Exercise Takes on New Meaning

We drove home from Ventura yesterday morning. As we neared the Gilroy Outlets we started wondering if they didn't have a Pearl Izumi Factory Store. Sure enough, they did. We had to stop, right?

They had a lot of great stuff. It seems like most bike and sport stores have a lot of similar items. I don't see fun, pretty, unique cycling clothes in the stores very often. Well, I found a couple of cycling jerseys I really like. One was on clearance, which is good. The other was full price, which was not so good but I love it. The new jerseys will have to debut on here when I wear them on actual rides. But, I did snap a picture (shocker!) of one of the jersey's I thought was really fun. If I was made of money I would have purchased it but, alas...just a picture.

Isn't it neat? Those are straight jacket straps. It says Psycholist on the chest. Being a psychiatric social worker and all I find the straight jacket theme particularly fun. Not that I advocate straight jackets. Please don't take me seriously.

We got home around 7pm and I was feeling pretty wiped from sitting in the car for 5+ hours. Miguel drove the whole way so I'm sure he was more tired than me, at least I had a small nap on the way. But, I had a run on the schedule, 40 minutes. I've never run that long, ever. As soon as we hit our block I told Miguel, "I have to leave right away or else I won't go. Do you mind unloading the car." He told me to skip it, that I was tired. No can do Mister, "but I'll just take plenty of walk breaks." I went in and changed and started my warm-up walk. I was feeling very grateful that I have such a kind husband. He drove all that way and then put all our stuff away and started the laundry all by himself while I was gone.

Let me tell you about the run. After the 5 minute warm-up walk I started jogging. Immediately my legs felt stiff and moving them was not easy. I thought, "there's no way I will be able to jog for 40 minutes". I decided to just jog until I couldn't. One of the suggestions in my training guide says to take your walk break before you get tired. Since I don't really have that well established I decided to jog until I was beat and then take a walk break. The next time I'd take a walk break 2 minutes before whatever that time was. I was going to do a loop route that included a big hill but decided to do an out and back loop, turning around at minute 20. This way I could bypass the hill (do I need to face a big hill on my first longer jog? No, I'm not a masochist and I want to keep liking this) and have that good feeling after turning around of knowing I'm heading home. Psychologically that's powerful stuff.

I got about a mile out and started to think, "ya know, I might be able to do this." I think once my legs got warmed up everything seemed better. I jogged for 20 minutes and turned around to head home. I knew at that point that I would make it. I jogged the whole 40 minutes! And I could have gone longer. I know one factor, I was probably jogging a heck of a lot slower than I do on the treadmill. I just went and put my route into Gmaps Pedometer and figured out I jogged 3.75 miles. Then I found a Speed/Distance/Time Calculator and guess what? According to the calculator I was jogging at 4.755mph! I figured I was probably going, like, 3mph or something silly. That's not that much slower than the treadmill, where I jog 5mph and have to take walk breaks. I think I'm going to slow my treadmill down to 4.75 from now now. I liked being able to jog without stopping. Yay! I felt victorious when I came home. Being that the jog was outside and that I didn't have to stop the whole time and that this was my longest jog ever, I felt like this was my first "real" run. Double Yay!

So today, Monday, I had a swim and a bike on the schedule. Ya know, this training makes me feel totally different about exercise. I feel compelled to do it in a new way, with new drive, new motivation, and a new sense of the drive coming from within me, not from some outside, I should exercise kind of thing. And that feels good. So my training guide recommends splitting 2-a-days up into seperate sessions if possible. It does have some bricks in the weeks before the tri but for now, separate sessions if possible. So I got up this morning and was waiting at the pool when it opened. I did my 26 minute swim (well, 28). It felt really good to get some exercise first thing in the morning. Good lord, look what I've become.

Now I'm just waiting for the weather to cool a bit before I head out on my 53 minute ride. Miguel's going to go with me and we're talking about riding some of the bike route. It's so nice to be doing a local tri where I can train on the actual route. Alright, I have to go change. Oh, maybe I'll where one of my new jersey's :) Look for a picture soon if I do.

