a week and then using my PTO to fill in for full time hours. 2 of the 3 I could do, not all 3.

This semester I am taking a different route. First, I am cutting way back on work hours to about 15/week. Just enough to keep me a float financially. Second, I have planned out when I will workout. The ISU triathlon club has group sessions that are always more fun that working out alone. I will be doing those Monday and Wednesday. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a class break from 12-2 so I will be swimming and doing my short runs during that time or doing my run workouts later in the afternoon. Saturday and Sunday I am just going to have to get my butt in gear and accept the fact that I won't have anytime to really just "relax". I think I relax better during long runs anyway so at least I am not sitting on the couch stressing out about all the stuff I should be doing rather than sitting on the couch. At least I am doing something. Since Christmas I have gained a million pounds and I feel it. I need to loose 10 pounds to be back into "race shape". I can only ever achieve that weight when I am working out like a mad person. My goal is to reach goal weight by April 9th which is the Collegiate national championship race which will be my last eligible year to compete in the "main event" so of course I want to kick butt. I wish I had more time and didn't procrastinate like I have been.

I finally got back into the swing of things the week after Christmas. After finals and prior to Christmas I kind of went crazy with having so much "free" time that I drew a picture for a Christmas gift so I spent all that time working on it. After Christmas I started out easy. Surprisingly I am in still relatively decent shape. The bike is where I can feel that I am in not-so-good-of-shape.
Workouts for the week of 12/27:
Monday: 45 min run
Tuesday: 30 min run
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 30 min bike
Friday: Off
Saturday: 60 min bike
Sunday: 6 mile run (53:30)
This weeks workouts:
Monday: 45 bike, 15 abs
Tuesday: 45 min run
Wednesday: 60 min bike
Thursday: 30 bike, 30 run
Friday: Off
Saturday: 70 min bike
Sunday: 7 mile/65 min run, 10 bike

Next weekend I am joining the triclub to Dayton, Ohio for a triathlon clinic. The weekend is filled with speakers/classes as well as an individual and team competition. It will be nice to kind of get an idea of where I am actually at with my training. Hopefully school doesn't take over my workouts this semester.