Further on up the road

TOMORROW!!

2011-02-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

High of 63 degrees tomorrow, do you know what that means? Instead of my stuffy indoor spin class I get to take Starla out riding for our first real ride. I'm going to drive her over to the raccoon river valley trail - 56 miles straight of trail! I'm not sure how far we will go but I'm anxious to see.

Yesterday I ran 4 and a half miles in the morning outside which was WONDERFUL it took me 50 minutes though, Yikes! So I need to work on getting quicker and running. Running outside is so much different than the treadmill.

The following are a couple books I want to eventually read. Especially the "Into Thick Air" Book about Jim Malusa riding to the lowest points of 6 continents. I hope I can get it soon!

No more excuses!

2011-02-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

After that last post of whining, I got my bike! I completely forgot about tax refunds! WOOT! So I am now a proud owner of a beautiful baby Cannondale Synapse Alloy 6 in black. Her name is Starla, and she is my new love. I also got her two new waterbottle clips and nice shimano 105 pedals. She is set and ready to ride!

This means I have no reason to put off training. I need to swim, I need to run, and I need to ride. I've put more money into this than anything else I have ever done, so it is time to get up and go, no excuses and no regrets.

Song of the day - Smashing Pumpkins - Starla

"Serve yourself No one else can do for you like you
And no one else fails like me
In my eyes I burn alive
Fly like a bird
No more words just you and I
High in the sky"

It's a beautiful day

2011-02-08T04:55:00.001-08:00

This is the problem with beginning training in Iowa! Yes, there is a negative sign before that nine. Who wants to swim in that? Not me. I went to spin class instead.

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Can't afford to even Tri...

2011-02-06T22:03:00.000-08:00

This is going to be one of those whining sob blogs... Feel free to not proceed, fair warning!

I LOVE love LOVE my triathlon training. I mean it! I love it! However, having quit my job to be a stay at home mom has left us more than lacking in the funds department of life and the world of triathlons is not cheap. I need a bike, it is a necessity. I have a total of $0 to spend on a bike. We decided to use my bike savings to pay off a credit we took out last year that had 18 months of no interest on it, since we cant afford to have that interest tacked onto our bill. UGH BILLS I HATE YOU!

So, do I keep training? or do I find something less pricey? The biking is what I love the most, I would consider just biking if I needed to choose just one aspect of all this. I guess that's what kills me.

This has gotten me down, more than I have ever been down in the past. I want this. I really really want this, but I need to figure out a way to pay for it. I know I wont put my heart and soul into my training again until I know it is even tangible to complete this race with equipment that I can safely use training with the little one in tow over the summer. I'm definitely looking for something second hand but I cant just get whatever is cheapest.

Please... I need to find a way. Do they offer Triathlon Scholarships? Maybe I should just sell a kidney, people pay money for that right?

But wait... there's more

2011-01-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to write about in regards to my workout this morning. The pool was really warm again (dislike) but I managed to get 400 M done which for me is an accomplishment. I followed by a 2.5 mile run / walk and felt good and could have gone farther if I had more time but needed to get home to little one since she woke up early and Daddy was tired from working last night. I'm just glad I no longer have the urge to yell things like Ack! Sweat drops Sweat drops! Reminiscent of Andy Samberg playing "Cathy" on SNL. I am finally getting more comfortable with everything here.

On another note, she was there again... in the locker room. The chronically obese woman who refuses to wear or cover anything. I have been trying to think of what I should name her for these posts and will take any suggestions, since chronically obese woman would be abbreviated to something that would not be very nice to call her.

Lets go over her top 10 wins and fails of the day

1. She showers daily at the gym saving her some steep hot water bills at home ... win
2. She never brings a towel ... fail
3. She uses the paper towels provided thus saving $$$ on those costly towels ... win
4. Her frugality of not spending money on towels leaves her with no way to cover herself up... fail
5. She uses the gyms soap dispensers instead of bringing her own ... (frugal) win
6. She chooses the only shower that is out of soap forcing her to "run" back and forth to get soap from the sink... fail
7. She uses soap... win
8. She constantly sits on the locker room benches naked... ugh Fail
9. She is a creature of habit and consistently sits in the same spot of the same bench, Thus allowing me to avoid that bench like the latest lady gaga... win
10. I wonder if she just comes to the gym to shower since I have yet to see her actually working out... fail

A few more days of this and she may have a present of a large towel and bathrobe wrapped nicely, sitting right on her spot of the locker room bench

I know, I know

2011-01-20T14:11:00.000-08:00

I know that the only thing worse than not posting for a long time is posting about not posting. I know that! Things have been so busy but I have been training every day! The new years resolutioners have started to die down at the gym and I was able to get a bike both Tuesday and today for spin class. Monday I swam and ran and Wednesday was my beloved body pump class.