A Roller Coaster Ride

I've gone through such a range of thoughts and feelings since my last post. For the first few days I was really scared and convinced I had made a terrible mistake. One thing that was really scaring me was the bike course. Before ever registering for this I had heard about this huge hill on Lucas Valley Road and after registering I learned the bike route went up that hill. I went on the Craigslist Bicycling Forum and asked about it. Everyone said it's not that bad, though they are all hard core cyclers. I did make a decision though. I was planning on driving the route to take a look at it. I decided that this was not a good idea because I think it would just scare me and from the time I saw it until the time I rode it, the image of the hill in my mind would be associated with fear. I may have fear now, but no image of the hill in my mind to attach to it.

And I noticed a discrepancy on the marintriathlon.com website. The map they posted showed an out and back ride but the written description described a loop. I emailed them and heard back, "Hi Michelle, We originally had hoped to do the looped course thru Dominican. We changed it to out Lucas Valley Road and back. A GREAT ROUTE !!" Alright, so on Wednesday I routed the ride on mapmyride.com to see what the elevation was like. Here's the route with elevation: [click for larger image]


Whoa, that elevation maxes out at around 300 feet. Not scary at all! Well, at least it doesn't sound nearly as scary as before and I think I can do that. Now I really want to get out and ride it. Maybe the route doesn't quite get to the scary hill before we turn around. Whew, I think that means one less thing to worry about.

My other thing is the swim. I'm considering doing the Tiburon Triathlon, a sprint distance tri on July 27th. In their information they write about the open water swim.

"A word of caution about cold water swimming: If you intend to swim without a wetsuit, you will have an unpleasant shock if you have not prepared suitably. That would be equally true for other non-wetsuit events such as the Olympic Club’s Trans-Tahoe Relay race or the open division in the RCPTiburonMile race from Angel Island to Tiburon. To swim comfortably in cold water, you need to train in cold water. Good local open water practice venues are Paradise Park in Tiburon, China Camp in San Rafael, Stinson Beach, Crown Beach in Alameda, and Aquatic Park in San Francisco."

This suggests to me that people swim without wetsuits at China Camp, where the Marin Tri will take place. I don't know if I could or would do that but it gives me more to think about. TriMoreFitness holds coached swim classes on occasional Sundays at the pool where I took the class with Jean. My plan is to go to one of their classes and just start asking questions. My hope is to get some good info and get set on the right path.

So we were supposed to go camping this 4th of July weekend at Big Sur. But the whole place is on fire and the park is closed. We were going to meet some friends (who live in Ventura) there. Instead we drove to Ventura to visit them. We left Wednesday evening (we'd both taken Thursday off) and got to Ventura about 1am. On Thursday they both worked so Miguel went to play golf and I bought a day pass to a local 24 hour fitness. I did my run per the training plan I'm following and then weight training. The run was hard and I had to take a couple of walk breaks. I'm really starting to think I might have to shift my training to a 1 minute alternating run/walk plan. Anyway, when that was over I went and got a massage. The masseur really dug into my shoulders and back and it felt really good.

Miguel and I brought our bikes down and on Friday morning we plotted out a ride. My training plan said to do an 80 minute ride. We headed out on our road bikes but Jeremiah wanted to come, though he doesn't have a road bike, so he rode his beach cruiser. We were a sight to behold. This is Miguel and I ready to head out.


And here's the route we took.
About 30 miles in all. There were only a few hills at the start of the ride and they weren't that bad. We were on the bikes 2-3 hours and we nearly killed Jeremiah. Here're the boys riding, followed by a pic of Miguel taking a spin on the Beach Cruiser and then us taking a break on the side of the road, by a Pacific Coast Bikeway Route sign. What's that? I googled and found this cool diary of this person who rode it from SF to LA.






I can't believe what a trooper Jeremiah was going with us on his Beach Cruiser. Even though he said it nearly killed him, he made it!

After we got home I checked my Garmin's stats. It claimed I burned 1500 calories. I'm not sure about that. Anyway, I'm sure I burned enough to cover some food! We hung out all afternoon at their apartment, BBQ'd (I ate a chicken breast, some tri-tip, grilled eggplant, salad, grilled corn and angel food cake with strawberries and FF whipped cream for desert - not bad, eh?), drank some really good Margaritas (bad?). Wait, those Margaritas were really good and not bad calorie wise. He made them with Crystal Light Lemonade with bottled Key Lime Juice and bottled Lime Juice and good Tequila and they were great! I'll be making those some day for sure! Here's a few shots from our afternoon.





