Like a fish..

I've rediscovered my love of water. Not to drink, but to use it to propel me at a high rate of speed. I love gliding through the water with power and grace. I seem to be making most of my gains in swimming right now. My timed 400 last night revealed that I am closer to a sub 6 min time than I thought. I shaved 10 seconds off my previous time for a 6:05.

I have been thinking more and more about ways to improve my hip mobility due to lingering back pain. I think this would improve my power on the bike, especially if I decide to use aerobars for the race. I'll keep you posted on my findings.

And lastly, why is blue gatorade so good? The world may never know but I am seriously addicted to the stuff.

River

Blazing speed!

Yet another fantastic evening of swimming was had last night. After completing the workout the coach had me do a timed 400 meter swim. I broke it into 4 x 100 with 5 sec rest between the sets, which really is just enough time to look at the clock, take a breathe and start swimming again. But the best news was that I completed it in 6:12 (after I subtracted the 15 seconds of breaks) which is well under the goal I had original set for myself for race day. So I am setting my race day goal as sub 6 min now.

River

Backfire

I'm a smartass and often time my smartass-ness gets me in trouble, but usually its funny. During our first team meeting we did the whole introduce yourself and your state your goals. So of course my goal for this whole tri training thing was to go super fast on race day, which of course got some chuckles from people. Although it was funny, it was also true. I love going fast, I love running/biking/swimming/jumping/cartwheeling past people at a faster pace. Which works for me because I literally have two speed: all out sprint or couch potato crawl.
The first two weeks of training were really fun and I really loved getting back into the pool. But I think that the coach has finally figured out that I might be a little too high-speed for this beginner program designed more for people who just wanted to finish. Good news is he likes a challenge and he likes pushing people to new limits. So during my Monday ride I was informed that in order to go super fast on race day he was going to make me do different workouts. Fast forward to Wednesday where I am now feeling the effects of 4x7 min lactate threshold intervals. But I was totally in the zone just grinding some gears during those 40 min and I LOVED IT! He also discovered that I was doing the beginner swim workout so after completing the Monday workout and then being told to do more, I now have to do the "pro" workout. This basically doubles the workout, but hell go big or go home, right?
I am getting super hyped about tonight's block workout.....I think I have a problem hahaha!!

Just keep swimming!
River

Calves of steel...

....well actually my calves feel like jell-o. However, with all this freaking climibing we have been doing in spin class my calves will have no option but to become steel. This Sunday was the first official "Tri Team" meeting. It was great to see the wide variety of people that decided to give it a try. There were undergrad Freshman, faculty and med school students. Some people did cross country in high school, others swam and some just liked to workout and wanted to have a goal to train for.
So yesterday was the first official team practice. An hour spin class followed by a short swim workout. It felt great to get back into the pool. I use to be a lil fish when I was younger. I am not real sure how this whole working out until 9PM working is going to work. I seem to not be able to fall asleep until around 1 when I do. Guess I can just try to be productive during this time or maybe an icebath to increase recovery time. I don't know but I'll have to figure something out.

Happy trails,
River

Week 2 Summary

Triathlon training is a lot of specialized training, so I'm tracking each session by activity.
This week I completed:
Weights: 3 sessions
Bike: 3 spin classes (3:30 min)
Run: 3 runs, 6 miles (1 hr)

Revelations

Friday's workout was a revelation of sorts. I was proud of myself for squeezing a workout in before I had to leave for the weekend. So I decided to run to the gym to weigh in since it was early in the morning. Found out I now weigh 169, which explains why those khakis were really tight. More importantly I discovered the gym is 1.3 miles from my house, not 1 mile. So a trip to the gym is actually closer to 2.5 miles. Also I successfully completed all three of my lifting sessions and I think the soreness is finally gone.
This Sunday is the official start of training for the tri. I still have to get a swimsuit since swim training will start. I feel pretty good about having started two weeks early to incorporate the segments individually so I wasn't overwhelmed.

Harder, faster, stronger...
River

Ice=Danger

Don't run on ice....you'll hurt yourself. Growing up in California did not teach me how to plan my training around weather. So I definitely need to work a little more on planning when and where to do my workouts so I don't fall behind. Guess the weather channel will now be my morning viewing program instead of Sports Center. Oh the sacrifices you have to make to be a Champion!

Work Hard,
River

Oh that's where my lats are....

Day 1 of Week 2 included the first session of weights. This means that Day 2 of Week 2 includes lots of soreness, particularly in the lat and pec region. But don't they say that pain is weakness leaving the body? So I'm thinking this means I am really weak. Hey at least I'm getting it out. It's a wintry wonderland outside which should make running fun. Although it kind of makes you feel pretty legit when your running in the snow.....like a training scene from Rocky.

Go Big or Go Home,
River

Week 2!

Despite it be a rainy day, which traditionally ensures a lazy Sunday, I got this training week off to a great start. I succesfully completed the first day of strength training and followed it up with an endurance spin class. Not a bad little Sunday for the start of week 2. Excited for another great week of work which ends with a trip to the great state of Nebraska, a little trip down memory lane!

