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One tired little triathlete October 31, 2005

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I went for a 10K run yesterday! And then I went for a 36 mile ride. :) I did pretty well, but boy was I tired last night. I’m still a little tired this morning too. But not bad. :) I ran on the dirt tracks and it was warm and sunny. I felt good the whole way. My garmin kept beeping at me and telling me that I was going to fast so I had to check myself a couple of times.

It felt so good to be on Hobbes again. This was the first chance to get on my road bike since I got back from vacation. I took a meandering route to the bike shop and then home again. My legs felt pretty good and I still plenty of energy. Enough to not let this one guy pass me, anyway. I just didn’t have it in me to let him pass me. ;P

When I got home, I walked down to the store for groceries and then when I got home I decided to do some Pilates since my legs felt a little tight. By the time 8 came around, I fell in to bed one tired little triathlete. :)

Rode to the gym this morning. Swim 1200m and weights for chest and back. I wore orange and black stripey socks and my black capris and jersey in honor of Halloween. I can just imagine what the drivers on the road thought as I rode to work…Look, there’s that crazy bike chick. See, she is nuts! ;P

Happy Halloween all!

Awesome run October 29, 2005

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Awesome run this morning. I had planned on doing 6 miles this morning but I didn't get home until 11 last night and I was a little tired when I got this morning. I decided to switch with tomorrow's run so I did 4 instead. I'll do 6 tomorrow and it will work out better because I'll be able to run during the day tomorrow and I can take the dirt trail. It'll be easier on my joints and I kind of miss it because I haven't been on it in a while.

Anyway, the run was great. It left me feeling good and feeling like I could have done more. One of those runs where you go "yep, now THIS is running". :) I rode to the gym after and did weights for arms, shoulders, and legs. Then I rode to work. And since it was light out, I got to wear my sunglasses. That hasn't happened in a long time. It was pleasant-Saturday morning light.

Last night's game didn't go so well…for me that is (time was called when the score was tied). The two weeks I took off of softball left me out of my groove. I struck out three times last night and my throwing was really bad. :( I put more pressure on myself to perform well w/ softball because I don't want to let the team down. It's the perfectionist in me trying to break out again. :) I hate being a newbie. I mean, it's fun to try new things and new sports, etc, but it's so hard to tame the competive side and not want to be a "star" out of the starting gate. :) I have dreams of being a Jenny Finch or a Lisa Fernandez (USA Olympic Softball players) and so far it hasn't happened. Yet. :) Anyway…since I struck out three times, I had to buy the beer at the pizza place. I made sure they all got drunk enough to forgive me. :)

In the Swim October 28, 2005

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My tattoo is healed so I got in the pool for the first time in two weeks. I only swam 750m and it was mostly drills but it felt good to be back in the water. It didn’t even feel like I’ve been away from swimming. I had to keep it short though so I could get to work early. Work is insane with the conversion but my workouts are keeping me from going over the edge. :) At least the overtime will help me buy a new toy.

I also did weights this morning for chest and back. The ride to work was good. Better than last night’s ride home. I felt shaky again on the way home. What is up with that? I’m not sick. Um…I did reduce my calories per day this week. I gained a few pounds on my vacation so this week I am trying to be really, really good. My clothes still fit and the Little Red Riding Hood costume that I ordered in a size 8 arrived this week and it fits! Woo Hoo! A size 8!!! :) Can you believe it? So…I’m not really worried about those few pounds or at least I’m telling myself I shouldn’t be. I’m going back to the normal calorie intake today. I think it’s more important to me that I’m properly fueled for my workouts than that I lose weight. I gave myself until my birthday to get to my goal weight and that’s a whole six months away. Aack…I’m going to be 38! Why does that seem so much older than 37?

