Coaches regularly advise athletes to keep workout journals, but I don't think I've ever done it for more than a few days at a time. This blog, however, has played a huge role in motivating me. The idea that a handful of people might be reading it has been enough to hold me accountable to doing the workouts just so that I have something to write about. So, to those of you who are reading, thank you. And if no one is reading, well, I just hope they don't tell me that!
In the last 31 days, I've done 25 workouts - not counting surfing ;-) I faltered a little here and there (grr...Venice), but more often than not, I've been consistent and really grown in self-discipline. I'm proud of my commitment. The more workouts I do that I don't feel like doing, the easier it will get. That said, there's still a long way to go (I haven't even started dropping any weight yet).
My goal for the month of February is to continue with consistency and add "the extras" at least 3 times a week: sit ups, push ups, running drills, etc. In the last month I've built a good base of swimming, biking, and running, but I need to work on my core strength more to really be prepared to start training in March for the half Ironman.
Here's to the next month of training!
1.31.2009
On the track again
45 minute workout this morning: warm-up, 4 400s on the track (86,83,82,82) with 400 active recovery between them and then a cool down. Fun to do some speedwork. Didn't get to the pool today though...
1.30.2009
Plus 3 more equals 5
Rode for 45 minutes on Thursday morning using the trainer. So great to be able to ride despite the dark early morning. Did a 10 minute warm up, pushed it for 25 minutes, and then a 10 minute cool down.
Last night I met Kyle at the pool but I was completely exhausted after a long day at work. We decided to put off a hard swim until Saturday and instead just did an easy 1050 to stretch out. And I worked late so we had a time crunch to get a swim in at all before the last bus home from campus. I felt like a leaky tugboat taking on water so I think it was a good decision to save the longer workout for when it could be a quality workout.
This morning, a 3-mile jog, for the 5th workout in the last 4 days. In the past I haven't been able to get much biking in during the week, and this week with the lean green machine, I biked twice. I think that's why my legs went into jog mode this morning instead of run mode.
Looking forward to 3 workouts this weekend: a swim, a ride, and a run. And hosting a Super Bowl party.
Last night I met Kyle at the pool but I was completely exhausted after a long day at work. We decided to put off a hard swim until Saturday and instead just did an easy 1050 to stretch out. And I worked late so we had a time crunch to get a swim in at all before the last bus home from campus. I felt like a leaky tugboat taking on water so I think it was a good decision to save the longer workout for when it could be a quality workout.
This morning, a 3-mile jog, for the 5th workout in the last 4 days. In the past I haven't been able to get much biking in during the week, and this week with the lean green machine, I biked twice. I think that's why my legs went into jog mode this morning instead of run mode.
Looking forward to 3 workouts this weekend: a swim, a ride, and a run. And hosting a Super Bowl party.
1.28.2009
The lean, green, biking machine
The trainer arrived and it is AWESOME.
Having never tried an indoor resistance trainer, I was skeptical that I was going to be able to get a good workout from it. I decided to bike for 30-35 minutes last night to give it a try. We set the trainer up on our deck which is great because it's outside, but covered (in case of rain), and you can either have the beautiful view of the Bay and some music or watch the TV that's in the bedroom.
So I turned on some Rachael Ray and planned to bike a moderate level during the segments and hard during the commercials. That turned out to be a killer workout. Even though I had on shorts and a tank top and I was outside and it was pretty cold by California standards (40s), I was drenched in sweat by the end of the 30-minute meal.
Skepticism gone. I am very pleased.
This morning, 3-mile run. And good news: the 3-miler is getting too easy.
Having never tried an indoor resistance trainer, I was skeptical that I was going to be able to get a good workout from it. I decided to bike for 30-35 minutes last night to give it a try. We set the trainer up on our deck which is great because it's outside, but covered (in case of rain), and you can either have the beautiful view of the Bay and some music or watch the TV that's in the bedroom.
So I turned on some Rachael Ray and planned to bike a moderate level during the segments and hard during the commercials. That turned out to be a killer workout. Even though I had on shorts and a tank top and I was outside and it was pretty cold by California standards (40s), I was drenched in sweat by the end of the 30-minute meal.
Skepticism gone. I am very pleased.
This morning, 3-mile run. And good news: the 3-miler is getting too easy.
1.27.2009
Nothing special but good enough
Got some good stuff in over the weekend. On Saturday, Kyle and I swam 1500. I'm starting to have Kyle edit my workouts a bit to make them a little more interesting. I like the structure of the training book I'm using but I think it tends to favor simplicity over creativity, so it's nice to have a swimmer husband to give some of the workouts a makeover.
On Sunday, we biked 22 miles, and I followed it up with the dreadful 10-minute transition run. Seemed to be a little easier than 2 weeks ago, but still not fun. It doesn't help that when we bike by the Bay, the last 3 miles of the ride are uphill, which means my legs are anything but fresh for a run.
