However, the actual signing up, paying, and committing to the race?  Not a fan.  Frightening.  That is the point where I have to say 1, 2, 3 and actually jump off the platform.  Everything after?  Just momentum, folks.

I’ve committed to everything I planned to do now for 2010.  Except one optional race (and it’s a 5 miler… no biggie)

9/19 - Casa 5k (mostly a fun run with work people - I’m not expecting a PR or anything)

10/3 - TX Tri Olympic Tri (holy crap, really?  I actually have to do this insanity for reals?)

11/14 - San Antonio Rock and Roll Half Marathon (um, what am I doing to myself here? 6 weeks to train for a half?)

11/20 - Warrior Dash (again, fun with work friends)

11/25 (tentative) - Turkey Trot 5 mile run… if Zliten wants ta.  He’s the one who mentioned this…

Then, I do believe I’m going to take up knitting.  Or maybe professional couch sitting.  Something not making my body conditioned for 2-4 hours of consistent punishment.  Actually - I have some ideas, you’ll have to stay tuned.  Definitely in the realm of switching it up.  I’m excited and scared and intrigued by some ideas at the same time.

But yes, I have to get through the next 3 months.  My goals are to extend my long run to 10 miles (inside - treadmill style at the gym) while working on the other two disciplines, so for the next 6 weeks after the tri, it’s just maintaining the endurance.  I did 7 this week, and it wasn’t so bad.  Doing my first 30+ mile bike ride this weekend.  Next week I’ll tackle more swimming.

Wait, did I really just sign up to do all this stuff?  Oh well, the time to jump has already passed - I’m committed.  Time to freefall and enjoy the ride.

None of these things is horrible in and of itself but it was a reminder that getting cocky is bad.  I was down to 161 again on Friday and this morning I weigh more than a truck (thank you salty chinese takeout).  It’s all well and good that I completed a tri.  It’s a great accomplishment to have completed my first long workout outside (16 miles biked and 4 mile run in the heat).  Burning about 1700 calories on Saturday certainly entitles me to a bit more food than the norm.  However, on a weekend where I’m going out partying, I have to remember that replacing that many calories is VERY, VERY easy.

So, today it’s back to it.  Back to tracking, no sweets, no fried foods, and I’m going to make an attempt to be really on the ball for the next two weeks (because I leave to go to Vegas then).  I’m going to do my best to NOT go crazy there food-wise but we shall see.

So last week:

Monday: off (recovering from the tri)
Tuesday: 10k run
Wednesday: yoga class for 1 hour
Thursday: spin class for 1 hour
Friday: arc trainer for 35 mins
Saturday: 16 mile bike, 4 mile run (then later 4 mile walk)
Sunday: off (was going to swim but I kinda didn’t leave the house except for groceries)

This week:

Monday: 30 mins arc trainer, 9 miles bike
Tuesday: 10k run
Wednesday: yoga class for 1 hour
Thursday: 15 mile bike, 4 mile run (at the gym)
Friday: swim (either gym or open water)
Saturday: 30 mile bike ride outside
Sunday: off

Weight high/low: 163/161

It’s very swim light, and I’m thinking about changing that, but here is the plan for now.  Maybe add to the crazy on Saturday or a trip to the springs on Sunday before the ball game we’re going to… who knows.

So yep.  The goal is to log food every day from now until Vegas, stick in the reasonable range, eat back enough calories with good food on crazy exercise days, and try to weigh less than a truck this time next week.  Economy car perhaps…

Saturday, I spent the day running around, hanging out with my parents, shopping, picking up the packet, and getting the final stuff I needed.  I mean, it seems obvious that there is more gear and prep for a swim/bike/run than just a run but dang.  There is a lot to think about.

Against my better judgments, and I’ve never done this for a race before, I bought a new shirt to wear on top of my singlet because nothing I have was right and proper for what I was looking for (wicking, not skin tight, and not BLACK to be easier to spot and be cooler).  I ended up taking a chance and the shirt worked out well, but I definitely spent a long time looking for something perfect.  DON’T TRY THIS ONE AT HOME KIDS.  I also knew that worst case I could just peel it off and roll in just my singlet, and it only occurred to me after the race that while I swam in it, I never ran or biked in it.  Again, NEVER wear something new.  I’m glad it worked out for me.

So, my gear list for the swim:

-goggles
-swim cap for my heat
-singlet
-sports bra
-flip flops to run from the water to the transition area

They suggested some anti-fog stuff for goggles, but I just went with new ones.  Again, never do this the day before a race.  Don’t be me.  The swim was so short I knew if the goggles were fubar it wouldn’t be that bad but still…

Bike Gear List:

-running shoes/wicking socks
-shammy to dry my feet
-new shirt with race number pinned to it already
-big heavy ass hybrid bike
-bike helmet
-sunglasses
-towel to set everything on
-bike rack for car
-special adapter for said heavy ass weird bike so it fit on said car rack
-multicolored lei to tie to the back so I could find
-backpack with emergency tire pump, sport beans (which I didn’t need), and camelback
-patch kit that attaches to my bike

I was one of the only people with a mountain bike.  I figured there would be more noobs like me, but I guess most people can at least get their hands on a cheapo road bike.  I had never changed a bike tire, and I didn’t give myself enough time to learn, so I just decided worst case scenario, I would walk the damn thing through the course.  Thank goodness that didn’t happen.  The lei was good to help me find my bike in the racks and racks… definitely stood out in the crowd.

