Taking a Day Off from the Cardio

July 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I was going to do some cardio this morning, but my husband and I decided to have a few glasses of wine and sleep in instead!

It’s always nice when that happens, though I do feel a wee bit of guilt for not getting up! However, I know that running and biking today would be too much. I can feel my knee a little. I think it is the flip flop obsession I have developed. Today I”m off to the store to find some regular sandals with some cushion. I think the flip flops are wrecking my knee (I’m going to post about that separately later).

Today I’ll do abs and arms as the girls nap and have quiet time. That will mean 5 days of cardio this week. I think that’s good. I don’ t want to get to the point I was last time and burn out. I have a tendency to really focus on cardio sometimes, I love that ‘feel’ when it is over, but then I get really tired after a few weeks. I think that has been happening lately.

I’m going to try to get to the gym to do my swim on Sunday. Husband has to go into work, but if I can get there right when it opens I can get back in time. That means my nine miler tomorrow, and then I will do a ten minute bike and a thirty minute swim on Sunday.

Hope everyone has a great running weekend! I’m ready for my nine tomorrow! I can’t wait to get back up to 13 miles. That was my favorite a while back, when I was steadily running 13.

Filed Under: Biking/Cycling, July 2008, Long Distance Running, Reflections on Running, Swimming, Training for a Marathon, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Tri, Tri Again!

July 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Today I was supposed to get up at 5, head to the gym, do ten to twenty on the bike, twenty on the treadmill and then twenty in the pool.

However, life got in the way.

Last night my youngest woke up several times and had difficulty even getting to sleep in the first place.

My oldest woke up at 3 and, for some reason, could not go back to sleep. I ended up sleeping with her for a while.

When I woke at 5:10 I thought ok, I’ll give myself five more minutes of rest time. I woke up at 5:40.

Instead I went for a run. I did 2 1/2 and then did some sprinting. Unbelievably, this was the best run of the week! No sleep, tired, a little bit of knee pain . . . and it was the best one I had. I could have done four miles but that knee is scaring me. I don’t want to blow it and not make it to Long Beach this October.

So, tomorrow is another day. My plan now: Head to the gym for a short bike and swim. No running since Saturday is my nine miles. I’m worried what the bike may do to the knee. I hope it stays strong through this. I may have to look up some knee strengthening exercises.

If I don’t do the gym tomorrow, I’ll work on arms and abs and take it easy with the cardio. Maybe that’s what I need: A day off of cardio, since I have been so tired.

Well, the kids are up from nap and it is time to go do something.

Hopefully tomorrow morning will be better for the work out!

Filed Under: Biking/Cycling, July 2008, Long Distance Running, Racing, Swimming, Training for a Marathon, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Running Through the Fog

July 16, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I don’t know what is going on with me this week! I can’t seem to get out of this ‘fog’ that I am in when it comes to my running.

I thought maybe I was just having an off day on Monday, but today was the same. I started off feeling heavy and as though my breath wasn’t together-like I couldn’t get it together. I stopped at 1.6 miles and shook it off, I hoped, but still had difficulty finishing up the 3.3 miles.

After that I did my sprints and, guess what, had no issues running fast and short. I got into the 6 minute mile range. That wasn’t hard. The regular run was.

If I’m going to get to the Long Beach Marathon in October, which is just a few months away, I have to fix this fog! I hope it is just an off week.

So tomorrow I begin my tri training in full swing. I will do the bike for ten, running for twenty and swimming for I hope thirty.

There is also a class at the gym that focuses on ab work. I’d like to do this, but am not sure how to fit it into my schedule. They do have a Friday class, but my youngest daughter isn’t real keen on other people watching her. I’m afraid she will scream the entire time she is in daycare! But we will see.

Happy Running!

Filed Under: July 2008, Long Distance Running, Racing, Swimming, Training for a Marathon, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Swim, swim, swim!

July 15, 2008 By 4 Comments

Today I got up and went to the gym to begin my new swim routine.

I picked up a great new bathing suit at TJ Maxx the other day. A Nike for just $20! It worked perfectly. I did half an hour.

