10,000 Hours

My husband and I usually do double workouts at least twice a week, usually Wednesdays and Saturdays. Wednesday I met him at the gym at noon and did a warm up on the spin bike and then hit the weights - upper body.

Later that day, I decided that instead of driving from our house to our other gym (we are members of two different gyms - sad, but true. We are fanatics) for the second workout, I would run the 5 to 6 miles and then do core and squats. It was an awesome workout day. I need more of them! It's the way I use to always train.

The good thing about living in the St. Petersburg area is there are sidewalks, bike lanes and trails everywhere. I didn't have to run directly on busy roads although I did have to cross several which can get dicey with all the 80 year old drivers around here. I made it to the gym in 55 minutes, which gave me over an hour of cardio for the day. This use to be my standard, but the past six months it's been more like 20 - 30 minutes/day of cardio.

I did squats when I got to the gym, just to finish my legs off and make sure I wouldn't be able to walk for a few days and then core and stretched. My husband was nice enough to drive me home so I didn't have to run the 6 miles back.

My legs were not sore at all the next day and that surprised me. I did some pretty intense squats. I think that doing more weights all winter and increasing the reps and the amount of weight has paid off. I hope it shows during triathlon season. My first triathlon is at the end of this month and I haven't been on my tri bike or in the pool yet. 

Last year, all the strength training I did got me through the short sprint races without too much pain despite my lack of time on the bike or in the pool. All the work I did in the gym everyday seemed sufficient. I realize I wouldn't be able to do that in a longer race that requires more endurance. I would have to put in the training time to make it through one of those longer races fairly pain free. As if that's even possible!

But what's a little pain. After all "Pain is just weakness leaving the body, " right?

I admit that I am a little nervous because my first official race of the season is coming up at the end of this month and I've spent way more time reading and working on my writing than swimming and biking. I believe in the 10,000 hour rule that was introduced in the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell that says it takes at least 10,000 of doing something before you get proficient at it. Over the past 17 years I've put the 10,000 hours into swimming, biking, running and racing and now it's time to put the 10,000 hour rule to work in my writing.

The 10,000 hour rule not only means putting in the time, but it takes more than that as you can read about in this article HERE   that states not only do you have to put in the time, but you have to put in quality time as well.

Many years ago when I started biking I joined a local bike club. This got me not only riding longer, building up to Century rides, but also riding faster because I didn't want to get dropped out in no man's land and have to find my way home all alone.

When I started running, I ran with people who were a little faster than me so it forced me to go faster. Then when it came time to train for marathons, I had a small group to run and socialize with which made the time go by faster.

After learning the basics of the freestyle on my own and building up a small base, I started swimming with a masters group to help get my technique better and also get faster, since I think some of the people I was swimming with were part fish.

Recently, I started taking online writing classes to help me write better. I've also been reading a lot about writing and reading authors who write in the genres I'm interested in writing. I'm no where near the required 10.000 hours, I estimate that will take me about 7 years, but I've made the commitment and I'm on my way.

 I consider my blog writing as part of the 10,000 hours and I've been blogging for almost 3 years.

Have you used the 10,000 hour rule in your life and if so, what have you become more proficient in because of your commitment and time?

Bad Timing Tropical Storm Karen! Bad Timing!

I'm sad.

My triathlon training and racing that started out so well in the spring and was suppose to end with a bang this fall with me doing a half ironman and a marathon, has ended with a fizzle. And a drizzle.

I blame it all on Tropical Storm Karen because I can't blame it on the Murph. He reads my blog and I would NEVER hear the end of it!

First of all, remember I was suppose to race in the USAT Nationals in August, but gave up my spot because we had a family situation and a sick cat. That was fine, but because I couldn't race Nationals, the Murph said it was okay for me to sign up for Miami 70.3 which is this October 27.

I signed up.

Then a few weeks ago, the Murph accepted a new job offer in the St Pete/Tampa area (which is great!), so we are moving around the first of November, which means I won't be able to do Miami. We will be busy packing up the house in Birmingham. I also won't be able to run in the Pensacola half marathon November 10 since we will be moved to Tampa.

Little L was coming down from Birmingham to do the marathon and we were going to run some of it together.

Not now. She'll be running it, but not me. This makes me sad!