For the run, I just plunked my backpack down and didn’t need any extra gear.  Some people have special bike shoes, I of course did not.  I mean when I bike I usually wear my OLD broke ass running shoes, but I was able to make an exception this time.  Other things I brought - my slippers (I will never go to another distance race without them - it feels SO NICE to slip into them after being on my feet a while… and a change of clothes so I didn’t have to go home in a sweaty singlet.

So, back to the race happs.  I ended up not getting to bed that night until 11 (thank the DEAR FLUFFY LORD I had gotten great sleep all week) and the alarm got me up bright and early at about 4:50.  I don’t know how you morning peoples (Miz, Mrs. Fatass, etc) do it.  Anyhoo, got up, got everything loaded in the car, and took off.  Ate a big breakfast bar and spent the whole morning crossing my fingers that I wouldn’t have any tummy problems - the earlier I get up, the more likely I am to be a little queasy.  I held it together though.

We got to the spot and it was still dark, and walked my bike and gear through the tall grass.  First, I got body marked - both biceps, both quads, and age on calf.  It so tickled.  I had to contain myself from squirming.  Then, I bid Zliten adieu and rolled everything into the transition area and set everything up on my towel.  I had to run out to get a few pre-race pics with my number on, but I had plenty of time.  Then, I went and got my timing chip (which straps on your ankle, very different from other races) and it was getting close to time, so I went and stood by the water.  I put my toe in and thankfully it was NOT as freezy as Barton Springs.  I debated between a practice swim or not and decided against it.  I’d made peace with open water and didn’t want to be cold when I got out.

Then the pre race briefing started and I started getting NERVOUS!  I knew once I completed the swim I was golden but being that it was the FIRST thing and I was in the second wave (glad it wasn’t the first, but still), I didn’t have much time to watch and learn.  Good thing that the waves were really small and there was plenty of room.  Before I knew it, I had stepped up with the other orange cappers and heard 3,2,1 GO!  And I started to swim.

And I found that we were so close to shore for that first leg that I kept running into branches and rocks.  D’oh!  I started with the freestyle and mostly kept it up to the first buoy, but after that I felt wiped and sort of alternated between breast stroke and freestyle for the rest of it.  My only goal was to finish NOT last in my wave, and I came in about the middle of the pack, so I was thrilled.

I got out of the water (they had about 8 people helping us out which was supah nice), put on my flippy floppies and hotfooted my way to the bike transition.  I think I made pretty good time - I dried my feet, did my socks and shoes, slipped on my sunglasses, shirt, and helmet, grabbed my bike, and ran it out of transition, mounted and… oh look, let’s start with a hill.

And the hills kept comin’.  I’m glad I had practiced outside the last 2 weeks, because my easy 25 mile pedals in the gym were NADA compared to this.  And, see my “heavy ass bike” complaints above.  I had totally underestimated how important the quality of your bike is.  Running races… you have your shoes (very important, but really, about 100 bucks and a good fitting and you’re good to go), your brain, your training, and the road.  Biking is a whole ‘nother story.  It’s all about a lighter bike.  I don’t mean to be mean, but there were people who were obviously in worse shape than I was FLYING past me on the bike course with their racers.  I heard “on your left” way too many times.  One race volunteer even told me I should get a heavier bike, hehe.

Also, let me say that after making sure I had the camelback full and iced down, when I got on the bike I couldn’t ever reach the damn straw.  1 hour of biking in the hot sun, knowing I had icewater on my back, and not being able to grab it was kinda torture, but I was not about to get off my bike to do it.

I made it through my 2 loops of 12.8 miles and headed back to the transition to dump my bike and bag and chug some water (it was still cold!  Score!).  I jogged the whole way in and it was a great warmup - I started running and my legs felt GREAT!  All the brick work I had done totally paid off.  I got major vindication passing up a lot of people on the run who had passed me on the bike.  Everyone kept saying - out and back, out and back.  So I go out, I go back, the finish line is in sight and then… I get directed AWAY, up a HILL, and told that it’s about one more mile.  Bugger!  I definitely pouted a bit there and slowed down, but once I got up the hill and rounded the home stretch, I kicked it up a notch and sprinted to the finish.

Woohoo!  I am a triathlete!  All in all, a GREAT race for a tri-virgin - people were very supportive and I didn’t feel like a jerk for not being an elite athlete.  After…there may have been a little too much junk food and ummm, FOUR bottles of champagne split between Zliten and I that day, but I freaking deserved it.  I took yesterday off because I figured I’d be dead tired but I felt great.  Today, it’s back to business.  10k run today to get back into the business of running longer than 5k, and more fun and games to follow this week.

My biggest desires with the training:

-Be able to do 25 miles bike/10k run OUTSIDE (heat training/accurate conditions)

-Be able to do 5k run/25 mile bike/10k run at the gym (endurance training)

-Be able to swim 1500m in the pool then bike/run (transition training)

-Do a 30 mile bike ride and 10 mile run (more endurance training)

Everything else will just be filler workouts to keep up the calorie burn/cardio.  I feel like I could do double distance if I really pushed myself (oddly enough, the BIKE felt like it would be the most troublesome), it’s now just getting more comfortable with 4 hours of constant activity and improving times.

More soon on the specifics.  For now, I’m going to enjoy my week and get my head around longer distances.  So, my question of the day - what is the one thing you could not live without for races (or workouts), besides the obvious?

…and this is how I hope to spend the rest of my day.

I know I finished under 2 hours (which was the goal), but not sure how much.  More soon!