I forgot how much I love to swim, and can you believe it is a great calorie burner? Not only that but after the brutality of running on my ankles, legs and feet, swimming is just, well, easy! It’s like running in that I feel I’m on another world, alone in the water, no other sounds. I like that.

Found this fun calculator to use to see how many calories you’re burning while doing a variety of exercises.

For me, at 135 pounds, it says that half an hour of swimming can burn over 200 calories! I’m not sure how accurate it is though. It says 10mph runs will burn almost 600 calories; in my experience, and according to my forerunner, it would be closer to 300.
http://www.self.com/fitness/activity/calculators/running/result?weightPounds=135&duration=30&activity=&met=16.0&submit.x=83&submit.y=20&submit=submit seems a little closer to the calories burned.

Tomorrow I’ll do a four mile run and then abs and arms, and then on Thursday I’ll begin my triathlon combo! I’m excited about this routine. I’m going to start off with a 10 minute bike, 20 minute (or two miles, so a bit less) all out run on the treadmill and then a 20 minute to half hour run. Eventually before the race I’ll hope to get close to what I’ll be doing for that tri, which is a half mile swim, 14 mile bike and 4 mile run.

I’m a little nervous about the swim portion of the tri. I’m a strong swimmer, I think. Not fast, but strong. Yet I’m worried about all of the other people around me. How does it work that you don’t choke on the water or get kicked in the face!?

Ah, but I guess once you are there you figure it all out!

Happy Workouts Today!

Filed Under: July 2008, Long Distance Running, Racing, Swimming, Training for a Marathon, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Today’s Run: Poor at Best!

July 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Not sure what happened today.

Know those run days when you get out there and after a mile, if that, wonder how in the hell you’re going to get through the next few?

I only had to do three today and I had a bad time picking one foot up after the other.

Don’t know why it was so tough. I was really worn out yesterday, so maybe that was it. I didn’t work out at all yesterday, since Sundays are now my day off. No abs, no arms, nothing.

I should have been well rested, right?

At a mile and a half I stopped for a minute and just stood there, wondering what in the heck was going on. I couldn’t breathe right, couldn’t think straight, and didn’t feel like putting in the three.

But I did.

I have some womanly things going on. I’m not yet forty but believe I’m hitting menopause. I’ve got a yearly exam scheduled for next week, so we will see. I’m wondering if that has something to do with what is going on.

If that’s not it, I don’t know what is. I don’t think I’m getting sick. I don’t feel like I have a cough or cold coming on, and I can usually tell when I do.

I slept well the night before.

Took yesterday off.

Maybe it was just one of those runs.

I hate those runs! Makes me feel like I wasted a day!

This week I start training for my tri. I’m going to do biking tomorrow morning. I may do swim and bike, I don’t know yet. I’d love to swim but really need to bike . . .

Here’s hoping your next run is a good one!

Filed Under: Biking/Cycling, July 2008, Long Distance Running, Reflections on Running, Swimming, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , ,

Found the Tri I want to Try!

July 13, 2008 By Leave a Comment

So I’ve been thinking about doing a triathlon for a while now. I dropped the idea for a few months while I concentrated on increasing my speed during running, and then a week or so ago started considering it again.

While looking through one of our local race magazines I found this:.
Seems like it would be a fun even to try. The swim and bike seem doable and 4 miles is fine.

My training, I think, will now go like this:

Monday-4 mile – 6 mile run
Tuesday-abs, arms
Wednesday-4 mile run
Thursday-bike, swim, run
Friday-ab/arms
Saturday-long run
Sunday-off

If I keep the schedule like this, I can increase my bike and swims on Thursdays at the gym as needed. I can also use Friday and/or Tuesday for swim and bike once I start getting closer to the date.

For now, I don’t want to overdue it. The tri would be Nov 30, which is just one month and a few weeks after the Long Beach Marathon. So, I want to increase my running up to 20 miles at least one time before then without overdoing it on the rest of the days.

I think this will work, though, as long as I can get in enough biking and swimming for the tri.

Anyone with experience training for these events can feel free to comment! I’m always open to workout and scheduling suggestions!

Filed Under: Biking/Cycling, Long Distance Running, Racing, Swimming, Training for a Marathon, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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