Last Workout Of The Year

 The Murph and I just got back from workout of the day number 2 at the gym.  As we were leaving, I realized that this was our very last workout of the year.  I mentioned this to The Murph and he mumbled, "Yes, that's why I did such a terrible one."  I guess he means that tomorrow starts a new year with some serious gut busting workouts, not these little sissy workouts we've been doing for the past month or two. With all the holiday foods and easier, shorter workouts, I've gained six pounds since the Chickamauga marathon in November.

As I sit here typing on the computer, eating cookies and drinking sweet tea full of high fructose corn syrup and saturated fats, you can see I'm really concerned.  Not!

Tomorrow is a new day!

I already have my 2013 race schedule planned out, but I'm not doing the early registration so they could fill up before I register. I'm still going to take the chance of the races filling up and sign up for most of them at the last minute.  I figure that's better than registering now at the lower rate and then not being able to do the race.  The lower fees are not that much lower anyway.

My race schedule for 2013 looks like a half marathon in January and one in February, a marathon in March, one or two sprint triathlon races in May and June, an Olympic distance triathlon in July, USAT Nationals in August which is a sprint triathlon that I qualified for last summer at the Coastal triathlon, a sprint in September and a sprint in October and maybe, just maybe a 70.3 half Ironman triathlon at the end of October.  Then a marathon in November or December.  The marathon I really want to do is in December if I can make it out there.  It's sort of far from here and I don't know where we will be living.

Actually, four of the races I want to do are not close by.  It will require flying or a really long drive and I've only flown with my bike one time and it was tough getting it into that little box.  The other times I've either driven to the races or used Tribike Transport which is a really great service.  They pick up your bike at a designated bike shop near you and have it at your race all put together and ready to go.  They did not offer this for Hawaii, but I did use them when I competed in Ironman Canada.  It was great.  I just left my bike at the local bike shop and picked it up at the race venue, did the triathlon, then turned the bike over to Tribike transport after the race and a few days later picked it up at my local bike shop ready to go.

I think I'll let the bike shop take my bike apart and pack it in the bike box next time.  I could use Tribike Transport again, but now I have the bike box so I should probably use the box.  When I tried to pack the bike up for Hawaii, I left gaps in the box and some bike parts slipped out in transit.  I ended up having to purchase replacements parts.  This meant I had to go into town in Kona, Hawaii to find the bike shop and buy the part.  Then we had to take it back to the guy at the race expo who was putting my bike together because he couldn't leave the expo.  They were very busy putting bikes together.

This would not have been a problem if my bike and luggage hadn't arrived two days after I did and on the day it arrived I had a little mishap while doing a warm up swim that required stitches.  I got into a fight with some coral and the coral won.  Something that could only happen to me!  The Murph and I had to find the hospital, which was on one end of the island, so I could get stitches in my hand and elbow and then rush to the other end of the island to find the bike shop and then bring the part to the bike guy so he could have my bike put together and race ready in time for me to get it checked into transition in time.

This is me getting out of water with my hand and elbow cut up and bleeding,
 but The Murph doesn't realize it yet as he snaps away

I barely got the bike checked in transition in time and didn't get to test ride it except for the 20 minutes that it took me to ride from the hotel to the race start.  The seat was too low and my hand hurt, but there wasn't much I could do about it at that point.  I will say the Hawaii 70.3 was an awesome race in the most beautiful place in the world and I can't wait to go back and hopefully one day do the full Ironman.  Hopefully, without stitches in my hand and with plenty of time to ride my bike and test everything out on the course before race morning.

I don't know if I will actually do a 70.3 in 2013 or wait until 2014, but it keeps calling me.  I'm nuts!    I'm addicted!  What can I say...

Happy New Year!

Strength Training - A Triathlete's Best Friend

I've always included strength training in my training plan so it isn't exactly something new that I just started doing a couple of years ago.  What changed in my training in January 2011 is that I went from only doing strength training twice a week for 30 minutes to at least 5 or 6 times a week for 15 to 30 minutes.  I can't believe the difference it has made in my muscle strength and endurance.

I always thought in order to have endurance, I had to spend hours on the bike or in the pool or running for miles and miles.  I know I still need to do that if I am training for a half Ironman or Ironman triathlon or a half marathon or marathon.  You have to put the time in or it will hurt!  But for short distance, I am getting by with less time on my real bike and pool and more time in the gym doing weights.

And the difference is amazing.

One thing that helps is that I have been riding, running and swimming for years and years, probably 16 or 17 years now.  I can do transitions in my sleep.  I spent a lot of time on my bike, in the pool and on the road back in 2010 when I was training for Ironman Canada.  After the race, however, I was totally burned out.  This happened to me in 2004 after I did Ironman Florida as well.  I would love to be one of those triathletes that stay focused and motivated and can compete in one Ironman after another and several half Ironman triathlons in between, but I'm not.

Fifteen months is the amount of time it takes me to get over from burnout after I complete an Ironman. I've tried to trick myself into continuing on with training after an Ironman by signing up and committing to another one immediately, but it doesn't work.  I am so unmotivated that you would have to drag me to the pool and throw me in to get me swimming.  Biking for long distances too.