This week I have been planning my workouts/training thru January and the ½ marathon. I think that is the biggest difference in my life right now. I don’t just sit around and dream about something happening – whether it’s losing weight or doing a tri or buying a bike. I now plan my strategy on how to make it happen and then work that plan. Nothing happens without effort on my part and as much as I believe in magic and miracles, I can sure help them along. And anyway…“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt. I might as well use that energy to get where I want to go-be it on a bike, in my running shoes, or in the pool. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pics October 27, 2005

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I got the pictures back from my vacation and the Steamboat. Here are some pictures of me in my Trifuel jersey, Hobbes, and the lake. Just a few.

I had a good run last night. My legs felt a little shaky as I was leaving work so I ate a Balance bar on the way home. We got flu shots at work…maybe that had something to do with it? Anyway, I felt better by the time I got home. The run wasn’t as tempo-y as I wanted it to be, but I decided to just run and have fun. I finished the run feeling good and happy with my effort.

Active rest day today. Just the bike to/from work and Pilates tonight.

Stretch! October 26, 2005

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I did Pilates last night and it felt so good. :) I've been neglecting my stretching for the past week or so and my body is complaining about it. I need to be more deligent about it and not scrimp on those few minutes. They make all the difference

Rode to the gym this morning and worked arms, shoulders, & glutes. Eric gave me a few suggestions to try and improve my throwing arm and I'm hoping I'll have some improvements this Friday. Two weeks without softball and I'm really missing it. The team tied their game on Friday.

The ride to work was nice, just a little foggy. I have a 5 mile tempo run planned for tonight at Red Hill. Some ex-coworkers from my last job are going to be running there tonight so I might run with them if I get off work in time. They are training for a sprint tri. One of them sent me a link for it. It's a 12 mile bike, 5K run, and a 100 meter pool swim. 100 meter? Piece of cake. :) I'm not going to do it though because it's the same weekend as the 10K I'm doing in December. None of them have seen me since I lost the weight so it will be fun to see them again.

4 miles easy October 25, 2005

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I don’t know about the rest of the bike commuters out there, but I’m dreading the time change this weekend. I would rather ride in the dark in the morning than after work. Drivers seem crankier and more rushed in the evening than they do in the morning. I stayed late at work last night so it was dark when I left. It’s not too bad really, what with all the lights and reflecting stuff I wear. There’s just this one bridge that I have to go under and there is a big grate right in the bike lane to drain water. I have to take over part of a lane so I don’t end up over my handlebars . Most of the time, drivers slow down to let me go thru safely but sometimes, I get a jerk (always seems to be in a truck) who can’t wait 5 seconds for me to go by. It just seems worse after dark.

I woke up to drizzle this morning for my run and it felt good. It must have rained harder over night because when I was crossing one of the streets, there was a river flowing down it and it was too wide to jump across. Both feet got soaked. :( But the run itself was great. I did 4 miles at an easy pace and kept to my target pace. I was only off it by 2 seconds per mile. The rain had stopped by the time I left for work this morning so the ride wasn’t too damp. Just the water kicked up from my tires…I have got to get some fenders! It was 49 degrees but I didn’t feel that cold this morning. I finally pulled out my long pants to wear so that might have helped. :) Pilates tonight. I had planned on doing Pilates every other day while I was in Arizona but I never did! I got lazy. ;) I’m looking forward to tonight’s session. :)

Back to the routine October 24, 2005

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I got back home to California on Saturday night. It's nice to be home but I miss my Arizona family. I'm looking forward to getting back to my routine. Or a modified routine, that is.

I went for a 4 mile run yesterday and then went to LACMA (The LA County Mueseum of Art) to see the King Tut exhibit. I saw it the first time it came to LA when I was 10 years old! I'm not sure, if it's because I was kid then, but everything seemed bigger back then. Afterward, we went to the Promenade at Santa Monica to eat and hang out. It was a good day, but since we got back late, I didn't get a chance to take Hobbes out for a spin.

This morning, I rode to the gym and did weights for legs, chest, and back. I looked longingly at the pool, but I need to stay out of it a few more days. The tattoo is healing nicely and I should be back in the pool by Friday or Saturday. Can't wait. :) It was a little bit foggy this morning, but it sure was good to be back on my bike! :)

Almost over… October 21, 2005

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I went for an easy 3 mile run yesterday on the edges of the desert. My hamstrings were really tight from the day before. When I got home, I could barely touch my knees, let alone my toes. They aren't sore today though. I find that my legs feel better if I do a slow run to loosen them up.

