Iron Girl

Saturday was the Iron Girl 5k/10k in Clearwater. What an awesome chick race! The course was beautiful thru downtown Clearwater right by the water. However, that bridge was ugly!! I knew my legs were tired that morning but I figured they'd warm up. That never really happened. This definetely wasn't one of my best runs but it was a blast being out there with my girls and running into other friends from the neighborhood and the Y!

I have to comment on the food! It was actually catered, hot breakfast. Including vegetarian choices. We were all very impressed with the food. It helped you forget about climbing up that bridge!

The last week of the first month of training...In a nutshell.

Sunday:
Bike 8mi
Run 2

This was my first experience with the bike/run scenario and it is intense. It was very windy today, which was a good challenge on the bike.

Monday:
Teach 45min spin
Teach 1hr bodyflex

Tuesday:
Run/Walk 4mi
1: 20/40 sprint
30min easy spin

This was our first work out with our "coach". I had an awful cramp in my left hamstring but I listened to my body(for a change) and took it as easy as I could.

Wednesday:
Teach 30min spin
Run: 15min 3: 20/40 sprints with jogging recovery total miles=2
Teach 1hr bodyflex

Thursday:
Swim: 100 warm up
A few 50's gliding, stream lining
250 ;)
50 cool down
I know we did more but I was too tired to really keep track. I had an epiphany with my breathing. Believe it or not it's actually much easier to breathe less!
Total time in pool=1hr
Bike: Approx. 6mi - pushing my second to hardest gear! HOLLA!!
Total time on bike= 30min
Run: A little over 4 mi total
5: 20/40 sprints
Drills- gallop, skip/backward skip,two-legged jumps,spidermans

Friday is for resting up for tomorrow's Iron Girl. I opted for the 5k since I haven't really been running. Just hoping for good weather and NO wind!!

100's!!

I know for most swimmers doing a 100 is no big deal but for me it's huge. When I started swimming I couldn't even do a 50 without stopping for a break.

This was my saturday morning work out:
3: sets (A set consists of a 50 free and a 50 drill)
2:100's
2: sets
1: 100
Total time in the pool: 1hr

Early Riser

Today Amy, Barb and I headed to the Y for an early morning run/swim. We had planned to arrive at the Y at 5:30 but didn't get there until about 5:40. We opted for a 20min run instead of 30min to give ourselves a full hour in the pool. I went easy on my run this morning since I'm getting over being sick.

mile 1: 10:00
mile 2: 9:20

The air was chilly this morning but the water was warm and steamy! My swim felt smooth and strong. I feel like I've mastered keeping my head down and elbows up. Now I need to work on my gliding and the pull motion. We did take a few short breaks just with little triathlon conversations but I never felt like I "needed" a break. I kept track of my laps with sets. A 50 freestyle and a 50 drill is one "set". I did 6 sets plus one extra 50. I'm looking forward to my swim tomorrow morning and hopefully I'll get up in time to get a run in too!

Three a Day's ??!!

This week was our second week of training. I'm feeling very good about my running and eager to get to work on my road bike. My confidence in the pool is growing with every session of laps and drills. The only issue is that I also work out for a living. It seems lately there's always a few extra classes a week to sub or some kind of training. I'm definetely not complaining because I absolutely love my job, there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day or gas in my tank lately.

Yesterday, thurs. I actually did a three a day. I went to a spin training with my boss, which was all elements of a spin class crammed into 30min of butt kicking, which wouldn't of been too bad if I hadn't taught spin on tues. and three classes on wednesday! Right after my spin training I met Teresa in the pool for 30 min of drills and laps. This was actually my strongest session yet so I was glad I didn't skip it. Later that night, the girls met at my house for our 5mile run. The run was fast and easy. We chatted it up the whole way.

Today my legs were a little sore but since it rained I decided to make it a rest day. Tomorrow I'll get my hills in and then swim with the girls on sunday. Iron Girl is right around the corner and I really need to get some more hill work in so I'll be ready for that bridge!!

Sink or Swim!

Today was the first swim all four of us did together. Amy is an ex-swimmer and therefore nominated swim expert. She really knows what she's talking about. She kept reminding me I could just do side stroke. I don't think that's a good sign ;)

We did a lot of drills today, kick board, floating thong, etc. I was getting a little arrogant on how "strong" my legs were. The kick board put me in my place. There is so much to think about while you're swimming; head down, elbows up, draft your arms in an hour glass shape, flick your wrist, oh and BREATHE! The miracle of today however was that at the end of the session I was actually feeling stronger than when we started. I'm hoping all the swims go that way, with a little improvement each time.

We have an Ironman that works at our Y and is running a "try a tri" program for the race we're doing. I think us girls are going to give it a "try" but I have to see what it will consist of. I already teach a bunch of classes and I don't want to wear myself down. Plus, I'd rather not make a total ass of myself in front of one of my co-workers. I'm not the most graceful and I whine a lot!!!!

Today after we dropped off the kids at school Teresa and I drove down to Clearwater to run the bridge in preparation for the IronGirl 10k. There was a storm coming in and the wind was whipping! Hopefully we'll get down there to run it a few more times before the race. Running up from the base was no joke!! I definetely need to add some hill intervals to my weekly runs.

After our run we went to Pickles Deli right next to Coachman Park. The food was awesome!