Swimming Blocks

We dove off of the swimming blocks this morning during masters swim. I think it is a lot like riding a bike. The first one was awful and I gradually got the hang of it again on the 4th one. I have not gone off the blocks for 12 years now!

Getting down to business

It was finally nice enough to take the girls for a run outside. As you can see, Ellie fell asleep. Emma and I filled the time talking about all the bikers that were out.

Now onto business.....

I met with a Triathlon coach on Friday and decided that it was something I needed. So, he is now writing my personalized workouts for each day! I feel much better using someone that I can talk to rather than a book (which was what I was using before). I am also now part of a Masters Swim Team! I never thought I would say that! I will be swimming with about 20 other people Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 6am-7am! At least this will keep me honest with my swimming. Sometime next week I am getting a V02 max test done at the University of St. Thomas. This tests your max heart rate. I am really excited to do this. I am also getting swim, bike and run video analysis. I should tell the coach right now that my swim stroke is not going to change no matter what I do! If coaches could not change it when I was swimming competitively, there is no way it is changing now. The coach also had me sign up for some triathlons for the summer (why did I pick such an expensive sport?!?!?). It is as follows.

1. Apple Duathlon - May 24th (I am debating whether to do this because it is my 5 year wedding anniversary that day)
2. Buffalo MN Olympic Distance Triathlon - June 1st
3. Lake Waconia - June 29th
4. Racine Half Ironman - July 20th
5. Oshkosh - August 10th (I am doing Oshkosh because that weekend was a planned family weekend at the cabin of my brother in laws mother)

6. WISCONSIN IRONMAN - SEPTEMBER 7TH

Under the Weather

I have been sick for over a week now. The doctor said it was an Upper respiratory Infection and, since it is a virus, there is nothing to treat it with except Sudafed and cough medicine. So, I have not been training for almost a week now and I am starting to get worried. I know if I did workouts I would just get sicker and there is no way I could run more than a mile right now. I still feel like I wasted all the training I have been doing. Thankfully, triathlons are in the summer when I rarely get sick. My official marathon training starts in less than a week and my Ironman training starts in about a month. I have not decided how I am going to incorporate those 2 together. I am hoping I will be well enough to start my training next week.

Training in January in MN

The last few weeks have been especially cold here in MN, thus I have been doing my runs inside on the treadmill. I got my bike tuned up/fixed last week. About a month ago I fell off of my trainer and bent my rear wheel. I finally got it fixed and the rest of my bike got a little overhaul too. I went to Gear West bike and tri out in Long Lake. That is where I bought my bike from and one of the few true triathlon stores around.

My workouts have been going really well. I am feeling stronger. Last week I signed up for Grandma's marathon on June 21st. I wanted to get a marathon in before my ironman. This probably I will not be doing any other races this summer as I will not have adequate time to recover. We'll see though.

Alright, I need to get my bike set up for an early morning ride in front of the tv.

In the swing of things

After about a month of getting serious about my workouts, I am feeling pretty good. I am up to an hour of biking and 45 minutes running. Swimming is also going well. I really enjoy getting into the water. I forgot how much I like it. My "real" training starts in March, but I need to get into shape before the actual training.

Staying on track is a lot easier now. I think people say that you need 21 days to create a habit of something. I cannot wait until I can do more outside. Biking on a trainer and running on a treadmill is not all that fun. The weather is a little warmer than it has been so maybe I can run outside sometimes.

First Week of training

I finished my first week of training. I ran 4 times this week - 4 miles, 4 miles, 4.5 miles and 6 miles. The 6 mile run had the middle 2 miles of hills. I can feel it today. Now I just need to start biking.

Ironman WI

At 11am, Monday, September 10th I got one of the coveted spots in Ironman WI. There is no way I can drop out now and no excuses that Mike will let me use - mostly because it cost $500 and there are no refunds.

Since I am now officially training, I will be keeping this more up to date. Hopefully, this will also keep me honest!