Off season training?!?!?!

We have officially concluded training???? Really, do we psycho 1/2 ironwomen really ever stop? Ok, I am the first to admit we slack, but in the back of our minds is the next race sometime next year and how much effort do we really want to put into that "startup" training for yet another half???? With all that said I have started an off season training plan that I downloaded off the web site begginertriathlete.com. I would love to say I am following it religiously, but the truth is I am slacking. I hate swimming and therefore have replaced 1 and most the time 2 out of the 3 swims I am suppose to be doing a week with weight training. Which in the actual plan is interspaced throughout the week I just hate to swim. Ok so much for my babbling. I still love that we (all 3 someday hopefully) will keep riding on Sundays and I love that we all still love getting together. I truely love my teammates as I say in every one of these blogs I have done. By the way, I have never blogged before and I have found this to be very fun! Does anyone read these?

Ready, set, no go...

So I don't know if I am mad or relived. The half was cancelled and I am now back at home sitting on my couch instead of firmly planted on my bike. With my projected time I would have been within an hour of finishing right now. Instead, I already ate an apple fritter and am thinking about lunch. What the.....!!!

I am the first to admit I did not want to swim, but not having the chance to do anything is frustrating. I was at least hoping to get the chance to race the Olympic distance on Sunday. I know it takes a lot to set up these events, however, it also takes a lot to get ready for one. The sprint and Olympic are to take place on Sunday(swim for them is cancelled)....seems like they could have shared the road?! Race directors said there wouldn't be enough support for that many athletes...fine with me...kick the sprinters out. I mean J-Lo wouldn't have minded (see previous blog). We paid the most, trained the most and therefore are aloud to whine the most.

I guess it will just have to wait until next year. We have been offered a 50% discount for next year. Wow, how about paying for my hotel, my gas, etc. My whining is free for them! Two of us will be around and might be able to talk the third into coming back out. Who knows, maybe next year will be a 110 out and we fall off our bikes due to the heat.

With no races in sight I am not sure what I will be up to. Time to kick back and reflect on how this training was fun. As much as I just bitched, this year of tris and runs has given me two great friends. We have common interests and goals that without the tris we might not have crossed each others paths. To sum it all up I want to borrow a line or two from some famous commericals...

Tri registration: $175
Hotels, food, gas, etc: $600+
Friendships gained while not even getting to race: Priceless!!!

Thanks for a great year-it makes me sad to think it's kind of over. Maybe we need to find something to do......

Hurricane Hanna & a Half

Our first Half-Iron was in 90 degree heat just a week after a tornado hit. Now, Huricane Hanna is headed up the east coast and over Williamsburg - at the EXACT time we will be racing. No word yet on what modifications they will make to the race or if they'll cancel it (I, of course, am praying for the latter!). I'm sure they'll take away the swim and add more running. Personally, I'd rather take my chances in the water than have to run anymore than required. I've done some races in Hawaii in some 4ft+ waves.... :) Quite honestly, I'm more afraid of getting blown off my bike with my feet still clipped in.

The other girls, of course, would rather do anything else other than a swim. I'm trying to conjure up a 3rd event for them that might be embarrassing, but if you knew what they did to me at a public restaurant, you'd know they aren't easily embarrassed.

I'm actually more excited about this race now than before. It's probably because that remote shot of it being canceled looks likely. It's like one of my students holding out for snow on the day of a major test.

If my next post ends up being from Maine, you'll know I got blown a little off course in the swim. Wish us luck... although surviving is a pretty feasible goal at this point too.


"It's good training!" - Just Tri Me

And this is so special because?????

In this week's issue of People magazine there is an article about Jennifer Lopez doing her first triathlon (!) and six months after giving birth (!!). Wow... she's so special. All hail la Lopez.

It really makes me laugh. Well, J-Lil did her first triathlon six months after giving birth, too. And you know what? My friends and I are doing our SECOND HALF IRON Saturday. We have kids, too. We have jobs (real ones, to boot). Yet we don't get a 3 page spread in People.

