Monday, August 31, 2009

Today we had to run 30 minutes and it was rough! For some reason I didn’t have any energy this morning. I was SOO tired yesterday though. We ran about 3 miles and a lot of it was uphill; especially that last big hill that we’ve made a goal to run up every time. Once we were done, man I did NOT feel well. We also did some abs when we got back.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Today we were supposed to swim and then bike for 30 minutes, but I have a wedding to shoot all day and so we didn’t have time to bike. We swam for 1 hour, doing probably 600 meters + lots of breast stroke. But only 100 meters in a row…it’s tough but we’re working hard. We worked on breathing drills too. Love swimming. The only problem is that I get HUGE goggle marks around my eyes that stay there for about 6 hours. So I look like I have black eyes for the wedding today. Awesome!

Friday, August 28, 2009

The workout today was great! We biked for 30 minutes and ran for 10. It ended up being about 13km (8 miles) biking and just over a mile running. I could’ve run faster if it weren’t for the EVIL STITCH!! It came back for the first time in a long time FULL-FORCE. Wow it was painful. Don’t know what to do about that…just keep trying I guess. My legs were so tired and burning during the biking, I thought it would be really hard to run but besides the stitch, it felt great! I felt like I could’ve gone another 20 minutes which is good news! Week 2 is almost over!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

We ran 4km today!! Awesome! 2.5 miles in 25 minutes. And dang, the last 1k was straight uphill and we walked it last time, but this time I said, “Let’s do it”…it was the longest km ever. It was SO HARD. My lungs, legs, and bum was burning! But it felt sooo good to push myself THAT hard. I’ve got to really push myself like that everyday to make our goal. My side stitch almost came once, but I focused on keeping it away and it stayed away the rest of the time! Hooray! We also did abs after.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

FIRST POOL DAY! I was so excited and even a little nervous going to the pool today. It’s been a couple years since I swam laps…so I wasn’t sure how it would be, but it was awesome! It felt so good to be back in the water. It was hard though! We ended up only doing it for 40 minutes and in the future we’re going to make sure we have a full hour. I kind of thought it would be a piece of cake to do 8 laps (200meters)…but it definitely wasn’t. We had to stop and take a short breather every 2 laps. We did 300m of swimming, and probably another 150-250m of just kicking with kick boards. It’s going to be more work than I thought, we need to focus on breathing and kicking drills, and also I need to teach Ben the breast stroke, since in open water you need to look up now and then to see where you’re going.

Monday, August 24, 2009
Today Ben was able to join me! We got up at 7am, which is early for us so we’ll have to get used to it. We ran 20 minutes straight. We went a little over 2 miles. I was definitely tired, but it was do-able. Then we did strength training: chest and triceps. Felt great! I also walked 45 minutes later in the afternoon with Pumla (a neighbor) with 5lb weights on my ankles. Killer.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bike 45 minutes. Strength: back and abs. Today was tough! Biking for 45 minutes (level 2), feeeel the burn, that’s for sure! And we went 18km!! Our race is 20km so we’re almost there already! I’ve decided that I'm hoping to be able to do the whole triathlon in about 1h 30m. We’ll see though. Worked on my lower back because it has problems, also back, deltoids and abs. My chest, abs, and back are super sore. Tomorrow we swim!

First Week

Week 1: Overall I feel great. I’m just super duper excited about doing this and I think about it all day and all night. I dream about it. This week was mostly a warm-up. I’m excited for next week with Ben. I told him to call me “Sargent Garrison,” especially when it gets to swim time! I can’t wait to get in that pool again!

Monday, August 17, 2009
Today I started training. Ben comes home on Friday, so he and I are “officially” starting next Monday, but I need a lot more work than Ben does. He’s superman and could probably do it tomorrow and be fine.

I’ve been talking to good buds who just finished a triathlon back home, getting good tips from them: Brian, Rebecca, Parker, Tiffany, and Steve—thanks guys!

Today, since both treadmills are broken at our gym, I did the Elliptical for 40 minutes on levels 4, 5, and ending on 6. Then I worked my shoulders, abs, and quads for 30 minutes. I felt really good, pushed myself, but not too hard.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009
I decided to work on my running. I am not a fan of running. I feel like everything goes wrong with my body when I run. I get major side stitches that won’t go away (I’ve tried all the tricks), I get calf cramps (even when I stretch), I get the thickest saliva and I can’t seem to spit it out properly…I end up looking like Mulan, my knee hurts, my hips hurts, and I always feel like I’m going to squirt my pants when I’m done. Wow. I sound like I’m 80 years old. But that’s how I feel! I know that I just need to get into it, work hard, and get my body in running shape.
Today I jogged for about 25 minutes, up and down hills. It felt amazing. I could’ve gone farther if it weren’t for the evil side stitch. Oh well, I’ll keep praying that goes away. Then I walked for another 40 minutes. Felt amazing.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Biked 30 minutes. First time biking in a long time. I thought it would be pretty easy but let’s just say that my heart started pumping and legs started burning right away. It was nice though. And I was able to do 11k in 30 minutes (on Program 3: Hills, and level 3 & 4). So I’m halfway there! Only…add swimming and running on that. Yikes.

Also did 3 sets of 50 crunches.

Thursday, August 20, 2009
Today I took it easy because my legs were so tired. I went on a walk with a friend for an hour, we went about 7k. We walked really fast and had 5lb weights tied to our ankles for 3.5k each.

Friday, August 21, 2009
I went for another walk with Pumla today. It was great and my butt is really sore because we go up all these hills really fast. I also did some crunches. Tomorrow we're just going to bike for 30 minutes.

See ya Monday!

Bring it On!

We're doing our first triathlon!!

October 25, 2009

Swim: 600 yards (550 meters)
Bike: 20km (12.4 miles)
Run: 5km (3.2 miles)

So I told Ben we're doing it and he's in. It's 10 weeks away. I'm starting this week and when Ben gets home on Friday, we're really starting training next Monday. I'm not too worried about Ben, he's a guy and a power house. He could probably do it tomorrow and be fine.

But here's how I feel about everything:

Swimming: I was on the swim team and water polo team in high school, so I definitely feel confident and comfortable in that area. I just need to get back in "swim shape." Which I can't wait for! However, I definitely need to teach Ben some technique...

Biking: I'm worried about. At first I felt like it would be the easy part, the part where I can catch my breath...but I've changed my mind. I really like to bike and did a lot in the past with my mom. But it's been a while. We don't have bikes and we're working on that. Ben has a friend that has one he can borrow, we might have to look into renting a couple times for me and on the day of the race. Mostly it will have to be the machines.

Running: I feel okay about this. Not great though because I really don't enjoy running and having it at the end, I know it will kill me. I've also got to get rid of this side stitch that I've had for the last 2 months, ever since my 5k on the 4th of July. I just need to work on it and build up to it more than I ever have before. I'm looking forward to when I will finally enjoy running.

I've been working on the training schedule, pulling ideas from friends who have just done one, and also from sites online. It's ready! It's posted below for the next month, and then I'll put October up when we get there. Really excited about those brick workouts!

So I'm using this blog for my training journal. I'm just going to write how I feel each week about the training and what we're doing. Mostly so I can see my progress, and be able to look back at everything. But possibly for anyone out there who is thinking about doing one...JUST DO IT! If I can do it, anyone can do it.

Ok. Off to bike today! And I'm getting hungry so I better hurry...