Today's quote…"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." ~Walt Disney…Not long ago, I thought doing a triathlon, even a sprint, was impossible for me. You know, my nieces don't really know what is possible or impossible. They just know what they want, whether it's to become a horse (Morgan) or get a red Hummer for Christmas (Madison). They could teach me a lesson or two. :) Waaahhhh! My vacation is almost over. :(

Have a great weekend everyone :)

Dancing Snoopy October 19, 2005

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I went for a 3 mile run yesterday. Like everyone else, my run was in the pouring rain but it was cool and refreshing. I didn't have a whole lot of energy maybe because I didn't eat anything before I went. I've been sleeping in until 6:30 every day! No alarms either, just waking up when I wake up and it always seems to be a little before 6:30. I've been going to bed around 10 so I am getting more than 8 hours of sleep a night. Not to mention nap times. :)

This morning I ran two miles and then did 2×5x100. It was clear and cool. I was tired by the time I finished the last set but not too bad. I really tried to run each one as hard and fast as the first one and I was pretty darn close. In my head, around the 5th or 6th one, I was thinking "why am I doing this?" But there was a lot of satisfaction when I finished the last one.

Other than that, I haven't done much the past few days…playing frisbee & tag, walking to the park, and a lot of pacing with Max. He doesn't like to be held while you're sitting. In fact, he doesn't like to sit still at all. He is very, very wriggly. My sister caught me whispering to him about being a triathlete when he grows up and she just shook her head. :)

I haven't mentioned yet, but I got a tattoo on Friday night. It's on the outside of my left ankle - Snoopy doing the Happy Dance. It makes me smile to think of it "dancing' while I run or ride. I almost didn't get it because I knew I wouldn't be able to swim for about 2 weeks. But since I was going to be out of the pool this week anyway, I decided I could give up one more week when I get back. It will be a slammin week when I get back anyway since we are starting the conversion process my first day back at work. So, I decided to give myself a couple of low weeks. Gasp! You know how hard that is for me to do? I think I'm getting over the fear of sliding backwards. Having goals well into the next few months definitely helps.

Runner Girls October 17, 2005

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I went for a 10K run this morning. That is my longest run to date! I think I could have kept going but I'm trying to stick to the 10% increase rule. While I am ready and willing to push myself, I want to be sane about it and prevent injuries so I stopped when I hit the 10K mark. When I walked in the door from the run, my nieces were dressed and waiting for me…"Let's go for a walk, Tia Lisa". So, out the door we went. Thank goodness I still had some energy left. When we got to the park, I did 7 sets of plyometrics and Morgan matched me set for set. What's a playground for if not for jumping around on! :) And then I joined them on the playset and went down the slide a few times for good measure. :) Cross-training. Later, we walked back to the park for a picnic lunch. Tomorrow morning, the 3 of us are going for a walk and I'm sure we'll be racing each other during it so it will be like an interval workout.

I went for a run on Saturday too, 3 miles, before we left for Arizona. I've now been without my bike for two days. The withdrawls aren't too bad. Morgan offered me hers but it's a little bit too small for me. :) I might have to talk my sister into buying a bike so I can borrow it when I come for a visit.

I brought my Garmin with me. I have been pretty good about sticking to a planned pace during each of my runs. Today, I ran just 4 seconds faster than the plan. Not bad. I was really close on Saturday too. I'm determined to be more structured about my running and go out with a goal each time, whether it's easy or long or speed or form. Hopefully that will help me improve instead of just running and counting on luck. :) I'm also into my 2nd week of my new training log. I'm trying to be more detailed in this log instead of just logging miles. I'm logging distance, time, pace, what I eat before and after, how I felt, etc. A brand new training log full of so many possibilities. :)

Oh, and Max…he's a cutie patootie. :) All 3 of them are. I am one lucky Aunt.