Even though I am sad, all that was sort of okay because I was still going to be able to do one of my favorite triathlons this weekend, the Santa Rosa Island triathlon, which is a sprint triathlon in Pensacola Beach, Florida. It is a 600 yd swim, 18 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I rock sprints and love racing on the beach so I was excited. It was going to be my last race of the season.

But then came Tropical Storm Karen. She's heading toward the Mobile/Pensacola area so the Santa Rosa triathlon was canceled.  It was the right thing to do because you can't have over 1,000 triathletes hanging out on the beach with a tropical storm/hurricane bearing down. We're just crazy enough to jump in and start swimming if some sane person doesn't step up and cancel the event so we don't hurt ourselves.

Right now it looks like it will be Sunday before we see the worst of TS  Karen, but who knows. The race is canceled. That is final!

It's beautiful out there at the beach right now even though the surf is rough. Red flag.

So my racing season ends.

No favorite sprint race.
No USAT Nationals
No half ironman
No Pensacola half marathon
No fall marathon (Probably)

To cheer myself up (and since I don't have to get up to at 5am to head to the race), I am going out tonight to get some of these ....

And maybe some of these...

That should cheer me up. If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you may even see on the spot pictures.

After a few of those it won't even matter that when I asked the Murph what our hurricane preparedness plan was his response was, "What hurricane preparedness plan?"

Outside the Box

My blogging and facebook friend, All over the Spectrum, did the above ecard for me the other day since I've been feeling sickly and puny. I don't really know what's going on with me, but I think I've developed some sort of weird motion sickness triggered by the Murph's erratic (very careful, deliberate and always on time) driving. All I know for sure is that we've been spending way too much time in the car this summer and not enough time with our feet in the sand.

The cats are even rebelling. Phantom ran and hid under the bed this morning even though I was very careful not to give away the fact we were about to leave and his tail was going to be trapped in the cat carrier for hours.

Ed and Cadence, who we left behind for a couple of days, decided to start peeing outside their litter box. We still don't know if this was a deliberate, rebellious act or if one of them just has bad aim. I prefer to think that they are just super creative, out of the box thinkers. We got kitty geniuses on our hands. Maybe one of them will get a job!

That's all for today. My fingers are fatigued from all this typing. I do post updates on my facebook page and photos on Instagram from today's vet visit where the Murph and I had some time to kill so we went to Chewacla state park in Auburn, Alabama.

You can also LIKE Konabarbie on Facebook.

FOLLOW me on Instagram.

Phantom also has his own Facebook page where he posts updates on his battle with cancer or anything else he finds interesting when he has computer access. 

I'll post more on his vet visit today soon.

If you like me on FB or follow me on Instagram, leave a comment and I'll "like" or "follow" you back.

Gotta run!

Don't Let A Little Swim Stop You!

So many times I have heard people say that they would do a triathlon if only they didn't have to swim. It seems that the swim part of the triathlon is what keeps so many people from attempting their first tri. I always tell them that the swim is short in a sprint. Anyone can do it. It's nothing! Don't let the swim stop you from doing one.

Image from oyster.com

Almost anyone, if they are motivated and in fairly good shape, can get in a pool or lake and swim 400 to 600 yards straight. In most sprints, that's all you need. In some of the sprints, the water is shallow enough that you can stand up and walk if you get tired and there are also folks in kayaks out there that will let you hang on and rest for minute if you need to. Almost all my problems in the swim have been when I have gone out too fast at the start. I've learned to relax even if I have to slow down for a minute.

Most people go into triathlons from one of the other three sports, running, cycling or swimming. Sometimes the strongest swimmers are not the fastest in a triathlon. I came into the world of triathlon through cycling. I was a fairly strong cyclist back then and doing regular rides with the bike club group, which consisted of several triathletes. I would see their race shirts and hear their race stories and wanted to try one for myself.

Image from fuelrunning.com

The only problem was I couldn't swim. Yes, I could dog paddle, tread water, float on my back and get from one side of the lake to the other in a haphazard manner, but I didn't know how to freestyle. I didn't know how to put my face in the water and breathe from side to side. My head was always out of the water when I swam or either I would be totally under water swimming. Way too anaerobic for a tri swim!

