The Last Few Days...

Can you believe it? The race is almost here! Only 11 days away... kinda scary. I'm pretty excited, just need to mentally prepare at this point.

So, lots of things are going on right now. 1 - I started a new job, so some new stress there. 2 - I'm leaving for the beach on Saturday up until race day practically. 3 - The rec center has been closed all week for maintenance! Needless to say, I haven't been training much this week either. At this point, it doesn't make a big difference. My big plan is to get lots of open water swimming in at the ocean all of next week. That way I can get over my fears and really figure out how to mentally calm myself down. That's my biggest fear at the moment - getting through the swim.

I plan on sending an email out to all of those who showed interest in coming out to race about spectator information and what to expect shortly. That being said - I'm not going to be able to keep up on my blogging. So this will probably be my last entry until the day before the race, race day, and the day after (which I have to work on now..blah).

Thanks for all the words of encouragement so far!

Day 84. Practice Tri

Today was an early morning. I was up at 4am to get ready and leave the house by 4:30am. I then had to drive to Annapolis, MD which is about 1.5 hrs from my house. Once I got there, we started setting up our transition areas. I was able to pick up my wetsuit since I missed out on the swim last weekend. We had a brief transition area clinic and then we were going to start the practice tri. Since I have never wore a wet suit before, I'm sure it was quite amusing to see me shake and pull to get myself into it. Boy are those things tight - nothing left to the imagination. The practice tri today consisted of a 300 yard swim in the Chesapeake Bay, a 10 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. All in all pretty much 1/3rd of the actual race.

The Swim
This was the first time I have ever swam in open water. I started out ok for the first 100m or so, but then I started to freak out (which I guess is normal for open water swimming) and then I had to switch to the backstroke to finish the race. Lesson learned from this was the start out real slow and work up to race pace. Also - just breathe and focus.

The Bike
The bike felt really good. The course was nice and flat. I've decided that I'm going to wear my camelback on race day just so I keep hydrated better.

The Run
It was the usual run. I start out horrible and slowly start to get better as it goes.

So, technically, today I am officially a triathlete. This was the first time I had done all three sports together and I think I did pretty good. I'm still alittle scared about the swimming, so I will definitely be practicing more while at the beach.

Day 78. OFF

I'm a little irritated how they announced the swim was actually on today. It was sent as an email at 7:51, when the swim started at 8 - and I live over an hour away! Needless to say, I didn't make it. I have to go help my friend, Jeff, move this afternoon and then I am off to a week long training course for work. Thankfully this week is a recovery week, so me missing my workouts probably aren't that big of a deal. In the long run, I think it will be better that I have the time off and am away from everything for a week. That includes the Internet. So, there will be no postings this week - hope you can live without them. :)

Day 77. So, I thought it was my last brick...

Due to Hurricane Bill - our open water swim was canceled for today and replaced with a grueling brick. Since it has been pouring all day practically, this had to be done at the gym. I didn't mind, because I like reading while on the bike, where I can't do that on the trail. :) So, I did 2 hours on the bike and then a 45 minute run on the treadmill. Overall, I feel pretty damn good. I'm not sure if the workout so well because I was focused on other things than the workout or if I it was the few things irking me lately that I was able to get the stress out. Either way I am stoked about how well the workout went.

Hopefully - they will try to reschedule the open water swim for tomorrow - but I think the chances look slim.

Day 76. Swim

I was able to get in a swim since I got out of work early today. It was just race distance. Nothing fancy. My foot started to cramp again at the end. I guess I really need to start drinking more water before workouts and not just AT workouts.

Day 75. OFF

I had to work late tonight, so no workout got in. I was exhausted by the time I got home, but boy did I sleep well.

Day 74. OFF

I was supposed to go swimming today, but believe it or not my dentist told me not to work out today. I've had this problem lately that I can get 8+ hours of sleep in and still feel completely exhausted when I wake up in the morning. When I went to the dentist today, I found out why. I've been trying to release my stress by clinching my jaw - therefore making my jaw hurt all the time and not getting good sleep. So, he told me to take the day off from training and try not stressing about getting my workouts in as much - also to try sleeping on my back and not my stomach for once. I'll let you know tomorrow if it helps any.

Day 73. Bike and Run

I switched up my schedule slightly today. I was supposed to run and swim, but instead I took tomorrow's bike and combined it with todays run. That makes it easier on me and I just have to swim two times this week and that's all I have left. It helps with my morale if I break it down that way. I didn't get the entire run in today because the rec center was closing, but a good chunk of it in. Depending on how I feel later this week, I might try getting another run in, because it is definitely the one that is lacking of the three at the moment. I go from marathons to barely 3 miles... this is ridiculous and tough on the ego. :)

Day 72. Bike

Once again, nothing exciting about the bike. Time goes by much faster when I bike in the gym and can read the whole time - it doesn't even feel like I am working out.

Day 71. Swim

There wasn't anything particular exciting about my swim today. I think I like swimming for a time rather for a distance. It just seems so much more daunting when I know I have to swim 1500 m rather than just say go swim for 45 minutes.

