Seven Weeks to Go

It's hard to believe the way time is flying by. And yet, here we are. I guess we'll be ready. It doesn't seem that daunting at the moment. I'm sure I'll get more nervous the closer it gets. Right now it seems like no big deal.

Swim lessons have given Marc and I a lot to work on in the pool. It has actually made swimming kind of fun for both of us. We do our drills and it seems like time just flies by. I am trying hard to ween myself off the old trusty nose clip. I'm getting better, but I know that my face is scrunched up like mad and I can't release a nice stream of air. It comes in big glugs. It can only get better.

I made it all week with no cookies. Today my officemate even brought me a special cookie... and it looked and smelled amazing. But I said no. Then I went to a meeting where cookies were also served. I said no again. I guess I'm at like 87% to go on this. Every day is just one day closer to the triathlon and closer to what I'm sure can only be described as a cookie eating orgy.

Too Tired to Move

Marc and I decided to sign up for swim lessons. We found out that we could just hire a trainer basically and get personalized swim lessons. Marc has been going for a few weeks, but this was the first week I joined him. For an hour we took turns swimming laps at the Wellness Center while Steven (our coach) watched us and made suggestions about what we should be doing differently. To summarize, we could be doing EVERYTHING differently. I feel like I need a list to carry with me while I swim. There's so much to remember. Number 1 of course is just not to drown! Needless to say, now I can see I have a LOT of time to spend at the pool. Looks like I need another swimming suit. Increasing costs here we come.

So Long Old Friends....

So this is day 4 of the cookie moratorium. So far, so good. After what can only be described as a feeding frenzy last week I realized it was time to say goodbye to my old friends, the cookies. At lifegroup we talked about addictions and how you just have to rely on God that he is stronger than your will and your addiction. So... every day God helps me avoid the melty warm goodness that is my evil overlord. Perhaps that sounds dramatic, but it works for me. I think about eating the cookie and I think about being smited like those Old Testament folks, and I leave the cookie alone. Of course it's day 4. By day 10 I might feel like a little smiting never hurt anyone.

In other news.... I'm inside the 8 week bubble now. Only 7 weeks to Tri!

Got My Butt Kicked

Today Jillian got the best of me. Of all the horrible exercises she has asked me to do, today I discovered the absolute worst ones. I thought that the pike crunches were the worst, but I was wrong. I know it's a rough day when both Marc and I are cheating the form just to finish. I don't think I've ever been so happy to go swim, because that meant it was over.

Down at the pool though I ended up next to one of Starkville's own Ironman Triathletes. We do not swim in similar fashions. She is graceful and fluid and fast, and oh, like 8 or 9 months pregnant. Still somehow I'm the one who seems to be unbalanced in the water. She only lapped me like a million times. But she had a bag of all sorts of fins and paddles and floaties. Those probably gave her an edge. Note to self: spend more money.

Finally Safe

I've been riding on and off since college. I've never owned a helmet. Triathlons insist on a helmet if you're even touching your bike, so it was time to go buy one. The local bike shop hooked me up with a Specialized Air Force 3.

Of course this added to the cost of the tri. The new total is $362.56. This includes $42.80 for the helmet, and an additional $48.15 to have my bike tuned up and cleaned.

First 5K of the Season

Despite rainy weather and low turnout, Marc and I did the St. Pat's 5K at Lake Lowndes. It was warmer than expected and the rain quit long enough for the run. The roads were wet though so it was hard to keep my feet dry. I took BG just to see what she'd have to say. Well, she was pretty unhappy. I ran the whole run in the anaerobic range. It felt like it too. But I set a new PR for the 5K. Marc and I got 1st in our age groups too.

Big Green Goes for a Run

So I let my HRM, which I've started calling "Big Green" control the run. I started calling it Big Green because it was very pushy and it reminded me of a Stephen King novel, in which a man is kind of at the whim of his house, which he calls "Big Pink", but my HRM is green. So anyway, we went. We ran 6 miles because I needed to blow off some nervous energy and because 3 miles just wasn't enough and it was a loop. It was frustrating at times because I felt like I was always having to walk to keep BG happy. I sprinted the last half mile just to feel like I was doing something. It was a beautiful morning. Warm. The sun came up on lap 2, and it was just a very peaceful run. Especially since I got to walk all the time. Today BG I and I went on a bike ride. She is less pushy about the bike, so we had a nice time.

