Training Day 5 & 6

I did a little running and a lot of hiking on my vacation, but swimming was not going to happen in the Pacific Ocean. I am spoiled by my upbringing on the East Coast where it isn't unusual to swing in the Atlantic at Christmas time.

Getting back to my swimming was a little difficult.  After early morning yoga on Saturday, I skipped ahead to the end of the 3rd week of the triathlon training program that I am loosely following. I got a little mixed up with the intervals at the end, but was otherwise successful. I ccompleted my quarter mile swim in about 10 or 15 minutes. I should have updated my MapMyRun app right away because I have already forgotten how long it took me.

I biked at home tonight.  We have an inexpensive stationary bike that is sorely lacking an odometer,  so I have no idea how far I went in my half hour ride. We keep the bike in Dan's office so that we can watch NetFlix on his bigscreen monitor while we bike. I finshed an unremarkable documentary and sweat all over Dan's fancy headphones.  :)

Training Day 4

I'm either a masochist or a complete idiot.

Maybe a little bit of both.

I waited until late in the evening to run again. After dinner. Right after dinner. Right after a dinner of pizza and soda.

I seriously thought that I was going to throw up.

As a fortunate consequence, I was seriously motivated to just get through the run. I deviated from the training plan that I am using again. I ran a total of 5 minutes and walked 8 minutes of rest in between the minute long runs. I also ran a figure eight around my house to avoid going up and down the hill, in all 1.08 miles.

For those at home keeping score, that's a pathetic 12:02 pace.

On the other hand, it was a beautiful day. I had debated the night before whether or not I was going to go to the gym, something I would normally avoid on a Sunday in order to keep the Sabbath. It was an easy decision when I woke to gorgeous weather. It was dusk when I ran, slightly cloudy and slightly breezy. A picturesque Oregon evening.

I bet my Florida friends and family would be green with envy!

I'm off to Redwood National Park for a few days tomorrow. I figured out how to blog from my phone, but no promises. I'm going to try to keep exercising, that is to what I want you to hold me.

'Night!

Training Day 3

Another mostly successful day. I was regretting my late workout yesterday when I was back at the gym less than 12 hours after my run. Saturdays are usually my early days anyway,  but today was even earlier.

I biked 3.6 miles in 15 minutes before my yoga class started.  Yoga was wonderful, as always,  but a bit harder than usual. After class I swam 400 yards, including a 100 yard set. I was gone for about 2 hours in total, so I got big hugs from my kids when I got back. Then Rosie tried to do yoga on my mat.

It makes Rosie crazy when I do headstands, but she wants to do them.

I was supposed to walk for half an hour but I hiked Multnomah Falls instead. I will share pictures when I get them off of my real camera.

Training Day 2

Running. My Achilles heel. Except it's my knees and ankles. But I did it anyway. Barely.  I headed out to the gym at 7:30pm and the daycare closed at 8:30.

It was a short run anyway. Again,  I altered the training regimen. I walked 5 minutes to warm up. Then I ran 1 minute, followed by a 4 minute walk. I repeated the run/walk intervals 4 times. The total was 1.64 miles in 25 minutes. Pretty slow, but I made it.

I'm going to be feeling it during yoga and my training tomorrow.

Triathlon Training Day 1

(I'm not promising to be better at blogging. This has always been nothing more than a journal to me and I intend to keep it that way and use it however I want. It will be a good place to keep track of my training for the next few weeks though.)

I'm going to do a triathlon. A tiny one, mini sprint is the triathlon term for the distances. A quarter mile swim, 10k bike and 5k run/walk. Probably more walk than run in my case. The stake (a small region composed of about 10 LDS churches) women's organization puts it on every year. At least one of my friends is going to race with me and I'm trying to talk a few more into it. Race is probably the wrong term. They aren't even timing the triathlon and are emphasizing that it is just for fun. If you can think of a better term, let me know. 

From what I've read and heard, most people struggle with the swimming portion of a triathlon. Fortunately for me, swimming and rowing are my cardio exercises of choice, so I'm already a decent swimmer. Running has always been a struggle for me and my only biking experience is riding less than a quarter mile down the hill to my piano lesson every week. 

I found a nice beginner triathlon training plan that should have me ready in 10 weeks. Unfortunately I only have 9 weeks until the triathlon and next week is pretty much a bust while I'm on vacation. (I'm determined to run trails and kayak. I might get a swim in if the water is warm enough.) 

With all of that in mind, I'm modifying the training a little. Today I should have done a fairly easy 400 yard interval type swim (which is the same distance in the mini- tri) but it was a little too easy for me. Once I realized that I could do better, I took shorter breaks between the intervals. I also added a 2.2 mile bike ride. It was supposed to be an "easy" ride, but I live at the top of a hill- so the first part of any bike ride for me is easy and the 2nd leg is always hard! 

In the locker room at the gym after my swim

Wish me luck and dedication!