Big Training Weekend!

OK, I admit it, I have struggled a bit with my training. While I have done most of my workouts, I have missed more then I should have. With the reality of IMAZ hanging over my head, I have re commited to my training (or maybe committed to it for the first time) and had a big weekend.

Friday consisted of  two hours of training between bike and run. I ventured out on my own for a nice evening ride. 

 Saturday was a huge day for me with four bricks! I wasn't sure how I was going to pull this off as I had no way to secure my bike but finally decided to put my trainer on the porch, hook up the industrial strength fan and go for it. The bricks were 1 mile runs followed by 5 mile bikes. It might not seem a lot to some but for me it was a big deal. First off, I am slow runner and it was hot! Like 90+ degrees hot. Also five miles on a trainer takes a lot longer then five miles on open road.  2:5 hours later I was done.. and tired!  I did feel like I accomplished something so that was a good feeling.

 Casey wondering what the heck I am doing

Sunday started off with an early morning swim at my favorite OWS place. There are buoys out in the lake and they are measured. You can really do any distance you want and know that it is accurate. I completed a 1.5 mile swim and while pretty tired, was happy with the distance covered. Interestingly enough, I got my first case of chafing around my neck from my wetsuit. That has never been a problem before. Not sure if it was due to not having done that distance before or I was lifting my head more then I usually do.

Thanks to Julie for taking this pic

I did an 1.5 hour long run(with a little walking) Sunday evening to round out my three days of hard work.

I know this is only a taste of what is to come but I feel like I accomplished something this weekend and I that feels good. 

I hope everyone had a great July 4th!

Where did June go????

It can't be July 1st already can it??  Where is the time going?  Just yesterday I had six + months to get ready for IMAZ. Now I can count the months on one hand. Yikes!

June has always was a very busy month and one of firsts.  I did two triathlons, completed  my first Century ride which was both fun and enlightening,  had to use the kayak for the first time in  a tri ,  had to walk my bike up part of a hill that got the better of me and ran some 800's that were much faster then I thought I could go.  So it was a mixed bag.

I chalk up the OWS mishap to a combination of extremely cold water (for me) and going out to fast in those conditions. I had tried to acclimate to the water prior to the race and thought I had done so even though my feet were extremely painful as they began to freeze. (It was as if I had my feet in ice, it hurt that much). For such a small race, there was a lot of contact during the swim which didn't help things any. As I turned the first buoy I was having trouble catching my breath. I tried to breaststroke, pulled at my wetsuit collar and even just treaded water but nothing worked. I  remember looking behind me at the rescue boat and thinking that they were to far away and I was going to have to quit the race. I also remember looking at the buoys and the people ahead of me and thinking that there is no way I can make it to the finish. I raised my hand and a very nice man in a kayak came to the rescue. After a little while I was able to regroup and finish the swim but it was scary. 

The second tri I did was in Boulder. The swim was still rough in terms of contact but fortunately I had no other issues. For whatever reason the swims have been pretty brutal so far this season. Maybe I am being prepped for Arizona?  I need to learn to keep my cool in those conditions but it is sometimes hard not to get frustrated. For both swims, I have been hit over the head by some guy  within yards of the swim finish. I know that they knew I was there. That just pisses me off. Can't help it, it just does. And it hurts.

On top of my busy athletic schedule, I am in the process of purchasing a home. It has been a long road which has included a job loss which caused us to lose a previous home we had been under contract on.. After that happened I decided to see if I could qualify on my own even though working for a non profit and house hunting on that salary alone would  really limit my options. Fortunately I found a great house that I like better then the one we lost and it is $58,000.00 less then the other one. I have never owned a home before so this is a huge first for me.  This might sound crazy to non dog people but one of the things I am most excited about it having a yard for Casey.

I don't have many pictures to highlight my June adventures so I leave you with a picture of my soon to be new home (hope that doesn't jinx anything!)