After a day in the sun Kelly really wanted to see fireworks. We rode down to the pier and watched some, to be honest, crappy fireworks. I guess Ventura is too small a town to have good fireworks. Oh! But before the fireworks we ate funnel cakes. Yummmmy!! A picture of my guilty face eating funnel cake followed by Kelly and Jeremiah watching fireworks.





After the fireworks we went to In&Out Burger. A burger with no cheese and ketchup and mayo instead of their special sauce is 5 Points. I got that and sampled some of Miguel's fries. That and water and I was good. A few more pics from our evening. I didn't bring any warm clothes and had to borrow Kelly's, Hi Kelly! She took that pic of Miguel and I walking and I can't believe that's me! She couldn't either and spent the whole weekend telling me how skinny I am. I have to visit her way more often :)






This morning I got up and wondered if I lost any weight this week. I didn't go to my normal Thursday meeting since I was here. I looked up meetings and there was one about 4 miles from Kelly's. Miguel was off playing golf so I rode my bike to the meeting. And...duh, duh, duuuuuhhhh, I lost 1.2 pounds!! Woot! That puts me at 160.6 with a total lost of 73.2! The woman who weighed me (mooooooo - I feel like a heifer when I weigh in) was kind enough to compliment me on losing so much. Thank you! I stayed for the meeting even though it was all about how to eat healthy for the 4th, and, well, the 4th was over. Still, meetings always motivate me so I was glad I stayed. Plus it won't be my last BBQ of the summer I'm sure so I could use the info.

From there I rode a few miles to a Taqueria and met Miguel and the gang. I had grilled fish tacos and a salad (with dressing on side of course) and water. We put the bike in the car, I'd had enough. And today is supposed to be a day off anyway.

Before I sign off I want to introduce a new blogger - MJ (Megan). She used to blog with me on this site, MuscleTankt. She could use a few blogging buddies so stop by and say "hi" if you have time, she can use some support. She's lost a lot of weight and is working hard to get the rest off. She's taken up running and is doing great!

Thanks for all the encouragement, seriously. I really was scared when I wrote that last post. I read all the encouraging comments over and over. I'm feeling better now, though pangs of fear still hit me sometimes. Ok, I'm off to update my weight log.

Somebody, Please!

Stop Me! Oh, what have I done? I'll give you a hint...


Need another one?


Oh, crap. Ok...last hint... [click image to see larger]


Yep, you guessed it. I registered for another tri. But this time, oh please help me, this time, I registered for an Olympic Distance. What?! Holy friggin' cow! Oh Lord, I'm scared. Seriously, who the heck do I think I am? Enough with the freakout, here's the details from the website...

Marin County Triathlon: Olympic distance
Swim 1.5k (.93 miles)
Bike 40k (24.8 miles)
Run 10k (6.2 miles)

McNears Beach County Park, San Rafael
Sunday Morning, October 26, 2008
8:00 am Start

Swim
A 1.5 k open water swim around the pier at McNears Beach. At near high tide, this is a challenging plunge in the cold waters of San Pablo Bay. At the start, participants will swim out about 150 yards, keeping the buoys on your left. Then let the current glide you around and past the pier for about a half-mile before heading back towards the shore and along the easy shoreline route to the swim exit.

Bike
After the first transition, this 40 k tour will take you through the rolling hills of China Camp State Park, the beauty of rural Marin County and a passing view of some back roads in San Rafael. This is not your typical Sunday ride with the family. Lots of elevation changes. This route will take you past the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Marin Civic Center, out along the pristine Lucas Valley Road, along the campus of Dominican College, climbing up into some rather higher elevation roads of San Rafael and then back down into the park, completing one unique, and very Marin, 24.8-mile loop.

Run
After the second transition, this 10 k run follows the road north along the bay, before heading back on the Shoreline Trail in China Camp. As you run back, feel the soft trail beneath your legs, pay attention to the San Pablo Bay you have already swam in, the road you had earlier biked on and the many types of trees, plants and wildlife you will encounter along the way. Downhill and fast, ending into the Green Village Expo, this will be one of your most memorable finishes ever.

