My Next Race

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Frustrated

Do you ever have days where you just want to give up? Throw in the towel? Wave the white flag? Well today was one of those days for me.

Like I said in my previous post, my shin splints have come back, which has put a kibosh on running for a little bit. Granted, I can do the eliptical trainer, but that's not the same as pounding out miles on the pavement or the treadmill. And like I said in the previous post, if I keep getting shin splints because of how I run, am I going to continue to get shin splints every couple of months? If so, will I ever reach my goal of completing an Ironman? I've got a 1/2 marathon in about 6 weeks and I've got shin splints. That's not a good combo.

All of this got me thinking about other aspects of the triathlon and how I'm doing as far as improving and am I EVER going to improve.

I'm really frustrated with my swimming right now. Hell, I can't even do a flip turn. I can't even dive in to a pool. I have a hard time staying consistent with my swim time. One day I'll be able to swim 100 yds in 2 minutes and I'll be able to do that 4 times, but the next day, it'll take me 2:10 to swim 100 yds. On Friday's, my swim workout is 200 swim/kick/pull and then a long 1000 yds. I want to be able to swim the 1000 yds in 20 minutes (30 seconds a lap). One time I was able to swim it in 21:10 and I was proud of myself. I've never been able to do that again. I'm always at least 23:00. It's just VERY frustrating.

The bike, that's the only part where I feel like I'm doing ok. I still seem to struggle with hills some times, but other times, I seem to do ok. I want to get to a point where I can climb hills without a problem, but the bike is the only part where I'm not too frustrated.

I know the only way I will get better at triathlons is to keep doing them and to not give up, but today, I just felt like giving up. Even now that it's 8 hours later, I'm frustrated, but I don't feel like giving up. I just need reassurance sometimes.

Good News/Bad News

I have good news and bad news for this post...hence the name of the post. Lol.

Bad news first I guess. My shin splints are back. :( Granted, they aren't as bad as they were earlier this year, but they're back. I really hope that if I use my handy dandy KT Tape and my compression socks this week my shin splints will heal quick. I'm not going to do the treadmill this week either. To keep up with my running though, I will do the eliptical trainer, I just won't put any resistance on it. Or, if I do put resistance on it, I won't do anything more than a 5 (normally the resistance is anywhere from a 10-13).

I haven't been pushing myself hard with my running, so I'm frustrated that my shin splints have come back. When I got shin splints earlier this year, I was running 6+ miles a day. I would run more if I had a bad day emotionally, etc. Plus, I wasn't stretching before running either.

I now make sure I stretch really well before I run or use the eliptical trainer, plus I've only been running 4.0 miles a day except on Saturday and then I have a long run on Saturday.

I think the reason I'm still getting shin splints is for a couple of reasons. I'm still only running on the treadmill and I'm not running outside. I do the treadmill instead of running outside for a couple of reasons. Usually when I need to run, that's not the only thing I need to do. I also need to either bike or do weights, so I just go up to the gym and do everything there instead of going running for 4 miles outside and then going up to the gym when I get done. I think another reason I'm getting shin splints is because when I run, when my foot meets the ground or the treadmill, it meets it too hard and the torque is too much (does that make sense?). But, that's the only way I know how to run. Soon I will be meeting with my personal trainer again and hopefully he'll be able to help me.

Time for some good news! I lost 1.4 pounds this week! Granted, 1.4 lbs isn't alot, but I didn't think I'd lose ANY weight this week. I just didn't feel like I worked out alot. I didn't workout at all on Friday and I didn't swim every day this week. So, needless to say, I was shocked when I stepped on the scale and it said I'd lost 1.4 lbs.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Be Well Joy Ride Triathlon

My latest race was the most disorganized race I have ever competed in! I will NOT participate in this race ever again.

I got up bright and early to get ready for the race 'cause I had to drive 1 hour to get there. The race was supposed to start at 8:00 a.m., so I got there right about 7:00 a.m.

I went up to the table to pick up my packet and get my bib # and that's where I realized how much of a disaster this race was going to be.

At all my other races, they have a spreadsheet of everybody that has already signed up for the race, so when you pick up your number, they just mark your name off on the list and hand you your bag that has your t-shirt, bib # and all the other goodies in it. Not at this race. I walked up to the table. They wrote my name down on a legal pad sized yellow paper, picked up a # off of the big pile of #'s they had. They asked me if I had paid already or not and then passed me off to the t-shirt table. I went to the t-shirt table and picked up my t-shirt and they passed me off to the body marking people.

After I got my bib # marked on my arm and leg, that was it. I didn't get a timing chip, nothing. I finally asked how they were going to do the timing with this race and they said they weren't going to break it down in to splits or anything. That still didn't tell me how they planned on timing the race, so I just stopped asking questions.