So, what am I griping about? Not much. Just wanted to let you know we are way cooler than J-Lo.

Go TriBabes!


"It's Good Training" - Just Tri Me

Close, But No Cigar

At work today I dropped a bookcase on my toe. There was blood, but no broken bones. My first instinct was "oh, not before a race." Then I thought "hmph, maybe this is my ticket out of the Half." As the other girls will attest to, I'm not mentally in this race. I haven't even made my hotel reservations. I guess part of me is still hoping I'll encounter a good excuse not to do it. This is it for the girls, but I still have another two races to go. I know this should be the bigger deal since it's a Half, but I'm just still kaput from the last one.

I have now taken a whole new approach to training. I am referring to it as a"spiritual" based training; as in, "Oh God, please just let me get through this race!"


"It's Good Training!" -Just Tri Me

What Next???

2 Weeks to go till the 2nd craziest (actually this may be the craziest since I already know the type of pain I will be in) thing I have ever done in my life is OVER!!! Man I can't wait. As I was telling my teammates today (on our 5mile run-1st training we all did together for either of our races) I b-tch, whine and moan about my races. Stress myself out to the point where everything in my life seems to be falling apart and going wrong, and then I turn around after the race is over and wonder what race I will do next. Am I a Sadomasachist? Or am I a Triathlete? Isn't this why we do race? To get our life back together? To give ourselves goals and a set schedule to keep our lives active and fit? I don't know if that is why, but I know it is part of why I race. The other part is because without that goal I have no direction. The other reasons I race is because I want my kids to know a healthy life style and a strong, confident woman as their mother. And though my confidence waivers as I near my races I try not to let them know. I keep working out as planned and just keep moving. I hope they know someday the thrill of training for something (anything-football, soccer, lacross, swimming) and the satisfaction when finishing. They don't have to place, just finish or have done the best they ever could. I want them to see me doing these things. Show them how strong women are. By the way, they are 2 and 4 so they have no clue but someday. And maybe someday my teammates and I will meet to do an Ironman!!! HEHEHE!!

I'm baaaaaack

I'm finally back from enjoying my summer vacation. I spent 2 weeks at the in-laws and only gained 3 lbs. (not bad). Then I came home and left right away for a long weekend in Ocean City, Maryland and lost 1/2 lb. (excellent!).

And true to my word I was out running on August 1st. However, I huffed and puffed my way through a 5K (baaaaad!). Then my mother in-law said she didn't feel comfortable with me running since they've had moutain lions in the area (real baaaaaad). So, that was the end of that. I didn't get to hit the Vortex at Mizzou, but I went on a float trip down the Meramec River and got out and swam against a hard current for 20 minutes (fuuuuuuun!). I think people thought I was an idiot who didn't realize I wasn't going anywhere.

Now, I'm back and with a vengence. I subbed 6 AM Spin this morning, did the eliptical trainer for 60 minutes and then subbed 9:30 BOSU Strength. Right now my motivation is my weight. I have to start work soon and need to fit into my clothes again. I know we bagged on BarbieGirlNot for being on Jenny Craig, but I'm getting desperate. I'm on total flush-out/detox this week. I'm doing low-carb (yeah, me! Miss-I-could-survive-the-rest-of-my-life-on-bread) and protein shakes (i.e. Slim-Fast and TriMe's PB & Banana shakes). Plus, I'm trying to add in an extra 30 minutes of running or swimming. We'll see how it goes....

Still doubt I'll be anywhere near ready for the next Half. I've kind of already conceded mentally to the other girls. They've been training hard. I think part of me still thinks I won't end up racing because of a scheduling conflict. I shouldn't have taken so much time off, but I know my body needed it. Although I'm sure my wardrobe might beg to differ....

"It's Good Training" - Just Tri Me