All other big bad races thus far, I planned out my training to the day, and then by the time the race rolled around, I had checked each workout off the list and came to the end, and breathed a sigh of relief that training was over and it was time to rest up and get prepared for the race.   This one, however, I took a different approach.

Instead of a 3 month training plan, I sort of laid out overall goals:

-Be able to do the distance of each (done)

-Get more comfortable with swimming (done-ish)

-Learn how to do those distances together (done)

-Get comfortable with the conditions (outside in hot summer, open water, etc) (done)

-Go rock the sprint distance (Sunday)

Then there is a shortened cycle for the longer distance

-Be able to do the distance of each (done)

-Learn how to do those distances together (working on it - have done the bike/run back to back in the gym but definitely need more of these)

-Get comfortable with the conditions (it will be cooler, but a 25 mile ride/10k run outside != one in the gym)

-Rock an Olympic tri (Oct 3)

Then each week, I did about 2-3 key workouts that progressed me towards these goals and about 3 days of workouts to get some miles/calories/endurance but were kinda secondary workouts.

It’s been very relaxed, however, I almost feel like I want to lay out the next 6 weeks to make sure I’m getting what I need, but for this one, I feel prepared.  Then 6 more weeks and a half marathon (maybe, still haven’t registered for anything yet, but that’s the plan).  Then… a break.  I’d like to be able to not have to force myself to run outside all winter if I don’t wanna.  Maybe speed training to try and shave some 5k time off again?  Maybe become a yoga bum?  Perfect my swimming stroke?  Try kick boxing?  Reduce my workout scope and eating scope and make a real glorified push at losing some weight?  Pump some iron?  I mean who knows…

Oooh, look, it’s shiny syndrome.  I’ve not even gotten through this WEEKEND and I’m already planning life through next Spring.  Ooohkie.  Focus.

I think the problem is I’m feeling so not intimidated and I should be.  It’s like if I had a marathon on the horizon, and the goal was really the marathon, this is just the half I signed up for to tune up.  It’s my first race of this type, so I should be freaked.  I was 2 weeks ago.  Getting through the open water swim was huge.  Getting ok with being out in the hot sun again was huge.  As always with tapers, I feel like I haven’t done CRAP this week but I know it’s for the best.

However, there has been a lot of PREP this week.  Bike breaks fixed.  Emergency kit to change tires almost assembled.  Bike rack to transport it to the race obtained.  On the list still: a shammy (I know it’s spelled chamois but that’s just ridiculous and I protest) to dry my feet, something brightly colored to tie on the back of the bike, and an actual new tire in case I get a flat (and learning how to change it).  In preparation for the 5 am wakeup call on Sunday, I’ve been getting up early all week.

I’ve been reading lots of first time tri tips (mmm, tri tip) sites out there, and most of them say pretty much, in summary, just get through your first one, enjoy the experience, and don’t worry too much.  There are lots of people around to help and guide you if you’re flailing.  So, I think that’s where I’m at.  I’m ready to have a new experience under my belt, call myself a triathlete officially, and drink my celebratory mimosa.  Until it really kicks in and I start flipping the hell out.

So the week of hell and wellness is going fairly well.  I say hell and wellness because:

Monday - up early for an hour of outside run and bike, work, grocery shop, cook, chores, sleep.

Tuesday - up early for a 2 hour dentist appt, work/meetings all day, open water swim after wook, eat dinner, cook lunch for the next day, relax an hour, sleep

Wednesday - up early for a doctor appt, work/meetings all day, shopping for tri supplies, yoga class (which was actually HEAVEN), help cook dinner and relax an hour and then sleep

Today- up early to take my car in for service appt, work/meetings all day, having to deal with idiotic fax machines and bs all around (can you tell its about that TOM)…

…plan was spinning class tonight, and then I thought we had a party after but THANK THE DEAR FLUFFY LORD it’s next week.  Instead I did…nothing.  It’s that one day a month where I muster just about everything in me to not lay in the fetal position on the couch.  People at work asked me what was wrong.  I elevated the threat level from nominal/green this morning, to elevated/yellow by lunch and to high/red this afternoon (seriously, window crayons are the most fun).  It wasn’t completely due to hormones but I’m sure it didn’t help.  I figured if I was in that bad of shape, spin class wouldn’t be a great idea.  It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I popped some pain killers and sat on the couch.

What I wanted to do is sit out on my back patio with a) a cheeseburger b) a big slice of chocolate cake c) a bottle of wine or d) all of the above, but I decided it was a bad idea.  Instead, I had some lowfat hot dogs with whitewheat buns, veggie pasta salad, and some baked beans after a snack of baby carrots (I totally stress ate about half a lb of carrots, I am pathetic, tee hee).  And… I split a bag of coconut m and m’s with Zliten.  And had two thin mints.  And about a cup of frozen grapes.  I think I’m ok with less than 150 calories of sweets on a day like today.  I was in the mood to take down a half lb burger and fries and a couple slices of ooey gooey chocolate cake.  I think I mitigated my cravings pretty well.

Tomorrow, luckily, there are no more crazy appointments - I will be getting another short bike and run in tomorrow, gotta make it through work/meetings, then pho-riday, more work/meetings, and then relaaaaaax.  Up early Saturday so my clock’s not off - run errands, packet pickup, hang with the folks a bit, sleep early and then… RACE DAY!