I got my transition area ready and then me and my dad just wandered around, looked at the pool, and then hung out by the pool until it was time for the race to start.

The race was supposed to start at 8:00 a.m., but 8:00 came and went without the race starting. So did 8:30 and 8:45. I was starting to get impatient. Finally at 9:00 a.m., they said they were close to getting the race started, they were having techincal difficulties.

Around 9:15 a.m. the race finally started...at least for the slow swimmers. They said that so we could get the swimming done fastest, the slower swimmers went first and the fastest swimmers went last. Oh good grief!!! So, I was in the second to the last heat.

I had already eaten my energy jelly beans at 7:30 a.m. (the package says to eat 30 minutes before event), so my energy had come and gone by the time I started the swim. One good thing about the swim was we stayed in the same lane the whole time and did 12 laps. I did like that.

I wish I knew how fast I swam, but nope, didn't know. I figured out that the way they started the race was in each heat, there was 24 swimmers and they gave their bib #'s to the timing people and when they said "go", they started your time on the computer.

So, after the swim I was off to the transition area to pick up my bike. I was kind of nervous about the bike because I didn't know the route or anything like that. I saw a map of the route, but I still wasn't familiar with it. The bike seemed to take FOREVER!!! I felt like I was riding my bike forever before I got to the turn around point. It felt like I rode my bike all the way up in to Idaho and back. There were a couple of hills on the bike, but nothing too bad. The police officers that were blocking intersections for us were super nice. I almost wiped out on my bike on the way back to transition. I was going kind of fast and took a corner too sharp. Thankfully I was able to correct myself and distribute my weight on the bike well enough that I didn't wipe out (thankfully).

Then it was off on the run. The run wasn't bad at all. I got to see the run course while I was on the bike, so I knew what to expect as far as the route, etc. We had to run a little dirt trail for maybe 1/4 of a mile and there was two hills that weren't too bad, but my legs were getting tired, so I knew I wasn't running as fast as I could've been.

I gauge my time on the course by how many people are on the course with me, but that was hard to do with this race, because alot of the time, I was on the course by myself. I wasn't fond of that.

Finally I'm headed back on the run and as I run in to the finish I see them look at the number on my arm and look at the time that I cross the finish line and they write that down on a legal pad sized yellow piece of paper and that's how they figure your final time!!! Ridiculous!!! I couldn't believe it.

My dad forgot to look at his watch when I started swimming and I forgot to look at my watch when I started swimming, so I had NO idea what my finish time was. I was going to stick around to see the results, but I was so frustrated with how the race had gone so far and how disorganized it felt that my dad and I just packed everything up and left.

Finally, Sunday night, an Excel spreadsheet was emailed out to all of the participants with our final time. I came in 6th in my age division and my final time was 1:27:49.

Even though they said in the email that the race has grown so much that they are going to have an outside company do the timing next year, I will not do this race again. The only good thing I have to say about this race is the bike and running courses were well marked.

Here are some pictures from the race:




Sunday, May 15, 2011

Running After the Race

Yesterday, I had my Splash & Sprint Triathlon, but then right after the race, I had to head inside and run 4 more miles on a treadmill. Why might you ask? I've got a 1/2 marathon coming up in about 6 weeks that I need to prepare for. I need to get my long runs in on the weekend. I needed to run 7 miles yesterday.

Those 4 miles on the treadmill felt like hell. But you wanna know something? I secretly enjoyed it. Why? It gave me the satisfaction of knowing I can run 7 miles.

Something else that excites me? Because I ran 7 miles along with biking 12 miles and swimming 350 yds, I pushed myself beyond what I normally do (a good thing) and it made me kind of sick. Granted part of the sick was because I'm on new medication for my depression (a whole different story), but I think I was kind of dehydrated too. I'm not sure why. I made sure I drank water on the bike and run.

I've always wanted to feel sick from working out. I know this sounds weird, but I've always wanted it. Why? It makes me feel like a real athlete.

Weird, I know. So, yeah, I'm kind of excited about that. This next Saturday, I have another triathlon. When I get home from that triathlon (it's about 1 hour away), I need to go up to the gym and run 5 miles. :) I will however prepare myself better and drink some gatorade or something on my way home from the triathlon.

Splash & Sprint Tri

Yesterday was the Splash & Sprint Triathlon at the Rec Center up the street from my house. This is my second time competing in this triathlon.

It wasn't my best race, but it wasn't my worst race. My final time was 1:28:05.

The race was in the swim/bike/run order. Most of my races are in that order this year. I think I only have maybe 2 or 3 races that are in the run/bike/swim order.

The swim went well. I don't have a break down of my time yet, but I think I swam the 350 yards in about 8 1/2 minutes. If that's right, that is my best swim time EVER!!! I should have a break down of my time tomorrow. As soon as I get a break down of my time, I will post that as well.