Taking Monday off due to a busy schedule and then going for 5 workouts Tuesday-Friday.
On Sunday, we biked 22 miles, and I followed it up with the dreadful 10-minute transition run. Seemed to be a little easier than 2 weeks ago, but still not fun. It doesn't help that when we bike by the Bay, the last 3 miles of the ride are uphill, which means my legs are anything but fresh for a run.
Taking Monday off due to a busy schedule and then going for 5 workouts Tuesday-Friday.
1.23.2009
Rain, rain, go away
Obviously as payback for my failure to get enough workouts done in the past few days, Mother Nature has decided it should rain here when I need to be outside running. And the power of my Catholic guilt about my Irish drinking has made me run despite the rain.
So, yesterday, a 3-miler in pouring rain. This morning, a 5-miler in misty rain. Hopefully the rain will break up enough this weekend to get in a good ride on Saturday and a good run on Sunday. I should probably add a swim in, too, to get back on track.
So, yesterday, a 3-miler in pouring rain. This morning, a 5-miler in misty rain. Hopefully the rain will break up enough this weekend to get in a good ride on Saturday and a good run on Sunday. I should probably add a swim in, too, to get back on track.
1.22.2009
The Venice Beach Effect
We’ve been in SoCal for the last 5 days, soaking up the sun and gorgeous weather. We left early on Saturday and spent the whole day driving there. It’s only a 6 hour drive, but we stopped at a couple outlet malls and hit a bit of traffic getting into LA so we didn’t get to Venice until evening and there was no energy left for a workout.
Sunday morning was awesome. We biked about 32 miles from Venice up into Malibu and back. The first and last 5 miles were laid back because we were navigating crowds of people walking, biking, rollerblading, etc. along the beach boardwalk. The middle 20 however we cruised 20-22 mph. There were lots of cyclists out and a couple crazy packs of super-cyclists that blew by our pace like we were crawling but it was a good workout. Kyle doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal, but I think that biking on the PCH with no shoulder means we are officially cyclists.
On Monday morning, we went surfing with Brad and Caitlin. Surfing is a great workout and it’s just good to get in the ocean from time to time since many triathlons out here include ocean swims. Surfing is really swimming, push ups, and bosu ball combined – so at least the swimming/paddling part is applicable to triathlon training. And the surf was rough, so we got pummeled quite a bit, adding to the workout.
And then the Venice Beach Effect kicked in. After a good morning of surfing, it was necessary to indulge in brunch, mimosas, and bloody marys. And on a gorgeous day, we had to follow that up with beer and white wine while relaxing poolside. On a roll, we headed to a wine bar around sunset and consumed an unknown number of bottles of wine (which is where the evening should have ended). Next it was off to a Mexican restaurant, where we enjoyed pitchers of margaritas and shots of Patron (where did those come from?). At that point, we capped off the night with a couple more beers at another bar. Feeling ill yet? Yeah, that’s why there was no workout on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, I intended to run and even put my running clothes on when I took the dogs outside, but when I got back to the room, there was just no time. An early conference call, followed by a presentation in the LA office and another presentation offsite, and then we had to hit the road to make it back home before 10pm.
So what do I have to show for the last 5 days? An awesome bike ride, a good surfing session, and a lot of work on my liver.
Sunday morning was awesome. We biked about 32 miles from Venice up into Malibu and back. The first and last 5 miles were laid back because we were navigating crowds of people walking, biking, rollerblading, etc. along the beach boardwalk. The middle 20 however we cruised 20-22 mph. There were lots of cyclists out and a couple crazy packs of super-cyclists that blew by our pace like we were crawling but it was a good workout. Kyle doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal, but I think that biking on the PCH with no shoulder means we are officially cyclists.
On Monday morning, we went surfing with Brad and Caitlin. Surfing is a great workout and it’s just good to get in the ocean from time to time since many triathlons out here include ocean swims. Surfing is really swimming, push ups, and bosu ball combined – so at least the swimming/paddling part is applicable to triathlon training. And the surf was rough, so we got pummeled quite a bit, adding to the workout.
And then the Venice Beach Effect kicked in. After a good morning of surfing, it was necessary to indulge in brunch, mimosas, and bloody marys. And on a gorgeous day, we had to follow that up with beer and white wine while relaxing poolside. On a roll, we headed to a wine bar around sunset and consumed an unknown number of bottles of wine (which is where the evening should have ended). Next it was off to a Mexican restaurant, where we enjoyed pitchers of margaritas and shots of Patron (where did those come from?). At that point, we capped off the night with a couple more beers at another bar. Feeling ill yet? Yeah, that’s why there was no workout on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, I intended to run and even put my running clothes on when I took the dogs outside, but when I got back to the room, there was just no time. An early conference call, followed by a presentation in the LA office and another presentation offsite, and then we had to hit the road to make it back home before 10pm.
So what do I have to show for the last 5 days? An awesome bike ride, a good surfing session, and a lot of work on my liver.
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