Ok, writing about it is getting me excited.  Getting the race day prep packet in my email is getting me excited.  Honestly - thinking about a burger and fries and some froyo is getting me REAL excited.  Is it possible I might approach a new experience totally and completely excited and not nervous at all?  I mean, I get nervous going to a new restaurant or taking a new route to work, I swear…

So, I’ll see you on the other side.  With pictures, and race numbers, and finish times, and I’m sure one hell of a story to share.  So, I ask, what’s next for you?  What’s the new and shiny on your horizon?  Of course, any first timer tri tips more than welcome too.

I weighed in for the first time in a while under 160 (159.8, but still).  I also ate pretty reprehensibly this weekend and ingested a shit ton of alcohol.  I managed to do two outside hilly rides since we last spoke and hit the pool for some laps yesterday, and did a short bike run brick outside this morning, but I highly doubt it’s mitigated much of the indulgence.  At least I have stuck to my guns and 1) ingested no fried food 2) only had a few bites of desert on Saturday (which I had planned on).  Also, all the sitting outside partying in the 100+ degree heat has honestly done wonders for my heat acclimation.

However, there was probably enough pitas and hummus Saturday nite for an army, washed down with a ridiculous amount of wine, preceeded by a chinese food feast of epic proportions (curry chicken, wonton soup, black bean noodle, oh my).  Friday night was tacos from the grill, vodka, and homemade salsa and guac with chips.  Thursday night was a full plate of chicken yakisoba and some whiskey.  Yesterday, we hit tex mex brunch until we wished for extra stomachs and then had some snax at the movies (more veggies/pita/hummus and split a bowl of chili) and THEN more chinese leftovers.

In a former life this would be a guilt-riddled experience, where I cursed myself for having such low self control and being a failure and yadda yadda yadda…  now, I realize I had a kick ass time all weekend, I didn’t eat anything that was NOT worth it, and the scale said 163.6 this morning, which is not optimal, but it is what it is, and it is a lot of salt, not 3 lbs gained or anything.  I definitely remember why I don’t do this all the time - my body feels much better when it’s not stuffed with indulgent food and booze for 3 days straight… I am so ready for a mellow week it’s not funny.

As of this morning, it’s ON - time to refocus - 6 days from now I’ll be a triathlete.  Last week was another good confidence builder, and I need to do just about the same this week, with a bigger dose of R and R near the end.  One more open water swim.  An outside bike/run brick.  Also, I need to go get some gear and do some prep.  One of my brakes on my bike isn’t working properly.  I need a bike rack for my car so I can transport it.  Debating on what I’m going to have in my transition area (do I need a water bucket for my feet?  a shammy to get feet dry quick? a shirt to throw on over my singlet with my number on it?  something brightly colored so I can see my bike?).

I’m feeling pretty zen about it now (which I’m SURE will change later this week), so that’s good.  I’ve put in the work, so I’ll be fine, right?  Right?  …ok, maybe a little nervous.

Only counted calories for half the week so there is no point in tallying those numbers, but here are the deets I have tracked:

Monday: 30 min swim (350)
Tuesday: 5k run morning, group power (700)
Wednesday: open water swim (600)
Thursday: 9 mile morning ride outside (400)
Saturday: 12 mile ride outside (600)
Sunday: swimming laps (400)

Avg burn per day: 435

Avg calories I would have to have had each day to maintain weight: 2247

Low/High Weight: 159.8/162.0

Next week, the name of the game is good, healthy food that makes my body feel good, rest, continue to heat acclimate and prepare, but also lots of rest.  The only exception is a party on Thursday night - we’re going, but plan to take it mellow.

Food/Exercise/Etc Plan below:

Monday:
lunch: salad bar
dinner: manwiches (96% fat free grass fed beef - though I do use the canned mix) and veggies

Exercise: short bike/run brick outside in the morning (done, yay!)

Tuesday:
lunch: tuna sandwich and salad
dinner: homemade chicken tikki masala with rice, peas, carrots, and a flour tortilla on the side

Exercise: open water swim after work

Wednesday:
lunch: chicken pasta veggie salad (fiber pasta, olives, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, green pepper, cilantro, celery, grilled chicken)
dinner: chicken caesar salad and soup

Exercise: yoga class after work

Thursday:
lunch: luncheon roulette (hope the dice are kind)
dinner: hot dogs and/or garden burgers, (maybe one of each, maybe one of the other), coleslaw (something easy and fairly low cal before the party)

Exercise: spin class if I can make it, arc trainer/random cardio if not

Friday:
lunch: pho
dinner: beef stew and salad

Exercise: short run to keep my legs loose, probably treadmill after work

Saturday:
lunch: out with my parents
dinner: lemon pepper mahi mahi, rice, veggies

Exercise: off

Sunday: Tri day!!!!

After the tri, I require 2 treats - a small frozen yogurt from a for real yogurt shop (not just soft serve vanilla somewhere), and a burger and fries.  There is a new place that just opened that is supposed to be JUST like my favorite burgers in Austin that just closed down.  Yes, I am aware that it’s no fried food month, but I am going to make one exception.  I plan to be in it for the long haul (until Vegas mid-next month).  The goal with these month-long abstainings is to be mindful, not perfect, so I’ll be ok.

So yeah, today’s workout was major, tomorrow is open water #2, and then it’s all downhill from there.  I’m ok with THAT kind of coasting.  So, dudes and dudettes, how is your week shaping up?  Perfect, mindful, or neither?