One frustrating thing about having the swim first is there are SO many people in the pool, that sometimes you can't swim as fast as you would like. Yesterday when I was swimming, the guy behind me kept tickling the bottom of my feet, which typically means, move over to the left so they can pass you. Well, I was swimming as far to the left in the lane as I could and he would NEVER pass me. He was getting frustrated wtih me, but he had many times that he could pass me and he didn't. If he knew he could swim faster than those he was around, he should have picked a faster swim time.

One cool thing about the swim was my personal trainer, he was the guy at the beginning of the race that got on the microphone and told everybody how they were seeding the swim and that you had to swim twice in each lane, etc. After the race started, he went to the door that we had to run out to go to the transition area. As I was running out of the swim, it was just really cool to hear him say "Go Ara! You're doing great!" It was just awesome! It has been important for me to have him see me race and see how his work has helped me so much.

I think I could've done better if the wind wasn't blowing so damn hard. The wind blowing made the bike portion of the race SUPER hard for me. For most of the bike, we were riding in to the wind. At one point, I was riding East and the wind was blowing so hard that I could feel the wind blowing me South.

Because the wind was blowing so hard on the bike, I had to pedal harder; therefore I got a harder workout on my legs, so when I went out on the run, my legs were SUPER tired and I know I wasn't running as fast as I would've liked. It'll be interesting to see how long it took me to run and see what my pace was.

Oh well, at least it wasn't my worst time and I didn't come in last! Yay!

A big thanks to my sister-in-law for taking pictures! Here are pictures of me from the race. I'm the one in the bright pink swim cap. :)








Sunday, May 8, 2011

Ironman St. George 2011

Yesterday, May 7, 2011 was the Ironman St. George (IMSG). My personal trainer, B.J., competes in it every year in hopes of qualifying to go to Kona, HI for the Ironman National Championships.

I was supposed to volunteer at the IMSG this year, but when it came down to it, I wasn't able to afford to go. :( I was really sad because it would've been so inspiring. I was thinking of all the athletes yesterday and wondering how they were doing.

Last night I had my dad look up B.J.'s final time and he did awesome! He finished in 9:48:49. He qualified to go to KONA. Here are his times:

Swim: 56:05
Bike: 5:35:57
Run: 3:12:16
Final Time: 9:48:49

He came in 6th in his age divison (out of 22). Overall, he came in 28th (out of 1310).

I just looked at his pictures on Facebook, and it seriously brought a lump in my throat. It was SO inspiring.

THIS is why he is my personal trainer. One day I am going to be right there competing in St. George at the IMSG. THIS is what pushes me to be a better athlete.

Down 5.2 Lbs

The week of Easter was not a good week. It was a very emotionally exhausting week, so working out and eating healthy went right out the window. In that one week, I gained ALOT of weight.

Well, last week, I jumped back on the band wagon and worked out every day. I worked out hard too. There was only one day that I didn't go swimming and one day that I didn't bike and run. I was physically exhausted.

But, even without that working out, I'm happy to say that I lost 5.2 lbs this week! I'm so excited! I can't wait to workout again this week and see how much weight I can lose this week.

I want to get back to the weight I was before Christmas. I want my weight to be back in the medium 160's.

I ran 6 miles!

Before I had shin splints, I ran 6-10 miles almost every day and then on Saturday or Sunday, I would do a long run (10+ miles). I wasn't very good at stretching before I ran either. Hence why I ended up getting shin splints.

Well, ever since I had shin splints, it took everything to run between 3-4 miles and I would still be in a little bit of pain.

Well, I now have a 1/2 marathon coming up in about 10 weeks, so yesterday I was determined to run 6 miles. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it, but I went up to the gym and guess what? I ran 6 miles!!! Yay!!! I ran it on a treadmill and I ran it at 6.2/mph! Guess what? It didn't hurt either!

I feel like I'm finally making progress from having shin splints, thank God! I just need to remember to stretch before and stretch after and ice down after and I'll be good.

I can't wait to run my 1/2 marathon in July!

Friday, May 6, 2011

6.2 miles Tomorrow

I'm nervous. Tomorrow I need to run 6.2 miles. I haven't run that far in a LONG time. I used to pound out 6.2 miles on a treadmill almost every day until I got shin splints. Shin splints really put a stop to that.

I just signed up for another 1/2 marathon in July. So, I really need to start getting my distance in.

I know I can run 4 miles. I can do that easily. I'm just nervous about running 6 miles. I guess I'll see tomorrow morning how it goes.

26.2 Miles & 1245 Calories Gives Me...

Tonight I went out for a bike ride. The only limit I gave myself was daylight. I would stay out as long as I had daylight.

Well, my bike I had other plans for me. Around mile 25.5, I got a flat tire. So...26.1 miles + 1245 calories = a flat tire. Boo.

