It is the start of Week 3 of IronTeam training and I am loving it. My team is awesome and so helpful and friendly and the coaches are wonderful as well. Training with the team has reintroduced me to the fun of exercising outside. The only hard thing for me right now is to not overtrain which is hard for me since although I am working out with the team I still want to do the weights in the gym too. "Luckily" a recent cold has kept me from working out as hard as I would like.
Yesterday we had an "On Your Own" bike ride. Some of the mentors led a bike ride and it was the first time I had been on my bike really since the Wildflower half Ironman tri in May 2005. We rode from the Presidio, across the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausolito, and back. It was a great ride (though some of the more experienced bike riders probably felt it was more of a cruise than a ride but for me, it was more of a workout than a cruise). Afterward I did a little shopping and finally bought a bike helmet (goodbye bucket style one that I found in my mom's garage a few years back), lights for my bike, new cheap goggles (since I am always losing them), a speedometer for my bike, and a waterproof watch (the first watch I have worn since graduating from college). I wore the new watch and goggles this morning at swim practice and it was great not having to squint at the pace clock! Afterward we had about 30-40 minutes of core work and than we came back to the city.
This upcoming week will be a bit different in terms of training. We don't have track practice since it will be Halloween but I am still planning on going on runs with Emily, my awesome run partner. Keeping up with biking, getting back in the pool during the week now that my cold is going away and running on my own is on my agenda this week. That and working on fundraising ideas. Eeek!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Louisville Here I Come??
After a few issues with securing spots for Ironman, Team In Training gave us a few options including signing up for Louisville Ironman in the end of August, Vineman in Napa in the beginning of August or we could wait and see if we were given the Lake Placid or Canada spots. At first I was Vineman all the way but then I found out it wasn't an Ironman sanctioned event. And...to be honest, if I am training all this time I would really like to be able to say "I am an Ironman," not "I am a Vineman." It sort of feels like the difference between playing for the NFL or playing in the Arena Football League. Both are football, but they are NOT the same.
So for right now, Louisville, Kentucky, here I come!
So for right now, Louisville, Kentucky, here I come!
Week One is Done - Swim & Run Practice
1st Practice and We Had Sun!!
Sunday marked the first coached practice with the entire team and it was a beautiful day in Novato. Well, it was AFTER the swim. The team split in half with some of us hopping in the pool and doing drills and a timed swim and the others doing run drills and core work. I was one of the swimmers and got to relive swim practice and the old adverse reaction to cold morning & swim practice. Luckily the water was warm and the people were great. My lane consisted of two alums: Susan and Jen who were awesome to swim with as we were all around the same level. When we did the timed swim in fact, Susan and I were swimming stroke to stroke for much of the swim. One problem: She is taller then me with long legs so once I did a flip turn when she did and totally missed the wall. I guess I thought I had longer legs then I actually do.
After the swim (42 laps in 15"...not bad for not swimming for months and months), we did a 40 minute run. It started off downhill which was awesome except we then had to climb up that hill on the way back. Yeah...I am not a runner...yet. Elaine, another alum, ran with me and it was great listening to her experiences doing Ironman's. She told me to spend time with family and friends now before the practices get too crazy and she assured me that everyone breaks down in late spring, early summer and to expect that. Awesome.
That evening I was tired. Although I work out at the gym almost every day, these are different types of workouts. Luckily Gerard was there for me with Thai food and a movie. Monday is off but back to training on Tuesday!
Sunday marked the first coached practice with the entire team and it was a beautiful day in Novato. Well, it was AFTER the swim. The team split in half with some of us hopping in the pool and doing drills and a timed swim and the others doing run drills and core work. I was one of the swimmers and got to relive swim practice and the old adverse reaction to cold morning & swim practice. Luckily the water was warm and the people were great. My lane consisted of two alums: Susan and Jen who were awesome to swim with as we were all around the same level. When we did the timed swim in fact, Susan and I were swimming stroke to stroke for much of the swim. One problem: She is taller then me with long legs so once I did a flip turn when she did and totally missed the wall. I guess I thought I had longer legs then I actually do.
After the swim (42 laps in 15"...not bad for not swimming for months and months), we did a 40 minute run. It started off downhill which was awesome except we then had to climb up that hill on the way back. Yeah...I am not a runner...yet. Elaine, another alum, ran with me and it was great listening to her experiences doing Ironman's. She told me to spend time with family and friends now before the practices get too crazy and she assured me that everyone breaks down in late spring, early summer and to expect that. Awesome.
That evening I was tired. Although I work out at the gym almost every day, these are different types of workouts. Luckily Gerard was there for me with Thai food and a movie. Monday is off but back to training on Tuesday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)