TriKini

Well it's here. It fits, and it fits well enough to take a picture. I am not sure the top will hold the girls in place during the jog, but a sports bra won't be that bad underneath it if it's the right material.

Why They Say to Bring Your Credit Card

I have read in the books that you can really spend some money on this thing called the Tri. So today I decided (foolishly) to add up to cost so I can see if this was all really worth it. Of course, I am still not done spending, but I decided I was at least at the halfway point on gear, so I would do a check. I should probably have let this slide, just like my coffee bill.

But now I know, so:

Triathlon books - $25.33
Swim gear installment 1 - $17.04
Gym bag to hold swim gear - $37.45
Tri suit (on sale!) - $39.92
Biking shorts - $41.92
Heart Rate Monitor - $109.95

For a grand total of - $271.61.... now that's a lot of coffee.

Heart Rate Training Blunders

So it didn't all go as planned this morning. Eric Harr says you should train in the 60-70% zone. For years now I've been running on a treadmill and have gotten to where I enjoy running at about 6.2 mph for a "cruising speed". The HRM had other plans. It decided that I was going to run at closer to 5.0 mph. It actually didn't fuss much when I walked at 3.5 mph. I could not understand why it was "better" for me to slug along at a 12 min. pace. Extensive reading on the internet yielded that working out at lower intensities burns more fat. It seems kind of counter-intuitive, but the rationale is that it takes oxygen to burn fat effciently, and when you're operating at high levels, you go into an anaerobic state and the oxygen isn't there for fat burning. I want to fry all the fat possible, but I also like to feel like I'm working out. Today I didn't feel that. It's going to take some adjustment. The HRM works great though. The little heart blinks lovingly at me while I run. It just yielded some very unexpected findings.

Heart Rate Monitor is Here!

It was delivered to the house today. So far I have tried making sense of all the menus. It has a lot of features... all of them very complicated. For a while it appeared I was flatlining, but I managed to get it to register a heartbeat after some gentle coaxing. Tomorrow we go on the maiden voyage!! Unless of course I get to the gym and can't work it (always a possibility).

Week 3 Comes, Bringing New Gear

Two weeks down, a lot to go. Today is the start of week 3. So far, so good. Of course, lots of gear still to go as well. I made a list of everything I still needed, but was trying to piece it together a little bit at a time.

I had been shopping for a heart rate monitor for a week or so. Every book I have looked at stresses the importance of a HRM. They come in a variety of types and price ranges. I started out looking at the lowest level Polar models (FS1, FS2), but somehow ended up buying the middle range model (F6). I decided to buy it after comparing it to the F4 and determining that I wanted the added convenience of the coded signal the F6 offered over the F4. I am thinking in a triathlon situation, with all those folks around, there is likely to be a lot of cross talk. Also, if Marc get a HRM, we are always going to be close enough for interference I imagine. It took 4 tries, and a call to customer service, but I got one ordered from Heart Rate Monitors USA. They have free overnight shipping, which appealed to me. I ordered it on Friday afternoon though, so it is coming today. I can't wait, but I am nervous about being able to operate it correctly.

I also identified a need for a new gym bag. My little pink backpack doesn't hold enough stuff to bring work clothes and swimming stuff at the same time. I've had the little backpack since I moved to Starkville, so I had gotten plenty of use out of it. I wanted to get a bag I could actually look at and examine the size of prior to buying. The only place in town to shop was Hibbett's. They have a limited selection, but of the 4 choices, I settled on the Nike Varsity Girl duffle. It's pink, of course, but I really like it. Today it did great, and fit everything just fine.

That was supposed to be it. On the list of "still needs" was another swimming suit and something to race in. I was looking at swimming suits, but ended up finding something to wear for the actual race. I am not thrilled about wearing spandex in daylight in front of other people. I know it's necessary though. I enjoyed the tip from Slow Fat Triathlete to start by wearing it in the house, then outside at night, then finally outside in the daylight. I may have to use this method. I ordered a TriKini from SkirtSports. It is pink, as I have apparently adopted a theme. I hope that it works. It was on super sale, so if it doesn't work out, then I guess it won't be a big loss. Maybe when it comes, I'll eventually be brave enough not only to wear it, but to take a pic.

I tried out my new swim cap today. Having hurt my thumb, pulling it on was quite a chore. I popped myself pretty good in the face. I had to look at others to figure out what to do about the ears. It worked great for keeping water out of them. It made awful gurgling noises when it was out of place though. I was surprised it didn't keep my hair completely dry, but I guess that's going to happen with ears.