Scarily enough, I am loving my swim workouts the most right now. I think it's all due to finding a great coach. His workouts are awesome — I feel like I'm improving constantly in the water with his help. There is also just something about watching the day start from inside a pool… and the warmth of the water when compared to the chilly (and this week rainy) morning air. I smell like chlorine. 🙂
Archive for February, 2005
balancing act called life
Thursday, February 17th, 2005For Christmas I’d like 4 more hours each day… and a pony. Seriously, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day. I’m lucky that my main job has flexible hours — I don’t know too many other places where a lunch break is long enough for a slowpoke like me to run a half marathon, or even longer. I’m also lucky that I love my kids — all 19 of them. Ok so by kids I mean martial arts students who occupy my evenings. I don’t even have a family I’m trying to balance in all this! And then there is tri training — I’ve got a new schedule I’m trying out right now because I just wasn’t making it to the pool enough (so far I’m at 100% of following it — it’s been a whole day! Or at least half-day…). Sometimes I want a vacation. A tour through some gorgeous country. A trip to the New Zealand IM (2006 is still an option).
My mom used to call me stubborn. Little did she know it would be a great quality for getting everything I want to do done… I find the total hours I spend doing things amazing. On an average day, I spend 2.5 hours driving, 9-10 working, 2 tri-training, 2.5 teaching. Which leaves me with about 7 hours (at most) for sleeping, eating, relaxing, and social life. Yet somehow, I’m still lucky. I can handle that kind of schedule. I have an understanding mom, and caring siblings. I have a stronger group of friends than I ever have. I feel loved. Cared about. I can run, walk, swim, skip, jump, breathe, fly.
Some times it’s crazy. But it’s me.
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late race update
Thursday, February 17th, 2005The second tri in the PossAbilities Tri Series was on the 13th. It was
a great course for spectators — a transition area right by a 3 loop
bike and an out and back run, not to mention a run to the pool and then
a run from the pool to the end (it was a reverse order tri). So
spectators could stand near the start/finish and see all transitions
and their friends go by a few times on the bike.
I did about the same as in the last one, and again ended up in 2nd
place in my age group, which is exciting. Maybe I'll place in this
series 🙂 I know it's a little one, but I'm so slow and such that it's
a fun to be a contender, even if it is just cause I'm one of few
regulars in my age group. Last time and this week's winners were
different people, so I think I'm in 2nd or 3rd overall (depends on if the girl who got first this week was also in top 10 females — the one last time was).
The race was also a nice course. Fairly flat and fast for the bike, but with just enough change that you could feel it. Swim was in a perfect temperature pool. Run was downhill (barely) out so just barely up on the way back. I still continue to have strong run finishes compared to other people around my speed… I don't seem to get passed from about the 1.5 mile marker on.
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1st Century
Monday, February 7th, 2005The Tour de Palm Springs this weekend was a nice 104 miles. Some pretty bad roads, but some nice ones. Some nice climbing (up about 1500' in the first 20 miles, and about 4000' of climbing overall). The finish line was hard to find, but that was the only issue I had with the course. They should make the signs bigger and bigger the farther into the miles you get 🙂 I rode with some friends, so we took our time at rest stops, which was ok, and I wasn't at all sore at the end. Since elevation seems somewhat comparable to the IM AZ course (not positive on this yet) I'm feeling pretty confident I can finish that one in under 9 hours easily, and that under 8 (my IM goal) shouldn't be too hard once I'm a bit farther in training (this was 6:39 moving and 8:30 total). I could have ran after I got off as far as my legs were concerned, but having badly jammed (and at the time was still wondering if broke) my big toe/the ball of my foot, I didn't run this weekend. So that was good.
I'm feeling pretty accomplished when I think about the year being only just over a month in, and me having a century and marathon under my belt and not dead from either 🙂
And now for a lunchbreak run. I love working at a company with a gym and showers and weather that means today will be outdoors!
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