I had not really faced the fact that I really had to do this until I found I was hesitating to sign up for the tri.  I literally waited until the last minute, Saturday night at around midnight (the price went up the next day).  I couldn’t figure out what the problem was, why I had issues clicking the button.  I’ve proven that I can do twice the bike and run distance back to back.  I’ve proven that I can swim WELL beyond the 500m required.  I wasn’t sure what the problem was.  Then I remembered the whole open water thing.

I decided to sign up anyway, figuring worst case I’d be uncomfortable, get through it, and be better next time.  I read up on forums and sites and everything, and heard stories and accounts of people freaking out their first time swimming in open water.  That made my decision easy - I had to find a way to try it before the race.  However, I convinced myself it was just in the spirit of not having any surprises on race day.  I’ve swam in my singlet, I’ve gone swim to bike to run, I’ve done just about everything to prepare I can think of - that was one of the only missing pieces.  I didn’t figure the open water would faze me.

I’ve got BIG PLANZ this weekend with friends in from out of town, so today was the day.  I was hoping to get into the facility up the street from work, but found out it was TWENTY BUCKS for a day pass, so I searched for another place - I was solo so it had to be somewhere with lifeguards and other people.  Barton Springs Pool it was.  Three dollars for entry is much more reasonable.  However, it’s 68 degrees in there year round.  For someone that runs about 10 degrees colder than the rest of the world, I expected that to be my biggest problem.

After work, I moseyed down there, paid my cash, and went in.  I was a little nervous by then but excited, as I always am for new and exciting experiences.  My toe dipped in the water and it was a bit freezy, but not as bad as I expected.  It took me at least 5 minutes to get down the steps, but once my bottom half was acclimated to the water, I dove in and got ready to swim some laps.

That’s when the totally unexpected freak out occured.  Holy SHIT there is nature here.  I don’t know what I was expecting, but this was so different than the bottom of a pool.  I was ok as long as I kept my head above water, but anytime I went under, I found it a little hard to breathe.  I tried to swim all the way to the end of the dammed off area but I just couldn’t make it and turned around and went back to the shallow side (I got in right about halfway between).  Every time I put my head under things were just too much.  Plants!  They even touched me in some spots!  Fish!  Living creatures!  Freaky, freaky nature all up in my bidness.

I retreated to the shallow, feeling sort of pissed off, disappointed in myself, and defeated.  I regrouped, and started again from shallow water, where I found I was actually fine.  The first drop off startled me, but I was able to keep my composure.  The next drop off wasn’t too bad.  The next fish I saw made me jump a little, and then I realized that I had this experience 13 years ago.  I even paid for it.  It’s called fucking snorkling.  I became more and more comfortable with everything and saw the end in sight.  I was going for it.

However, the plants kept fucking with me.  For some reason, more frightening then live things swimming around, more frightening than anything, was the areas where the plants reached almost up to the surface.  I had to summon logic-brain to talk sense into silly brain.  Plants don’t eat you.  Plants don’t harm me in any way.  Plants don’t even feel all that icky.  I felt a little less anxious, and silly for feeling that way, but definitely not comfortable swimming through the area with high plants.  I almost convinced myself I had made enough of my point and turned around again and then I looked at that wall.  It was maybe 100 feet away.  I decided I was not going to quit 100 feet from the wall.  I swam through all the NATURE until I touched that damn wall and turned around.

I felt awesome and accomplished but still had to navigate back through the plants.  Something happened though - I didn’t mind as much.  The fish started to become my friends, when I saw one, I would take a few extra underwater strokes so I could see it longer.  The plants, I realized, were just plants.  I took about 3 lengths down and back of the 1000 foot expanse, each time, it got easier until the last time I realized I was just about as comfortable as in the pool.  The first two laps, I definitely had to psych myself up and say little things in my head like, “I am kicking nature’s ass” and “I’m a fish!  Wheee!”  and “Yay for boobies, I have natural floatation devices”.   The last one, I was just thinking about my day and dinner and work tomorrow and then I knew I had done enough.  I looked around, and the sun was setting, and when I asked the lifeguard for the time it had been an hour.

Holy crap!  An hour swimming with nature and I had stopped all of twice - for less than a minute to adjust my goggles at the shallow side.   I didn’t feel tired at all… til I got out.   Then the muscle fatigue and shakiness set in (good to know for the swim/bike transition for the longer distance), but I was way too proud of myself to be buggered about it.  I was also happy that I realized that at no time was I freaked out because I couldn’t touch bottom.  The SANE thing to worry about didn’t really bother me at all.

I am so so so so so glad I decided to do this before the race.  I’m pretty sure I would have made it, I”m a tough cookie, but dang that would have been a WAY worse experience with a thousand people kicking me in the face.  Definitely doing one more sesh there next week before the race.

I’m also happy I *did* it.  It would have been so easy to just not sign up.  This was way out of my comfort zone.  Old me would have made some excuse about having to drive all the way across town on a weekday and that it wasn’t convient and I didn’t have enough time to really properly train anyway so I might as well do it another time.  Me this year put my foot down and said fuck it - I will conquer it, I will do what it takes, and there are no excuses.  Like nike says, just do it.