This event is not an easy walk in the park. Please be experienced and/or take advantage of our professional triathlon-training partners. They will have you ready for race day.

Not a walk in the park indeed. I've been flirting with this triathlon ever since I stumbled upon it the day after my first TRIumphant event. I am going through many of the same feelings I went through after registering for that event, except on a deeper level. Holy shit. Can I do this? Will I finish? Am I nuts? Do I even want to do this? Am I strong enough? They note above, "Please be experienced." If by experienced they mean you've completed one "fun" sprint tri in which they didn't even keep track of your time then I'm good. Something tells me they mean more than that. Oh boy. Will I need a wetsuit?

So after registering I had a little mini-meltdown during which I spent over an hour searching out training programs online. Ok, two hours, but who's counting? What did I come up with? I found a 16 week Olympic - 2x Balanced training program on Beginner Triathlete. The "2x" means each sport is done twice per week. I calculated it out and I will finish this training two weeks before the tri, assuming no glitches. But life always has glitches so I have a two week buffer to play with. The 16 weeks includes the taper too so I feel confident I have enough time to complete it. I feel confident? Ha! Even typing that my little evil self-doubter laughed at me. SHUT UP! I've had enough of you, little evil self-doubter voice. Aaaannnyway...

So in perfect freak out mode I called Miguel and told him in no uncertain terms that I will now be getting serious about training. I told him to expect crappy dinners and little of my time. I told him the time he does get with me will be crappy because I'll be in a bad mood. I told him he better train with me whenever I ask or said crappy mood will be inflicted directly and purposefully upon him. Nah, I didn't say all that. But I did ask for his help.

So on Sunday, before registering for this tri and before fear set in my heart, I rode my bike to the pool. It was about 6 miles and I tried out the Garmin. Here's just some of the awesome info from the trip to the pool. Red is heart rate, Green is elevation and Blue is speed.


The ride was not a piece of cake as I would have expected and I found myself wondering if riding would ever get easier. Anyway I got to the pool and swam for about 30 minutes and then lounged. Swam some more, for about 20 minutes, lounged a bit more. Rode home feeling calm, cool and a little sunburned.

Then Monday morning at work I can't explain what came over me but that's when I registered for the tri. I think I was tired of thinking about it and tired of trying to decide. Little did I know this would give me even more to think about. I should have been able to figure that one out. So I came home from work and showed Miguel the training schedule. Mondays are gym days but I know this training will mean my whole routine is going to change. Day 1 has a 24 minute swim and a 48 minute cycle. My back is actually a bit red still so I can't swim, plus I just went yesterday. So we went on a ride, but a 2 hour one instead of 48 minutes. We did the 22 mile out and back trip down to the Point Reyes-Petaluma road. Here's the Map My Ride route.


And here's the Garmin data. Again, Red is heart rate (which is FAST), Green is elevation and Blue is speed (which is SLOW by the way).


Tuesday (today) is a day off but since he also suggests weight training at least twice a week and since I didn't do it yesterday like I normally would have and since I don't want to lose the muscle I have currently I'm going to go today to do upper body weight training. No cardio other than to warm up my muscles. Actually, I am really looking forward to going to the gym just to do weights. Weight training is my favorite part of gym time so it's like getting to eat chicken-pot-pie without the peas and carrots. Huh?

I'll give you a sneak peek at the rest of the week because this post just isn't long enough. Wed = 40 min swim, Thur = 24 min run (I need to start running outside!), Fri = 80 min bike, Sat = Off (something fun!), Sun = 40 min run (ha! run/walk maybe). I plan to sneak in a few weight training sessions in there too. Maybe I'll do the Thursday runs on the treadmill at the gym and weight train after and do the Sunday runs outside. Yeah, I like that.

Food has been so-so. I've been dealing with hunger a lot lately and it sucks. I don't know if I will lose again this week but I hope I do. You can rest assured I'll post it either way.

Any wise words of wisdom from all you hard core triathletes out there? My adrenaline is revved up again. I'm doing this for fun, I'm doing this because I like it, I'm doing this not to prove anything to anyone or myself but because I enjoy it. I'm doing this for fun. I am. Really. Right?