Where there's a hill… August 31, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentSunday – weighted swimming in the afternoon. My nieces decide they wanted to sail the seven seas but since their “boat” had no motor or sail, it was determined I would pull them as I swam back & forth across the pool. I swam to the chants of “faster, faster Tia Lisa” and I actually got a pretty good workout in. 
Monday – 45 min walk and then nothing else. :O We drove home from Arizona that afternoon. Why does a 5 hour road trip make me more tired than my usual workouts? My trip was a lot of fun, but definitely not long enough. I can’t wait until October 15th, when I’ll get to spend a whole week there!
Tuesday – Ride to work & home and then 3 mile run when I got home (a brick! Woo hoo!). I woke up yesterday to go for a run and then promptly fell back asleep for 90 min! Luckily I wasn’t late for work. So I decided to do a brick in the afternoon. It was a little hot, there’s no shade on the tracks, and darn it, no sprinklers but I took water with me so it wasn’t bad. Weird thing…there is now a hill on the tracks where there wasn’t one before. Last week, nice and flat. This week, I’m running along and hello, where did this come from? I mean, really, how often does a hill, even a small one, appear out of nowhere? I’m guessing it’s from the work they are doing to turn one of the canals into an underground canal. It’s a good thing I wasn’t running in the dark.
Wednesday – Bike to gym, swim 1000m, weights (30 min), bike to work. All good. I went a little earlier than usual to try and get a few more weight sets in since I missed Monday. I was distracted again today. I might have actually done 1100 in the pool. I’m not sure. I lost track counting laps again. But if counting laps is my biggest worry, I have to say, I have a pretty darn good life!
Sunrise run in Arizona August 28, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentI woke up at my usual time this morning to go for a 5:30 run just as the sun was rising. I was hoping that the early morning hours would be cool and I guess they were…for Arizona (87). But at least it's a dry heat and I had the sunrise to distract me from more heat than I'm used to. I took water with me (thanks to Kylie I remembered my fuel belt) and ran thru sprinklers on some green belts about 6 times so it wasn't too bad. I don't know about exact mileage because I kind of meandered around on the paths they have here, but I ran for an hour. Felt good when I was done too and did some plyometrics. It could all be in my head, but I think it's helping already.
Yesterday, I did my usual Saturday work out…bike to gym, swim (1000m), weights 45 min, bike home, 2 mile run. Again, feeling pretty strong.
My niece asked me to wake her up so she could go running with me but I told her it was too early. I finished my run and was back before the rest of the house woke up. When my nieces woke up, we went for a short walk, but it was already over 100 so we didn't run. Having fun so far, the baby shower is this afternoon and we plan to go swimming. Hope you all had a good weekend.
Off to Arizona August 26, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentIt's Friday! The usual active rest day for me. The cruise to work was about 10 degrees warmer than normal but still who can complain about 71 degree weather? It's supposed to be around 105 today so the ride home will be hot. Bleah.
I am going to Arizona this weekend. My sister's baby shower is Sunday and my mom and I are driving over tomorrow and staying til Monday. I can't wait. I should be able to get my weekend workouts in since we aren't leaving til noon tomorrow. And of course I'm taking my running shoes with me for my Sunday run. My sister lives in a sparsley populated area with some nice cedar trails and of course the desert to run in. I'm looking forward to an early, early morning run before it gets hot. And I love the desert sky…it's like you can almost reach up and grab a star. I'm sure my nieces will want to go for a run with me as well.
Todays quote (which seems to apply to us trifuelers quite nicely )
"If at first you do succeed, try something harder." ~Ann Landers
Score! August 25, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentToday is turning out to be a most excellent day! I went for a 3 mile tempo run this morning. I don't usually eat before my mid week runs since they are short. But today I had a gel before I ran. I think it helped. I also did 7 sets of plys. I warmed up, then did 5 sets of plys, then ran, then 2 more sets, then cooled down. And…I only tripped once today! Beautiful ride to work under warm, sunny, blue skies. Love California. Great morning.
The best part was when I got to work. Work has been stressful lately. I'm part of a conversion team at work and the deadlines have been hell. I actually haven't been sleeping very well this past month and even waking up from nightmares. Which wouldn't be so bad if I didn't need all the sleep I could get for training. Priorities, you know? Oh yeah, the good part…My boss handed me tickets to the Nextel Cup race next weekend here in California! Score! He said it was a thank you for all my hard work and for all of the pressure I've been under. How cool is that? It's nice to know that they noticed. I'm going to my first Nextel Cup race! (said in a sing song voice) I've been to a Busch race before, which was fun. In fact, you might have seen me there (among the thousands of people in the stands) since they were filming Herbie the Love Bug at the race I was at. Did ya? LOL.
Hope everyone has a great day!
Distracted today August 24, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentToday was a typical Wednesday for me. Bike to gym, swim 900m, weights (arms/shoulders/glutes), bike to work. The swim was good 100 warm up and then 1×800. I sometimes trick myself into going farther than I want to. I started out by telling myself that I only had to do 200 sets, but once I got to 200, I told myself I'd just do 400, and so on until I got to 800. I know that when I start out swimming, it's a little bit of struggle, but once I get a few 100, I get into a good rythym and I can keep going.