So, I mentioned ONE of the things was open water.  The other is heat training/acclimation.  I forgot how brutal it is when you’re not used to it.  As much as I thought “it’s only a 5k” and “I ran a half marathon in this” - I have to remember that I only succeeded at that half in 80’s (that felt like 90s with humidity) because I trained 100% outside.  I had a great and powerful slap in the face courtesy of a 5k I ran Tuesday morning.  It felt like I was wading through soup and it was all I could do to keep a 10 min/mile pace.  Tomorrow, I’m heading out in the morning for a bike ride in the heat as well.  It takes 2 weeks to get acclimated to exertion in the heat, and two weeks is what I got.  Can’t say I’ll be sad to bring my training back inside for the rest of August after this, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

If last week was the week of discovering new muscles and making them hurt, this week was the week of kicking nature’s ass.  Tuesday by surviving my run (seriously pukeworthy), today by swimming with living things, and tomorrow I’ll be terrorizing the ‘hood and tearing it up with a 12 mile ride.  What have you kicked in the ass this week?

My instincts told me to try out what the gym does WELL otherwise I would be completely dissatisfied, so my workout schedule was completely different than normal.  Even though calorie-burn wise it was definitely not my norm, my body feels WORKED, because it was all something different.  I haven’t lost any significant weight since I started at the old gym.  Maybe encouraging different types of workout will help.

However, I gotta get through the next few months before really giving that a go.  It was a nice break, but I’m 2 weeks out from my sprint tri and less than 2 months out from my olympic, and in 3.5, another half marathon.  Once it gets temperate again, it won’t be as important to have cardio equipment, but it’s going to be MAJOR important for this second tri.  So I’ll be keeping my 10$/mo gym membership at the cheap gym for the time being.  Zliten didn’t get a chance to check out this gym much because he got sick this week (boo), so I don’t think we’ll be signing up right away.

So, we’re down to t-minus 2 weeks and I need to get back to tri prep.  I just did a practice tri at the gym and knocked it out of the park.  I know I have the endurance, I just need to work out some of the details.  At least one run outside.  At least one bike outside.  At least one open water swim.   I know I can swim 500m, I know I can bike 12 miles, I know I can run 5k - I can do it with my eyes closed.  I just need to make sure that I remember how to do that in the hot Texas summer sun.  It’s hawt.

Sugar Rush:

Instead of fro yo, Zliten picked up some ice cream at the store.  It may sound gross, but I had about a cup of mixed java chip and mint chip and it was SO YUMMY.  But I felt SO YUCKY after.  I feel kinda grody today.  Every time I think about sweets today I just get….uck.  It’s totally a Pavlovian response, I know I LOVE me some ice cream and my mouth waters for it, but my body cringes.  Maybe I need to learn how to make some low sugar healthy type ice cream?  Anyhoo, the upshot is… I’m totally fine waiting til the weekend to have any more sweets during wedding celebrations part 2 time, if I even want any, and I will save the fro yo until after my tri unless something else sounds yummier.

Today is day 5 of no fried foods.  Last thing I had was half a cheese stick.  This is way easier since I hadn’t been in the habit of eating fried food all the time - just hadn’t made an effort to NOT eat it when it’s around.  I’m not going to really miss this or crave it probably for about 2 weeks, or until someone orders one of those great and terrible bar plates and wants to split it with me.

Weights and Measures:

I’m back to weighing most days and I’ll be reporting the lowest and highest weight each week.  I accidentally forgot to count calories the last few days, but I’ve been hanging tight around 1300 post exercise calories, so that works.  I’m not going to stop it long term, so I’ll be back to it Monday.  As much as I’m a little disturbed how high my weight is right now, nothin’ I can do but slowly chip away at it.  So there we go.

Weeklies:

Monday: bike 9 miles, run 2.3 miles (700)
Tuesday: power (weights) class, 30 min swim, 1 mile run home (700)
Wednesday: 35 mins arc trainer, 60 mins yoga (600)
Thursday: 60 min spin class (600)
Friday: off
Saturday: 2 hours DDR (600)
Sunday: swim 1/2 mile, bike 12 miles, run 5k (1100)

Average consumption per day: 1687
Average burn per day: 614
Average net per day: 1072
Low/High Weight this week: 162/164.2

A little low, but I seem to be doing ok since I wasn’t doing a lot of high intensity workouts. Next week is mostly focused on getting those experiences I need to feel ready for the tri.  I’ve got a LOT going on so we’ll see how it plays out, but this is the plan:

Monday: 30 min swim (350)
Tuesday: 5k run morning, group power (700)
Wednesday: open water swim (450)
Thursday: 12 mile ride morning OR spin class after (600)
Friday: 5k run, 30 min swim (750)
Weekend: outside bike ride one day (600)

Priorities: 1 open water swim, 1 run outside, 1 ride outside.  The rest is gravy.

Just in case you all are curious, I’ll post my eating plan for the week here too.  Mostly because it’s a good reference for me - but I know I love getting ideas from what other people eat.  This week is a little different than normal because we have out of town guest coming on Thursday, but here it is.

Sunday:
turkey/cheddar sandwich, carrots, watermelon
shake and bake, taters, broccoli

Monday:
chicken caesar wrap, side salad
fish rice veggies

Tuesday:
Fresh Choice (salad bar)
baked chicken parmesan w/fiber pasta, side salad

Wednesday:
pb honey strawberry sandwich on sprouted grain, side salad
canned tuna, mac and cheese, w/a buttload of frozen broccoli

Thursday:
turkey/cheddar sandwich, carrots, apple
out

Friday:
pho
chicken/beef tacos w/beans

Saturday:
out/scrounging

So, how’s your week looking?  Undertake anything that scares the heck outta you lately?  Any foods where your mouth says yes but body cringes even before you eat it?

So, I’ve always considered making a facebook fan page.  Just because it’s the kind of thing that might make me giggle.  The dozen or so people who read this blog could…uh…read another place where I update even less than I do here?  Yeah, so I’ve never had a reason to set one up.  If you can’t get enough of me here on this bloggity blog, well, now, it’s too bad.