The only easy day was yesterday,
River

Day 6 Triumph

One week of training completed with a 2 mile rainy run. And no, that is not the triumph. The triumph was finding my tv remote after searching since Sunday. That thing has been haunting me, even in my dreams. But now the remote is safely in my posession again and I can rest easy.
Week in review: 3 spin classes, 4 miles of running, 2 hours of raquetball.
Goals for next week: Increase running, introduce strength training into training regiment.
"Some people want it to happen, some people wish for it to happen and some people make it happen."
Happy weekend adventures!
River

Day 5 and blue balls

....oh sorry not that kind of blue balls. I meant racquetballs! It's been really rainy here and I've been on a little bit of a racquetball kick so instead of doing a running training day I switched it up. And although I lost, I was at least close to winning a set at least. And with a 1 mile run to and from the gym it turned out to be a nice little workout. Today is the last training day of the week....oh how the time flies.

Improvise, adapt and overcome...
River

Day 4 and saving lives

So it's Day 4 of training and I'm still alive. Day 2 involved a major nap to recover from Day 1 activities followed by a spin class. Day 3 involved a long day at work and no working out. Day 4 only got better as I complete a tough spin class of threshold intervals...followed by me catching a girl as she passed out. So a fun time overall.
I have decided that I will wear my heart rate monitor during rides and runs to keep better track of effort and time. Happy training to everyone!

The only easy day was yesterday,
River

New beginnings for the new year

Well I just got back from a quick trip to New York and while I planned to enjoy a relaxing day of football and coffee my plans quickly changed when I got an email saying that I had gotten in to this triathlon training program offered through my job. So although I did get about 7 hours of absolutely laziness I had to get off my lazy butt to go the the Sunday night endurance spin class. I am super excited to participate in this program for several reasons. A) I always do better when I have a training partner, B) I am more likely to drag myself to the gym in the cold when I have someone there to hold me accountable, C) I can get some tips on triathlons. And the best part is that at the end of the program we will be racing in a local sprint tri in May together.
So I have a few goals for this program and my overall fitness.

• Race time- Swim (400 yd): Under 8 min, Bike (16 miles): Under 1:10, Run (5K): Under 27 min
• Increase flexibility, specifically in hip/back region
• Get back to my ideal weight of 160 lbs (Starting weight=172)
• Be able to perform 10 pullups
• Be able to perform 50 pushups in 2 min

I might need to adjust these race time goals later as I kind of guesstimated on times based on previous performances. The holiday season has left me with just a little extra weight. I usually feel healthy between 160-165. I typically float around 165 when I'm active so getting back down to that will probably happen within the first month. But getting to 160 is kind of a fight, so really anything under 165 I will be happy with. I added the last two goals to help me comply with the lifting schedule I will perform on my own through the Tri program. I have a little help because my friend is also doing the same program so she will help keep me accountable. I have also decided to blog about this adventure as another way to keep me accountable. I find that if I have to write something down I am more motivated to push myself.

So for this week I already have logged an hour and a half of bike time and 45 minutes of general fitness.

You can't get ahead if you are trying to get even,

River

Are you a River or a Lake?

The new years always brings a time of contemplation and reflection for most people. And while my new revelation comes at the beginning of the year, it stems more from the situation I find myself. In my occupation, I often have to think of ten different strategies to help ten different individuals acheive the same goal. However sometimes I can shortcut that by coming up with a metaphor or symbolic imagery. So while I was thinking (and also daydreaming since I have an attention span of a 5 year old in meetings) of how to motive my team for the home stretch I had this image of a river and a lake. And then it dawned on me that this idea of being a river or a lake can be applied to my life as well.

So your probably really confused at this point and thinking I'm on drugs. I assure you I am not, although I did just have coffee which is my drug of choice. Let me try to explain my thinking. When I think of a lake I see a majestic body of water with the warm summer sun reflecting off the surface. While beautiful and peaceful, it is stagnant. Sure it may get bigger or smaller if there is rain or a drought, but where is it going?

On the other hand a river is a flowing element that is ever changing. When the river comes upon an obstacle it finds away around or through it. As a kid, my dad use to take me to this park with a little creek. I loved to try and make a dam with sticks and rocks to see if I could stop it. After much effort building a baracade the flow would stop and the water would begin to pool behind it. However, this was always I game I lost as the stream would eventually break free by finding a way around or the force or volume of the pooling water overcome the baracade.

You see where I am going with this? It is easy to be a lake. There is comfort in consistency and sometimes we need that comfort. However, being stagnant does not allow for growth (spiritually, physically or emotional). By choosing to be like a river your life is continually advancing....forward progression. And sure there are going to be some obstacles (like that little kid building a dam), but like the river has proven patience and persistence will uncover a way to overcome.

I could take this metaphor into eight million different directions, but I'll keep it simple....keep moving, forward progression.

River