Image from tumblr.com

Image from tumblr.com

At that time I was working with a guy, S, who had sons that were competitive triathletes. He told me about some upcoming triathlons that were good for beginners. One was in June and was the Buster Britton triathlon at Oak Mountain State Park in Birmingham, AL, practically in my back yard. I signed up!

Image from blog.al.com

After three years of cycling, I was determined to give triathlon a try. I was too embarrassed to join a swim group so I went to the local library and got a book on master's swimming (similar here and here). I read about how to free style and breathe correctly. I found a time when the indoor pool at the JCC was empty and I took my book, my goggles and my swim cap and taught myself how to swim. It wasn't pretty! I recommend hiring a coach to work one on one with you if you can afford it instead of the way I did it.

Image from Amazon.com

The swim in the Buster Britton tri back then was 600 yards (now it's only 400 yards). It was March so I had three months to work on my swim. It didn't take me long before I could swim 600 yards without stopping. I went to work and told S that I had swam 600. He told me that I needed to swim two 600's before the race just to make sure I could do it and and to make sure I could cover any extra yardage when/if (but mostly when!) I got off course.

I swam one 600, rested a few minutes, swam another 600. I did that at least twice before race day. I also started running and worked my way up to three miles before the race. The sprint was a 600 yard swim, 16 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. I had the bike part down since I'd been biking in century rides, MS150 rides and 30 to 70 mile group rides with the bike club.

Before the race I went out to Oak Mountain to practice swimming in the lake and had a canoeing friend spot me. I didn't swim long, maybe 5 minutes tops and thought I was going to drown! Then I did a short bike and run on parts of the course. I knew I could do it if I just settled into a rhythm during the swim and stayed calm and focused on breathing and moving forward. Moving forward would get me to the end and out of the water! That was my goal for the swim. Then I would kick ass on the bike.

On race day I started out too fast in the swim and got out of breath and panicked, but managed to calm down and finish the swim in about 12 or so minutes. The bike part was a breeze even though I was a little tired from all that swimming. (ha!) The run was hot, but I finished the race in under 1 hour 30 minutes (1:27:00 I think) and placed 2nd in the beginner category. That was 1999. I was hooked!

After the race, I had a little more confidence in my swim ability so I started swimming with a master's swim group 3 days a week at the JCC. It was much more fun swimming in a group than by myself. The coach corrected some things I was doing wrong and the other swimmers pushed me to go faster.

That is why I cringe when I hear people say they can't do a triathlon because of the swim. I know if I can do it anybody can! The biggest part of a triathlon is the bike segment. Being strong on the bike is key if you want a chance at being competitive or not. You have to hold your own in the swim and the run, but you don't have to be a fast, expert swimmer to get to the finish line. You just have to be good enough to get through that part and onto the next. Believe me! I suck at swimming, but in sprints I usually place in the top 10 of my age group, if not the top 3.

So please don't let the swim stop you! I have now been training and racing for over 14 years. It has helped me deal with the anxiety, stress and depression of divorce, raising a child on the autism spectrum, financial and career struggles and just general everyday life stuff. Not to mention the being tone and fit part. That part rocks!

I can't say I like the swim training part or even that I do it regularly anymore unless I have a big race coming up, but I never let it stop me. Triathlon training and racing is a great way to stay fit and feel good about yourself in an endorphin-induced high kind of way! I came into the sport in good health and had been continuously exercising for years before I started swimming. If you have been inactive or are not in good shape, I would get to a doctor for a check up first before attempting to swim or race.

Image from iamtri.com

That being said, the swim is really not that bad! It's really not. I wouldn't lie to you!

And for all you males out there who haven't discovered tri shorts...

Image from facebook.com

Thank you!

Happy New Year 2013!

I just wanted to do a really short blog post wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!  Last night the Murph and I spent our very first New Year's Eve as husband and wife at home in our pj's.  I had champagne and he had his usual assorted imported beer selection.  It was wonderful!

Today we hung our new 2013 calendars. This Yoga Cat one is my favorite.  I hope it inspires me to participate more in the dangerous sport of yoga.  Cats are much more flexible than triathletes though so we'll see...

I don't know how anyone can do that scorpion pose.  It must be trick photography!

Below is me in the cozy socks I wore for my private New Year's Eve celebration with the Murph.

