Week 2 done with ajustments.

Well I have not had as much time to blog as I would like because I sleep workout and work.  I don't have the web at home ( who could afford that when you have to buy something every week for this triathlon deal) so posts are done at Starbucks/My office (cough cough).  Week 2 had adjustment due to an unexpected day off and a race I already had planned on my day off so I rearranged some things and did a few more double days to get the miles in.  I went to the store yesterday and bought some essentials for helping me get my training into more of a routine.  I now have a white board on my fridge with the weeks AM and PM workouts so I know what days I need to be in bed early and what days I can stay up past Jeopardy ( it airs at 7:30pm local time) for some big kid TV.  I also have a workout planner I carry with me so I know when I can squeeze in friend time and other things like grocery shopping and cleaning the house.  Now that I am all set on the organization I am feeling like I can really kick things into high gear.  Today Started my new AM/PM schedule and I woke up with ease at 4:45am this morning to get my swim in.  I was only able to do this because I was asleep by 10:30 last night.  Now with the most time consuming part of my workout done I'll be able to be snoozing again tonight by 10:00pm hopefully.  In turn I will be able to keep up this Blog a little better as well.
Happy Training
-RR-
P.S. I got my wetsuit in the mail on friday but more on that later:)

Week one in the books

A little more than I thought to say the least.  My training schedule says that I would only be working out for about 8 hours a week.... but I am slower then the average bear so it been a little more for me.  And even if you are only working out for 1.5 hours it still consume WAY more time than that.  I head to the gym about 9pm and will leave around 11:45pm-12:15am. between changing getting ready and transitioning into the pool. then Warming up there, and getting to the workout it just takes time.  In other news I have a wet suit coming at me hot, as an early birthday present from my mom.  So I only have a few more things to check off the list and I will be all set to go.  My social life has slowed on the week nights for sure but the weekend I cram as much friend time as possible. Now for week 2 adventures.
-RR-

No time for error

I rushed home and put on my biking gear picked up my packages.  What packages, thanks for asking.  I got a new digital scale in the mail and also got a training diary.  So once those were stashed away in my apartment I hit the road.  It was a cold ride, I did not feel it but in my toes. when I got home and my external body temp was bringing the temperate in my house ( I use the term house loosely) down at least 10 degrees my body was so cold.  During this ride I realized that I need as brighter bike light and shoe booties or covers whatever the bikers call em.  I was good for a while but by the end my toes were numb..ish it was about 44 degrees out and then sun was down so I am not being a total wienie.  My bike light is fine for people and cars to see me but I could not really see the road or terrain to well when I was on the bike path with no lights.  I guess I will be shopping this weekend.  Now it was time to get some food in my belly and get ready for the second workout of the day my run.  BY the time I was all geared up and ready the treadmill at my apartment was occupied... boo to that. So a change in the plan occurred I went up stair and did a workout of death for my second workout and am pushing my run to the next day because there is only on workout scheduled.  I did my core, and lunges and arms and cardio jumping exercise and called it good.  I can already tell a difference in my core strength just from a week ago but I guess that will happen when you start working on it more :).  10 more days and I am going to get my test with that workout again. Hoping to not pass out.
Today I will be doing my 30 mins run and a short..ish swim work out. Sounds fun right.  until next time.
-RR-

Day one recap

Well I cheated on my first workout I was supposed to run for 40 mins and well I did 30 mins instead. I then continued into the pool where I had 2200 to knockout which I did, But I now see just in one day, how important planning is.... Yes mom I am admitting that planning is a necessity.  I have very busy Mondays and so I thought that I could workout at night like 10pm well let me tell you that is not a good plan.  I did not get home until 12:30am.  My big plan was to get my bike in this morning before work, but with the midnight 30 home arrival time last night/this morning it was just not conducive for my ride. I knew that sleeping would be more beneficial to my body then cranking out a ride on about 5 hours of sleep.  So now I am in a time crunch after work to get home and on by bike before the sun goes down at 6:08pm.  I am sure I will manage. Armed with some new knowledge from the past 24 hours. I already have some changes planned for my workout and sleep schedule next week. Go to bed early to get up early and split the double days to morning and afternoon workouts.  This will be much better than having to do both workouts back to back.  Continuing on the planning portion of things I have a triathlon workout schedule/Journal arriving in the mail today to track workouts and nutrition over the course of my training.  This will be very helpful with progress, accountability, and nutrition affects on my workout, without having to just remember how things worked or didn't work.  Heck if I learn this much every workout this would be GREAT!!  I will check in again soon.  Happy training.
-RR-

And away we go....