Running is about the only thing I can force myself to do and that's because it's easier, requires less planning and I love it. (besides there's the Running Nazi to contend with).    I love biking too, but it requires a little more planning and equipment.  And I am extremely lazy when I'm unmotivated.

After IM Canada in August of 2010, I had already signed up for Ironman Coeur d'alene for June 2011 and Hawaii 70.3, also in June of 2011.  I made it to Hawaii and was able to finish that race with very little training, but I knew better than to attempt to do a full Ironman with no training so I bowed out.

During that time after IM Canada, when I should have been biking and swimming in preparation for Hawaii half Iroman, I was in the gym doing weights and on the exercise bike.  I only rode my real bike three times during those months and I got in the pool a total of 5 times (okay maybe 4 times) to make sure I could swim the 1.2 mile swim without drowning.

One reason I was able to not only finish Hawaii 70.3 and not be so sore the next day I couldn't move, I blame entirely on the increase in weight training and core training, done every single day in the gym.  No 3 hour bike rides or 1 hour swim session.  I did 13 mile runs with the Nazi once a week and the rest of the time, I was in the gym.

I still haven't been on my tri bike much this summer or in the pool at all, but I did do a sprint triathlon last month and was only 1 minute slower than the last time I did that triathlon two years ago.   And my bike time was faster than ever.  It was my run time that was slower and it's the only thing I been doing consistently outside the gym.  I think that is because I haven't done speed work in a while and I've trained for and run two marathons which automatically slow me down.  Overall, I was very happy with the results and my first place age group finish.

I blame my increase in weight training on the Murph.  It's all he does and he's in great shape.  My job is to get him doing more cardio.  This hasn't worked.  He can be very stubborn and hates cardio.  It's amazing how he and the Boy can come up with a zillion excuses when they don't want to do something.

My new training schedule will more than likely have to change to include more time on my actual bike and certainly more time in the pool if I'm ever going to do an Ironman or half Ironman again (which I am),  but for now this plan is totally working for me.  I do 30 minutes on the exercise bike, elliptical or treadmill and then 30 more minutes on weights, stretching and core every single day.

I am loving not having to drag myself to the pool to swim mindless laps for an hour.  The sprint triathlon was a short 400 yard lake swim.  I wasn't fast, but I was the same as two years ago and my arms weren't tired at all.  They are very strong thanks to the weight training.  I love it!  Once I combine the two, swimming laps with the weight training, I should be a much stronger swimmer than ever.

Thanks Murph!

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Tattletale

This morning as Ken (aka The Murph) and I were about to walk in our gym, we saw this little old lady trying really hard to pull into a parking spot.  It was the first spot and she had taken a sharp left and then had to take another sharp left to get into the spot.  A large, white minivan was parked next to the spot she was trying to get into, so she had to maneuver her car for several minutes to get into the spot without bumping the white minivan.  She wasn't doing very well and from our vantage spot, it looked like she was bumping the side of the van at least 3 times as she backed up, went forward, bump, backed up, went forward, bump..... this went on for at least 5 minutes as Ken and I watched horrified.

We could still see her maneuvering when we went inside the gym.  Ken told the girl at the desk about it.  We then watched as the little old lady got parked, fumbled around inside her car for another 5 minutes, hung a handicap sign from her rear view mirror, and hobbled out of her car to the beauty parlor next door.

Ken was beside himself.  The girl at the gym and I felt sorry for the little old lady and didn't think he should tell on her.  Rude, idiot drivers are one of his pet peeves, but this was just a little handicapped old woman.  He always complains about drivers around here so when he sees somebody hit another vehicle and not even put a note on the car she hit, well, that's it!  The old woman just got out of her car and went to get her hair done.

 To top it off, he then sees the owner of the white minivan, another elderly woman,  come out of the beauty parlor and get in her car to drive away.  He runs out of the gym to stop the woman in the minivan to tell her about the little old lady bumping her car.  She sees him running toward her and looks a little scared as she's trying to hurry away.  Ken was able to stop her before she got away and tell on the little old handicap woman.  Luckily, there was no damage done to the minivan and the minivan wasn't in that great shape anyway.  The minivan owner seemed to know the" hit and run" lady and said everything was all right.

 Ken felt better.  I couldn't help teasing him a little though for "telling on" a little, old, handicapped lady.  Ken the Tattletale.

New Gym

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Well, the Murph and I joined a new gym yesterday.  It is smaller, but cleaner than the old one and has surveillance cameras in the parking lot.  I am so glad I don't have to go the the old gym.  I personally never liked it and only went there so I could work out with the Murph.  It was his gym.  Now we have a gym of our own at least temporarily until we move.

I had to cancel everything and get new cards, license, etc but it hasn't been too bad I guess.  I just hope they catch the thugs who are doing this and put their loser butts in jail.  Businesses need to always have cameras both inside and especially outside.  It might not stop the idiots from stealing, but it will certainly help to catch and identify them.

I don't like getting my purse stolen, but a least now the Murph is convinced we need to change gyms.  That's very good!   Goodbye sucky, old, stinky gym!