I wanted to go further than 26.1 miles 'cause I knew I still had a couple of miles of daylight left, but I was barely able to ride my bike home on the flat tire.

I LOVED being outside on my bike though. I LOVED it!!!

So...this weekend I'm going to attempt to change the tube in my bike all by myself. If not...I know my dad can do it. :)

Monday, May 2, 2011

First Day Back

Today was my first day back to eating healthy and working out. Honestly, it feels like it's been weeks since I've worked out, but I did workout a couple of days last week.

I was concerned today because I didn't get up to go swimming this morning. I didn't get to bed until 1:30 a.m. and I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to go swimming. I can go swimming on 4 hours of sleep, but getting 3 hours of sleep and then trying to tell your body that 4:30 a.m. is ok to get up to go swim a little over a mile, yeah, that doesn't go over too well.

So, yeah, I was concerned that I'd just eat anything and everything in sight at work today since I didn't workout.

I feel like I did pretty good. I ate breakfast at work, so I had 2 pieces of cinnamon raisin toast with butter and a yogurt and fresh fruit.

I didn't snack at all between breakfast and lunch. Finally lunch came and I had an easy mac & cheese (220 calories) and a salad. I decided to splurge a little bit and I had a tapioca pudding and then I bought a banana for a snack later.

After lunch, I got back up to my desk and someone had pulled some baby carrots out of the fridge and put them out for everybody to snack on! Yay!!! Something I can snack on.

I was really hungry around 4:00 so I had my dinner, which was only 220 calories and it was a microwave pasta thing. The packaging makes it look not too appetising, but it was REALLY good.

I came home and ate 2 oranges and then went straight to the gym. I did 4.4 miles on the eliptical trainer and then did 25 miles on the spinning bike. I went downstairs to go swimming, but every stinkin' changing room was taken. As soon as one changing room was taken, I was getting ready to head in to it, and some lady beat me to it. :( Unfortunately, I'm not like other ladies at the gym and I don't like to bare all out in the open to change my clothes. So...I didn't swim tonight.

My plan tomorrow is to get up at 4:30, go swimming, come home and then swim again (to make up for today) and then bike and run and do weights.

It feels so good to be back on the wagon. :)

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Finding a Nutrionist

I think I need to have a consultation with a nutrionist. This past week has really made me start thinking about my eating habits.

With how long I've been doing triathlons and eating differently, I should be able to handle my stress eating and stuff like that better.

When I get depressed, or bored, or stressed, or whatnot, I eat. If I don't workout first thing in the morning, I eat all day and my self control goes out the window. To me, that just isn't right.

So, my question is...does anybody have any suggestions as to how I go about finding a nutrionist?

Tomorrow Is a New Day

Tomorrow is a new day! It's been a few days since I've been able to workout. I've honestly been SO busy that I just haven't had time; therefore I've gained weight. :(

I can't wait until tomorrow morning when I can get up before the rooster crowes & go up to the pool and swim.

Eight Essential Running Tips

I like a blog type thing on Facebook called "I <3 to Run". They posted this today & I find it quite humorous.

I have friends who HATE to run and jokingly/lovingly give me crap every time I do a race & I ask them when they're going to do a race with me. I can SO see my friend Brandon using these excuses.

-----Eight Essential Running Tips------

...Trouble is, when a lot of you otherwise sensible readers see how much verve is to be had while running, you are going to try running yourself. So we also feel it is essential that you bear in mind the "Eight essential tips for the beginner":


1. Loosen up first. The ideal method is to throw back four fingers of scotch. If the urge to jog persists, double the loosening exercise.

2. Check your resting pulse. If you can’t find your pulse, check the pulse of a loved one. This is sometimes called "playing doctor" and, with any luck, will take your mind completely off running.

3. Never run if you are a short person. Short persons are built too close to automobile exhaust pipes. The noxious fumes get into their brains and make them crazy and they try to bite buses, which can be pretty dicey, especially if the bus has not stopped.

4. Always wear - a) a brassier, and b) a jockstrap. (Strike out where inapplicable). The worst jogging injuries result from flopping. Never wear both at once. At least not in public.

5. Children often taunt passing joggers. After a while, you will become accustomed to this and even grow to enjoy it, especially if you carry a golf putter and rap taunting children smartly across the back of the head with it.

6. Dogs can be a threat. If a huge, vicious dog charges you and lunges at your throat, say "There, boy down!". If that doesn't work, show him your membership card from the Humane Society.

7. Set your own pace. If you black out after five minutes, you are probably running too fast. If workman from the city come by and paint you green, you may be running too slow.

8. After running, check your pulse rate again. This time if you can't find it, you are quite possibly dead. Look at it this way: your corpse is sure in great shape.