Here We Go!

So...today started my official training for Tinman. 21 weeks to go. What better way to kick things of than hit the pool? Now, ever since returning after the holidays, my swim sessions have been like this:

(via Steve in a Speedo)

Sp I was pleasantly surprised when all of my sets (it was a 1500 yd form workout) were under 2:30? My first 100 was even 2:20. Not where I was in October, but a definite improvement. I felt really good in the water aside from a rough 200 where I lost my form a bit and started "attacking" in the water.

All in all, a great start to training. Tonight is Karate and tomorrow it'll be bike time. I'm actually really looking forward to Wednesday - run in a snowstorm. No, I'm not being facetious. I LOVE running in snow! Expect pictures.

First Schedule! Woohoo!

I had a nice surprise last night after work - Coach Karen sent my my first two weeks of training a few days early. Needless to say, I printed it out immediately and pretty much have it memorized already. It starts off fairly easy, a little over six hours next week and a little over seven the week after, but that's a good thing since I'm so out of shape. I have a little under six months to go and want to stay injury-free, so a slow ramp-up works for me.

Hoping to go for a swim today, but we'll see how work goes. I have a couple projects due before the weekend so might be relegated to the dreaded trainer just to save time. Anyone want to buy me an endless pool for the basement? ;-D

Will hopefully get out for some snow-filled fun tomorrow before it's all S/B/R.

Ready to Ramp Up

Not much new going on here. I start with my new coach, Coach Karen on Monday and I can't wait. I've never worked with a coach before, so I am SO excited to tear into the schedule I will be receiving sometime Sunday. You can bet that I'm going to print that bad boy out and read it over and over again. I'm really interested to see what she has in store for me!

I'm also a bit nervous. Having to call an early end to the season last year means that I am severely detrained and out of shape. Starting next week though, that will be no more!

In the meantime, I need to get back to work and clear my virtual inbox to get ready for the season.

Buckle your seatbelts, here we go!

It's never too cold to run!

Really busy day today, but just thought I'd share this fun photo from yesterday:



12 degrees. One crazy runner. This is how we do it in the L.P., bitches.

Bike LT Test

On Tuesday I had my first-ever lactate threshold test, a Christmas gift from Dr. Z. (Who says all girls want diamonds? ;-D ) I opted for the bike test as I have enough experience running to feel pretty good about knowing my zones.

So, we packed up the bike and brought her to the Fit for Life center in Saranac Lake. I got changed while the physiologist hooked her up to the Computrainer.

I got ten minutes of warming up and then the fun began. What struck me immediately is that the Computrainer was set way differently than my trainer at home. I had to warmup in the granny gear. Time to adjust the resistance at home!

So every four minutes he took a finger prick blood sample and then I had to go into the next gear. We repeated this three times before I maxed out completely. I will fully admit to being disappointed by the condition I'm in. I couldn't even reach the 220-age number for my heart rate. It was a big wake up call.

So here's the results:

Graph:



And here's my new (wimpy) zones:

Zone 1 119 (Recovery Rides)
Zone 2 119-131 (Endurance Events)
Zone 3 133-146 (Tempo Work)
Zone 4 153-164 (Lactate Threshold / Time Trialing)
Zone 5 166-183 (Sprints and Anaerobic Training)

Here's to time in the saddle getting those numbers up!

5 Day Swim Streak! DONE!

As everyone knows, the swim is BY FAR my weakest event. So what better to work on in the very early season than swimmy swim swim. The biggest limiter was my back and arms. I would have loved to have swam 2.5K a day, but a couple days all I could handle was 1K before my form fell apart.

So...3.5 miles in 5 sessions. NICE! The pool is only open four days next week, but my goal will be 4 miles in 4 sessions.

Also, I am officially registered for Tinman. Check it:



(Click to see full-size. Stupid Blogspot.)

Oh, and exciting new news to be announced. I'm holding off until I can get pictures.

First Two-a-Day of the Year!

Man, it's only Tuesday and I can tell that I'm going to be TIRED after this week of training. Makes me wonder how I did 12-14 hour training weeks for Tinman last year. Thank God it's only January - gives me time to get back up to that fitness level!

Anyway, last night's Karate class was pretty good. We started off with the black belts working bo kata, which rocked. I hadn't picked up my bo in ages and it was a nice surprise that I really wasn't too rusty. Impressive considering I really have to work hard at that weapon. (I'm a sai kind of girl.)

This morning I did another quick, easy 2.5 mile run on the treadmill at a 9:30 pace. STILL no IT band pain, so I'm hoping to up it to a full three miles next week.

At noon I did an equally short, easy session at the pool. I was still embarrassingly, ridiculously slow even for me, but I upped my long sets to 400 (10:27 and 10:34 - YOUCH!)and did a couple sub-2:25 100's. A total of 1200 yards in the same amount of time (35 minutes) as I did 1000 yesterday, so an improvement. I just pray I can get back to the swim form I was in back in October. My swimming just never recovered from that trip to Phoenix last November.

So...first two-a-day of 2011 has been completed. They were both short and easy, but it's a start.

Outdoor Bike! Pool! Running! AWESOME!

Oops...already lost a couple days of updating. In all fairness, it's been CRAZY. I have been training though.

Saturday Dr. Z. and I did indeed get outside for another (for me) seven miler on our mountain bikes. It was a blast. I would have taken mud pictures, but we just didn't get as messy as I did the day before. AWESOME!

Sunday, after a long day of shopping up in Plattsburgh it was time to hit the treadmill. I upped it to a 9:31 pace, which I was able to hold for 2.5 miles with absolutely no IT band pain. AWESOME!

The pool re-opened from semester break so I hit it as soon as they opened today. I expected to be even slower than usual (a.k.a. Bricks and snails go flying past me in the next lane. My 300 yard warmup took 7:50. Yep, almost a 2:40 pace. Admittedly I was warming up and nowhere near trying hard, but damn.

Speaking of warming up, the water was cold. I mean "Take five minutes to even get in and then have your breath taken away when you put your face in cold." Once again, DAMN!

I spent the rest of the time doing 300 pull buoy/100 drill to try to get my feel for the water back. After I had completed 1000 yards, Dr. Z. said he was done. (He had wanted to go longer but wasn't feeling well and exhausted.) He was willing to wait for me, but stopping made me realize I was already sore. Can we say out of shape? At least I wasn't fatigued. AWESOME!

Tonight Karate starts back up after being closed all last week for the holidays. AWESOME! I'm also hoping to hop on the trainer for about a half-hour...not so awesome.

Back in 2011!

Happy New Year Everyone! Hope it was good. I know I really neglected my blog last year, so am hoping to do better this year.

To kick things off, I have some great mud photos. We're experiencing a winter thaw, so Beast has been dusted off and taken outside.

Front View:



I think I have mud in my teeth.

Even more impressive, the back view (and not just because of my fine Cuban ass...hahahaha...)



I literally had mud in my hair. Took forever to wash out.

Well, it's warm again today, so another bike ride might be called for. If I get out there, it'll mean that I made it through January without missing a month of outdoor riding, a true accomplishment up here in the tundra.