Today was the first day that my husband looked me in the eye and said he was proud of me. Today was a good day.

----

Now is my time to vent...

Lets talk a little bit about locker room etiquette. Last Friday and this Monday I went to the pool to swim which I always follow by a run / walk on the treadmill. I would like to start by saying that I have nothing but the up most respect for larger people at the gym. It's wonderful that they are there working on themselves and making a change! That being said I am not ok with the 400lb woman who chooses to shower, dry off with the paper hand towels and then continue to walk around completely naked, finally sitting down naked on the bench during the time between my swim and run. Its one of those things where I try and try not to look and avoid my peripheral vision but twice now she continues to walk around while naked before getting dressed. I guess anyone who would do that would bother me, the fact that she is morbidly obese should not matter, but still... There are things like bathrobes.

That is my rant

So todays work out was a tough 45 min spin class
weight 35.6

Song of the day - Stand by Blues Traveler

I was frightened, somewhat enlightened - So I changed shoes

2011-01-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning after a very restless sleep. The husband said I was talking last night, something I have never really done before and something that usually creeps me out a little bit. The context of my night time babbling included being concerned that my mother-in-law would find out about a fish getting into my shoe that little one found. I have no clue what exactly was going on but of course I blame it on how much my body aches today. The body pump class I took the other day really played a number on my arms. In fact I think if I keep going to it I will lose weight just from the shear inability to lift food or drink to my mouth.

Thank goodness yesterday was my first scheduled day of rest because just getting out of bed at all was difficult. We also took a unexpected trip to pick up a mountain bike for my dear husband. Of course after looking and looking and saving for a road bike to use for the triathlon we find a mountain bike for him, but this was one of those offers you cant refuse. He says he plans to ride it to work every day even in the winter as long as it isn't icy. I cant deny him that.

He purchased a 2003 Cannondale Jekyll 400

It was in near perfect condition for $300 and he loves it.

-----

How is my training going? It is interesting to say the least. I'm not an athletic person so everything is new to me, but the most difficult by far is the swimming. My swimming experience this morning went much better than the last.

#1. The pool was not "closed"

#2. The water did not chemically burn my skin and throat

#3. All jewelry was removed before hand and therefore not ruined

#4. The pool did not feel like a hot tub

The only down side this morning was driving on an icy interstate and dropping and breaking my waterbottle in the parking lot, which is still a huge improvement from my last experience.

01/07/11

Weight - 137.0

100m swim and 20 minute walk

Song of the day - O.A.R. City on Down

Dear Les Mills, I hate you

2011-01-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

I called last night to check on the status of the pool for my swim this morning. I did not want to risk a Chlorine overdose again, nor drive the distance to get there just to come home. She advised it was still a little high but will be normal by Friday. So I needed a substitute. I know one of my main problems with swimming is my lack of upper body strength, in other words I have none. So I went to a Body Pump Class instead

Body Pump is one of those classes where the only way to describe it is using every profanity you know in one long sentence. Also known as Freakin Hard! This class kills me but I love it at the same time. I dont know if it is the difficulty, the music, or the instructors but this is one instance where I love the pain of it.

I was doing fine until we got to tricep pushups and it was all down hill from there... I will be going back that's for sure!

So fingers crossed that I will make it in time to get a bike tomorrow for spin class and get to the pool Friday.

01/05/11

weight - 136.4
60 minute weight class

Song of the day - Three days grace "Life starts now"

Lather, Rinse... REPEAT

2011-01-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I woke up with the excitement I was expecting the first day. It was time for Spin Class! YAY! LOVE IT. This spin class is by far my favorite class! I got to the gym and was shocked at the number of cars in the lot. When I went inside the entire row of treadmills and ellipticals were in use. "Wow you guys are sure busy for 5:30am" I said. "Yep, New Years Resolution time" She said. \

I get to my spin class, and it is full, not a single empty spot. My heart dropped. Seriously? I get screwed over on my workouts two days in a row? WTF!

I know I should not complain since the whole idea of what I'm doing starting as a resolution kind of thing but I guarantee that by next month the gym will be back to it's old pace and about 75 - 80% will come back maybe once a month or less.

So instead of my hardcore spin class I wait for one of the 3 stationary bikes to become available, put in my two miles and go home calling it good.

