There are things that I both love and dislike about my activity. I think I am getting a little over-obsessed with my times. I am not speedy by any stretch of the imagination. “Not fast but not last.” fits me, but I get so focused on hitting that 12 minute mile or 18 mph that I lose the enjoyment of what I am doing. I have set some goals and for now I am going to focus a bit more on the distance and a little less on the speed. That being said, while running tonight, it occurred to me that there are pros and cons to the running, biking, swimming that make up the bulk of my activity. Going to start with the running…. Here is what I dislike about running. Carrying an extra 40, 50, or even 60 pounds makes running not fun. The slope of the road or sidewalk, especially driveway access slopes make my legs and knees hurt. My sciatic nerve makes running a real pain in the butt. Being breathless and tired is not fun for me. I am annoyed that I have not yet hit that 3 mile mark but I am confident that I will make it. What I like about running is the sense of accomplishment. I won’t ever forget the great sense of accomplishment when I ran my first complete mile and the first time I ran 2 miles straight! I like the endorphin rush and how great I feel after running. I just feel relaxed and “smiley”. Even though I dislike running and typically have to convince myself to run, I love the way I feel afterwards. As far as my bike. I dislike wind and hills. I am not fond of traffic or drivers who are inconsiderate. (Share the road, people!) I love love love everything else. I love the speed and the feeling of victory after defeating a hill. I love the thrill of pedaling 20 or 50 miles. I love the breeze in my face. I love that my legs are fit and toned and can rock the heck out of a pair of high heels and a short skirt. I know that is vain, but a chubby, middle aged gal needs something to feel great about, right? I love both my road bike and my comfort bike and I love riding by myself and with a group of friends. I especially love how I can get my head together and process the stress of the day just by knocking out some miles on those two wheels. Swimming… I dislike that it takes me anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes to calm down after getting in the water. I am not fond of wind and waves. I dislike swimming laps in the pool… back and forth, back and forth. I like the feeling of being supported by the water. I like that I am fairly good at it without having to really work at it. I like the feeling of being slim in the water and the feeling of “slipping” through the water. I like that I am less tired after the second 500 yards than I was at the end of the first 500 yards. I like the open water and seeing the plant life and occasionaly a fish in the lake. I love the feeling of being reassured when I roll to breathe and see the shoreline slipping by, even when swimming through waves. I feel fortunate that I have far more things about these activities that I like vs things that I don’t like. I guess that is what keeps me out there. The added benefits are that I sleep better. I wake up feeling rested and refreshed. My labwork shows that I am healthier now than I was ten years ago. Heck, I feel better now than I did 10 years ago. That is the best benefit of all!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 11/05/2008
- Time: 18:07:12
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November 5th, 2008
wcha
End of the year goals…. Now that I am feeling a little more “back on track”. I have set a few goals to meet before cold weather really sets in and I am relagated to the dreadfull treadmill. I tool my bike out for a ride yesterday. It was gorgeous. I had been off the bike while I was wallowing in the “rut” I managed to fall into. My bike computer was in sleep mode, and so were my legs! My total miles on my bike computer read just over 400 miles. This is a little discouraging for me since I biked about 700 miles last year, in addition to running; and 1000 miles 2 summers ago. Of course I wasn’t running or swimming that year. So, here is my bike goal. I want to roll over 500 miles before I put my bike away for the winter. I would also like to run 65 miles or more, before I have to dust off the treadmill. So… here is the kicker. My husband and I are going on a caribbean cruise in 3 weeks for our 25th anniversary. We return the Monday prior to Thanksgiving and by then the weather is pretty touch and go. Around here, it is possible to bike well into December if the weather cooperates but last winter was pretty bad. I managed to run in December with Yak Trax as long as the temp was above 20 degrees. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I will make these goals I have set.