Just this week, I felt I had to remove all reference to my real name here, and I even decided to remove all past job references as well.   I shall be, henceforth known only as Quix (or Quixotique, or crazy-person, or whatnot).

Because… this week, I addressed my community of millions for the first time with my real name and job title. I got my first fan invite on facebook to my RL profile page and it hit me: I need to once again make a distinction between my public and private life.  I’m going to need to set up a facebook fan page to communicate with some people who I don’t necessarily want to see my regular day-to-day updates.  If I slip and check in somewhere on yelp or gowalla and post it to facebook, I don’t want to get stalked.  It’s a bizarre, but familiar circumstance.  It was nice for a 3 year break but I so so so so missed it.

Also, adding my real identity to my RL job, I feel the need now to remove it from this blog.  There was a time when I thought this blog might be my only chance at having a soapbox.  A way to reconnect with old friends, and find new ones.  A way to have a platform to communicate with the world at large.  I knew it was in PLACE of the opportunity I had before, although it ended up being so much more.

However, now I go from thousands (old job) to tens (here) to millions (new job).  It’s awe inspiring and cool and humbling and powerful feeling, but with great power comes great responsibility.

I hope all that has to happen is to take my name off the bio.  I’ve always been hesitant to link to my game, but it’s definitely not happening now.  The health and fitness part will continue on, the life stuff will continue on, but I think I’m going to put a kiebash on any work talk.   Which I rarely do, but still.

Results of the No Weigh Experiment:

After approximately 2 months I returned to the scale yesterday.  It was actually dusty.  I hopped on and the scale rewarded me with a number of…drumroll please…

164.0

Yeah.  Let’s call this one a FAIL.  3 lbs gained in 2 months.  My food tracker has said that I should be losing between 3-5 lbs per month.  I’m going to weigh in every morning for a while to see if I’m just unreasonably bloated for some reason (I was down to 163.2 this morning), but something’s gotta give here.  I’m now 8-9 lbs over my maintenance range which is so far beyond unacceptable it’s not even funny.

Giving up sugar was a good thing to do, which I might not have done if I had to weigh (the first two weeks, I’m pretty sure I was eating a little more non-sugar stuff to compensate).  Hopefully giving up fried foods will be another step to unlocking the way to take off weight.  In the queue of things I’m thinking of trying is a month off any “diet” food (anything light or diet) and a month eating LARGE breakfasts and smaller lunches and dinners.  Taking suggestions below.  Eliminating carbs or alcohol altogether is out of the question.  I was down at 150 consuming both of them, not willing to give them up thxuverymuch.

I would like to eventually return to weighing either once a week or a month, but for now, I need to go back to daily weighing and work on taking the emotion out of it.  164.0 doesn’t make me any less of a person or an athlete, but it sure has made me short tempered the last 2 days.  To be fair, it has also made my pants a little tighter, so it’s not JUST the number, but still.  It’s a measure.  It’s like getting upset that my hair is 13.2 inches long.  If I don’t like it that length, I need to be patient and grow it out.  Or make plans to cut it.

Getting smacked in the face with a 3 lb gain after 2 months off though - no bueno.

New Gym:

So I tweeted this about my new gym: “I’d date him again because he’s intriguing, but I’m definitely not ready to go steady.”

Day One was just full of fail.  Their cardio equipment is older than I am.  I could only do 9 miles on the bike before my ass was about to fall off, and the treadmill, I could only handle 2 miles because I was already in a horrible mood, my ass hurt, and the stupid thing felt like I was going uphill the whole way (and the note on it said the incline was broken that way).  Um, yeah.  Please, let me quit my 10$/mo gym with nice new cardio equipment for this piece of shit at 50$ per month.  Not happening.

PLUS - you reserve your machine in 30 minute segments.  Cool if you’re heading there after work and want to make sure you have a treadmill or lap lane.  Bad because it is in 30 minute segments, and I was given a sideways look when I said, “hey, sometimes I have a 10k run on my training schedule and need a machine for an hour” and they were like…”um, well, if it’s really dead I *guess* you could do that but we don’t normally”.  And I watched.  People only did 30 mins on their machine.  Folks, the shortest workouts I EVER do are 5ks.  And that’s more than 30 mins with warmup and cooldown.  Especially on a shitty treadmill going uphill the whole way.

Day Two was much better.  I dropped in for a power hour type full body strength workout and dang - it was fun, it went way quick, and I felt WORKED.  My bod is totally sore today.  THIS is the kind of thing I need to keep up with weight training.  And they have a couple different ones.

Then, I swam laps for 30 mins and besides the fact that apparently my gigantic head needs a larger swim cap, it was great.  The pool lanes are super small and it was kinda crowded with 3 people, but it was totally doable.  And probably good training for tris since I’ll have people all up in my bidness anyway.  I’m thinking I’m going to stick with breaststroke this season since I’m way more comfortable with it, and eff em all if they make fun of me.

Then, I felt nice and cool from swimming so I changed and ran the mile home.

Day 3 was great.  I got there about 35 mins before class and burned some mellow calories on the arc trainer (not as nice as the one at the cheap gym, but adequate… to keep going with the dateable analogy - I wouldn’t kick it out of bed, heh), and then went in for my first yoga class ever.

I’ve never been a yoga fan.  I force myself to do it through half training so I don’t get injured or too tight, but the people who do it all the time and love it?  Sorry, but I thought y’all were crazypants.  Maybe I need to rethink that.