And the Murph wore his plaid "leisure" pants and a t shirt.

Today we will have black eye peas with our dinner because that's what you're suppose to eat on New Year's Day for luck.   Fresh Market was out of the can peas on New Year's Eve.  I looked all over the store as the Murph was in the meat department.  The Murph saw me running all over the store and later told me I looked like I was in some kind of game show.  A game show where you had to see who could fill their shopping cart up the fastest.   I would win that game!  He had already noticed the assortment of items I had already added to the cart, including my favorite almond pillow cookies.

Since I couldn't find any black eye peas at Fresh Market, today after our late workout, we went to Publix where there were only 5 cans of black eye peas left in the entire store.  I got two of them.  I felt that I should get greens too but the Murph said we never eat them so why get them now.  I backed down and went over to the cashier with only my two cans of black eye peas.  She immediately said, "Well I guess you guys already have your greens then, huh?"  I looked at the Murph in panic.  I KNEW I should have grabbed a can of turnip greens or collard greens or something before we left.  The Murph laughed at me.  He said he's just not that superstitious, especially when it comes to produce.

I'm still not sure, but I'm hoping that the leeks he cooked with the pork roast tonight and the cabbage will be all the greens I need for luck or money or for whatever reason I'm suppose to be eating them.

I don't know why I'm suppose to eat them on New Years Day, but I just don't want to take any chances!

Hope you ate your black eye peas and greens today!

Obsessive Compulsive Triathlete Behavior- Part 2

Finish line

Just in case you didn't get enough of the post on my bitching about The Murph blowing off my need to get the "best" parking spot at the race last Saturday, here's part 2 of my obsessive compulsive behavior when it comes to racing.  This one involves the swim.

For most triathletes, routines are just good thing to have to be prepared and relaxed on race day.  For me it gets a little obsessive compulsive because I tend to get overly upset when my routine gets screwed up in any way.  A little flexibility would be good in those situations.

This is when the line of who has Asperger's, me or my son, gets a little blurry.  I don't have Asperger's, but can so totally relate when it comes to routines.  I haven't had a full blown melt down yet because I can usually blow off steam by general bitching about whatever it is I don't like.

In the race I did Saturday, the swim start is by your race number.  Everybody lines up numerically and goes in the water one at a time.  Your number is usually based on your estimated swim time that you use to register for the race.  This has been a source of anxiety for me since I started doing this race in 1999.

Egg Heads!

It is great for beginners because they avoid the rush of 100's of swimmers entering the water at the same time and kicking you in the face or swimming over you, but it's not good for me.  Standing in line very long is just not good.  My swim time is generally slow so I always put a faster number on the registration form so I won't have to wait at the back of the line and get in the water last.

Unfortunately, since I registered late I didn't get the benefit of being lined up by swim time.  Not only that, but I was in the 400's getting in the water.  I thought maybe I could get the race director to bump me up so I could get in the water sooner.  I've done this before.  I had even mentioned the fact that I was going to do just that to L that morning, who's husband J was doing the race and I've raced with them for years.

I looked over and both L and J were looking at me waiting to see if I was going to approach T, the race director as she was getting everybody lined up and in the water.  I hesitated.  I hovered nearby but was a little scared to approach her.  She was probably deliberately ignoring me because she knows I pull this stunt every year and she probably knows I lie about my swim time.

Lined up for the swim...

Finally, I gave up and walked over to L and J, who was in the 400's as well.  L then told me that J tried to get bumped up last year and T made an example of him for registering late and wouldn't let him bump up.    Poor J.  He looked beat!  I was glad I didn't attempt it and a little miffed that L didn't tell me that earlier when I first told her I was going to try to get bumped up. I didn't do the race last year and things have apparently changed.

L and J were waiting to see if I was going to get blasted down by T and made an example too!!

I am kind of proud of myself that I stayed within my number and was over 400 in the water with 100's of beginners doing the back stroke, floating on their backs and hanging onto the buoys in front of me.  People if you can't freestyle it for 400 yds maybe you should reconsider till next year!  Just sayin!  I can't tell you how many back strokers I almost swam up on, face to face, up close and personal.

