Last night, we completed a “splash and dash” type race (it was actually called PFive55<\/a>), it was a 500m swim then 5k run).\u00a0 I had a blast – both the swim course and the run were super nice (man made lake, and then a nice flat trail around said lake), but damn, running then swimming is HARD.\u00a0 The bike definitely gives you an opportunity to catch a breather.\u00a0 Coming out of a hard swim, throwing on the shoes, and immediately running was rough – I thought that it would be nice to not have brick legs, but I honestly would prefer brick legs than breathlessness!<\/p>\n My swim was a bit slower than I would have expected\/liked (a little under 13 minutes), and I’m not sure why – I got a better start and felt like I had my rhythm most of the time, and I feel like I should have been swimming closer to 10-11 mins.\u00a0 I think I went a little conservatively because I knew I had to run immediately after, and I haven’t been training that much speed in the water (since I’ve been actively working on my run and bike speed, swims have been mellower workouts).<\/p>\n My transition was pretty swift (although I did take a minute 30, which could get better with practice).<\/p>\n My run started, as I said, with me breathless, and fumbling with electronics (garmin and music) to get out of transition faster.\u00a0 It took my garmin a while to get the satellites, and trying to run all out while booting up and finding a playlist was not fun, but I knew it would pay off since I just run faster with music driving me.\u00a0 Next time, I think I’ll just make sure both devices are fully charged and leave them ON for this type of race (for tris, I don’t have to worry about the music since it’s not allowed, and the garmin on the bike is not as critical).\u00a0 I got on the trail, and settled in somewhere between 9 and 9:30s.\u00a0 Honestly, I’ve never practiced a swim to run transition and my body was a little shell shocked.<\/p>\n I was able to maintain below a 9:30 pace most of the time through mile 1 and 2, and started to pick up speed as I passed people.\u00a0 I would kick into gear, make the pass, and then push myself to stay faster.\u00a0 I stopped really relying on my garmin in mile 3 as I just ran as fast as my body and brain would allow comfortably.\u00a0 I kicked it up a bit when I saw the mile 3 marker in the distance, and again when I passed it, and sped it into the finish line.\u00a0 I finished around 28:30, which equates to about 8:50\/miles.\u00a0 Under 9s!\u00a0 I was pretty happy with that!\u00a0 I think I could tear that course a new one with fresh legs (and plan to go back and try), but also, that makes me pretty confident I can finish in the 27s on the tri (lungs a little more rested after biking; more speed training).<\/p>\n Approximately 43 minutes overall.\u00a0 Race site is down so I don’t have the official times, but it was up last night so I remember the gist of it!\u00a0 Once the pics are up I’ll post those as well.<\/p>\n Body Movin’ On Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n So we’re about 4.5 weeks into project: half ass cleanse.\u00a0 My highest weight was 174.8 (first week), lowest was 168.0 (second week), and I’ve been somewhere in between ever since.\u00a0 I’ve been counting from the high point of the week and each week Monday’s weight has gone down.\u00a0 Fluctuating less makes me less crazy so that is happy!<\/p>\n While I’ve not taken off all that much weight, things are looking and feeling different.\u00a0 A pair of pants that didn’t fit well a couple months ago was lookin’ hot today.\u00a0 My leg muscles are ridiculously poppin’ from the bike, the runs, and the strength work.\u00a0 My arms and shoulders are starting to look more defined.\u00a0 My tummy? Eh, well, there’s still some spare tire but I’m continuing to work the core anyway.<\/p>\n However, this style of eating (watching the sodium, less meat, more fish, less dairy, less wheat) is agreeing with me.\u00a0 I feel really good when I’m able to generally stick to it.\u00a0 Instead of being hardcore about it 3 days a week, I decided just to attempt to eat it for all the meals I could while not driving me crazy.\u00a0 So if you make allowances for lean ground beef, I stuck to it about 2\/3 of the time all week.\u00a0 Most other meals I made healthy choices (but that Mediterranean sammich w\/onion rings was AWESOME, and the brownie cookie half I had today was super amazing).\u00a0 I have not been able to bring myself to track calories, but I think this might be a good step.<\/p>\n One major change that I’m very proud of?\u00a0 I’ve cut out all artificial sweeteners for the last 2 weeks or so.\u00a0 I think I may have had a bit of a fresca while intoxicated, but for the most part?\u00a0 Off ’em.\u00a0 Drinking soda water, decaf tea, and water exclusively.\u00a0 After getting through the “wtf do I drink” and getting used to flavored seltzers, I actually don’t miss it.\u00a0 And honestly, if all sodas were were as equally evil?\u00a0 I would probably choose a regular coke over a diet for a very, very occasional treat.<\/p>\n I’m still considering the nutritionist heavily.\u00a0 My confidence in this is growing, but I”m still not sold that I can do this by myself.\u00a0 Incredibly slow progress is still progress, but it’s sometimes hard to make sure it’s still going the right way when it’s crawling.\u00a0 I think I’m going to try an experiment next week but we’ll see if I can bring myself to do it…<\/p>\n Still making athletic gains, so I can’t complain.\u00a0 I’m a poet, and I guess I know it?<\/p>\n Odds and Ends:<\/strong><\/p>\n I’m going to continue with the relaximication tonight and I’ll be back next week with more tales of getting faster, healthier, and awesomer.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/media.fukung.net\/images\/2648\/dive_water.jpg\")
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