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.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
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.
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:
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.
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. :)
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.
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.
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.
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