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 10/20/2008
- Time: 16:32:00
- Total Time: 00:13:00.00
- Distance: 1 miles
- Average Pace: 12:59.22/mile
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October 20th, 2008
wcha
I haven’t ran in 2 months. Last time I ran was about the same time the Olympics were on…. I felt myself get into a rut and I tried to get out but I finally just gave up the battle and waited to find my way. I didn’t totally quit moving, mind you. I am still swimming once or twice a week and walking and biking…. and….. I took golf lessons this fall. I just did NOT feel like running at all. So I quit…. for a while….. and sure enough…. a few days ago I felt like I wanted to run again. My schedule has been a little chaotic of late, but today I just decided to let go and do it. I walked the first mile and a half, got good and warmed up and with no pressure, just let myself run. “Just a half mile” I said to myself, but as the half mile came up, I felt too good to quit so early… “OK, just to the next round-about”…. again, felt fresh and strong. Before I knew it, I had ran a mile. I was starting to get a little tired, and while I have not doubt I could have made it the final half mile, it is important to me to end on a good note. Running is my least favorite activity anyway so good notes are a must… Besides, the last half mile is a good cool down. A good run, no pain or discomfort and I feel some satisfaction. I know a mile isn’t a big deal for some, but I feel pretty good about it. Now… off to the pool!
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October 13th, 2008
wcha
I made my first 50 mile ride yesterday. 2 friends and I hauled our bikes up to Spokane and tackled the centennial trail. We started at Riverfront park, downtown Spokane and headed east. After a couple wrong turns and backtracking a bit, we stopped in Post Falls, ID for lunch, then headed back. The ride is absolutely gorgeous. The trail is pretty good but not always well marked, hence, the couple of wrong turns… The trail is about 3 feet wide of mostly smooth, paved path, which the follows the scenic Spokane River until Stateline, ID. The day was beautiful, calm sunny skies and hovered about 80 degrees. Perfect riding weather. I was thinking on the way home that if the girls had said we were going to do a 50 mile ride initially, I likely would have backed out. 25 miles has been my longest ride this year. Sooo.. I am thankful tha they didn’t mention it beforehand, thankful that the 50 mile goal has been accomplished and thankful for the gorgeous day which ended with a beautiful sunset and an amamzing full moon!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 09/14/2008
- Time: 13:00:00
- Total Time: 4:30:00.00
- Distance: 52.25 miles
- Average Speed: 11.61 mph
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September 14th, 2008
wcha
I started swimming in the High School pool this week. Not a bad deal. It costs $3.50 each time you swim or you can get a punch card and swim 16 times for 37.50 I have decided that I much prefer swimming in open water than in the pool. I just get into the swing of in and boom, 25 yds, stop and turn around. I lost track of my lap count on Tuesday because my workout time is more about burning off stress and getting my head together at the end of the busy work day. So I am going along and processing things and lose count of what lap I am on. Today I had a system. I swam 8 laps, then took two laps floating and alternating between my “chocolate and vanilla” sides. Then followed with 10 additional laps working on three strokes between breaths so I was breathing bilaterally. This is new for me but I am dedicated to learning how to do it and making it work. Still having a hard time running but will try and get a run in this weekend. For now, I want to keep swimming at least 2 times a week.
Workout:
- Type: Swim
- Date: 09/04/2008
- Time: 18:30:00
- Total Time: 00:40:00.00
- Distance: 1,000 yd
- Average Pace: 4:00.64/100yd
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September 4th, 2008
wcha
I didn’t run yesterday as I had planned. I ended up working until quite late but the trade off is that I have today, tomorrow, the weekend and Monday off. Yeah!!! I did run two miles this morning. It didn’t take too much convincing to start but I really had to talk myself through finishing the 2 miles. I miss my bike and hopefully it will calm down enough to get some bike time in today or tomorrow. The great thing is that it is 9:00 AM, I have a few household chores to complete and then I have the rest of the day free! Might take my little running “buddies” for a walk. Jaibie was checking out the treamill this morning! I wonder if she was jealous or contemplating jumping on for a trot with mom!