Tuesday 01/04/11
Weight 136.8
Biked 2 Miles

Disappointments on a first day of training

2011-01-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day of training. I was expecting a sense of euphoric excitement when my alarm went off at 5:15 this morning, instead I hit the alarm and rolled over determined to not get up. Thank goodness about 5 minutes later the husband shook me back awake and said "Get up and go!" So I got up and I went, half an hour later than I wanted.

I drove half an hour to the gym got inside and asked to be pointed to the pool. The chubby and unkept receptionist smiled and said the pool is in the back and you go through the locker room to get there, and went back to her magazine. What I found was the smallest lap pool I have ever seen, a whole three lanes and a sign that said "pool temporarily closed" No way in hell was I ready to start my training without swimming, that is the part I am most concerned about. You know the whole if I fail I drown thing.

So, I walk back to the front desk and ask how long "temporarily" is exactly. She advised "I don't know why that sign is there really. Go ahead and swim if you want because I dont see any reason for it to be closed today." YEAH! So I go back excited again to get started. I shower and jump in ready for the freezing water I am used to in the gym lap pools I have been in before (all two of them) and excited to be able to have the pool to myself and not have to share lanes on a first day. What I find is one of the warmest pools I have ever been in. Lovely for lounging... terrible for swimming. Disappointed I look and look for some type of sign or marking to tell me the length of the pool. Nothing. There also is nothing running along the lanes to separate them, just the tile on the bottom. I have no idea how to gauge the length of the pool, all I know is that it looks small and I need to do a 50m freestyle and 50m cool down for my very first day.

I take a guess that the pool is 5 meters long because I really have no clue and don't want to miss out on any training. So I do 10 laps or 20 laps, however you want to look at it since I'm not sure if a lap is out and back or not, get out of the pool and my throat is burning. I go to get in the shower and realize that my skin is bright red and my silver pandora bracelet which I completely forgot to take off has turned black. (more to come on if that is fixable or not) I get dressed and finish my 20 minute walk on a treadmill and go to head out. As I leave the girl at the front desk asked how the pool was, I said it was really warm but seemed ok. I was just ready to get out and head home still heartbroken about my bracelet possibly being ruined.

She then said that she found out the reason the pool had the closed sign on it was due to high chlorine count... hmmm that explains, well, everything! I then asked how long the pool is and she tells me that she is not sure but thinks it is a standard Olympic length HAHAHA that is not even close to being true. So that concludes my first day and I'm not going to lie that it was a disappointment. Tomorrow is a spin class at my usual gym, I am looking forward to that to cheer me up.

Song of the Day - Spoon's Metal Detektor

Weight - 137.6

Swim - 50 m Freestyle + 50m Cool Down
Walk 20 minutes 8 incline at 2.1mph

plans plans plans... years in advance

2011-01-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

This will be a long one!

So much of my life is broken into little segments of how long it will take to get something done. My main problem with this is that i make lists. I will give myself 15 minutes to clean the bathroom every morning, 20 minutes for the kitchen, 15 minutes for the living room and then an hour to play with little one and watch Sesame Street with her. Then it's her nap time in which the routine starts again. How long will it take to get laundry done, make a grocery list, actually shop. My whole life is planned out in this way and when I get to the end of the day I feel like I have not accomplished one thing for myself.

Starting training on monday will mess everything up, my whole routine, and I dont know how I will handle it. While my usual gym is just down the street, the gym with the pool is about 25 minutes across town. Living in Iowa this is FAR! This means that 50 minutes of my day that I could be spending with little one is being spent driving to swim and back home, plus the hour and a half spent actually in the gym. When the weather gets better it will not be nearly as bad. I can push Little One in the jogging stroller on my runs, pull her in the burley on my rides. GREAT training considering that when I go to the triathlon I will not be hauling 25 lbs with me the whole time like I am used to. But there's no way to include her on my swim and the drive time to get to and from there.

So I decided that I want to get up at 5:30 daily, I will be to the gym by 6 work out for an hour and a half be home by 8 when Little One is Waking up. Problem solved, but I will need to be in bed by 9:30 every night. We will try it this week and see how it goes.

On another note for planning, here is my plan so this blog never gets old...
I am starting from scratch - I can not even run a full mile without walking so I am REALLY starting from scratch

Goal for 2011 - documented training for Sprint Triathlon (Hickory Grove August 28th) Swim .5 mi, Bike 12.4 mi and Run 3.1 Mi

Goal for 2012 - Documented Training for Olympic Triathlon (San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island July 7th, 2012) Swim 0.93 mi, Bike 24.8 mi, run 6.2mi

Goal for 2013 - Documented Training for Half Ironman (High Cliff Half - High Cliff Wisconsin June 15, 2013) Swim 1.2 Miles, Bike 56 Miles, Run 13.1 Miles

Goal for 2014 - Documented Training for Full Ironman (Ironman Florida early November 2014) Swim 2.4 Mi, Bike 112mi, Run 26.2 Mi

So my first Ironman will be right after I turn 30

Once I finish that Ironman I'm thinking of switching over to mountain biking

In 2015 I will start with the Almanzo 100 in Rochester MN in May, The Breckenridge 100 in July, ending with the Leadville 100 in Mid August

Once I finish all of these... it will be time to try for another little one and to start over from scratch working out again in 2017

Song of the day Pomplamoose - Beat the horse

Greedy...

