Indoor Time Trial #2 was yesterday. My heat was me + seven guys, ugh! I have my warmup routine down for these, now, which helped immensely. I was very happy with my performance, 19:15.26, which put me at 19.3 mph again and in 4th place out of 10 in Women's Cat-4. Even though I got the same time (essentially) and the same speed, it was a vast improvement. This was a hilly course (course profile below), and so was considerably harder than the flat course from last time. I compared some of the other girls' times and just about all of them did worse by approx a minute on this course as compared to last time. So I must've improved a bit, which is surprising since I haven't been training ALL that much. I think my pared down warmup (only 15 min) and having my ipod working helped a lot. I managed to beat the guy to my right, and was hoping I could catch the guy to my left, but the computer thingy he was on pooped out about 2/3 of the way thru. I would've been PISSED! Overall, a good race for me. I still have a lot of endurance work to do, but yesterday motivated me to really get going on being faster for the next flat course!

Happy Birthday to Me! Today is my birthday and I decided to mark it by signing up for something substantial. I sent in my registration forms for Team in Training. I am going to do the Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 (Half Ironman Distance) Triathlon on August 4th, 2007. This is way farther than I've ever gone, but I want to do something big. My goal is to just finish the distance. It's scary to think about covering 70.3 miles, but with the support of the coaches, teammates, mentors, and the motivation of knowing I am raising money for a good cause, I'm sure I can do it. For anybody not sure, Team in Training (TNT) is the world's largest endurance sports training program. I will be doing some fundraising in the next few months, which will include putting together a website specifically for that purpose. 75% of everything I raise will go directly to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I will be documenting my experience of training, fundraising, etc on this blog and will provide links to my TNT website as soon as I get it up and running (no pun intended har har).

Went for a run this morning. Just for 30 minutes, and went slower than I would've liked, but since I've been slacking, it was probably about right. I decided that I would just feel like crap if I didn't get my butt up out of bed and at least do something this morning. I do feel better for following through on it. I feel like I'm really far behind, and have kind of been moping about that. I also tend to get blue around my birthday (which is today, ugh). I had to shift my mindset and instead of sulking about being behind, which was only putting me further behind and in worse shape, I needed to just snap out of it and do something. Something is better than nothing, even if that something is less than where I want to be right now. Just keep making forward progress. I need to think hard about my goals for the year. I fear I may be trying to bite off more than I can chew, but at the same time, I really want to push my limits and do something big. I got some information about the local Team in Training chapter, and it sounds really great. I just need to make sure it is what I want to do.

Had a bad run on Saturday. I know it was primarily because I hadn't eaten enough, but it was cold and I got discouraged and just couldn't keep going. I need to keep at things, though, and remind myself that there will be bad workout days and better workout days and good workout days.

I feel like I'm behind somehow, too, which isn't helping. I feel like I should be a stronger runner than I am yet, and able to go farther than I can at the present time. I am getting worried about being ready for the Riverbank Run in May.

I've also been slacking on the bike workouts. I have another time trial in 2 weeks, and need to get ready for that. It's extra hard this week with a house guest. I don't want to be vanishing and working out when I know my friend is sitting around without me.

Overall, I think my training plan is overly ambitious and I need to scale it back a bit. I also need to get my butt up outta bed in the morning and get to the gym. That way, half my workout is over before I even start my day, and trying to fit everything in won't seem so overwhelming. Now I just need to make it so I don't hit snooze at 4:45 am. Just gotta remind myself how much I want to succeed at this whole race thing this year and not think about how sleepy I am. I'm usually just being more lazy than sleepy anyhow.

I've finally put some more detail down on my training plan. I'm sure I'll be adjusting it, but I'm going to build my endurance base over the next several weeks. I was feeling really crappy this week and discouraged about some things in my personal life, and I'm trying to get out of the funk by focusing on training. We'll see how it works, but I'm quite motivated currently. I figure it is something I can put my attention into and hopefully distract me from some unhappy things. Those things are out of my control, which is frustrating and hard to deal with, but working out is completely mine. I set goals for the remainder of the week for my training, and will do everything I can to meet them. It will be a challenge, though, since my mood and energy have been lacking as of late, but reminding myself what I'm shooting for and that it is a good place to put my energy should help.

Indoor Time Trial #1 was yesterday. There were computer problems, but my section got underway at around noon. About two miles in, I thought I would die and wasn't sure if I could make it. My legs were feeling heavy all morning and I was just having an "off" day all around. I managed to push it though and refused to let my speed drop below 18. There was another girl in the heat that I wasn't far behind, but hard as I tried, I just couldn't quite catch her! She stayed approx .2 mph faster than me the whole time, grrr! Anyway, I definitely gave it my full effort, which I am proud of. I ended up getting 4th place out of 8 in the Women's Cat-4 with a time of 19:16:24 (average speed = 19.3 mph). I'm happy with that, especially since it was my first race ever. It definitely motivates me to improve for next time. I'm happy I was able to be in the middle of the pack as opposed to at the rear end. :P

I got a mailing from Team In Training over the weekend and am going to attend one of their informational meetings in a couple weeks. It seems like a good and popular program, and would probably be a great way to have social support and great motivation for training and racing.

I did a practice time trial last night in preparation for my race on Sunday (which I'm nervous about since I just don't know what to expect). I managed to meet my goal, averaging over 21 mph for the entire 10K distance. It's good because now I know that I can maintain that, which is something I wasn't sure of before. I also put together a playlist for my iPod, which should help me stay focused/ distracted/ motivated during the ride. I'm pretty sure you can wear headphones for these races. It looks like people in the pictures have them on, but we'll see. I find out my start time this afternoon.

