I've been struggling a bit with whether or not to keep this blog. I have another blog where I write about our small farm and the happenings there, but I don't really have any place where I write about my tri training or my quest for leanness. This is why I started this blog. The problem is that I go through phases where time is so incredibly limited that even though I feel like blogging, I can't find time. And then I have times like this where while I should be doing something else, I feel the need to blog to express my current frustration.
About 14 months ago, I began training for my first triathlon. I started at about 175 lbs and today I'm sitting around 152 lbs. I'd like to be closer to 130 lbs. I just can't seem to motivate myself recently. I'm still doing a decent job of getting in my running (which was my winter goal - increase my running frequency and miles) but I'm not doing much more than that. I swim about once a week and am still doing ok there as well. Cycling? Hardly. I actually rode last Saturday for the first time in AGES and found it was not only kind of hard, but that I was really sore the next day! And I really wanted to get in some good weight training in this 'off-season' and I haven't done any of that at all. Nutritionally, I'm floundering.
I have no idea what my problem is. I'm feeling an alarming lack of motivation. Luckily (?), it extends to work and other areas as well which leads me to believe that it's not related to health/fitness but more to the current state of my hormones. Ugh.
My original plan was to run until it was time to start an oly training plan (my first Olympic tri will be the end of June and that will be my 'A' race for this year). I was looking at using the 20-week plan, but the running volume is kind of low and I really don't want to lower my run volume (since my run is so weak). So what I think I might do is switch to a 16-week version. This will start with slightly higer run volumes AND, it'll give me 4 extra weeks to work on my weight training. So my goals going foward will be 1 - 2 swims per week, keep on my running schedule and focus on weight training until 16 weeks out from the Oly. I think that puts me at mid-March for begining the formal training plan which should allow some good progress on the weight training (counting on some muscle-memory here!). That should also give me plenty of volume completed before my first tri of the season which will be May 7th (Canby Gator Grinder).
So there you have it, my new plan in print. Weight training rotation, every other day running and weekly swims until 16-weeks out from my Oly tri. Now, lets put this into action...
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Recap of 2010
I cannot believe that I did NO posting on this blog from April 2010 (before my first tri) until now. That's a lot of happenings that didn't get recorded!
So as a quick recap:
I did the Canby Gator Grinder sprint tri as my first tri. I ended up dead center for my age group. I felt good about an 11 min swim, a decent bike, and a pretty slow run. I'm looking forward to improving on all the times in 2011.
My second tri was the Blue Lake Sprint in early June. This was my first open water swim. It didn't go well. I'd only worn my wetsuit once prior to the race and due to a newly formed tiny tear, didn't pull it on all the way. It was choking me. That, combined with the racing HR from the start of my second race and I almost had a panic attack. Plus, 880y looks REALLY long in a lake! AND I had the sun in my eyes for the first part and couldn't see. I ended up side-stroking almost the entire swim! The bike went ok and the run was my usual plod. I did sign up for the Athena class (women > 150lbs) so even with a lousy swim, I still ended up with a second place medal!
After that, I did a LOT more open water swim practice and felt much, much better by the time my next race rolled around. I did a practice tri at Hagg Lake put on by Athlete's Lounge in mid-July that was fun. The trail run was really cool even though I felt like I was tripping over my feet. I did ok, but it wasn't an official event.
Then I raced the Mid-Summer Sprint Tri at Blue Lake on August 1st. This was almost the identical course to the Blue Lake tri earlier in the year. The only difference was that the bike was extended to be 17 miles to make the whole race a 19.2 mile race as part of Amica's tri series. I did MUCH better on the swim, was slightly faster on the bike and the run. Yay, me! I did not race it as Athena though as I had planned to not qualify by then (even though I still did).
My last event of the summer was the Crater Lake Century. My husband and I drove to Crater Lake on the third weekend in August and it was a wonderful event. Great support, great ride, great weather and we had so much fun. I *think* we are going to try and do this ride again in 2011.
All in all, I'd say that 2010 was a pretty damn successful first triathlon season for me. :-)
So as a quick recap:
I did the Canby Gator Grinder sprint tri as my first tri. I ended up dead center for my age group. I felt good about an 11 min swim, a decent bike, and a pretty slow run. I'm looking forward to improving on all the times in 2011.
My second tri was the Blue Lake Sprint in early June. This was my first open water swim. It didn't go well. I'd only worn my wetsuit once prior to the race and due to a newly formed tiny tear, didn't pull it on all the way. It was choking me. That, combined with the racing HR from the start of my second race and I almost had a panic attack. Plus, 880y looks REALLY long in a lake! AND I had the sun in my eyes for the first part and couldn't see. I ended up side-stroking almost the entire swim! The bike went ok and the run was my usual plod. I did sign up for the Athena class (women > 150lbs) so even with a lousy swim, I still ended up with a second place medal!
After that, I did a LOT more open water swim practice and felt much, much better by the time my next race rolled around. I did a practice tri at Hagg Lake put on by Athlete's Lounge in mid-July that was fun. The trail run was really cool even though I felt like I was tripping over my feet. I did ok, but it wasn't an official event.
Then I raced the Mid-Summer Sprint Tri at Blue Lake on August 1st. This was almost the identical course to the Blue Lake tri earlier in the year. The only difference was that the bike was extended to be 17 miles to make the whole race a 19.2 mile race as part of Amica's tri series. I did MUCH better on the swim, was slightly faster on the bike and the run. Yay, me! I did not race it as Athena though as I had planned to not qualify by then (even though I still did).
My last event of the summer was the Crater Lake Century. My husband and I drove to Crater Lake on the third weekend in August and it was a wonderful event. Great support, great ride, great weather and we had so much fun. I *think* we are going to try and do this ride again in 2011.
All in all, I'd say that 2010 was a pretty damn successful first triathlon season for me. :-)
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