Day number one of training starts today with a 40min run and a long swim that will cover over 2200m.  It is official I am now training for a half ironman and I will tell you that I am soo excited and very nervous at the same time.  I recently did a workout with a friend and their personal training and I will tell you what, my core and my fitness level are not where I want them to be at all.  I have been so concerned with my pre-training and being able to do activities for a long amount of time that I have neglected other things I must work on.  An example of this being ask me to run for 45 mins or an hour I'll say yeah I can do that no problem (ish beside the whole I hate running thing).  Ask me to do 3 wind sprints and I will pass out right in front of you.  Or ask me to do bicycle crunches and in the following days I'll find it hard to get in and out of bed and curse my friend for making me laugh my abs are so sore.  So I have learned a lesson that I wish I had learned about 4 weeks ago but you know better late then never.  I need to work on core strength and interval training BAD.. So I have a goal to have my core stronger in 2 weeks and I will test this by trying my hand at the work out of death again in 2 weeks to see how I compare to my last effort.   If you are wondering how my last effort went, well I started the workout at 6pm and ended it at 6:25pm because I felt like I was going to fall right over due to fainting.  I am now armed with core and strength routine to help with my over all fitness and to help me kick butt on my next workout of death test. 
My prep in other areas has been going well and I am ready to do the damn thing.  I have changed my diet up  cutting out alcohol and watching my protein and crab intake, and making sure to eat after workouts.  I have a standard shake in the am to start my day off right, and I can feel a difference in my energry so the only thing left to do is a one day a time workout attidude.  So here I go wish me luck with my goal of compleating a 70.3.  I just want to finish it and I'm hoping i do not have to walk any of the run besides aid staions.  The calm before the storm has begun and I know I am not even sure what I am in for but I am ready to do it...  "The more we sweat in practice the less we bleed in battle." - unknown
NO WHITE FLAGS!!!!
-RR-

Miss Calculation surprise

So when counting back from my race I must have messed up because I thought I started my official training on the 27th of Feb.  Not so much I actually do not start until March 5th.  With this in mind I am feeling pretty good. I feel like I have enough time to get myself where I need to be in a slow and steady wins the race type pace.  I was able to swim on my vacation and did pool workouts every other day.  Better then nothing and a easier way to keep my strength up, than pounding the pavement in the rain.  I am goign to work on more running and speed work so that I am not slugging along on my running and I'll be looking at different races to keep me on track and motivated. 
Jitters-
I know I have not been giving any real workout up dates and I probably will be veg with them until I can upload my schedule.  So I thought I would go through how I am feeling about this HUGE commitment in front of me.  There are many things in my life that are important to me and my social life is one of them.  I love staying busy and hanging out with friends and family.  There have been very few times in my time here in the Emerald City that I have said I'll pass I want to stay home and chill out by myself.  I am up for anything an impromptu road trip, baseball game, concert or movie just to mention a few.  As my starting line is getting close I know that I will be making some sacrifices in this department, and I am not so sure how I feel about it.  I know with my training schedule I will need more sleep and probably less time kicking back beers with friends on the weekends. To say sorry I'm heading home I have a long run tomorrow will be the hard part for me.  I did this during my 1/2 marathon and it turned out just fine but that was only 12 weeks and not 6 workouts a week with double days. So this next 20 weeks of work then training then friends may be difficult especially when you throw a vacation and an out of town wedding in the mix.  But all in all I am getting excited to see what I can push my body and more importantly my mind to do.  The days are getting longer here and with every day getting about 3 minutes longer, I can almost see my after work runs and bikes fitting in nicely.  I already have butterflies in my stomach thinking about how much I will indefinitely learn about myself during this journey. It is right around the corner and I can't wait to begin.

Getting ready.

2 Weeks until full blown training and I have gotten all of my ducks in a row.  I had a quick Vegas trip Where I would say I got mentally prepared for my workouts meaning I did zero physical activity while I was there.  I lost a little weight in my wallet but I did not make time for a work out.  Trying to win back your own money is a time consuming activity.  Upon my return to the Emerald city I went right back to the grind.  I did a bike run combo work out I did a cross training cardio gym class.  I exchanged my new bike shoes for ones that were one size bigger, I have not been able to ride my bike because my shoes have not fit correct and well, it has been raining here for days, years, weeks, months.  So on the first sunny day I went and got my shoes.  So with my new shoes prepped and ready I did my first clip-less bike ride on Saturday, it was a lot more successful then I thought.  I had zero incidents but then again I was on a trail and only had to clip out once so I foresee there being some hangs up next time I am on my bike.
Then it was time for Super Sunday. I started my day with a 45 min swim and then I headed off to a Super Bowl party, to cheer on the Pats and well that didn't go over too well.  I made a bet that I would shave my head if they lost, but I made this bet when they were up by 7 or 8 points in the 3rd quarter..... Turns out that was a dumb bet to make.  After the game I sat down in a chair in front of everyone and the clippers came out and one small patch of hair was snipped off.  During this time I was crying for the thought of not having to use a swim cap again for a couple of months was not so appealing.  But thank goodness that is as far as it went and I got a hug and a I'm just kidding I am not going to shave your head.  Looked like it was my lucky day. After all of that drama had settled down I headed home for a good nights rest and a full head of hair to attack the work week.  Trying to squeeze as many work outs in this week before I take off to Houston for a nice vacation, when I am there I will only be able to run and swim so I will be trying to get more bike time in this week.  Slow and steady wins the race.
-RR-