Had my first race of the year yesterday, the New Year's Day 5K Fun Run/Walk in Lincoln Park in Chicago. I've been slacking on my running so it was a good way to kick off the new year. Don't have my official time yet, but it was slooooow. Partly because the paths were narrow and it was a big pack, partly because I was tired from being up late the night before, but mostly because I'm slow.

After the race, my friend and I wandered over to North Avenue Beach where we joined the Polar Bear Club for a quick dip in Lake Michigan. Yes, it was cold, especially since the wind really seemed to pick up as we were walking over there. After getting out of the water, my legs were numb and my feet were shaking as I tried to get dressed. Fortunately the weather was quite mild compared to what January in Chicago can be.

Going to sit down tonight and plan out specific workouts for the next four or so weeks. I've been putting it off and been busy, but it's got to get done now.

I was in a bit of a funk as far as working out around the holidays. I did get a bit of exercise in, so I wasn't a complete lump, but I definitely slacked too much. I decided the only way to really get my butt back in gear was to fork over a few registration fees. So I did. I signed up for the ABD Indoor Time Trial Series. The first race is in 9 days, so that should get me motivated! I hope to do alright, mainly want to avoid making a total fool of myself over there, but we'll see! I need to be stepping outside of my comfort zone a bit, otherwise I'll never do anything, I'll just sit around wondering how I might've done. Not a very good way to live life! I've been doing a bit of cycling on my trainer and been trying to keep up on the spinning classes at the gym, but I'll be stepping up the training throughout the series and will hopefully be able to see decent improvement over time.

The Time Trial Series consists of five races:
1/1/07 -- 10K Flat TT (Indoor, 8-Up)
1/28/07 -- 10K Rolling TT (Indoor, 8-Up)
2/18/07 -- 10K Flat TT (Indoor, 8-Up)
3/4/07 -- 10K Rolling TT (Indoor, 8-Up)
4/1/07 -- 10 Mile TT at Maple Park

I also signed up for the 2007 New Year's Day Fun Run in Chicago. Decided it would be a good way to kick off the year on the right foot. It doesn't start till 11, so I'll have plenty of time to get into the city. I may also jump in Lake Michigan with the Chicago Polar Bears Club, but we'll see if I'm that brave! Definitely would be something to brag/talk about! I'll try to remember my camera if I do go through with it.

I'm making some headway on the planning. I bought Joe Friel's Triathlon Training Bible, and have been going through that trying to set up my training plan. Part of the challenge is figuring out which races I really want to do and which races I can cut out. I'm also trying to decide whether to join USAT. So far it looks like I might be doing three triathlons that are USAT sanctioned, so it would make sense to join ($30 for annual membership or $10 fee for nonmembers to race in USAT races). I would be breaking even, so might as well get me a key fob and those other benefits. I'm also noticing that registration is open for several of the races I'm considering. I know some have a tendency to fill up quickly, so I should register ASAP. The funds are short at the moment, given the Christmas shopping I've been doing, but registering will lock me into participating and be that much more motivation!

I'm also struggling with how ambitious to be about the cycling races. There are several time trials in the area (well, sort of, close enough to drive to anyhow), which would be great prep for the triathlon bike portions. They range from 20 to 40K, and most of them fall earlier in the season than the triathlons I'm planning on. It's tempting to think about signing up for most of them, but will need to work it into the rest of my training plan.

On a training related note, I found out this morning that my personal trainer has left my gym. Now this could be a pro or a con. I was benefitting from the program he had me on, but I have been feeling it was more sprint focused than I necessarily want to be at this point. My newly assigned trainer (good thing I don't have any input here), said that she understands that I do marathons (come again? nope. not yet anyhow.) and that she can work with me blah blah... So needless to say there was a slight breakdown in communciation. I'll be sure to sit down with her and get things in order. Hopefully we can get me on the right track to support my actual goals.

Cycling training has begun. I have had my new bike a few months and haven't really gotten into riding. Now, with the snow, riding outdoors is sketchy at best. (Though with the recent thaw, I could get back outside perhaps this weekend.) I did find a series of time trial races that I am 90% sure I'm going to participate in. It's the ABD Indoor Time Trial Series, and is fairly local. There are five races in the series, including 4 10K indoor races on trainers and one outdoor 10 Mile Time Trial. I figure since I've never raced before, the shorter races would be a good place to start. Hopefully I won't be too intimidated.

I'm also in the process of developing my race calendar and training plan for next year. I've never really done this before, so it should be interesting!

Well here's my blog for tracking my progress as I train for triathlons and other races (running, cycling, etc.). I'm hoping it will keep me accountable and provide a place for me to be able to diary my experiences. I'll be forced to put my goals down in writing, which should make me more likely to stick to it!

As a bit of background, I decided I wanted to try triathlon last summer, so I signed up for a sprint distance event in the area. I had never liked running, especially running for the sake of running, and had never run over a mile straight. Biking seemed pretty straightforward, so I wasn't too concerned about that, and I had done a little swimming when playing water polo in high school, so I wasn't terrified of that. I trained for 5 or so weeks, and met all my goals for the race. The run portion scared me to death, so I ended up going too easy on the bike leg, but I'll get better and better at pacing myself over time. Overall, I had a blast and am determined to improve my speed and endurance, participating more triathlons in 2007, including some longer distance ones.

I've let myself fall a bit out of shape in the last few months, but I joined a gym and am excited to be getting back into it. I need to build a solid aerobic base (which I'm awful at - I always go too hard and too fast), and work on improving my technique and efficiency in all three sports. Those are what I'm focusing on at this point. The main thing is for me to pace myself and build slowly and steadily.