Being in a dark room with a mellow dude telling us what to do at first was kinda getting on my nerves and for the first 20 mins, I kept staring at the clock.  Then…I got into it.  I relaxed.  I shook off my horrible mood and stress and mind going a mile a minute and just got into the movements.  All of a sudden, I started getting tingles.  And then some time passed, and it was over.

60 mins of yoga is a decadent thing.  If we continue this gym, I will definitely have to indulge that every once in a while.  250-ish calories for an hour is not the kind of thing I can really count as a workout, but as an activity (and something I bet I can get Zliten to join me doing as well), it was well worth an hour of my time spent.

Tonight?  I embark on my very first SPINNING class.  Hopefully I will not have ladybit problems…

So the plan right now (since Zliten really loves the gym so far)?  Keep the 10$/mo gym for bike and run days that I can’t do it outside, and use this gym primarily for swimming and classes.  I hate to pay for two gyms, but they are just both 2 halves of a whole.  And it’s cheaper than the super nice expensive gym still.

That’s about it for the happs this week.  I’m just trying to make it through to Friday catching as many classes as possible and stay sane.  Question of the week: have you (or would you) pay for 2 gyms?  Avoiding, hating, or loving the scale lately?   Ever have to deal with fans that stalk you?  Of course, I’d love to hear yoga or spinning or other fabulous stories as well…

No sugar update:

It’s getting easier and easier.  For some reason, the only time I recall being tempted this week was a birthday cake.  Why on earth for some reason crappy sheet cake has been the thing that keeps calling my name this month.  I know it’s not worth the calories.  But for some reason, that sickeningly sweet frosting-ness just makes me WANT.  It’s not even what I’m going to treat myself to this week when I break my month sweet-fast.  I am THOROUGHLY looking forward to the frozen yogurt though!  I do believe I’ll wait until Saturday, on the way home from the new gym.  Next week, I’ll decide what else to work on.  Current thought is avoiding fried food until Vegas.  That’s one thing I’ve noticed that’s crept back into my life a little too much lately.

New Gym:

This week we’re both finally a) not sick b) not on vacation c) not injured d) have the money, so it’s time to give the new gym a try (and hopefully switch over if everything is super cool).  This means regular access to a pool.  Yay!  Just in time too, my first tri is in about 3 weeks.  I should, uh, probably sign up for it.  Need to by the 8th or it gets more expensive.  How the HECK is it August already?  Le sigh… Speaking of new fitness equipment - we got a pull up bar so now every time I go into the bedroom, I try to do a pull up every time I pass it.   I can’t even fathom doing a proper one right now, but hopefully soon!

66% Olympic:

I did 2 pretty epic workouts last week - the 5k run-12 mile ride-5k run and the 25 mile ride and 10k run.  This week was sort of a test to make sure my endurance is where it should be.  Good news - it is!  I rocked both workouts with reckless abandon.  The run bike run got a little rough at the end, but I made it.  I’m sure that running 5k is actually more tiring than a half mile swim - so I feel pretty awesome about the sprint distance.  The double length ride and run is the last two legs of the Olympic distance, and I was just so PUMPED about how easy it was.  It was tough, but not KILLER.  Right after, I chowed down on some major food, and then we walked about 2-3 miles downtown that night.  My legs are a little tense, but I’m not wrecked.  I’m glad that I’ve made such strides in the last few months with my biking (anything over 10 miles at one time was just crazy talk - now I do 25 each week), since I’ll have to give myself a crash course in lap swimming.

No Weigh:

Sometime this week, I’m going to get on the scale.  Mondays were never a great weigh in day so I’m probably going to do Wednesday morning.  I’ll check in and let y’all know later this week how it goes.  It’s been bizarre after 3.5 years of constant weighing to take 2 months off.  I was certain about a month ago I had gained about 5000 lbs, and earlier this week, I felt like I was feeling super skinny, like maybe possibly I was even back to my goal weight.  I’m interested to see where I’m at.   Hopefully I’m still interested even after I see the number, heh.

Well, let’s get down to it.  Here’s the numbers for this week.

Monday: ate 1852, 5k run, 12 mile bike, 5k run (1200) = 652
Tuesday: ate 1421, off workouts = 1421
Wednesday: ate 1494, off workouts 1= 1494
Thursday: ate 1875, 45 mins running speedwork (653) = 1222
Friday: ate 1979, 45 mins arc trainer (600) = 1379
Saturday: ate 3016, 25 mile bike, 10k run (1828) = 1188
Sunday: ate 1348, off workouts = 1348

Avg consumption per day = 1854
Avg burn per day = 611
Avg deficit per day = 1243

Right on!  That should equate to about a 1 lb loss.  But we all know how wonky my body is, and I haven’t weighed forever, so who knows, right?  Here is next week’s plan.  Another week where I have 0 plans to start out - I’m really hoping for a mellow week with maybe a little less boozin’.  Two fairly debilitating hangovers in one week is enough.  Fun to attain, but sort of a drag to deal with.

Monday: bike 12 miles, run 5k (800)
Tuesday: swim 1 mile (700)
Wednesday: run 10k (800)
Thursday: weights (250)
Friday: 40 mins arc trainer (500)
Saturday: swim 1/2 mile, bike 12 miles, run 5k (1100)
Sunday: off

So, question of the week - what’s that one food that always calls out to you, but is never worth it once you actually eat it?  Cheers to an awesome week!