2010-12-31T19:25:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days I realized I need a lot of things to be able to accomplish this. Triathlons can be as expensive as you make them and bike parts are not cheap. Today I made my first purchase... on ebay. I bought my first pair of cycling shoes.

A pair of SIDI T2 Carbon Composite Women's Triathlon Shoes. I'm wondering if I can wear them at spin class to start getting used to the way they feel while the weather is too cold and icy to ride here. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty darn excited about these shoes, and the're pink! A wonderful combination!

I think I need to match all my gear to these shoes!

On another note I am FINALLY starting to feel better. I think Monday will be perfect to start my training. I'm excited and anxious and very nervous to get into the pool and start swimming laps. I haven't swam for years and years. I guess I need to start somewhere and looking back at what I have not done will not help me to prepare for the future. I will start with what I have and work from there.

Song of the day? Gravedigger - Dave Matthews version...

Biking Problems

2010-12-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

So I realize I need to probably slow down on the posts, since this is the third post of the day, but I just started realizing that I have no clue how my bike even works.

The road bike I have is not even my bike... It is my wonderful brothers and has been loaned to me over the past ... wow I dont know how many years. The problem is, and I hate to admit this, I have not touched the poor thing since the summer before I was pregnant. I know I need a new seat. The handle bars need to be re-wrapped, it needs new tire tubes and a new chain and I have no clue how to do any of it.

What do I do if I get a flat tire? What do I do if the chain comes off. What do I need to have with me on the ride? I think I need some sort of bike survival kit... but where do I even start?

Also the big question, can I pull "Little One" behind me in a Burley to come along for the ride? If not I don't know how I will ever have time to train, but the tires are so skinny and "Little One" was a whopping 23lbs at the doctor yesterday.

Oh my God, will I need those Clippy shoes??? I really am going to die!

Anyone out there have any suggestions?

Song of the day

2010-12-28T15:36:00.001-08:00

Where the road is dark and the seed is sowed
Where the gun is cocked and the bullet's cold
Where the miles are marked in the blood and gold
I'll meet you further on up the road

Got on my dead man's suit and my smilin' skull ring
My lucky graveyard boots and song to sing
I got a song to sing, keep me out of the cold
And I'll meet you further on up the road.

Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Where the way dark and the night is cold
One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know
And I'll meet you further on up the road.

Now I been out in the desert, just doin' my time
Searchin' through the dust, lookin' for a sign
If there's a light up ahead well brother I don't know
But I got this fever burnin' in my soul
So let's take the good times as they go
And I'll meet you further on up the road

Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Further on up the road

One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know
And I'll meet you further on up the road
One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know
And I'll meet you further on up the road.

Need to start somewhere...

2010-12-28T15:35:00.000-08:00

January 3rd, a Monday, will be the starting day to reaching my goal. I'm scared, really I am. I decided something today and unlike all other resolutions I have made, and broken, this is something I NEED to do. I have to follow through with it or I will always wonder if I could have made it through. I'm going to do a triathlon. I decided on the Hickory Grove Triathlon because 1 - it isn't until late August and I'm hoping it will be warm for the swim since I don't have a wet-suit, or the money to buy one, and 2 - it should give me enough time to train and at least have a slight chance of finishing. I know that this is something I want to complete for myself. I'm not expecting to win of course. I just want to be able to cross the finish line to be able to say I did that. It's the same mentality I had for the half marathon and for climbing Mount Elbert and I finished those. Lets see if I can push myself enough to finish this.

It is a 500 yard swim, 15.5 mile bike, 3.1 mile run -- pretty simple right? not for me!

So here is my set of goals. I'm planning on using http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=262 for my training guide. It is supposed to have me ready in 22 weeks for a sprint triathlon. The Triathlon is in 34 weeks, this gives me the option to repeat weeks in my training that are more difficult for me to adjust to. Hopefully this is not week #1! We will see.

Today's Biggest Fear -- Drowning in August!
Today's Biggest Accomplishment -- The decision to go through with this and finding a training schedule I think can work