I feel like I got a better workout mowing my tiny lawn and pulling weeds (yes mom - I'm actually keeping up with it!). Can I vent and say how much I hate mowing my lawn? It takes about 15 minutes with a push mower. That part isn't bad, it's the part that I have 7 new mosquito bites from those 15 minutes. Ridiculous! Why do they love me so? Haha.

Ok, I'm done venting. Time for dinner!

Day 70. Last Brick

Saturday was our last brick workout on the schedule. It was planned to be at Prince William Park near Quantico followed by a BBQ. I was all set to go, but the more I thought about wasting 2 hours of my life driving there to train with people I don't know very well, it wasn't very appealing. It was more appealing to sleep in and then do the workout on my own. So, that's what I ended up doing. I was able to get in the 25 miles on the bike (even in the humidity) and then instead of putting in the run, I went and played not one but two soccer games. I feel like that soccer was better for me because eventhough I was tired, I had to keep playing because there were no subs - come race day I think that will be more valuable.

Day 69. OFF

Friday was an off day. I was supposed to make up a swim and run, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I have been so exhausted lately. I got home from work and I crashed on the couch until about 9 pm. I didn't feel too bad about skipping the workout because I have been sticking to my schedule super well for the last 69 days. Plus I had done the swim a day earlier and I knew that I did it well. I also knew that Saturday was going to be a long day and I wanted to rest up for it.

Day 68. Swim

I had an amazing swim today. I busted out the 1650m in 45 minutes. That is longer than race distance and I did it in a pretty respectable time. According to this chart I am more of a herring than up to human speeds, but maybe one day I can aspire to Sea Trout or Salmon. :) I'm guessing these are sprint speeds - when I am going endurance speeds.

Searobin (Trigla) 3.1 mph

Herring (Clupea harengus) 3.6 mph

Human (Homo sapiens) 5.04 mph

Sea Trout (Salmo trutta) 5.4 mph

Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus) 8 mph

I've been dragging this week and as of today it is one month away from race day. It is frightening in a way, eventhough I feel prepared. I also am starting to get burned out on training.. hopefully it will get better soon.

Day 67. OFF

I decided to switch my 'off' days this week from Friday to Wednesday. I was feeling really drained and it was a good friend's birthday dinner that night. I'm glad I took a break from training to have a social life for once. This week has been tough but I'm getting through it.

Day 66. Bike

So, you may have noticed that I switched my training up today. Since I just got home from work, (I knew it was going to be a long day), I switched tomorrow's workout for today's. It was much easier to get an hour bike than it would've been a long swim and run. I'm completely drained... time for bed.

Day 65. Bike and Make up Swim

Hooray! I was able to get caught back up on my workouts. Nothing to write home about though. I felt like I was struggling with my swim today, but I think it is because I got a massage tonight before I did my workouts. My muscles were probably confused if they were supposed to relax or work hard. :)

Since my schedule is crazy tomorrow, I think I will be back in the pool in less than 12 hours... sickening.

Day 64. Swim

Today I felt like crap all day. I was supposed to get a 15 minute swim in, but that didn't happen. I felt like I was hungover (and I didn't have a drop of alcohol all weekend!). So, I did alot of sleeping and eating. I'm guessing that I probably pushed myself too hard on Saturday and probably didn't keep hydrated enough.

I'm also super sore from all my workouts yesterday. I tried to book a massage, but they were all booked for today. BOO! So, tomorrow I plan on trying to get a massage booked and do the bike workout and my make up swim.

Wish me luck.

Day 63. Brick

My Saturdays have been kind of hectic lately, since soccer season just started. Since my team was playing my roommate's team, I couldn't pass it up. We ended up winning 2-0 and I feel like I played really well. After soccer, I rushed home to jump on my bike and ride 100 minutes. Boy were my quads screaming at me. I put in a good 22 miles in 100 minutes. I'm guessing come race day I can finish with 2 hours. I did quite a few hills yesterday that almost killed me, so thankfully the race day course is pretty flat. I didn't run after the bike, because I had already played soccer. So, I was actually practicing how it might feel once I get out of the water and onto my bike.

Day 62. OFF

It's Friday - hence a day off! Not much to report other than I have finally met my fundraising goal! Thanks to everyone who helped out!

Day 61. Swim

So, for once this week, I had an AMAZING workout! I felt bad that I didn't get through the whole swim workout on Tuesday, so today I was determined to get through the whole thing. I've been working out after work, to trick my body into training. The only problem with that, is when I get home from work, all I want to do is sleep. So, I've been working in some power naps before I go to the gym. Today I was able to get in about a 3 hr power nap :) For those who know me best, you know if there was an endurance race for sleeping, I would be on the podium everytime. :) Haha.

Anyhow, back to the swim. I was able to get all 1650m of sets in within 50 minutes. If you notice, that is longer than race day distance! woo hoo! I'm super psyched that I ended on a high note (thanks George Constanza!) and that I have tomorrow off to recoop!