I think I might have actually done 850, but I got distracted during one lap and couldn't remember if I was on lap 7 or 8. I'm pretty sure it was 8 but I said 7 just to be sure. How was I distracted, you ask? I was watching The Machine (I've really got to ask him his name). He was swimming next to me that lap and I was watching him swim - his form, his stroke, etc. Sometimes I wish I could put on a weight belt and sit at the bottom of the pool and just watch people swim. I had the hardest time visualizing how to swim correctly. I'm still not sure I have it right.
I did Pilates last night. Pilates, like running, is cool because I can do it anywhere, anytime and I don't have to worry about equipment or a pool. I actually work up a sweat too while I'm doing it. But it is still pretty relaxing and loosens me up.
3 for Tuesday August 23, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentI ran 3 miles this morning. Which means I started in the dark. I thought about skipping my run on the old tracks and going back to the street. Me + dark + rocks/debris/uneven road is not a good combination. But I decided to run the tracks and take my tiny flashlight. I like not having to worry about cars when I run and I only tripped 3 times so it wasn't too bad. It was a good run, a little slow, but it was nice to run under the stars. There were plenty for wishing on: speed, strength, endurance, speed, speed, speed.
My ride to work was good. I spent a little extra time stretching this morning so I pushed a little harder on the bike to make up the time. It was a cool 60 degrees - perfect cycling weather. Love summer mornings.
The weekend in review August 22, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentSaturday – ride, swim, lift, ride, run. A good day. I rode to the bike shop later that morning and bought a new pair of socks (green w/flowers) and the latest Inside Triathlon (for inspiration & motivation). Then had lunch at Del Taco – cheeseburger, fries, and a strawberry shake! Yummy. I know it’s not “good” for me, but life would be no fun without a strawberry shake. Then I rode home and took a nap in the afternoon. Actually…it was a great day.
Sunday – 3 miles easy & ½ hour of Pilates. Then spent the rest of the day shopping & went to see Red Eye.
Monday – ride, swim (900m), lift (chest & back), ride to work, ride home tonight of course. Felt good this morning. My energy level is back!
Marathon dreams August 19, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentIt’s Friday. Thank goodness. I had a good ride in to work this morning. Just the bike commute today. An active rest day.
In today’s Runners World newsletter, there is a contest to win a trip to a marathon of your choice in Hawaii or Paris or at the Great Wall of China or Easter Island. Wouldn’t that be fun to win. How would you choose though? I guess I would pick China or Easter Island. I’ve been to Hawaii. And Paris…that means cycling to me. And Lance. But…is a marathon in my future? Yes, I think so. First up though, the 5K in September, a 10K in December. And then a half marathon…maybe next summer in San Diego? Or January 2007 at the Rock&Roll Arizona? And then a marathon for my 40th birthday in 2008. 40! My how time flies when you’re having fun.
Today’s blog was inspired by this quote (also in the newsletter) - "It's a dream until you write it down, and then it's a goal."-Anonymous
Max's Aunt August 18, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentFeeling a little less tired today. At least the dark circles are gone. I went to the gym this morning to swim but I didn’t do any weights. After the swim, I sat in the pool for a little while and the cool water felt good on my legs. And then I got in the hot tub for a few minutes. I’ve never done that before at the gym. It seems like I’m always rushing at the gym….rush to get in the pool, rush to get to the weights, rush to get on my bike and get to work. It was kind of nice not going full speed this morning. It also gave me a chance to talk to Kylie since we met for the first time at the pool this morning. Now we’re not anonymous trifuelers anymore. Oh yeah…and I saw her kayak in person!
My sister and her husband decided on a name for my new nephew last night – Maxwell Michael. Another M&M for us. Someday, in the future, some little kid is going to ask me “Are you Max’s aunt?” and I’ll say “yep”. It reminds me of the time I visited Morgan’s first grade class. I overheard her telling her friends that I didn’t own a car and I ride my bike everywhere, and they were all “really” “nuh, uh”. And then they came over to ask me if it was true. Maybe they’ll all grow up to be trifuelers.
Waddle On August 16, 2005
Posted by vollenda in : General , add a commentStill a little tired this morning so I just ran 2 miles. So slow. As John Bingham would say…Waddle on! The ride to work wasn’t much better. I felt like I was riding into a headwind but there wasn’t one! As I was getting ready for work right now, I noticed I looked tired and had to use a little extra makeup to hide the dark circles. Not good. So I think I will take it easy the rest of this week too. I guess it’s just that “low” time of the month for me, those few days when I have no energy. Just have to accept them and move on.
Next week was supposed to be an easy week for me so I’m just doing it a week earlier. I try and build everything for 3 weeks and then in the 4th week cut back by 20-25%. I sometimes feel like I’m not doing “enough” to warrant a cut back week, but I’ve learned that I need it. Enough for what? I’m not sure…