I learned how to swim freestyle in my thirties by reading a book on master swimming and getting in the pool when nobody was around.  I was slow, but between March and the June race day, I built up to being able to swim over 600 yds freestyle straight.  No back stroke or back floating.  If I can do it anybody can.

A couple of years ago, I would not have been able to handle not being one of the first 100 in the water.  Just couldn't do it.  My entire race would have been ruined.

This year I spent the night before the race obsessing over it and the morning of the race thinking up strategies on how to convince T to bump me up, but being the chicken that I am,  I ended up not doing anything and hallelujah, I survived it!

I survived!!!

The End.

Busy Race Weekend

I know it has been several days since my last posts, but it has been a very busy weekend traveling, racing, and getting The Boy back to school.  I am just now getting back on the Internet and have only been using my phone to check emails.  I had about 200 to delete today when I finally hooked my laptop back up to the Internet.

Thursday we were on the road headed to the beach with a stop at The Boy's college to purchase his text books for the upcoming semester.  He is only taking 4 classes, but still the tab was almost $500.  Amazing what books cost these days.  He started reading one of them this weekend and says he's almost finished.  It was one on programming, of course, his favorite subject.

Saturday I competed in a 1/2 marathon in Pensacola Beach.  It was cold at the start, but not as cold as I thought it was going to be.  I thought the a.m. temp was going to be around 28 degrees F, but actually it was 47 F.  Not too bad when you are running.  It was a great race.  Only half the pain of a full marathon and there was no swimming involved since it wasn't a triathlon.  Not bad, not bad at all!  I can handle it.  I wasn't as under trained for it since I just did a full marathon in November and have been doing some faster running on the treadmill and a 12 miler and an 8 miler during the holidays.  My time was 1 hr 57 min which put me 4th in my age group.  My goal was to run it in under 2 hours, so I fulfilled my goal and only went through one bad spell around mile 11 when my feet were screaming in pain and my calves felt like somebody was sticking pins in them.  I decided for a brief moment that I hated myself for being so slow and out of shape.  Then somebody yelled that I was almost finished and I was coming in under 2 hours.  That made me feel better.  I started liking myself more and more and really felt great as I crossed the finish line.  Big hug to myself for being slow but not that slow and finishing the race in under my goal time and a bigger hug for Ken for being there to support me.  He's a great "athletic supporter."

My legs are still sore and I am walking funny.  Ken and The Boy make fun of my funny tip toe walking, but my calves are so tight and sore that I can't help it.  They need to get out there and run 13 miles before they make fun of me!

Today we just got back from dropping The Boy off at school.  I have my fingers crossed that he makes straight A's this semester.  I know he can do it!  (if he doesn't, I'm signing him up to run a marathon with me - ha!)  When he was little, he did participate in some very short triathlons and some fun runs and I pulled him behind me on my bike until he was old enough to ride his own bike.  That's the price a kid pays for having a parent who's a triathlete.  He's a good sport most of the time!

Sunrise with Ken, my athletic supporter

Beautiful day at the beach

Front group of runners

Here's my gloves....

The last of civilization until the turn around

Yoga Kicked My Ass

It is a very windy day here at the coast so not a good beach day.  I lifted weights at the gym and then ran six miles outside and my legs felt better than they have all week.  Saturday they were extremely sore so I decided to try the yoga class at the gym and then a 30 minute swim instead of a run.   Overall, the yoga seemed good, not too bad, kind of easy.  I thought I would do terrible and have no balance at all and everybody would laugh at me, but I really did pretty good.  Near the end of class I was thinking, " Oh this is nothing.  Easy!  I've done ironman triathlons and races where I felt like throwing up at the end.  Blood and guts!  This yoga stuff is nothing with all this heavy breathing and these gay ballerina moves and all."  Big scoff!

Well....  I guess I got a little too cocky because near the end of class I noticed the toe on my left foot was really aching and the downward dog pose didn't seem so easy and fun anymore.  The next morning when I woke up I had soreness in areas of my body that I had never had soreness before (didn't even know you could get sore in those areas).  Even my fingers were sore!

The Murph has been laughing at me for two days and calling me a baby every time I complain.

"Oh, baby is cranky!  Baby needs a nap!  Cry baby....  boo hooo... "

You get the picture.

Yes,  I admit it.  Yoga kicked my triathlete ass!