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 08/28/2008
- Time: 08:00:00
- Total Time: 00:27:20.00
- Distance: 2 miles
- Average Pace: 13:40.05/mile
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August 28th, 2008
wcha
I am in a rut…. I am frustrated beyond frustration. I have stayed out of the lake the last two weeks because the algea is in full splendor and my sinuses HATE it!!! Either it is 100+ degrees or the wind is howling so I have stayed off my bike. So… that leaves running….. My least favorite thing. And I have come up with multiple excuses to avoid running. I have an inexhaustible list of “why I don’t want to run today” excuses. It is either too late or too early or too dark or too hot, etc. etc. etc.. Get the picture? So I have finally come to the conclusion that I am in a rut. Best way to get out of this rut is probably to run out. Pun intended. So I gave myself a little “come to Jesus” meeting last night and put on the running shoes, stretched, and with a little extra convincing, climbed on the old treadmill, ordering hubby to fix supper and daughter to turn up the news. Nearly 2 miles later, I was tired, breathless and very sweaty. I have lost some stamina (you think? after nearly 2 weeks off) which is discouraging but on a lighter note…. I got out of fixing dinner (but still had to clean up). Felt better for hauling my lazy carcass up on that treadmill to run, and in general, felt better after running. (This almost always happens but it’s the first thing I forget when finding excuses not to run). Still not up to 3 miles yet, but running more than I was a month or so ago. Still planning on the 5K late in September so I hope I am running at least 2.5 miles by then. So enough groaning for now. I am off to meet with the Danskin girls for snacks at our fave joint and to tell stories about our summer triathlon experiences! I will run again tomorrow. NO EXCUSES!!
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August 26th, 2008
wcha
It was a great weekend here in the central part of Washington State! Warm and calm and just gorgeous!! Started Saturday with a 15 mile ride on rolling hills. Biked with a couple of girls who like to just ride for fun so we tooled along at a sedate 8 mph and just had conversation and caught up. Afterwards, I ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill. Sunday I rode with 2 girls who wanted to up the pace a little so we logged out 20 miles and had a great time. Afterwards, I swam in the lake with one of the girls training for Danskin, then we hopped on her jet skis and toured around the lake. My first time on a jet ski and I really had a great time. Hips are pretty sore today but I think it’s more from the jet skis than anything else. I discovered jumping the wake is REALLY FUN!!! This is the week I up my running distance so I logged 1.75 miles on the treadmill, a little slower than I have been running and I am not sure if that is a good idea or not but I figure I can pick up the pace when I run again on Wednesday. All in all, it was a great weekend.
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August 4th, 2008
wcha
>Biked last night to the lake and then swam about 1/5 mile with a friend. More practice on TI. I think I am getting the hang of it. It still takes me a few minutes to relax and not feel anxious and breathless but when you get to that place and relax enough to let the water support you, it is really amazing. I think I could quite happily swim every day! Practiced breathing to the left side (this is my “vanilla” side) a few times and it is getting better. I know it will just take some practice. As a kid, I grew up swimming in the Columbia River and swimming and water skiing in the Moses Lake/”potholes” area. I had really forgotten how much I enjoyed being in the open water. It is similar to running into a long lost friend, then realizing how much you miss them. After swimming, its back on the bike to where I park. It is reassuring to get out of the water and climb on the bike and not feel breathless or tired and be confident that this transition is an easy one. Oh yeah, and I am keeping up with the other girls much better in the water. Ahhhh, progress… its the great motivator!
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August 1st, 2008
wcha
After the triathlon in Chelan, I gave myself a couple of days rest, then started back up again with my activity routine. Recognizing that I need a goal to work for to stay motivated, I chose a 5K run in September for my next goal. I debated the triatlon in Wenatchee on the 24th of August but have Mariner’s tickets to a night game on the 23rd, which means not getting home until between 2 and 3 in the morning. Realistically, I don’t think it would be a good plan to try and compete on 3 hours of sleep! I also chose a 5run because running is my weakest activity at this point, and the one thing that I don’t particulary enjoy most of the time. I feel better afterwards, so that keeps me motivated to continue. I only started running about a year ago and still have yet to run a full 3 miles. Never having learned to run, I find, from reading, that I do not have a particulary good running style, tending to lean forward a lot and I get a lot of tensness in my shoulders and will hunch them when I start getting tired. I am working on improving my style and staying relaxed. Also, I am running more on the treadmill than outdoors in attempt to keep my foot healthy and pain free, and this is working. Getting back on subject, I am having a real hard time staying motivated. I haven’t been on my bike this week and seem to have to make myself get up and run and I am having a real hard time getting past the 1.5 mile mark. I am frustrated at my lack of motivation and progress. So, I am looking at my goal for the 5K and I think if I can increase my run by 0.25 mile each week, I should be hitting the 3 mile mark by a couple of weeks prior to the event. I am still trying to bike/swim 2 - 3 times weekly and will run 3 - 4 times weekly. Will keep progress posted.
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July 31st, 2008
wcha
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