Week One and I'm Exhausted

A full week of training for a sprint triathlon and I'm beat! This week since Monday I have swam 3 days, ran 10 miles and biked 16 miles. The bike ride was fantastic actually since I rode from my office to Merry Arts for dollar taco night and $2 Coors Light. Pretty cool way to join my family for dinner and no guilt for beer/taco combo. The swimming is improving and I have surprised myself with how much I'm enjoying it. I would bike more to work if the weather would allow it. And the running I simply love -always have and if I'm lucky I always will. I have my long run Saturday morning, then volunteering Saturday night at the Burning River 100 Miler Race. Sunday will be a 4-6 mile trail run in preparation for next week's 10-mile trail race in New York.

First Day in the Pool

Today was my first swim practice...and I'm exhausted. I could barely stay awake during a meeting I was facilitating. I went to this fantastic swim facility near where I work during my lunch hour. Funny part was that I REALLY brought down the average age while I was there! I got into a lane and immediately complained to myself that the pool was much colder than I remembered (man, I am such a wimp). The pool was 25m in length and I managed to complete 350 meters. I compared my 50m swim time to my 15-year-old daughter's swim time. Now keep in mind, she is on the swim team (please note the disclaimer). I managed to eak out a very pathetic time of 1m12sec and she just shook her head. I guarantee that next Tuesday I will be able to shed at least 15 seconds on my 50m swim time. I plan to swim a T/W/Fri schedule during my lunch hour until the Portland Triathlon the end of August. I should be able to handle a 750m sprint distance (I know...longshot...but bet on me on this one). Biking is going well and I'm splitting my running between trail work and long runs on the road. I'm finding it incredibly challenging to train for a triathlon while also training for a 10-mile trail run. Each race should sufficiently kick my arse during the month of August. It's doubtful that I will relax in September...especially since I hear there's a pretty cool half marathon trail run mid-September. Ahhhh, fall racing :)

Brick Sunday

What a way to begin a Sunday morning! If I'm going to do the sprint triathlon in Portland, then I have to respect the sport of triathlon...bricks and all. This morning husband and I biked a nice 11-mile loop from our house down into the metroparks with one wicked bad hill to climb (lots of little ones, too). We actually managed to shave about 10 minutes off the last time we tackled the same loop! I also did a little better with this very fast downhill stretch that normally scares me. As Gavin Rossdale says, speed kills (or so I worry). Got off our bikes at the house for husband to change out of his clip shoes and into running shoes, leashed up the dog, and off we went for a run from our house to the trails. Wow, I had forgotten that "dead leg" feeling that you have between the bike/run transition. I think I enjoyed the trail run as much as puppy! It's funny how much you can love the way your body feels even when you're exhausted and sweaty. Overall, it was a pretty good week. Got some good runs in (including a couple 5 & 6 milers), had some great evenings with my girls, snagged date night tickets for the husband and me to see a very talented Dan Auerbach (touring solo at the moment from the Black Keys), and got to see Hincapie's amazing performance yesterday. Can't wait to see Lance tear up the Alps today!

Muddy Paws

This morning was awesome - just me and my dog running the Muddy Paws 5-mile trail run with my daughter Kid A and friend E cheering us on! I have such respect for trail distance runners after this morning - wow, what a challenging course! I knew going in that this wasn't like an all-purpose trail or a bridle trail, but I didn't expect the hills to wreck my hamstrings like they did! Did I mention I would definitely do this again?! Plus, I figured a challenging 5-miler would be a good tune-up for my 10-mile trail run in August. Puppy was a rock star navigating the terrain with excitement. Below I've posted a picture of my biggest cheerleader Kid A before the race began and a pic of Me & Puppy coming into the finishing chute. The course was technical for most of it, but had a nice grassy finish. Afterwards, we hit the farmer's market for fresh strawberries, watermelon, crisp celery, carrots, juicy tomatoes and cherries, and corn which will be tasty on the grill later! Great morning!

Summer of Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

Husband offered to take me to Portland, Oregon for a weekend trip with Kid A and Pablo Honey, of course. Most people would begin their google searches with key places to sight-see, maybe a hotel search or two, a Citysearch visit for hot restaurants or clubs, but not me. I googled 10k, half marathon and trail races. Nothing. Triathlons, yes. A sprint triathlon, yes again. I can run and I occasionally bike to/from work (25 mi r/t), but swimming requires effort (translation: practice, training). I've done a sprint triathlon before and I'm not a fan of not seeing the bottom. I kind of like seeing what's swimming next to me, no matter the mammal/amphibian form *shiver*. Regardless, I have until 7/31 to register in order to get my long-sleeve bamboo shirt - hmmm, the shirt...the things we do for the right shirt.