Back in Action

I've been a little lax in both my training and my blogging but with vaccation on the horizon and last minute arrangements still being made I've been a bit preoccupied. However, I am happy to report that I'm back in action and have managed to get a few good workouts in recently. Last week Angela, Kris and I tackled the Tri bike course in gusting winds and a light drizzle. We managed a grueling 17 mph pace, which considering the weather and the slight detour (I forgot the course momentarily) was pretty good for this stage in the game. We've been averaging 12.5-13mph on our hilly routes and that's even factoring in the occasional turtle in the road rescue. Ever so slowly but surely we are improving.

Thankfully I can now run again, although I lost a little bit of my endurance I made it to the 2 mile point a few times without any major issues. I think we're going to add the third mile this week. I'm hoping to be able to focus a bit more on running while we're in Ireland. Since running is the most convient and travel friendly activity I figured I'd put my running shoes to good use while we're over there. We plan to bike a bit as well but I doubt I'll find myself swimming, my goal this week is to get to the pool at least two or three times before we leave.

The Oswego Tri is this weekend. Angela and I will be going to watch and I'm sure I'll be snapping some pics. Part of me wishes I would have signed up but with everything going on I think it would have been too much. If they hold it again next year it will definitely be on my schedule.

Listening to:

Ivy & Gold/ Bombay Bicycle Club

White Blank Page/ Mumford & Sons

Mini Brick

I'm sill struggling with running, it's almost as if I forgot how. This whole year I've been surprised at how easy it's been to run. Usually my body gives out before my lungs do, lately everything gives out 3 minutes in. I can't help but think it's a bit odd that 3 weeks ago I ran 2.5 miles pretty consistently and now 1 mile is presenting a problem. I suppose the only thing to do is get through these bad days and hope my days of enjoying running aren't over. I'll have a big spinach salad and and iron pill and call it a solution for now.

A bonus on getting into cycling is that when your car is at the mechanics you have an alternate mode of transportation to drop your car off and pick it back up... no need to rely on someone else to give you a ride. So today I rode out to pick the car up, drove to one of my favorite running spots and managed to grit my teeth through a mile and a half or so of running. I'm dubbing it a mini brick. I'm thinking about the pool tomorrow, crossing my fingers I can get through a swim workout without any leg cramps, maybe I'll pack a banana for lunch tomorrow : )

Biking a Marathon

Oswego Harbor is missing it's lighthouse!

Lately I've been going easy on the workouts in an attempt to recover from what I think was either over use or just the result of taking on way too much and getting run down. Everything was going pretty terrible for the past week or so, unrelenting foot and leg cramps in my swim workouts, a general inability to breathe while running and breathing and muscle fatigue every hill on my normal bike route. If all of this was caused by donating blood then I think I'll wait to donate again after Tri season is over. Thankfully after a few days off, some iron pills and three absolutely wonderful days to sleep in, I finally feel better.

We took it easy yesterday and did a mild 12 mile bike loop cutting out most major hills. I felt like I could handle a bit more today but even I was surprised at what we accomplished. Angela and I took off with our bikes on a new route that brought us up and over some killer hills. We rode a 26.6 mile loop mostly on back roads out to Sterling and back. We stopped once to check out a possible open water swimming locale and then hiked back to the bikes to head for home. We stopped again to refuel at Ontario Orchards, looking like what I'm sure were some real beauties. I like taking our time and stopping along the way, especially when it's a warm day and I'm running low on water. So after our banana break we finished our 26.6 miles with a loop around the college in the crazy cold fog that has been hovering around the shores of lake Ontario as of late. When I say crazy cold fog I m

ean it. The temperature must drop a good 15 degrees and you can't see 50 ft past the shore. The lake water is pretty cold still but I don't remember any summer starting off with so much fog.

Oh and you'll be glad to know I wore my sunscreen both sunny biking days and despite a slight farmers tan I remain as blindingly white as ever : )

As usual the jumpstart back into training was a big one, hopefully with a little luck things will get back to normal this week.

The Steam station disappearing in fog

listening to: Everybody Needs Love/ Drive By Truckers

Definitions

pathetic |pəˈθetikadjective1 arousing pity, esp. through vulnerability or sadness : she looked so pathetic that I tried not to watch out of embarrassment for her. See note at moving .• informal miserably inadequate : her running ability was pathetic.
Today I could hardly run a full mile. Boomer stopped to sniff something and when the leash came to it's end he flipped ass over tea kettle. People looked at me like I should be reported to the animal abuse authorities. I felt bad about it but kept running and he bounced right back. I've seen the dog run full on into a wooden fence while looking the wrong way. He's a bigger klutz than I am, and that's saying something. Earlier today I managed to slam the freezer door under my chin which created a chain reaction of ricocheting my head off the wall and almost managing to get my head stuck between the two. I'm not sure how these things happen to me but it's clear now that Boomer and I are meant for each other.
regression |riˈgre sh ən|noun1 a return to a former or less developed state. : she was lax in her training and the ensuing regression had brought her back to square one.
Friday I donated blood for the first time, it was no where near as bad as I thought it would be. Just to be on the safe side I waited 24 hours before heading out for a real workout on the bike. I felt a bit light headed after our 12 mile loop but I was fine after a big lunch and a bunch of water. The next day I attempted the 12 miles again and had a bit of trouble. I also got a wicked sunburn, cycling requires sunblock, when will I learn? So I gave myself the next day off cause I was starting to feel run down. The next day I could only manage 20 minutes on the elliptical. Today my throat felt like it was closing and my whole body felt like lead. Running was not kind to me tonight. I can only hope the 3 day weekend will revive me, or else I'm going to ask for my blood back and hope my missing energy returns.
hopeful |ˈhōpfəl|adjectivefeeling or inspiring optimism about a future event : a hopeful sign | [withclause ] she remained hopeful that she could pull herself out of the slump she was desperately fighting to get out of.

Operation: Just Go Faster

I can now somewhat easily swim 600m

I have been able to bike 17+ miles for awhile now

I have successfully finished a 5k run

So this year will not be a matter of whether I can finish the triathlon it will be more about how fast I can finish.

I'm sort of over being disappointed with my 5k time. It was less than ideal, but I'm sure I didn't run my best that day. From this point forward I will be adding in drills and sprints and some faster shorter runs. In the pool I'll work on finding a good warm up, continue using my zoomers, throw in a few sprints here and there and push my overall distance further. On the bike I'm going to start riding the relatively flat tri course and getting some speed work outs in after our longer rides.

It would be infinitely more helpful to have some sort of coach or triathlon veteran to get a little advice from. The organized bike rides always seem to leave too early and I just end up watching the others quickly disappear ahead of me anyways. Maybe if I got the clipless pedals I'd stand a chance. I just wish everything to do with triathlons didn't cost so much! Tack on the pedals, shoes and cleats to aero bars and a wet suit and I'll be broke for the rest of the summer. I might have to make do with the gear I have this year. My wish list is always longer than the digits in my pay check can keep up with. I think I would seriously consider swimming the first leg of the Tri-Oswego race as a relay team if I had the wet suit. I have to have some protection from the evil seaweed and various fish monsters that live in the harbor. Plus the lake has to be freezing, I don't think blue is really my color.

Maybe I'll win the lotto or something. fingers crossed.

Results are In

Official race Results:

31:09 Net Time

10:02 Pace

961 out of 2003 overall

52 out of 127 in my age group

526 out of 1382 women

Weather Widget Woes

(insert expletive here)